- Our Conductor
1. Ensuring that the train follows applicable safety rules and practices
2. Making sure that the train stays on schedule starting from the stations
3. Opening and closing power-operated doors
4. Selling and checking tickets and other customer service duties
5. Ensuring that any cars and cargo are picked up and dropped off properly
6. Completing in-route paperwork
7. Directing the trains’ movement while operating in reverse
8. Coupling or uncoupling cars
9. Assisting with the setting out or picking up of rolling stock
This is a list of duties of a typical train conductor.
Reading this list I was struck by the image of the Holy Spirit. Look at the list again, but let’s look at applying these principles to the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives
1. Ensuring that the train follows applicable safety rules and practices
– He sets standards and rules in his rule book, the Bible, for His children to practice to protect them in this dangerous world.
2. Making sure that the train stays on schedule starting from the stations
– He keeps us moving forward in life, not letting us get stuck in a place for too long where we will not grow or be used by him.
3. Opening and closing power-operated doors
– He opens up doors to things in our lives that will help or guide us towards Him, but then He closes doors to harmful things that we need to remove from our lives.
4. Selling and checking tickets, and other customer service duties
– He is always watching over who or what is coming into our lives, making sure they will be good for us and not someone or something that will be harmful in our lives.
5. Ensuring that any cars and cargo are picked up and dropped off properly
– He helps us deliver things from our lives (experience, knowledge, and wisdom) to others when they need it.
6. Completing in-route paperwork
– He keeps a record of everything we are doing or will do in the future and wants to be a part of every step we take.
7. Directing the trains’ movement while operating in reverse
– He knows the direction and choices we will make, and is there to help guide us even when we can’t clearly see where we are going.
8. Coupling or uncoupling cars
– He may lead us to add and remove things in our lives that seem important, but in truth they may or may not be the best for us.
9. Assisting with the setting out or picking up of rolling stock
– He prepares us for the big events or struggles that will come into our lives, by helping us grow through little steps of life first.
Now, is every single one of these ideas perfect? No, but I think you get what I am trying to say. The conductor of our lives is the Holy Spirit. He is always with us, as believers in Christ, and He desires to help us in our lives. He knows that there are things in this world that could be harmful to us, so He protects us from them. He also knows that there will be times we need someone or something to help us grow in our faith, so He ensures we have those added to our train.
Then… probably one of the hardest parts… is when He convicts us to remove something in our lives that is no long prudent to keep. It may be something small, like a package, or it could be a person, or even an entire train car (family, home church, etc.), but we need to be willing to take His advice and remove those things. It may forever change our train, but when or where He leads is always the best for our lives.
Respect the position of the Conductor of your life. He only wants to love you and help you on your walk through the Christian life. - Traveling through the holidays, Christmas
Whenever I think of winter on a train, I think of the child’s tale of the Polar Express. I imagine an old locomotive that is decorated for the holidays complete with Christmas greenery and lights. The train becomes a magical place where anything can happen, like dancing waiters serving you hot chocolate while singing Christmas carols.
As a child this was what I thought a train would be like during the winter holidays, but in reality, traveling during the holiday season is usually anything but magical. Passengers are so focused on making connecting trains and finalizing work projects before the holidays. Their spirits cannot even see the holiday decorations around them. They understand that they have to prioritize work as they travel, otherwise they may not be able to focus on family when they arrive at their destination.
It is sad that our lives seem to get busier as we grow and mature. We have to focus on that next project or work assignment, creating a cycle that never seems to end.
But just for a moment…
Take a look outside of your train. Look at the falling snow that makes the landscape the most beautiful white. You have to shield your eyes from the sun shimmering off of the ice-covered trees, as the few birds that are braving the cold weather are flying around enjoying the briskness of the wind. Then if you look closely, you may glimpse the family of deer that are looking for food in the field just past your tracks.
We need to remember that sometimes in life we need those moments to pause and take a break from everything that busies our minds. Yes, work is important, definitely something you need to focus on, but you need to also be aware that every hour, day, month or year you spend busy working is also time that you are not looking our your window. You need to find a balance to do both and see the wonderful world around you, whither that is looking at nature or the people in your own home.
This Christmas season, let’s try to pause a little more often, even if it is to simply for a moment before you get off the train or right before you walk through the front door at work. Take a moment and enjoy the beauty and joy around you. Trust me it is there. We just need to remember to look through the eyes of our younger selves and I promise you will see something magical once again.
