Is Jesus In Your Canoe?

Prayer and praise are the oars by which a man may row his boat into the deep waters of the knowledge of Christ.  Charles Spurgeon

When was the last time you considered letting Jesus in your canoe? So you are rowing through life planning everything just how you think it should go and BAM!  Life happens.  Have you noticed how we have a tendency to want to do everything on our own?  We think we know what is best for us so we barge ahead without a thought to the consequences. 

One of the things that happens is we forget to ask Jesus to get in our canoe.  He is the first one we should look to for navigation. 

When I was in college a large group of family and friends would get together on a Saturday to go canoeing on the Calcasieu River.  We would pack food and drinks and drive to the location to rent our canoe.  I don’t remember exactly how many miles we would go but there were sand bars all along the river where you could stop along the way and eat or swim. 

It was kind of interesting how we always went with an even number of people.  Why?  It was much easier and less tiring if you had two people rowing.  One person was the main paddler and the other steered.  The currents on the river could pull you in the wrong direction quickly, so the person in the back of the canoe could steer you out of danger while the one in the front would keep your forward momentum going. 

We should do the same thing when it comes to navigating the rough waters of daily life.  We need to keep our momentum going forward but we need a guidance system in the back of our canoe. 

Remember Jesus getting into the boat with the disciples and telling them to throw out their nets.  When they threw out their nets they didn’t catch fish because of their great skill as fisherman, or because the tide was just right or there just happened to be a school of fish on that side of the boat.  They caught fish because Jesus was in the boat.  Let go and let Him be your navigator through rough waters.  He is the One who can get you through any storm.      

Prayer for the Day: Jesus, the first One I need in my canoe is You.  I don’t need to think twice about who I would choose to steer my life through troubling times.  I want You to be my navigator.  The One who points me in the right direction and all I need to do is keep paddling.       

Scripture:  Four Fishermen Called as Disciples

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  Luke 5:4-11

If We Were All Blind

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:13-14

Have you noticed that God has a way of getting our attention when we are at our worst?  I am ashamed to admit this, but this reached out and got my attention so I thought I would share it with you. 

I read a lot of random things so if something crosses my desk like magazines or flyers I will often stop and read them because I have something inside me that thirsts for knowledge.  I was at work on Friday and an electrical co-op magazine was in my mail.  I will normally read through them because they will often have articles about local people or recipes sent in by customers. 

So I open this magazine and there is a picture of a gentleman at the top of this article. I looked at the picture of this gentleman and immediately made an assumption.  This man wasn’t handsome by the world’s standards and they showed a photo of him standing by his truck with the article printed below.  The photo didn’t show disfiguring scars. The title of the article was “Never Let a Good SCAR Go to Waste”. 

Before I read the article I had a totally unloving thought so here is my ashamed part.  When I first looked at the photo, the shallow thought ran through my head about how this photo was not the typical picture they normally put in articles.  Then I read the title and I was drawn into the story.

This gentleman is a Vietnam vet who was injured and burned when a smoke grenade went off near his head.  He yearned to be a minister but instead enlisted in the Navy.  He had an aptitude for weapons and became a Brown Water Black Beret which was an elite riverboat flotilla that patrolled the winding rivers of Southeast Asia.  He was a 21 year old newlywed when he went to war.  When the grenade went off it incinerated his ear, hair and parts of his scalp.  It scarred his face, he lost his right eye and eyelid, split his right hand in half and tore a hole in his chest. 

In the field hospital where he was treated he saw other badly wounded men whose wives recoiled at the sight of their husbands.  As he lay there he weighed his options and decided he wanted out so he pulled out the intravenous tubes and waited to die. When his wife Brenda came to see him she didn’t recoil from his injuries.  He apologized to her that he would never be good-looking again.  She replied, “You never were that good-looking.” They are still together today. 

