Communication & Instructions

I still remember the afternoon I got my private pilot's license. I landed the tiny Cessna 152 on the correct runway (without damaging either myself, the airframe or the FAA examiner onboard), tied down the wings and walked back to the tiny house that served as the airport's FBO (fixed base operator) office.

The examiner told me he couldn't find anything really wrong with my piloting, signed some official-looking forms and handed them to my instructor. Then my instructor presented me with my new license and said, "There's a new pilot in the world."

I was so excited & enthusiastic that day that I had zero hesitation about continuing to the next pilot skill level ... and earning the coveted Instrument Pilot Rating.

I borrowed a set of Instrument Pilot Rating videos from my instructor and plugged them into the VCR soon as I got home. But by 11 PM I began facing the awful realization that I was suddenly a beginner all over again ... with an amazing amount of information to grasp ... and pitifully in way over my skillset and experience.

---

Imagine you're flying alone at 9000 feet and turbulence has been knocking you silly for the past two hours. It's pitch black outside but a lightning flash suddenly reveals you've flown into a cloud bank so thick you can barely see the tips of your wing lights just ten feet away. Oh boy, you're ready to land and have this flight over with when the radio fills with static and crackles,

"Cessna November three-two-niner five, Atlanta Center. Turn left heading one four zero for traffic, cleared as filed direct to ATL. Descend to five thousand, cross FIQ at or above 4000 and continue to JAILS until established, left-hand holding pattern. Expect vectors to PUMIF. Hold and expect NDB backcourse approach Zebra runway two seven left. Squawk 123.5 Contact Hartsfield Approach one two four six. Have a good evening, sir .... oh, and keep your speed up on final."

Only it takes the air traffic controller lots less time to blast through that paragraph than it does for you to reach down and realize your pencil is broken, no kidding, but as an IFR-rated pilot you're expected to have your clearance nailed down on the first transmission. That's what IFR flying is all about, after all.

You did copy all that, right?

I hope so, because both your radios and navcoms just lit up like sparklers and filled the cockpit with the smell of burned bacon, leaving you completely incommunicado at six thousand feet, boring propeller holes through a solid cloud layer doing 130 mph and flying completely blind ... with the runway and all kinds of hungry trees, hillsides and power lines waiting down there to greet you.

November three two niner five, Atlanta Center. Acknowledge and confirm clearance, over.

That sounds so hard! Yikes, it's like they're talking a whole different language down here. Why can't somebody tell me what to do in plain "10-4 Good Buddy" English ... and make it seem easy instead?

---

I haven't had cable TV for the past two weeks and without The History or Discovery Channel available I checked in on Dr. Phil ... whose afternoon was jammed trying to put the adulterous pieces of a broken marriage back together again with sound, common sense good advice:

"It's going to come down to both of you asking yourselves, How bad do I want this marriage to work? Am I ready to communicate with my spouse and accept professional counseling? Am I willing to reach down deep inside and do whatever it takes to make this marriage work?"

Those instructions seem sincere, easy to understand and don't require lots of explanation. In a nutshell, all you and your spouse gotta do to heal what's broken is to Communicate and Really Want It... and Viola, your broken marriage will eventually sort itself out.

What's left out is that Communicating and Really Wanting It depends on a lifetime of perfection and failure-free success from the partner(s) who violated the marriage covenant in the first place. Communicating and pursuing "What I Want" as a priority is what led to one or both partners to have an adulterous affair in the first place.

That's the pitfall with Pop Psychology strategies and feel-good Self Help instructions: the hope of a quick and self-empowering fix, without repenting and trusting that God's power and righteousness is greater.

That's why Communicating and Really Wanting It sure sounds easier to remember and apply than putting ourselves aside to acknowledge, obey, trust and live according to God's commandments.


Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?

For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD,
and he examines all his paths.

The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;
the cords of his sin hold him fast.

He will die for lack of discipline,
led astray by his own great folly.

- Proverbs 5:20-23

Customer Service, or Disservice?

People don't much care to be criticized, not even when the words are spoken in love and with an honest heart. Just watch and see.

---

I stopped by the produce aisle at the grocery store this afternoon because I needed a green pepper. The store had 54 green peppers in the display. I know the number is 54 because I handled or turned over half of them and looked over all the rest.