Merry Christmas. - Comparison
Do you compare with other Trains?
Society is constantly trying to get us to buy the newest and greatest things. And one of the ways they do that is by making us admire what other people have. It tempts us to look at our lives and compare them to others, then we start to form dreams in our minds about getting that thing to make us look and feel good, too.
But there is a problem with this. The things that may “look” good and be the most popular in society, may not be what God desires for your life. Comparing ourselves to others is the quickest way for us to take the first steps towards the desires/lusts of the world and further away from God.
1 John 2:16 – For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
As believers in Christ we are not to desire the things of the world.
Galatians 5:24 – And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
I think back to when we talked about all the different types of trains there are or have ever been. When I envision my train, I see an old steam engine train fueled by coal. I have always loved the pictures of those going through the countryside with the steam coming out of its smoke stack. It gives me a more homier feel that takes me back in time. But sometimes, I wonder if I would be better off with a newer, faster train that looks sleek and is definitely more efficient to get me to places faster. Or what about those luxury trains that cost thousands of dollars to travel on that have beds with silk sheets, polished wood in the cabins, private bathrooms, and a personal butler to help you with your every need.
See … when we start comparing ourselves or our lives to others, our minds and desires can start to go out of control. Before we know it, that is all we can think about. We begin to focus on what others see of us, if they would want to be like us or a part of our lives. Our minds start to focus on “us”, not on God, and that is a track you do not want to go down.
Do you compare? Do you admire? Do you hope? Do you wish?… for things that God has not given you?
Matthew 6:31-33 – Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
We are not to compare ourselves or worry about what we have. God already knows where we are in life and what we will need.
Philippians 4:19 – But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
We don’t need anything other than what He provides. If we follow Him, we don’t need to worry about the things society says we need or should desire. Don’t lust after the things that “look” good for a moment, seek the things that are good in Christ. - Passengers of Life
This topic hits me a little harder than it may others. Even thinking about what I should write brings some sorrow to my heart and tears to my eyes.
A train is created for a specific purpose, to transport something from one location to another. Whether it is to transport freight or passengers, trains travel long distances and stop at many destinations along the way to drop them off. In life, we have a lot of people and things that get on our train at one point, and then get off at another.
At times, it feels like more people have gotten off your train than on. As a child, you don’t really have a choice who you let on your train. Those kids you hang out with were allowed to be there by your parents. The adults that influence you in school are put there for a period of time to teach you. But eventually you know that they will get off your train because that part of your life is passed. The kids in elementary school move to a different middle school and then high school. They don’t really have a way to decide whether they stay or go. That comes later when you can make your own decisions.
But let’s slow down for a moment. While we are in school, we can have those that are on our train, but don’t really want anything to do with us. High school relationships are an example of that. Those you enter high school with as friends are not always the friends you leave with. That is a time of growing up and developing who you are and who you want to be as an adult.
There will always be people we meet and get to know, but may never be close with. They will still be in your life, or on your train, but they may not be a big influence or a key passenger. You may not even realize the exact stop they got off at. It’s the people that get on your train that want to be a part of your life who all of a sudden leave that make the goodbye process that much harder.
Growing up I had a lot of people in my life that left for one reason or another. I didn’t have the typical childhood that most do, the kids I was in nursery with were the same kids I graduated high school with. Sure, the number went down over the years, but I knew my senior class better than most that graduate from a typical high school.
College was where new people came into my life and the adults that were around me as a child became my friends. But this is also where I learned that people can choose to get off my train of life whenever they wanted. Slowly through my college years and early adulthood, one person after another left my train. A friend decided she didn’t want to follow God so she left at a platform where she could look for a guy that could fill that gap in her life. Then another friend got caught messing around with a guy out of marriage, so she was removed from my train by those that knew it was wrong. I also had one that committed suicide thus leaving to be with God. But out of all the people leaving, the ones that hurt the most were the people that were on the train acting like they liked me and wanted to help me mature in life, but then behind my back wanted nothing to do with me.
I don’t want to go into a lot of details, but in a few short years I went from having a lot of people on my train, to having only 2 passengers. And those passengers were my parents, who were on my train from the beginning. Even though there were times when my parents were having struggles, they never left me. But everyone I knew and grew up with all got off my train, and pretty much said that they would never get back on. This is when I moved to Minnesota, and prayed that God would bring someone, anyone, into my life again, so I wouldn’t continue in my lonely state.
