Have you ever been to the beach? Have you ever seen the ocean? Have you stood waste deep in the seemingly endless waters of the ocean?
Water is an incredibly mysterious force of nature. I can swim in it. I can dive into it. I can walk in it, but not on it. I can splash it around. I can even drink it. I can freeze it. I can evaporate it. I can barely hold it in my hand. YET, if I hit it at a high enough velocity, it would be like crashing into a brick wall. It wears away rock, creating valleys and canyons. It destroys entire cities and islands. There’s nothing like it.
If you have spent time in ocean waters chances are you’ve also probably experienced the not so gentle force of the ocean’s waves. There are small waves you hardly notice. Then there are waves that topple ocean liners. As a child swimming in the ocean waters of Mazatlán I found myself toppling head over heels under water, eating a great deal of sand in the process, struggling to resurface, as the result of being overwhelmed by a LARGE wave. I was helpless. The waters were unpredictable. There’s no telling which way a wave will travel or how big it’ll get or how strong the current will be that pulls you under it.
THERE’S NO CONSISTENCY.
I was reminded this morning while reading, while reading James, that I too (and you as well) can be like these ocean waters. We can be unpredictable. We can be simultaneously pushed and pulled in different directions. Our hearts can be divided. Our minds preoccupied. Our bodies weary. Here’s what James says…
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
James 1:5-8 NLT
#1 Do not WAVER – Be SURE of where your faith is, where your heart is, where your mind is.
#2 Division equals INSTABILITY – If your, if my, if our faith is divided there’s no stability, there’s no consistency. You’re torn, broken, fractured. Let’s not even get started on division within the church.
#3 Waves are controlled by an OUTSIDE force – Who or what is speaking into your life at the moment? Where are you choosing to find truth? Are you being tossed around by the wind? Are you being led by the enemy?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be like the water that causes destruction, the water that pulls you under and makes you fear for your life, the water that feels as if I’ve crashed into a brick wall. I want to be like the water that GIVES LIFE! To be this water, to be like Jesus (living water), I’ve gotta make sure my focus is on the cross and the freedom I’ve experienced as the result of HIS SACRIFICE.
This year for Christmas focus on His PRESENCE and not my presents.
Water is an incredibly mysterious force of nature. I can swim in it. I can dive into it. I can walk in it, but not on it. I can splash it around. I can even drink it. I can freeze it. I can evaporate it. I can barely hold it in my hand. YET, if I hit it at a high enough velocity, it would be like crashing into a brick wall. It wears away rock, creating valleys and canyons. It destroys entire cities and islands. There’s nothing like it.
If you have spent time in ocean waters chances are you’ve also probably experienced the not so gentle force of the ocean’s waves. There are small waves you hardly notice. Then there are waves that topple ocean liners. As a child swimming in the ocean waters of Mazatlán I found myself toppling head over heels under water, eating a great deal of sand in the process, struggling to resurface, as the result of being overwhelmed by a LARGE wave. I was helpless. The waters were unpredictable. There’s no telling which way a wave will travel or how big it’ll get or how strong the current will be that pulls you under it.
THERE’S NO CONSISTENCY.
I was reminded this morning while reading, while reading James, that I too (and you as well) can be like these ocean waters. We can be unpredictable. We can be simultaneously pushed and pulled in different directions. Our hearts can be divided. Our minds preoccupied. Our bodies weary. Here’s what James says…
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
James 1:5-8 NLT
#1 Do not WAVER – Be SURE of where your faith is, where your heart is, where your mind is.
#2 Division equals INSTABILITY – If your, if my, if our faith is divided there’s no stability, there’s no consistency. You’re torn, broken, fractured. Let’s not even get started on division within the church.
#3 Waves are controlled by an OUTSIDE force – Who or what is speaking into your life at the moment? Where are you choosing to find truth? Are you being tossed around by the wind? Are you being led by the enemy?
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be like the water that causes destruction, the water that pulls you under and makes you fear for your life, the water that feels as if I’ve crashed into a brick wall. I want to be like the water that GIVES LIFE! To be this water, to be like Jesus (living water), I’ve gotta make sure my focus is on the cross and the freedom I’ve experienced as the result of HIS SACRIFICE.
This year for Christmas focus on His PRESENCE and not my presents.
No comments:
Post a Comment