He took this horrifying experience and turned it into a ministry.  When September 11, 2001 happened, he saw a new generation of young men and women coming back from war broken.  He stated it best when he said, “I felt my life had meaning again.  God took the experience of my life and gave me a purpose.  Never let a good scar go to waste.”  He now runs two ranches where war veterans can go called Operation Warrior Reconnect.  Most of the vets have traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress.  He uses his experience to help others.

What did I learn from this article?  In a world where beauty his highly valued, we would all be better off being born blind.  If I never had the influence of seeing what the world believes to be beautiful, I would not make an instant assumption about another human being.  I would not know the difference between a person’s skin color or what the world thinks is beautiful.  Each person I would meet would be beautiful and I would see them from the heart not my eyes. 

Yesterday I was working on my computer and I went on Bible Gateway to look up a scripture.  The scripture of the day was the following:

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God spoke to me and I was listening.  The Lord doesn’t see us as we see each other.  He looks at our heart.  When I looked back at this gentleman, I saw a different man.  Not because he was any different on the outside but because I am different on the inside.  I now look at his picture and see him the way God sees him. This gentleman is beautiful in my eyes.  I plan to pray for his ministry because it is sorely needed.  God bless our troops who serve so that we can be free.  

     

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was immediately ashamed of myself when I looked at the photo in the magazine and then read the story about this gentleman. You showed me how shallow I can be and I want to be different.  Help me to see others as you do.  When I look at others I want to see their heart, not what is on the outside.  Help me to not let the world influence how I see others.  I miss the beauty of the person if I focus on the outside.   

  

Scripture: Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.  1 Peter 3:3-4

A Living Sacrifice

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  1 John 4:10

What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?  When I think of the word sacrifice my thoughts turn to the Old Testament.  The people of that time offered animal sacrifices for the atonement of sin.  How then does one become a living sacrifice?

When we become a living sacrifice we turn away from worldly things that can distract us from our heavenly Father.  If we are to be a living sacrifice we must not be conformed to the world.  It means just because the world says something is ok, we often must refuse the very thing the world offers.  This is not an easy thing to do.  How many times have you watched something on TV or watched a movie knowing that it is not beneficial to the renewing of your mind?

  

When I think of Jesus’ time on earth his whole purpose was to be a living sacrifice.  He didn’t turn away from the sinners of the world.  He continuously turned to God for the renewing of His mind.  When He was tempted by Satan in the desert He fought back with scripture.  His final purpose was to be a dying sacrifice so that we might live. 

The scripture tells us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  What does it mean by “your reasonable service”?  When we fully understand what Jesus sacrifice means, it is not unreasonable to think that we would give our bodies as a living sacrifice in service to God during our time on earth for the extreme sacrifice He gave by sending His son to die on a cross for our sins. 

Spend time renewing your mind in God’s Word and you will be transformed. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I want to be a living sacrifice.  If I am too busy chasing after things of this world, I will not have time to focus on what is of great importance to You.  When I spend time in Your Word renewing my mind, I will be transformed. Help me to mediate on You when things of this world distract me.

Scripture: Living Sacrifices to God

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  Romans 12:1-2

Don’t Delay the Pain

God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain.  C.S. Lewis

I was reading Builder Magazine yesterday and there was an article by its Editorial Director John McManus.  In the article he spoke about the housing industry but the statement that struck me was this: “When we mess with things and try to “fix” them when they don’t work the way we want them to, we don’t prevent pain – we only delay it.   And, by messing with it and delaying it, we only make it worse.”

I started thinking about how we do this very thing.  Instead of depending on God to see us through the pain, we mess with it and try to “fix” it.  So in reality we delay the very thing God has allowed to happen for our own good. 

If we look at this from a physical therapy standpoint, the physical therapist doesn’t tell you to stay motionless.  If we stay motionless the muscle will “atrophy” or waste away.  The therapist will get you up and get you moving.  That moving of your body will bring pain but the result is you may be able to walk again.  The pain is worth the effort.