It took a while and moving to a couple different churches, but slowly God brought one person after another into my life that He knew would be good for me. I may not have a lot of people on my train that are close with me, but they are people that I have slowly learned to trust and love, like my husband. If all those people hadn’t gotten off my train before I came to Minnesota, I would never have met him.
My husband worked really hard, to be a part of my life. After so many people leaving and hurting me, it was really hard for me to accept and trust new people onto my train. He and many of my friends had to help me to see that they were wanting to be on my train for the right reasons and for the long ride.
There are still people that come and go from my train, but God has helped me to see that when someone decides to leave, I still have him guiding my train and I will never be alone. He knows what I need and he will bring people into my life that will help me and maybe… just maybe… because of what I have gone through, I can help them. My life has totally changed over the years: I have no one from my past aboard my train, but I have a wonderful group of new friends that are on and ready to take the ride. - Weather Report – Heavy Snow
Snow is beautiful when it is softly falling over a beautiful landscape of hills, trees, and rivers. It almost seems like a crime to think any ill thoughts when everything looks like a sweet winter wonderland.
But then there is another side of snow. With every snowflake that falls, it can potentially add to a situation that can cause trouble for our trains to travel. Too much snow can actually cause avalanches in the mountains, completely covering the tracks or even destroy an entire train. Or if the snow freezes on the tracks forming ice, the train cannot receive the power it needs to run because of overheating power cables due to the electrified third rail being coated in ice. An electrified third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track.
Have you ever had a day, a week, or even a month where it seems like little things keep falling in your life causing you to get bogged down to a point you no longer have joy in your life? This has been me lately. I have felt like everything around me seems to add to my sad state of mind, suffocating my spiritual life and killing my happiness.
The weather has even affected my state of mind. The last few weeks have been warm, sunny, and beautiful, but now the last few days have been non-stop snow fall. With every snowflake that falls my heart has seemed to go with it.
So, why do Christians go through this? I have been saved since I was 4 years old, shouldn’t I have this Christian life thing down by now? Why can things in this world affect us so much even though we know we have God with us? I know all the promises and truths of the Bible, so why am I constantly fighting the up and down state of mind? Can’t I just be happy?
“God, what am I doing wrong?”
After asking myself this, I realized that it isn’t because God isn’t there, or that he doesn’t want to spend time with me that I feel this way. It is actually me that is the problem. The falling snow in my life, I put there. The things that have been bogging me down and putting me in a separated state from God, are all things I have allowed myself to be distracted by over a long period of time. I gave myself the ok to be focused on other things rather than God. The more time we spend away from God, the more our lives will be affected and the more alone we will feel because God isn’t able to be there for us in His word.
So, to remove the snow off of tracks, trains need to be equipped with a plow that helps push it away, but when it is too deep for locomotives to plow, then railroads use on-track machinery, massive bulldozers and specialized cars that can move tons of snow at once. We need to equip ourselves with a plow, removing the things in our lives that are distracting us, and then let God use his bulldozer to clean up our hearts and minds, so we can once again have a clear path to follow him once again.
After doing this, we can once again enjoy the beauty of the snow all around us having found our joy in what really matters, our relationship with God.
Do you hear it?
The gentle rumble, the click-clack of the tracks, the metal gears grinding together, or the piercing whistle that clears the skies. As you watch from a platform full of people, you see it gradually getting closer, and your excitement flares for an unexpected adventure that is about to begin. You’re not thinking about anyone else who is standing near you, where they are going, how long they will be on the train, or even if this is their train. All you can think about is when you are leaving and what exciting things may happen along the way.
Traveling is always great fun, but I want to use this picture of a train and change it slightly.
What if you, or rather, your life was that train, and the rails that you will be running on are time? Makes it a little different right?
When you are born, your train leaves the rail yard. You just spent 9 months being put together and prepared for a lifelong journey. You only have your engine and the coal car as you pull out onto your very own track. It’s all shiny new, ready to be used and experienced. And it is those experiences that point you to your final destination.
Where are you going? What will you see? Will it be fun or dangerous? Who will you meet? When will the track end?
There are so many things that we don’t know when we start life, but as each year goes by and a new car is added to our train, we slowly learn and grow.
I want to take you on this great adventure with me. Each day, we will go through life experiences as we make our way down our track of time. Some will be hard, others will seem insignificant, but all are very important. It’s your choice. All I can say is…