But 20 minutes later when I left the store and walked home, I still didn't have a green pepper. Why not?

Without any doubt, it was the worst produce I'd ever seen: every pepper was either covered with a white dust that looked like dandruff (but was probably water mold), splotched with orange and brown patches that looked like bruises (but was probably bacteria) or had visible holes ... like bugs had bored their way inside.

I wanted to find a manager and ask him or her if they really expected customers to pay $2.99 a pound for produce that looked, in all seriousness, like it was unfit to eat. But I didn't.

I've become pragmatic in my old age and realize it doesn't matter if I was trying to be helpful: without the authority to start firing people on the spot, chances are the manager would just look at me and smirk, because he or she couldn't care less what I had to say.

Not because I'm just a customer, but because I'm just another customer, you see, and there'll be a hundred more like me walking through the store before closing time, and the only thing that makes me different is that none of them will gripe about the green peppers.

It's just a fact: the manager knows he's not going to lose his job and the chain's not going to go out of business because Joe Hall thinks their green peppers belong in the dumpster behind the store.

Now will that be paper, or plastic?

---

Walking back to my boat, green peppers covered with mold, bacteria and bugs got me thinking about churches.

And how, with everything the church has to offer out in the open and on display to everyone who walks through the door, the service so often becomes a disservice.

Good thing visitors can't fire church staff on the spot, right?

Amen.

--

Ever arrived 20 minutes early to visit a new church, glanced inside at the half-filled pews and then had an usher offer to help you find a seat?

I have and frankly, I never liked anybody telling me where to sit. But it could be that's one of my quirks and one of the church's ways of welcoming strangers into the sanctuary and helping visitors feel less awkward. And that's awesome.

It just never feels that way.

Instead it feels like the ushers have super secret special instructions, and their Job Priority Number One is wrangling visitors away from the pews where the regulars sit. Like Brother So-and-So.

See, you've got to understand Brother So-and-So's family bought the wood for that pew from Pharaoh himself, and Moses helped build it with his own hands. For the past 208,000 weeks since then somebody from Brother So-and-So's family has filled that pew every Sunday, and there's a gold pin waiting if Brother So-and-So can hold on and make it 210,000 Straight Sundays in a row.

So don't sit there, let's go see what's in the balcony instead. Oh, and next Sunday please comb your hair, get a coat and tie and wear some different shoes. If you wanna sit with the regular folks, that is.

Then again, that's probably just me. ;-)

---

I pretty much had to be dragged to church after hitting my teens, and soon as I left home for college I stopped going completely. I moved to Colorado after graduating and although a Baptist church just 4 blocks from my apartment I only went there one time, for Easter, because my mother asked me to.

Then in 2003 I became a member of a church that changed everything, and I mean everything literally and in the literal sense.

Instead of going once every 200 Sundays, I suddenly found myself wishing they had services every day of the week. No kidding, I dreaded 7:30pm on Sunday nights because it meant having to wait a whole week for Sunday morning to roll around again.

Wow, I wondered. Have I really changed that much that fast? What happened?

Was there that much difference in this church's green peppers? Or was the difference that at this church, "customers" really mattered, or that service was this church's top priority?

Hmmm.

---

Church has too often become focused on prioritizing its members and on glorifying each other in death.

Instead of prioritizing and preaching the gospel, praising God for what He's done by forgiving our sins and offering us eternal life.

Uh oh, I'm not sure John 3:16-17 will fit on one stained glass window. So put Brother So-and-So's name there instead.

---

Don't smirk at what I'm about to say, because I'm going to say it anyway and your smirking won't change what I've said.

If you're already smirking, could be that's because you're reading this like I'm just another customer, right? And there's thousands more people just like I was waiting to walk through your church's door. Right?

Or maybe they already walked through your door ... and have no intention of coming back:

If you've ever wondered why your church's membership has been stagnant or been falling away for the past 15 years, pick a name at random from the newspaper obituaries on Monday morning, drive to the listed church and attend that person's memorial service.

Chances are you'll be more welcomed, thanked by more people for coming, feel more involved and attentive during the service ... and most important, you'll hear a more powerful, relevant and memorable message than you will by picking a church at random from your city's phone book and attending its services every Sunday for the rest of the year.

