Natural States

Natural States

Mark 6:45-51a Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I, don’t be afraid. “Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.

Life is tough it can sneak up on you and get out of control very fast. There are times that it seems there is no end to it and/or how bad things can really get. It’s during these times we really speak out to the Lord but not just to end our turmoil. It’s these times we wish God would just reach his arms down and give us a big hug!

When I was in the Navy and out on the open sea, things could get out of control real quick. Some were caused by human factors and some just occurred naturally. There were 3 constant natural conditions we were always presented with. We were either; in a storm; coming out of a storm; or preparing to enter a storm. These storms can mean high wind, waves and blinding rain. These are often represented in our Christian walk. We’re not just talking about weather conditions here. Our Christian lives can, and very often do resemble these conditions.

Adverse winds will blow in our homes and cause waves to roll in and disrupt the well-being of our habitation. When the winds of jealousy, covetousness, prejudice, pride, selfishness, and greed appear. It’s a pretty common fact that the waves of broken hearts, hurt feelings, sleepless nights, broken homes, fear, unforgiveness, and confusion are sure to follow.

We can’t always predicate the pattern and direction of the winds and storms in life. They often arise suddenly, quickly, instantly, and without warning. As the winds and waves move without restriction they leave behind a path of destruction. The winds and waves of life leave behind a parade of powerless, lifeless, aimless social outcasts and relationship challenged people yearning for acceptance and love.

We need Jesus in order to deal with the winds and waves of life. We need to be able to navigate through the nautical noise. We need to be able to stay afloat and sail through our stormy seasons. Jesus is our anchor to stabilize our position in turbulent times. Jesus is guiding our rudder, mapping out our course from the island of despair to the mainland of eternity! Jesus tells us what to do when we don’t know what to do! Jesus guides us in the proper decisions of life.

James 1:6 “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

In times of trouble, we must ask in faith! There is no room for doubt. When we waver or doubt we are hesitating. We are holding back when we should be moving forward in action. Remember faith is not merely assent but application. Faith is active.

In Mark 6:54a, Jesus got into the boat AND, “the winds died down!”

I’m not saying that the reason for troubles is because we don’t have Jesus in our heart.  I am saying that as long as we have these earth suits on (we make mistakes), we will always face these 3 types of Natural conditions.  

Inconsistent

If you were to look at my truck, you’d see a cross on the tailgate, a cross hanging from the rearview mirror, a bible in the backseat and few Christian related material and media. Walk in my home you’ll see a few bibles, scripture and crosses on the wall and many Christian related material and media. Yet at times, I feel I should be arrested for impersonating a consistent Christian.

Galatians 2:14 - But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

  In this section of Scripture and specifically, Galatians 2:1-14 the Apostle Paul was in Jerusalem. He analyzed the situation there and realized Peter and the others were not walking straightforward. They were walking in contrary to the biblical truths in the Gospel. They were being inconsistent.

For the longest time I have been trying to figure out how others see me. I shouldn’t do this because all that really matters is how God sees me…with Love and Hope. We all do this though. It can be as simple as saying how do I look today? Or do you think I can do this? I have heard a word spoken to describe me but I never really quite believed them till I had completely fallen and was struggling to get up. That word was “Inconsistent”.

That word hit me like a ton of bricks. I lost sleep; I struggled; I even tried to put it out of my mind but it just came back…consistently. The next day when I got out of bed and went through my morning rituals, I researched the word inconsistent. “Holy Adjectives, Batman…they were right!”  I am inconsistent.

Wikipedia defines Inconsistent as: (copied right from the Wiki page):

1.       in·con·sist·ent

1.       Adjective 2.       Not staying the same throughout; having self-contradictory elements. 3.       Acting at variance with one's own principles or former conduct: "parents can be inconsistent".

I’d like to add a bullet point to that though – 4. Not walking according to God’s Word. I read somewhere that there are 3 kinds of Christians: Believers, Unbelievers and Make-Believers. We all should know what a believer and an unbeliever are but the Make-Believers influence the 2 first types with their inconsistencies.  It only takes one by the way. Most of the devastating plagues of our history were started by one person bringing it to a different part of the world. Same goes with believers, one inconsistent or disloyal believer can hurt the whole church.  In 1 Corinthians 12 and in verse 26 Paul states… "...if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it." Have you ever broken a bone in your foot? The bones in your feet are tiny in caparison to other bones in your body. If you ever broken a toe or even a bone that sits on top of your foot…you limp, need crutches or a wheel chair – it affects the whole body!!! Ecclesiastes 9:18 states – “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.” The verses that really got to me is in Romans Chapter 2 verses 18 thru 24: “…if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;   if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,   an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?  You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Then I looked into the why. Why am I inconsistent?  Proverbs 29:25 “The fear (pride) of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” Pride…need I say more? A friend of mine owns property in the Keystone area of Tampa. His property sits on a lake but to get to it, you have to drive down a long road because other people own property that surrounds it. He doesn’t own this road but the other property owners allow him to use this bit of land so he can access his home. When we are less than 100 % Christians, the Devil is using that same type of access road to get to us. God allows us access to him as long as we stay on the right road. We get into trouble when we are inconsistent with the access roads we travel. Inconsistent when we allow the snares in our lives free travel down these access roads. The point I’m making here is we need to guard our hearts: walk consistent to his word; and walk circumspectly. This means we watch for the snares of life and not just walk blindly.  When we see or find a snare we should look for an opportunity to honor and glorify Christ.  We must be careful where we step but walk upright and honest. I am currently reading a book about life and golf called, “The Mulligan”. As I was reading the book this morning I thought back to the time where I met a very special golfer…he was blind. I had asked him how in the world could he play golf blind. He simply explained the caddy would describe distance, hazards and set him up for the shot. Then the caddy would go out in front of him and ring a bell to help with aiming. I was truly amazed at this. Then the golfer asked if I’d like to play a game of golf with him which I refused because frankly, I’d beat the pants off him. He simply stated, “We’ll play for 100 dollars if you’d like.” I was still doubtful but I agreed. The blind golfer then said, “Meet me here at 11:00……..PM!” We all walked in the dark at one time but it’s the light of Christ that should guide us. We need to consistently walk in his steps and light.    Ephesians 4:17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.”