When we apply this to our Christian life it may go like this. We want to avoid pain at all cost.  So what do we do?  We deny it, ignore it and go around it.  Anything to avoid what we know will be painful.  The best lessons I ever learned in this life were when I was in the midst of my pain.  God didn’t create pain to punish us.  He created it to help us become stronger.   If I delay the pain, I am circumventing what God wants to teach me. 

One of the best examples of this in the Bible is Peter.  Remember when Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times.  Jesus knew that Peter would fail yet Peter said that he would die for Jesus.  Immediately following this denial, Peter wept bitterly because he knew he had failed Jesus.  But that wasn’t the end of the story.  Peter later would suffer through many trials and great pain, but that one denial was the best lesson he would ever have in life.  He later wrote some of the best scripture about life that we can still follow today.  How many people gave their lives to Christ because of the results from Peter’s greatest pain?  We will never know, but it is an example we can follow daily.  Don’t delay the pain.  Grab God by the hand and walk through it.  Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, when I suffer pain it draws me closer to You.  I am human and weak and I know I need Your strength to get me through the pain of life. You never promised life would be easy.  If pain draws me closer to You, then I am thankful for it.  One day there will be a place in heaven where there will be no pain.  I look forward to that day and that beautiful place.  

         

Scripture: Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”

Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”

But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”

And they all said likewise. Mark 14:27-31

 

Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps

Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came. And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”

But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.

And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.”  But he denied it again.

And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”

 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”

A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.  Mark 14:66-72

A Whale & A Tree

It is possible to miss God's perfect will for our lives through carelessness or disobedience.  Zac Poonen

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is about Jonah.  If there was ever someone who didn’t want to do what God asked him to it would be Jonah.  Remember how God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and instead Jonah ran in the opposite direction.  He even went so far as to catch a boat to another city.  When God saw Jonah running the other way, He decided to show Jonah how truly powerful He was by having a whale swallow him.  I would hope that after sitting in the belly of a fish for several days thinking about my plight, I would see the error of my ways.

The problem with Jonah is the same one we face today.  We are stubborn and we tend to run the other way when God points us in the direction He wants us to go. 

So the next part of the story we find Jonah on the outskirts of the city of Nineveh. Jonah forgot how God showed grace to him when he was sitting in the belly of the whale. Here we find Jonah frustrated because it has been many days and still the people of Nineveh have not repented of their ways. So Jonah becomes angry with God for the grace He shows to the Ninevites.

We find as the story goes on that God caused a plant to grow to shade Jonah as he sat on the outskirts of town waiting for the people to be destroyed.  Jonah was extremely happy when the tree grew and provided shade, but then God caused a worm to kill the very tree that offered Jonah shade.  Jonah was more like the worm that destroyed the tree.  He wanted to see the destruction of Nineveh, just as the worm destroyed the tree that shaded Jonah from the harsh sun. 

God asks Jonah why he has compassion for a plant that he had no part in growing.  He was trying to teach Jonah a lesson.  His purpose was to teach Jonah about the importance of the people of Nineveh.  Jonah cared more about a tree he didn’t grow than the people God sent Jonah to save. 

What can we learn from Jonah?  Several things come to mind.  The first being, when God tells us to do something; it is in our best interest to comply.  Our disobedience may not result in us being swallowed by a whale, but we see the results of our disobedience every day in some of the trials that come our way.  The second and most important thing we can learn from this is that God is more concerned about the people and we should be too.  That is our purpose in life; to have compassion for others. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes I do just the opposite of what I know You want me to do.  I become stubborn and dig in my heels because I think I know what is best for me.  When I become headstrong and plow ahead without thought to what You would have me do, I am headed into the belly of a whale (so to speak).  Help me to understand that You want what is best for me.  I can avoid many mistakes in my life if I will listen to You. Remind me that some of the very things that make me fail are the very things that are meant to draw me back to You.       

Scripture: Jonah’s Anger and God’s Kindness

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!”

Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!”

But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”  Jonah 4:1-11

Buried Treasure

When you leave this world, will you be known as one who accumulated treasures on earth that you couldn't keep? Or will you be recognized as one who invested treasures in heaven that you couldn't lose? Randy Alcorn

When we were kids we would go on what I like to call adventure vacations.  We didn’t go to fancy resorts or Disneyworld.  Every summer we would go camping to various State Parks. 

