New Horizons
Good Morning Friends,
Today is Pearl Harbor Day and the message is about warships that never set sail again and those cargo ships of God’s that get one to the other shore that God has provided for us. It is about the boats mentioned in the Bible and the stories that they carry. And it is about friendship, relationship, fellowship, hardship, leadership, stewardship and worship and other things we put in our boat. It is about understanding we are meant to set sail, to deliver the cargo and as guided by the Captain to seek and discover New Horizons.
Scripture: They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
Genesis 7:15 (NRSV)
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.
Exodus 2:1-3 (NRSV)
But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid his fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
Jonah 1:3 (NRSV)
As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Matthew 4:21-22 (NRSV)
Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
Matthew 13:2 (NRSV)
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out, and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he woke up and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were afraid and amazed, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?”
Luke 8:22-25 (NRSV)
When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going.
John 6:16-21 (NRSV)
Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, you have no fish, have you?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish.
John 21:4-6 (NRSV)
We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there; for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself.
Acts 20:13 (NRSV)
There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship bound for Italy and put us on board. We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind was against us, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. Sailing past it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. Since much time had been lost and sailing was now dangerous, because even the Fast had already gone by, Paul advised them, saying, “Sirs, I can see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.
Acts 27:6-11(NRSV)
Message: How far can you see with your emotions? Do you see past your anger, greed, guilt, envy, or thoughts of revenge to something more lasting beyond the horizon? Do you permit Jesus to open your blind eyes so you might seek and see desire and devote yourself to a straight path and a righteous course? There are so many ways that seem right but only lead to death in our search for joy and satisfaction in our lives…Crashed boats and sunken ships. Oh God, we confess that we do make a mess of it when we take the tiller from you; that the chaos of our lives, the winds of our emotions does scatter us like summer dandelion seeds. But perhaps that is by your design as well. Perhaps you unhinge us from our moorings so that we might set sail to experience a life honoring relationships not things….carrying an abundant cargo of caring, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness. The ship of our life’s journey is to be filled with Barrels of beautiful goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and compassion. It is to hold Pallets of purity, humility, modesty and faith. Our cargo is to include Crates of character, wisdom, enthusiasm, dignity, optimism, confidence and honesty. All of this is meant to be discovered on the journey, unpacked and used to further our growing relationships with God and with others. Perhaps some people are still tied up with your sins at the dock. Perhaps some people have a broken moral compass. What a shame if we never set sail for fear that things were not perfect. Give it over to the Captain.
Pray as the body of believers, the ship’s crew, we gather together to do the work assigned to us. Pray we never grow tired of Jesus being our Captain. Pray He keeps us off the rocks and reefs. Pray we sail in the love of God’s creation knowing that everyone and everything has been made by God. Pray we trust God to protect us. Pray we believe that no boat is too small for God to watch over. Pray we realize that no boat is safe when we are running away from God. Pray when Jesus calls we leave everything behind. Pray we realize that Jesus can always provide more than enough. Pray we realize that God’s message is made possible by people who travel to other shores. Pray we believe that God’s power can prevail even when the ships sink.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 