Why have churches come to glorify death, instead of preaching the gospel and Christ's message of eternal life?

The answer explains why 60% of Americans won't be in church tomorrow. And why most of that 60% will wait until they're dead to show up for the first time.

As church customers in death, chances are that the funeral services will be solemn, reverent and done exactly the right way, with the men wearing ties and perfectly combed hair and the ladies in their best Sunday dresses and shoes. Because that's what church means and how service should be and what church is all about.

At least, some churches think so.

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

- Ephesians 5:19-21

We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ

- 2 Thessalonians 1:12

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves

- Colossians 1:11-13

Praying Big for Something Bigger: God's plan for my life

I've heard a few folks say that they want to do something big for God. I've heard more folks admit "I want to do something HUGE for God" but I've heard even more confess "I just don't know what it is."

In other words the destination seems clear as crystal in our minds ... but God's map looks a little fuzzy and hard to make out, especially the crowded, busy part in the middle, the part with the little circle at the end of the red arrow that reads "You Are Here."

---

"I want to do something BIG for God" ... but how many of us are expecting to be looked up to and worshiped, adored as "success stories," admired as role models ... and copied or imitated in Heaven?

---

I don't know God's comprehensive plan for my life, but I'm trying to submit to and obey His will. That's not extreme; that's not going over the edge and that's not going off the religious deep end. That's not even crawling. It's just as big and as far as I can go on my own.

I don't know the plan, the destination or the means ... and I don't need to.

But praying and realizing "May every word I say and every thing I do, may every decision I make and every step I take be to Your glory, that people around me believe You sent your son Jesus into the world" ... now that's BIG and something worth praying for.

It also sounds like a good start to following God's plan for my life.

Seeking The Father in Prayer

This is one of those passages I can't read, much less read out loud, without fighting back tears. Seriously.

It's John's account of Christ raising his friend Lazarus from the grave:

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Wow.

Back in John 1:1-6, we learn that Lazarus is Jesus' friend and that Lazarus was the brother of Mary (this was perfume Mary, not Christ's mother) and Martha.

We also find out that Jesus already knows that Lazarus' sickness will not result in death.

In Verse 8 we're reminded that there's more than a few folks in Bethany eager to stone Jesus to death. Verse 11 relates Christ telling his disciples he's going back to Bethany "to wake him up" and Verses 14-15 reveal exactly what Jesus intends to do.

There's a little kicker in Verse 16, which describes how most of us would've reacted if we'd been standing beside Christ in the moment, listening to God's Son sharing His plan and imperiling our lives to preach the gospel.

---

Christ hears Mary's scolding in Verse 32 and witnessed the peoples' doubts in Verse 33. We see his reaction in Verse 35.

Then things start happening fast.

Christ commands them to take away the stone from Lazarus' tomb, looks up and prays, Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

And Lazarus, four days in the tomb, came out.

Christ never had any doubt.

---

Maybe seeking God in prayer to ask for material things, successful outcomes, personal advantages or painless deliveries from our problems is a habit we embrace without realizing that giving us what we want might not at all be what prayer is all about.

What strikes me about Christ's prayer is that the thing He's expecting to happen is huge; the prayer itself is short (especially compared to the blessings we recite before dinner); He thanks God for hearing Him; Christ is praying not to receive anything for Himself or for His benefit.

But the big thing is this: Jesus never even asks God to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead. (Isn't it strange how we tell God in our prayers exactly what we want, and forget that He already knows exactly what we need?)

And so with sinners, skeptics, critics and doubters standing around watching to see if He'd fail, what did Jesus pray for?

He prayed that they may believe that you sent me.

---

Did Jesus wrap up his prayer with an "Amen," shrug, scratch his head and start rushing away to beat the after-church crowd at Canaan's Cafe? Did he drop a $5 bill in the offering plate & promise to start tithing, pledge to stop looking at porn, agree to stop swearing, stop telling dirty jokes and to start going to tabernacle three times a week or promise to "start living right if God would just do this one thing?"

Well, that prayer was so short it sure looks like Jesus didn't pray the right way ... the way we pray ... offering to make God a deal and sincerely promising to give up stuff we like to get something we want in return and adding a bunch of Thee's and Thou's in the middle to make our prayers sound convicted, reverent, righteous and holy.