One of the vacations we went on was to Murfreesboro Arkansas.  We went to Crater of Diamonds State Park.  This is the only diamond producing site in the world that is open to the public.  The other great thing about the park is whatever you find you get to keep. The park officials will identify what you find and you get to keep it no matter what the value.  Plus there are over 40 different types of minerals and rocks found at this location.

So imagine you are a 5 or 6 year old kid and you get to go to a 37 acre plowed field and dig in the dirt.  You are handed a kid size shovel and bucket and you actually get to go sit in the dirt and play in it.  You may not be the kind of person who likes to get dirty but for me this was like the best treasure hunt ever. 

This reminded me of the treasure that is found in the Bible.  There is hidden treasure buried in this amazing Book that is just waiting to be dug up. Sometimes you have to continue to dig deeper to find the good stuff.  The beauty of the Bible is there is so much treasure to be found.  The thing is you have to keep digging.  Just when I think I have mined everything I can get out of a single verse, another treasure appears that draws me further in.  Most likely you will never find all the treasure to be found in the Bible in one lifetime.  

If you are looking for the adventure of a lifetime, open the Bible.  You will be amazed at the amount of treasure that can be found and the best treasure is on the other side.  Heaven.  

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I was thinking about those long ago days of the adventurous vacations I took as a child.  This memory brought thoughts of You and how much treasure you have buried in the Bible.  Your heavenly treasure is there for anyone to find.  I never get tired of studying Your Word as there is wealth beyond measure in every verse.  

                  

Scripture: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

In the Sweet By & By

God loves to hear your singing - so sing. Rod Parsley

When I was a little girl I would spend time with my grandmother.  Granny was the kind of grandmother that all kids want to have in life.  My dad has an old picture of her and when I see that picture it reminds me of how much I favor her in many ways. 

My grandparents didn’t have much but what they had they would give to you.  I had the opportunity every summer to spend time with them every year.  It was always an adventure when you went to their house.  You know the saying that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  That was the way my grandparents were with their grandkids.  If we messed up or misbehaved they took care of it and my parents never heard about it so you never got in trouble twice.  There was just this unspoken rule that we all knew. 

When you went to my grandmother’s house there were always homemade cookies.  She had several different cookie jars and you always knew there would be cookies in each jar.  There would be chocolate chip in one, oatmeal in another and sugar cookies in the third.

My grandparents had a lot of grandkids.  One of the things I remember was around my birthday I would always receive a check in the mail.  It was always $10.  Looking back now I realize that was a lot of money for them.  In today’s world $10 isn’t much.  I can still remember my grandmother’s handwriting on that check. 

One of the most important things my grandparents taught me was the importance of a relationship with the Lord.  There is a song by Bart Millard from Mercy Me that reminds me of my grandma.  The title of the song is (MawMaw’s Song) In the Sweet By & By.  In the song he sings about how he would sit on his knees in the pew at church trying to see his grandma sing In the Sweet By & By.  He also sings about how it wasn’t the sweetest thing he’d ever heard, but the way she sang stirred something up inside.  To see her grin from ear to ear, one thing for sure was very clear, it wasn’t just a song, it was her life.  In one of the final verses he says that times have changed and her voice is just a memory, she’s on that shore and looking down on me, I hope she’s proud of what she sees, cause thanks to her I’m walking with the Lord. 

So as the song says, “In the sweet by and by, we shall meet on that beautiful shore, there’s a land that is fairer than day, by faith we can see it afar.  For the Father waits over the way, to prepare us a dwelling place there.   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, my grandparents played an important role in my life.  They helped teach me what it means to love You.  They also taught me that you didn’t have to have much in worldly possessions to love others.  Thank You for blessing me with grandparents who believed in You and gave me a glimpse of You when I spent time with them. 

        

Scripture: Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.  Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Psalm 100:1-5