Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This week we have been having quite a time sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. The seas have been rough, the skies dark and the rains unrelenting. So far our ship, The Seadog, has held together. But we have it on the word of the prophet that our ship is surely to run aground on some island. The word is that tonight is the night we hit the reefs of Malta and see our good ship broken to pieces. Of course we wonder what will become of us then. Yet - and this is the foolish hope we all cling to - the prisoner, Paul, says his God promises that none of us will perish if we stay on the ship until it runs aground. What foolishness rules us now, a prisoner leads us on the hope of a promise from his God. Will the God of Paul keep his word? Does Paul's God really have all authority over heaven and earth?
Such are the important questions of this year's Vacation Bible School where kids discover that Christ is Captain. Slowly the greatness and goodness of God is sinking into the minds and hearts of 23 children. Pray these seeds find good soil and that God would be glorified as children trust in Him!
Last night the Scripture lesson was one we all need to hear. It was about "Waiting" and "Escaping." After 14 nights hoping for land, the depth soundings began to show a shallowing of the sea - 120 feet then 90 feet. Land was near! This news generated excited fear. For the seas still roiled and the crew feared the good ship could hit a rock at any moment and bring death along with the foretold destruction. Some began making plans to get off the ship by using the lifeboat. Catching wind of their scheme, Paul insisted that no one would be saved if the crew didn't wait on the Lord, trust his Word and stay on the ship. The temptation to escape was strong so the centurion made a bold move. He called for the ropes holding the lifeboat to be cut. The crew watched the boat fall away into the sea.
Here we have a striking picture of the foolishness and the power of the Gospel. God calls us to throw aside every scheme we conjure and cling to on the hope we will make it through life...and death. He calls us to throw everything away until we only hope in Christ. As Paul said about what appeared to many the most productive years of his adult life, his years in Judaism: "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." The kids are learning this very lesson through Acts 27-28. We have been given all we need for life and death in Jesus alone. He alone has authority over heaven and earth so we can trust his Word.
Remember, the crew wasn't called to stay on the ship because it was a good tactic of seamanship. In a mighty storm, being driven hard over submerged rocks, staying aboard is not a good tactic. No, the crew was called to stay on the ship because through the foolishness of God they would be saved by God and God would again glorify his Son, "the God of the prisoner Paul," before these men. As Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives up what he can not keep to gain what he can never lose." Lord, give us ears to hear. Yours in Christ, John
Remember, the crew wasn't called to stay on the ship because it was a good tactic of seamanship. In a mighty storm, being driven hard over submerged rocks, staying aboard is not a good tactic. No, the crew was called to stay on the ship because through the foolishness of God they would be saved by God and God would again glorify his Son, "the God of the prisoner Paul," before these men. As Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives up what he can not keep to gain what he can never lose." Lord, give us ears to hear. Yours in Christ, John
0 comments:
Post a Comment