So without all the details, extras, religious wrappers and add-ons, what makes us think God was even listening?

Because Scripture tells us the Father heard His Son's prayer, and Lazarus came out of the grave.



And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

- John 14:13

Heat Wave

Don't miss today's service. There's two more chances today to watch the message live and online at 11:15am and 6PM EST:

NewSpring Live

"It's no big deal. It's just a tiny little sin."

You've heard people use arguments like that to justify themselves.

"It's no big deal. It's just a little sin. It's up to each person to decide whether it's sinning or not."

Here's the problem with those mind-sets:

Christ dying naked on the cross for our sins was a big deal.

Jesus wasn't flogged and crucified just a little bit.

God didn't raise Jesus from the dead to give each person His blessing to pick and choose what's sinful and what is not.

Plain Sense About Common Sense

(blog lite)

I've never been accused of having common sense, not one time in my life. To some people it makes sense to have common sense, but having common sense never made much sense to me.

Common Sense refers to a person's practical judgment apart from any special training, education or skill. In other words, you can't teach a person to have common sense if they don't already have it.

That makes sense to me, but folks who value having Common Sense can easily lose patience and become exasperated with folks who can't learn to have Common Sense. From their perspective it makes no sense to lack Common Sense and so it makes good sense to explain things in a way that makes the most sense.

Folks with common sense try to teach others common sense by relying on common expressions that make plain sense, including obvious truths like "A pound of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and basic principles like "Look before you leap" and "Better safe than sorry."

Does it make sense to keep trying to teach someone to have Common Sense when by definition, Common Sense is an innate sense of judgment existing apart from what's been learned?

What makes even less sense is why so much of what we commonly say and trust to be true makes so little sense.

:-)

Nothing ventured nothing gained vs. Look before you leap

If it ain't broke don't fix it vs. An ounce of prevention's worth a pound of cure

Don't cross the bridge until you come to it vs Don't put off til tomorrow what you can do today

Clothes make the man vs Don't judge a book by its cover

The pen is mightier than the sword vs Actions speak louder than words

A rolling stone gathers no moss vs Better safe than sorry

Paddle your own canoe vs Two heads are better than one

Silence is golden vs The squeaking wheel gets the grease

You can't teach an old dog new tricks vs You're never too old to learn

If at first you don't succeed try try again vs Don't beat your head against a brick wall

He who hesitates is lost vs Look before you leap

Out of sight, out of mind vs Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Hitch your wagon to a star vs Don't bite off more than you can chew

"Sometimes I'd rather be a dog"???

- from 6/12/2010

Mr Vining was my Sunday School teacher when I was 12 years old. Mr Vining made Sunday School interesting (he described folks in the Old Testament riding around on "Camel-lacs") and something to look forward to. When the time came to move on to a different class at the end of the year, I didn't wanna.

Mr Vining, who worked for a well-known electronics company, was also a big part of the church's Audio/Visual department. I'm not sure it was even called the A/V Department back then, but someone had to handle the service's sound reinforcement (not PA) system and make tape recordings for shut-ins. I spent lots of Sunday mornings watching how things worked.

Mr Vining always seemed happy and had a great, entertaining sense of humor. But one Sunday morning in the choir room where the big A/V gear cabinet was installed, something seemed different. Even Mr Farmer, the man who adjusted mixer knobs before and after choir solos, noticed and eventually asked Mr Vining what was wrong.

Mr Vining said, "When I was driving to church this morning I saw a dog trotting down the sidewalk. He was a stray ... but he was prancing along like he didn't have a care in the world.

"It got me to thinking, that dog wasn't worried what he looked like.

"He doesn't know where his next meal's coming from and he wasn't worrying about how he's going to pay his bills. He doesn't have a home or know where he's spending the night, or whether he'll even be alive tomorrow.

"But that poor mangy dog just kept trotting along, happy as can be."

Mr Vining raised his hands up to his chin, like paws, and made happy panting sounds as he looked back and forth across the room. It was easy imagining the dog just as he described it. Then he looked at us and said,

"And all the time you hear people cry, worry and complain 'But I don't have anything.'"

---

Of course people aren't dogs, but don't lose the point.

