We made camp a couple of hours before dark. Gordon had a brand new shotgun, and he wanted to squirrel hunt until dark. It was the last weekend of squirrel hunting season, and he wanted to try his new gun out. Then Benton and I were going to fish until dark.

Dark came, the wind started blowing, and we started supper. Gordon did not return to camp. Do you have any idea how dark it gets in a swamp when the sun sets? Do you have any idea of how little you can hear when the wind blows in a swamp?

Benton left me in camp to go look for Gordon in pitch dark. And I am wondering what will I ever do if he does not come back. He was gone almost an hour. He came back without Gordon. He went again for about an hour. He returned without Gordon. He went a third time for about an hour. He returned without Gordon.

I was anxious the first time he went out. I was extremely nervous the second time he went out. I was just plain afraid the third time he went out. Gordon was lost. For all I knew, Benton was lost. And I had no idea of how to get back to the boat ramp.

That night I gained a new understanding of being lost. We finally found Gordon and got out just fine. But I never forgot the feeling of being lost.

In a recent interview I conducted with Jackie Hamilton, she stated that people needed to check their personal lives to see if they were living life by the clock or by the compass.

1. The clock and the compass are two incredible instruments.
   1. The clock is a complex instrument that measures the passing of time.
      1. A clock tells us what time it is.
         1. It tells us the immediate present, but basically that is all it tells us.
         2. It does not predict how much time we have left.
         3. It does not give us time and cannot create time.
         4. It just measures time.
      2. In our society, the clock is an instrument of stress.
         1. It reminds us of how much time has passed, time that we no longer have.
         2. It cannot predict how much time we have left because it cannot predict interruptions yet to occur.
         3. In our society, the clock controls when we get up, how fast we live our lives, how hard we push, how long our day is, how fast we drive, and dictates our schedule as it alters our priorities.
         4. "What time is it?" is far more likely to be an anxiety question than a curiosity question.
   2. A compass is a very simple instrument that points north.
      1. Its only purpose is to provide direction.
      2. Not matter how expensive or inexpensive , no matter how complex or how simple compasses are, they have the same simple purpose--point north.
      3. By always pointing north, the compass enables us to establish a sense of direction.
         1. The compass is an invaluable instrument when we need direction.
         2. It can always help us establish a course, a direction that we can trust even if we don't know where we are.
      4. Because the compass provides a certainty in times of uncertainty, the compass is an instrument of reassurance and comfort.

2. The Bible is a compass, not a clock.
   1. Why should we regard the Bible to be a compass?
      1. Its basic purpose is to always point you in the direction of God.
      2. Jesus Christ is the compass needle that always, without fail, points a person in God's direction.
      3. When we have no sense of direction in our life, when we are confused and disoriented, when we are not sure where we are or where we are going, the Bible focuses us on Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ points us to God.
   2. Throughout the Bible, one essential, basic responsibility of all people in all ages has been the same: find God and move toward Him.
      1. For an example, consider the nation of Israel.
         1. What was a primary purpose of the plagues when Israel was enslaved in Egypt? To direct them toward the living God whom they did not know.
            1. Exodus 6:6,7 Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.' (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
            2. "Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God..."
         2. What was a primary purpose of Israel's experience at Mount Sinai when the presence of God descended on the mountain and He spoke the ten commandments to them?
            1. To establish the identify to God in their minds and hearts.
            2. To give them a sense of direction that would lead them to God.
         3. What a primary purpose in Joshua's statement to the nation of Israel when he challenged them to forsake idols and serve God?
            1. Joshua 24:15 "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
            2. A primary purpose was to give them a sense of direction toward God and challenge them to take it.
         4. What was a primary purpose in David's Psalms or the Prophets' writings?
            1. To establish the identity of God in their hearts and minds.
            2. To give them a sense of direction that would lead them to God.
      2. For a second example, consider the Christians in the New Testament.
         1. What was a primary purpose of Jesus' death on the cross?
            1. To establish the identity of the living God who loved sinful people so much that He would sacrifice His own Son for their forgiveness.
            2. To provide a sense of direction that could lead all people to God.
         2. What was a primary purpose of the resurrection of Jesus?
            1. To establish the identity of the living God who not only would redeem us but raise us from the dead.
            2. To provide us a sense of direction that would lead us to God as we live in a world that denies God.
         3. What was a primary purpose of the evangelism and world wide teachings in the book of Acts?
            1. To establish the identity of the living God not only among Israelites but also among all people anywhere in the world.
            2. To provide all people a sense of direction that could lead them to God.
         4. What was a primary purpose of the New Testament letters written to churches and to individuals?
            1. To nurture believers as they fixed their focus on the living God.
            2. To provide believers a sense of direction that would lead them to the living God as they lived in an evil world.

3. Jesus became the needle of our spiritual compass by never losing his sense of direct, by always facing and following God.
   1. Nothing ever deceived Jesus; nothing ever led Jesus off God's course for him.
      1. When Satan tempted him person-to-person, Jesus stayed on course.
      2. When the Pharisees challenged and attacked him, Jesus stayed on course.
      3. When his disciples argued and fussed in ignorance and misunderstanding, Jesus stayed on course.
      4. When one of his best friends betrayed him, Jesus stayed on course.
      5. When his disciples deserted him at his arrest, Jesus stayed on course.
      6. When he was tried, falsely condemned, ridiculed, and abused, Jesus stayed on course.
      7. When he died hanging from a cross, Jesus stayed on course.
      8. Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
   2. He is the needle in our spiritual compass.
      1. As you live life, if you want to identify God, you start with Jesus.
      2. As you struggle in life, if you want direction that will point you to God, you start with Jesus.
      3. As Jesus declared to Philip, (John 14:10) Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)

4. Is your personal life ruled by the clock or guided by the compass?
   1. If you are honest with yourself as you examine the major segments of your life, is the clock or the compass in control?
      1. Is what is happening in your family relationships and interaction controlled by the clock or the compass?
      2. Is what is happening in your personal behavior controlled by the clock or the compass?
      3. Is what is happening in your work controlled by the clock or the compass?
      4. Is what is happening in your mind and heart right now controlled by the clock or the compass?
   2. Beware!
      1. Clocks run down and time runs out.
      2. The compass is always there, always steady.
      3. When we meet God, and we will, there will be no clock.
         1. Time will be no more.
         2. But the compass will be there, still pointing to God.

[Song of reflection: 613--Hold to God's Unchanging Hand]

If your life follows the same course it is on right now, where are you going? If your attitudes of right now never change, where are you going? If the feeling of your heart that you have right now never change, where are you going? If things continue to happen in your family as they are happening right now, where is your family going? If your pleasures of right now never change, where are you going? If your priorities of right now continue to be your priorities, where are you going?

Does your life have a course of direction that points to God every day in every circumstance? Are you following the compass?