Many travelers today use a “GPS” to help them reach their destination.  GPS stands for “Global Positioning System.”  According to the Garmin Company website, “The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the 1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use.”

The Garmin Company also gives an explanation of how the GPS works: “GPS satellites circle the earth twice a day in a very precise orbit and transmit signal information to earth. GPS receivers take this information and use triangulation to calculate the user’s exact location. Essentially, the GPS receiver compares the time a signal was transmitted by a satellite with the time it was received. The time difference tells the GPS receiver how far away the satellite is. Now, with distance measurements from a few more satellites, the receiver can determine the user’s position and display it on the unit’s electronic map.” *

Isn’t it fascinating how satellites “in the heavens” are used to determine our location on Earth and gives guidance as to travel routes that we can use to reach particular areas!

Yet, the use of the GPS illustrates the fact that we ALL need guidance from Heaven above!  Long ago, the prophet Jeremiah exclaimed: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (10:23).

What you and I need is “God’s Positioning System”  For God knows where we are, where we need to be, and how to get there.  As we consult the divine GPS (God’s Word, Psalm 119:105), we can answer the following questions:

Where are we?  We are “in Sin.”  Due to our wrong choices, we are guilty of sin (James 1:13-15).  Due to our sins, we are lost and doomed, for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Where do we need to be?  We need to be “in Christ.”  In Christ, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).  Those “in Christ” can look forward to living eternally with God in heaven (Romans 6:23).

How do we get there?  We “get there” in and through Christ.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  One who puts his trust in Christ (Acts 16:30-31), turns from his sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), and confesses Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and is baptized (immersed) for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) is placed by God “in Christ” (Galatians 3:26-27).  Then, as long as one remains faithful to Christ, the promise is that one day – by the grace of God – he will enter into heaven (1 John 1:7; Revelation 2:10).

According to “God’s Positioning System” – the divine GPS, where are YOU?

Won’t YOU submit your life to Christ so that you can be found in Him and on your way to heaven? (Philippians 3:9)

— David A. Sargent