Because we were created in God's image the Father gave us an awareness of Self that's not shared with the animal kingdom. Our unique sense of Self is how we know "I exist" and why we're able to make personal choices and informed decisions.

But it's that sense of Self ... combined with trying to please Self by putting I and What I Want ahead of God's will ... that leads us away from God and into sin.

Because sin's promises are empty, we get frustrated and remain preoccupied with expecting more ... instead of thanking and praising God for what we already have.

And I'm not just barking about material stuff.

---

God gave us free will, but living as though that freedom entitles us to make sinful choices defies His authority and is abhorrent to Him.

Every one of us makes choices every day, and yet we have such a hard time figuring out why the consequences of our choices so often leave us confused, depressed, bitter, angry and empty ... and sometimes wishing we could swap places with that carefree dog prancing its way down life's sidewalk ... without a worry in the world.

Guess what.

We have only our Selves to look to and hold accountable for the consequences of letting Pleasing Me become more important than loving, honoring, worshiping and obeying the Creator.

Jesus Conquered the Grave!

The hope of nations

Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
Forever, author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

Shine your light and let the whole world see
For the glory of the risen King!

Yikes

Over the past couple of years I've been shocked ... no, horrified at some of the things I've heard people in "monogamous committed long term romantic relationships" say to or about each other.

Things that, frankly, sounded contemptuous to me and exactly the same as insults. Things like,

"Are you stupid? What were you thinking?!"
"That's such a bad idea I can't believe you're considering it"
"If it wasn't for me who'd want to marry you?"
"I'm not going to bring up the baggage in your life"

Of course those are on top of tired old standbys like:

"You'll always be incapable of meeting my needs"
"What's wrong with you?"
"We can get married and if it doesn't work out after a year then we'll just get a divorce."

Wow.

One question is, Are those the kind of things people in love say to each other?

Question two is, What does contempt, wrath and insults have to do with love, commitment and glorifying God?

Is it hard to love, honor and stay committed in marriage when we've been forewarned that a prospective mate either ignores or completely denies Christ and keeps proving that his/her Self is Life Priority Number One?

---

Going to church at Easter and on Christmas Eve isn't the same as surrendering to, obeying and following Christ.

The rate of divorce among non-denominational couples in the US is 34%
The current US divorce rate for couples under 30 is a staggering 72.8%
The national percentage of divorces for Baptists is 29%
The national percentage of divorces for "Mainline Protestants" is 25%
- source



But wait, there's more:

"While it may be alarming to discover that born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that pattern has been in place for quite some time.

Even more disturbing, perhaps, is that when those individuals experience a divorce many of them feel their community of faith provides rejection rather than support and healing. But the research also raises questions regarding the effectiveness of how churches minister to families.

The ultimate responsibility for a marriage belongs to the husband and wife, but the high incidence of divorce within the Christian community challenges the idea that churches provide truly practical and life-changing support for marriages."
- George Barna, Barna Research Group


Yikes.

The tithe that binds

I sometimes wonder if tithing might be the most difficult task most believers face over the course of the month.

The temptation to "Do it tomorrow," "Wait and see what happens" or to worry "But how much will that leave me?" can be hard to ignore.

Then something occurred to me, and I got a little perspective.

If I withheld one week of my tithe ... meaning God's ten percent ... let's say to spend going out on a date instead, the amount of money I'd stolen would barely be enough to buy two movie tickets, two large popcorns and two large Diet Cokes. And that's 10 percent of gross. So is robbing God worth it to see a movie?

Your figures will be different but the point's exactly the same: Ten percent is still ten percent.

Here's what I've found out. Paying God first squashes the temptation to avoid paying God at all.

Abby is Fine!

- from http://www.abbysunderland.com/

ABBY IS FINE!

We have just heard from the Australian Search and Rescue. The plane arrived on the scene moments ago. Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down. The weather conditions are abating. Radio communication was made and Abby reports that she is fine!

We don't know much else right now. The French fishing vessel that was diverted to her location will be there in a little over 24 hours. Where they will take her or how long it will take we don't know.

More updates as news comes in.

