One trip down the liquid quarter-mile isn’t enough once you’ve taken a drag boat for a quick spin. Because, “On this trailer lies a disease for which there is no cure.” Most racers and fans get hooked with the first pass they experience. Racing can be addictive…the more you see it or do it, the more you want.

Racing of any kind is big business in this country. It’s said roughly eighty million people attend racing events every year. Drag boat racing may only capture a small part of the crowd, but it is a journey for a lifetime for many who love the sport.

Drag racing has led me on a journey for over fifty years. As I look back on my life and all the racing I’ve experienced, it’s literally been a journey for a lifetime. I’ve spent years enjoying the people who race and I’m blessed with thousands of friends who race or attend the races.

I’ve stored in the memory banks of my brain millions of pieces of information in the lives of untold numbers of people who have the same love I have for motorsports. One could say that I’ve just about seen it all in motorsports.

My journey has been a good one. My journey has taken me far around this country of ours, and over seas too. People in many forms of racing know me, and I never know who I may bump into anywhere Linda and I go.

With all the people that I know, it’s hard to remember everyone’s name after all these years. Many do remember me, but not always remembering my name. But, you can call me Jim, Jimmy, Jim Jack, chaplain, pastor, hey you, or any old name you like. But do you know what I like to be called the best? A Christian!

Christianity is a journey—not a destination. The two most important decisions in my life were (1) when I accepted Christ, (2) the day that I got married. We’ve been married over forty three years and have exchanged millions of words; made thousand’s of decisions, raised two children and journeyed with the same name.

Imagine how odd it would be for someone to assume that after they said their wedding vows there was nothing else they needed to do. That’s it. They felt they didn’t need to nurture their relationship any further.

Once people become Christians, many think that’s all they need (like paying the entry fee at the races), it’s over and done with. That’s worse than not nurturing your marriage. God wants all Christians to keep growing in “every” relationship. Salvation is only the first step in your journey for a lifetime.

The day I got saved I began saying “I’m a Christian,” and acting like it! God set me apart from my old life to begin a new chapter. I wasn’t ashamed to say I was a Christian the day I got saved.

God’s hand has been with me and His influence on my life has in turn influenced many racers to believe in, and turn to Christ. His message has reached out to the racing world, which was my god. My goal and purpose now is to encourage you to remain true to Christ with all of your heart.

In the book of Acts (chapter eleven), it speaks about Antioch, the third largest city in the Roman Empire with half a million people. It was an immoral and indecent place, yet multitudes accepted Christ; thus it became the birthplace of the Christian name.

Remember the first time you were called anything? How about a Christian? I do. It came from my own lips on February 3, 1988. The Spirit of God was already at work in me preparing me for a new adventure in life.

God called me a Christian with my own voice, a monumental turning point in my life. It was “the first day” of the rest of my (eternal) life. Revelation 3:12 says, “Write on him my new name” which becomes your new citizenship.

Like Barnabas and Saul in Antioch, God has clearly shown me my responsibilities: teaching, instructing, encouraging and loving all racers.. Remember, you will only go as far as you are willing to follow. Christianity launched world wide from Antioch, it was like the starting line of a racetrack.

For those who have trusted Christ, your motor is running. Being a Christian is not dull and lifeless. Christian lives should be spirit-filled, spontaneous and joyful, not burdensome and boring. As the enemy will use whatever it can to distract you from your journey with God.

Many people look everywhere except to God for excitement and meaning in life. Don’t wait to enjoy all that God has for you. Make an attempt to live the Christian life to the fullest, because you won’t make it any further than the effort you put out. It takes your effort, but God’s power. God doesn’t want you to drift spiritually through life—so grab it, take it, go with it!

When Jesus turned the water into wine it became the best wine. Life in Him is the best; better than any life on your own. The Wedding in Cana was a picture of a new beginning; the best marriage vows possible. Being a Christian is the best way to live your life regardless of whom, what, or where.

A committed Christian knows the value of God. A committed Christian realizes God is the prize, a real treasure. A committed Christian spares no expense to become all that God wants him or her to be.

Evidence of spiritual growth always gets God’s attention and approval. Winning a drag race doesn’t impress God. We must all be living examples of our faith—that’s what excites Him! Right living, right relationships, and right doctrine equals energetic Christian living.

Building a race boat takes time, so please take time to build your Christian life, too. Christians in Antioch weren’t ashamed; eternal life, courage, hope, and joy awaited them all. Believers should rejoice daily in their high and celestial calling. Christianity is the “ultimate high” that people in the world are always looking for.

Millions make decisions for Christ—but the attrition rate is the same as a nitro fueled engine. “With God all things are possible, with nitro anything is possible.” Heaven is a prepared place for prepared people. Maturity is a lengthy process that requires prolonged obedience. Life is like racing down a very long track, be patient all the way to the finish.

There must be evidence of growth and change in your journey. If you don’t grow, God won’t invest His truth in you. Faith in God always looks beyond the immediate to the eternal. Once you leave the starting line, you faithfully look ahead, not back.

Life is not the sum of who we are; instead it’s a matter of who we are becoming like. When God gives you a new name, it’s His responsibility to keep His promise. But it’s your responsibility to keep on acting and believing through your commitment.

There is no success for a racer or a Christian (or musician, or athlete, or businessman) without commitment. When you became a racer you became a racer by name and action. When you become a Christian you become a Christian by name and action, too.

Changed lives are powerful evidence for Christianity; the proof of God’s reality. If you haven’t trusted in Christ this is as close to heaven as you ever will get! A Christian is a person who bets his eternal life on Jesus Christ.

A Christian walks step-by-step, following, obeying, realizing the value, experiencing the power, and (thankfully) living the abundant life that God has given us! The ABC’s of life are Adventure Begins with Christ.

People without hope are people without a future, like some of today’s kids. “He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. Then I remembered what the Lord had said: John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God? When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, so then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life" (Acts 11:14-18).

When you walk with Christ, you’re not getting older, you’re getting better. Spiritual age doesn’t have the same effect as physical age.. A committed Christian is a spiritual merchant who doesn’t stop short of Christ as the treasure. So please “Choose this day who you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

“Do not think that as you grow in grace your path will become smoother and the sky calmer and clearer. Quite the contrary. As God gives you greater skill as a soldier of the cross, He will send you on more difficult missions. As He more fully equips your ship to sail in storms, He will send you on longer voyages to more boisterous seas, so that you may honor Him and increase in holy confidence.” (Spurgeon)

In today’s world, there is little enthusiasm for patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for the long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness. A holy journey is a happy journey. So plan on a lifetime of travel, and while you’re at it, be sure to enjoy the trip.