Cars, Chili, and Jesus!
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
“The road of sorrow is the road to heaven, but there are wells of refreshing water all along the route.” – C.H. Spurgeon
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited by a Christian friend to attend a car show in Hobe Sound FL, It was a great show with more than 200 cars on display – everything from Model T Fords to Ferrari’s, MGs, Corvette’s, Porsche’s, Maserati’s, and Alpha Romeo’s.
After the show, we stopped at a local school where they were having a chili cook-off. For a $20 donation, we got to sample 19 different types of chili… and vote for our favorite.
On the ride home, my friend was telling me about a vision the Lord had given him and his wife many years ago for a home of refuge, respite, and recovery for pastors. The burden has been so great that one day he felt led of the Lord to walk from his house to the property that God had indicated to him where the new ministry was to be located.
To prepare for the 20-mile hike, my friend drove it the day before and hid a bottle of water along the road every couple of miles. That way, when he was walking in the hot Florida sun, he would know that some liquid refreshment was “just around the corner”.
Despite what the prosperity gospel peddlers would have us believe, life is not a bed of roses or a bowl of cherries. On the contrary, Jesus said in John 15:18 that, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.” In other words, because the world hates Jesus – and we belong to Him – the world will naturally and unavoidable hate us, too. It simply comes with the territory.
However, He doesn’t leave us alone amidst all that hate and turmoil. In John 16:33, Jesus offered a word of warning and a word of consolation. “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
Here are a couple more verses that should comfort and quiet your heart…
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 (BSB)
“Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