Laurence & Marianne

Posted by Abby Sunderland on June 10, 2010 at 11:27 PM

About the boat:

Team Abby has chosen the Open 40 sailboat as the vessel of choice for Abby's solo, non-stop circumnavigation. The Open 40 was specifically designed for single-handed sailing in the Southern Ocean. It has the benefit of both speed and safety necessary to navigate the conditions Abby will experience in the Southern Ocean.

VESSEL PARTICULARS:

Name: WILD EYES

Designer: Jutson Yacht design, Australia

Builder: A.S.A. Yachts PTY, Australia

Model: Open 40, solo

Built: 2001

LOA: 40' / 12.19m

Beam: 11.21' / 3.41m

Displacement: 7407 lbs. / 3360 Kg.

Ballast: 2094 lbs / 950 Kg.

Tonnage: 16 Gross, 15 Net

Engines: Yanmar - 18hp

HULL, DECK and CABIN
E Glass with Kevlar reinforcement built to IMOCA standards
5 Watertight Compartments with Stern Escape Hatch and Crash Bulkead
Port and Starboard 750 liter Water Ballast Tanks
Keel Trim Tab for Upwind Optimization
Fixed Keel Strut with T Bulb
Galley to Starboard with Propane Stove with Burner, Stainless Steel Sink, Ice Box

MAST and RIGGING
Carbon Spar, Triple Spreader, Stainless Rod Rigging, Jack Mast Stepping System
Anderson Winches
Fredericksen Turning and Fairlead Blocks
Spinlock Clutchs
ProFurl Roller Furling System for Genoas and Staysails
Lazy Jacks

ELECTRONICS
Full Centerline Amidship Navigation Suites with Full Compliment of Electronics for Trans Oceanic Sailing
12 Volt DC and 110 Volt AC Electrical Systems
Battery Parallel Switch
3 Batteries
Inverter
Solar Panels
Two Wind Generators
Two Coursemaster CM850i Hydraulic Autopilots with remote
Deck Mounted and Below Deck Repeaters and Control Heads (includes remote)
Built in Computer Monitor and CPU in Navigation Suite
Raytheon Radar and Chart Plotter
Thrane & Thrane Sailor 250
Permanent SAT Phone Antenna
2 Below Deck Rudder Mounted Hydraulic Auto Pilots (CourseMaster)
Control Heads (with windvane mode)
Fully Integrated with GPS
ICOM M710 SSB Radion and Antenna
Horizon Intrepid VHF and Handheld VHF
Energy Monitor and Controller
BilgAlarm, BA4R-4W, Four Sensor Bilge Alarm System

SAILS
2010 UK Halsey Spectra/Carbon Tape Drive with double-sided taffeta Main
2010 UK Halsey Spectra/Carbon Tape Drive with double-sided taffeta Genoa
Code 0
Storm Jib
2010 UK Halsey Spectra/Carbon Tape Drive with double-sided taffeta Stay Sail
All with Individual Custom Socks

MISCELLANEOUS
Custom Carbon Emergency Rudder and Tiller Cassette
Custom Cradle
Pressure Fresh Water
Hand Held Shower
Diesel Heater
Two Anchors and rode / chain
2 Fresh Water Tanks

"Hey, speed it up! I'm in a hurry back here!"

No point mentioning the name but as I've said here before, the grocery store across the street must have the most agonizingly slow service of any retail establishment on the planet.

No kidding, it's just that bad.

Most every time, it takes longer to get through the checkout line and pay the cashier than it does to walk to the store and back from my boat. The problem isn't the cashiers: it's the customers.

It's the customers who've forgotten they'll have to pay for their groceries and then spend fifteen minutes counting change from their pockets or purses to find the exact amount down to the penny.

It's the customers who need 10 minutes figuring out how to swipe their debit card through the machine, and then can't remember their PIN.

It's the customers who think it's cute teaching their 18-month old how to punch in the PIN.

It's the customers who want to pay using an out of town third-party check, without having any form of ID

It's the customers trying to pay with expired coupons who argue with the cashier for five minutes and then insist on talking to the manager.

It's the customers who don't like the way their groceries were bagged and so must remove, re-sort and re-bag each item three more times while exchanging recipes with the cashier.

Seems like everybody's in a hell-bent hurry, at least until it's their turn to pay and get out of the store.

The President doesn't seem in much of a hurry to appoint me to the cabinet as his Supermarket Checkout Czar, either. So until then I try not to worry too much about it.

