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"Historic Route 66"
Message
summary:
Today, let us
make a fresh
resolve to
stay on old
Route 66 in
staying true
to the
teachings in
all 66 books
in the Bible.
Listen
to our message
on your audio
player.
"Watch the
path of your
feet and all
your ways will
be
established.
Do not turn to
the right nor
to the left;
turn your foot
from evil"
(Proverbs
4:26-27).
"Show me Your
ways, O Lord;
teach me Your
paths. Lead me
in Your truth
and teach me,
for You are
the God of my
salvation; on
You I wait all
the day"
(Psalm
25:4,5). "Thus
says the Lord,
'Stand by the
ways and see
and ask for
the ancient
paths, where
the good way
is, and walk
in it; and you
will find rest
for your
souls'. But
they said, ‘We
will not walk
in it’"
(Jeremiah
6:16).
This
year marks the
100th
anniversary of
one of
America's most
iconic
highways,
Route 66. In
fact it opened
on November
11, 1926 when
it was
designated as
part of the
new U.S.
Numbered
Highway
System. John
Steinbeck in
his 1939
novel, “The
Grapes of
Wrath,” coined
the term
“Mother Road”
for Route 66.
That's related
to the mass
migration to
California
during the
Great
Depression.
Brooksyne grew up about 1/4 mile off Route 66 west of Tulsa. She also attended Webster High School located right next to route 66 on Southwest Blvd. It ran right through Springfield MO, the birthplace of Route 66, where we met in college and it runs through Sapulpa, OK where we were married in Brooksyne's home church in 1976.
At that time we don't recall much sentiment or fame about Rt 66. It was just the old highway that had been replaced by Interstate 44 several years earlier.
But
in the last
fifty years
the sentiment
has grown
immensely and
now it's
probably the
most famous
road in
America. It
starts in the
heart of
downtown
Chicago,
Illinois on
the
southwestern
shores of Lake
Michigan and
ends at the
Pacific Ocean
in Los
Angeles,
California at
the end of the
Santa Monica
pier. Several
years ago we
walked to the
very end where
our only next
choice was to
start
swimming.
Whenever
we travel or
are nearby we
try to take in
at least a
section of
Route 66 or
any other "off
the main road"
route for that
matter. There
is always
something
interesting
that catches
our eye.
Charles Kuralt
observed,
"Thanks to the
Interstate
Highway
System, it is
now possible
to travel
across the
country from
coast to coast
without seeing
anything."
But today let
us consider
another
"Historic
Route 66" that
we must stay
on in the
sense of
staying
faithful to
the sixty-six
books of the
Bible. Many "have
wandered away
from the faith
and pierced
themselves
with many
griefs"
(see 1 Timothy
6:10) having
the response
toward God's
Word expressed
in the last
phrase of our
third daily
text, "We
will not walk
in it".
All three of
today's Bible
texts refer to
"paths" which
is a synonym
of "route" so
today let us
consider an
element from
each one as we
resolve to
stay on
historic route
66:
2) We must pray for God to teach us His route. "O Lord; teach me Your paths." God has spoken through His Word. As we seek after Him we will learn His ways and walk in His steps which will keep us on the straight and narrow path.
3) We must ask for the ancient route. "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths." This verse is so counter cultural to our age with all the emphasis on new, new, new. We thank God for many aspects of new. New technology in our lifetime allows us to share these messages all over the world. But we must be soberly aware of the consequences when new "truth" replaces old "truth". After all, truth does not change. We need to ask for these ancient paths found in God's ancient Word.
Ancient words, ever true
Changing me and changing you,
We have come with open hearts,
Oh let the ancient words impart.
Today,
let us make a
fresh resolve
to stay on the
spiritual
historic route
66 in staying
true to the
teachings of
all 66 books
in the Bible!
Be
encouraged
today, Hebrews
3:13.
Stephen
&
Brooksyne
Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, like
the Psalmist I
pray that You
will show me
Your ways, O
Lord; teach me
Your paths.
Lead me in
Your truth and
teach me, for
You are the
God of my
salvation. I'm
indebted to
Your loving
grace that
keeps me
traveling the
good path.
There are many
other paths
that vie for
my attention
but I know
through Your
Spirit and
also by
experience,
that many are
treacherous
and will lead
me to a dead
end or danger.
I want to walk
on the good
path and find
rest for my
soul even in
the midst of
the dark
valley
experiences of
my travels
here on earth.
I'm so
grateful that
You walk
beside me on
the path that
leads to
righteousness
and eternal
life. Amen.
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Teach Me Your Ways, O Lord" Watch on YouTube Light of Scripture Singers
"Eternal Vacation" Watch on YouTube Dailey and Vincent When Brooksyne and I travel on Rt 66 we enjoy rolling down the windows and playing some bluegrass music!
This old stretch of Route 66 is in Pulaski County, Missouri.
Compared to busy Interstate 44 just a few miles away it seemed abandoned.
This historical park along Route 66 with old trains and this huge oil drilling derrick is located about 1/4 mile from Brooksyne's high school, Daniel Webster. In recent years this area has been revitalized, in part by former students of Daniel Webster High School. This is where Brooksyne attended her 50th Class reunion three years ago.
Seligman, Arizona claims to be the birthplace of interest in historic route 66. When the freeway (I-40 at that point) drew the traffic away from the town, its economy slumped. Local residents led by Angel Delgadillo formed the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona and persuaded the state of Arizona to list Route 66 as a Historic Highway.
This "saved" the Mother Road and restored some of its former glory. Now many nostalgia seeking travelers such as us drive through Seligman to get their kicks on Route 66 (a song made famous by Nat King Cole).
When visiting LA years ago we walked to the end of Route 66 on the Santa Monica pier!
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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