But sometimes it's a struggle.

--

As I was climbing into bed last night I started thinking about how much hurrying and impatience has become part of our lives. We expect, no ... we demand that the time we spend waiting be kept to an absolute minimum because we're in a hurry and can't wait to get going so we can start standing in the next line for the next thing.

There's an old saying, "Where do you keep all the time you've been saving?"

It made me wonder whether, after spending 40 days fasting in the desert, Jesus had gone running into town for a meal and then complained about the service taking too long.

It made me think about John 11 and why Jesus didn't rush back to Bethany to heal his sick friend Lazarus.

It made me think about Christ on the road to Golgotha, carrying his cross to the place where he'd be crucified, and how much of a hurry he'd been in to get there.

Jesus didn't make his own schedules or set his own deadlines. As in all things, Christ was following God's will.

Funny how we'll be in a desperate hurry and become irate ... to the point of compromising our witness ... when the goal is nothing more important than satisfying ourselves in the moment ... getting our food, getting to our destination, getting our turn in line and getting the thing we want ... soon as we feel something or someone else is preventing us from getting what we want, when we want it.

It's even stranger that I've never seen anybody get impatient or start yelling because they're in a hurry to make time to thank God for all the blessings they've already received.

Feeling impatient?

As believers sometimes we might find ourselves feeling a little bit frustrated and impatient.

- "Lord, where do you want me to be?"
- "Lord, when will I meet and marry the person you intended?"
- "Lord, when will you tell me my true purpose in life?"


It's important to remember that in surrendering to and obeying Jesus, we become like slaves of Christ. Which means we submit to God's timetable and trust His schedule.

Not vice-versa.

Betting Odds

Gambling is a sin (not because Roman soldiers cast lots for Christ's clothes, but because gambling is an attempt to reward ourselves apart from God's sovereignty).

It's easy to recognize gambling when slot machines, lottery tickets or football pools are involved. It gets a little harder when the wagering takes place at home (and I'm not talking about online casinos or sports books).

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Here's some odds:

Of the tens of millions of married men living in the US who identify themselves as Christians, not one will wake up tomorrow morning promising God, "By noon today I'll have willingly taken the first step toward denying Christ by ruining my life with financial debt, adultery or substance abuse and not one person will be adversely affected by my decision."

Of the tens of millions of married women living in the US who identify themselves as Christians, not one will walk out of church next Sunday morning thinking, "My walk with Christ will be enhanced and my emotional life will be fulfilled by having an adulterous affair, by becoming a prescription drug addict or by gossiping about that woman who has the gall to show her face at my church."

Of the millions of single Christian men living in the US, not one will fall asleep tonight praying to God, "Please make me a porn addict and expose me to the ridicule of family and friends, that they may see your righteousness in me."

And of the millions of single Christian women living in the US, not one will show up at a party (or a date) next Friday night having prayed, "Lord, help me share my faith with others by smoking pot, doing shots, losing control and waking up the next day with no idea who I've had sex with."

So how do those things happen? Sin happens when we live as though we're betting that it won't.

Given the odds on that wager, we're guaranteed to lose every time.

"I don't mind going once in a while and think church is OK up to a point, but life's too short and I don't want to miss out or deny myself anything."

When people say things like that, it's usually accompanied by a grin ... a smile that's uncomfortably sincere.

It's estimated only 10-30% of what we express is communicated verbally, so in this case it's the smile that's communicating the commitment and devotion being expressed:

I have time for premarital sexual adventures, but not time to pursue the joy of walking with Christ, following His will or knowing Him

I have time to put my priorities ahead of God's, but not time to worship and surrender to the Creator

I have time to swear, curse, judge, hate and ridicule others, but not time to be Christ-like and Holy

I have time to express my outrage, indignation and political opinions, but not time to share my witness and testify to the peace and mercy of the living Christ

I have time to rationalize my sins, but not time to repent and walk away from my old life

I have time to shop for and buy the things I want, but not time to tithe and thank God for his grace and mercy with an offering ... much less a sacrifice

I have time to obsess about my job and my career success, but not a minute to spare working for God's Kingdom

I have time to fantasize about becoming rich, but not time to be generous or help the impoverished

I have time to be obedient to the world, but not time to read and obey God's Word

I have time to lie to my friends, cheat on my spouse and steal from my employer, but not time to hear the Holy Spirit, repent and beg God for forgiveness

I have time to indulge and entertain myself, but not time to seek God's will through Scripture, in prayer, or by asking the counsel of righteous believers

I have time for me, but not for God

I have time for my life, but not for eternal life




O LORD, by your hand save me from such men,
from men of this world whose reward is in this life.
You still the hunger of those you cherish;
their sons have plenty,
and they store up wealth for their children.
- Psalm 17:14


You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
- John 5:38-40


For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
- Mark 8:25


Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
- John 17:3


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
- Philippians 3:8

"What's the President going to do about the crisis in Louisiana?"

More than 1,796,830 unsaved people live in Louisiana ... and looking for solutions from the White House won't stop the flow of people in The Magnolia State who'll live out their lives in sin and die without knowing Christ.

Government has a different agenda; it believes plugging that hole in the gulf is more important.

Looking at Love

Came down with a sore throat yesterday morning and by mid-afternoon I was stretched flat on back with body aches, chills and a self-diagnosis that I'd been tetched by something heinous.

The symptoms got worse today, leaving me feeling like I'd stayed up for a week and then been pushed backward off a two story building. With nausea. Around 1:30PM I finally turned off my phone, slid the little curtains over the hatches to make the cabin dark and tried taking a nap.

I never did fall asleep; I started thinking about the crucifixion instead ... and how, knowing the terrible pain and agony that lay ahead, Christ ended his prayer in Gethsemane telling his Father "May your will be done." (Matthew 26:42)

Then something hit me: Christ was willing to be crucified and die such a horrific death in our place because he loved us in just the same way that God loved him. Dying in our place not only revealed, but proved, how much Jesus loved us.

Sure, you might be thinking, we already knew that. But what's it got to do with you and with me?


Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.

- Deuteronomy 11:1

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I tried to imagine the priorities Jesus had in life ... did he place importance on becoming wealthy or focus on being a bigshot and having lots of influential friends in the Sanhedrin? Did Christ adhere to the commandments and worship his Father on the Sabbath but then turn his back on God, gawk at women, tell off-color jokes, lie to his customers and curse his subordinates at the carpentry shop ... worshiping his own priorities and agenda during the week?

No. We know Christ did none of those things (even though some of us feel we're entitled to, despite Christ's example).

Because Christ was entirely divine it's hard for us to remember that Jesus was also 100% human and that he faced exactly the same temptations as thee and me face every day. Yet Scripture tells us that Christ lived without sin. How is that even possible?

--

Christ came to earth to save us from our sins that we may have eternal life in Him, but I don't believe for a picosecond that Jesus' Number One priority was creating a bunch of rules, regulations, rituals and procedures to keep people from sinning.

(I say this because if rules, regulations and restrictions saved us from sin, then we wouldn't need Christ. And also because unlike the Commandments, rules, regulations, rituals and procedures are 100% man-made.)

I do believe that Christ had just one priority (and that it wasn't wearing the right sandals or the most expensive cloak to synagogue, riding the nicest donkey around town or insisting that synagogues read only from Scroll 33B "The King David Version"): Christ's Number One Priority was loving God with all his heart, all his mind, all his soul and with all his strength ... all the time.

That's how Christ was able to live without sin: because he loved God in just the same way God loved him. Perfectly. That's why Jesus willingly died for our sins ... He loved us just as God loves us. To paraphrase, God's love is contagious. It grows in those who love Him. God's love moves mountains, forgives sin, raises the dead and promises eternal life. God's love is unstoppable.

Loving God as he loves us... not trying to outdo each other by piling on religious rules, tedious traditions and "just in case" restrictions ... is the answer to sin. But love doesn't stop there.

Christ commanded us to love one another.

Not to worship our religious smugness, our self-righteousness or our pious reverence. Neither did Christ command us or say it's OK to argue, bicker, provoke, ridicule, gossip, mock, scorn, judge, humiliate or condemn one another any time it suits us because all those things are fun, entertaining and do no harm.

God is Love.





One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

- Mark 12:28-30


A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

- John 13:34-36



If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

- 1 John 4:15-17