Anchored

I actually wrote this post about a month ago while I was still on my ship with the Navy.

I was sanding the paint off of knee knockers today, and the ship was rocking, and I got to thinking. A lot of times, our lives are like ships. I think this metaphor applies better for Christians. Because when ships are in port, they’re safe. There is no rocky motion, no real chance they can over turn. This is like a Sunday in church for Christians. You are all prayed up, you just heard a sermon, and things are good. It seems as if nothing can shake you.

But ships can’t stay in port forever. They are made to go out and cross oceans. Christians aren’t supposed to just sit in church for forever either. They are supposed to go out and spread the word.

So a ship leaves port, and pulls out to sea. At first, there are a couple of waves, but nothing it can’t handle. It gets a little further away and more waves come, a little taller and a little quicker this time. Then the more you move out, the more the ship rock until the next thing you know, it is in the middle of a storm just rockin and rollin. For Christians, the same thing happens. They leave church on Sunday and challenges come, but they got it, it’s the easy stuff. But as the week goes on, more and more challenges come and sooner than later, they feel as if they are in a storm and over their head.

What happens now? What keeps that ship from flipping over? What keeps the Christian from drowning and throwing in the towel? When life throws everything at you, and you feel as if your grip on everything is floating away, what keeps you anchored?

Anchored. What a perfect word. So many times Christians like to remember when Jesus to the storm “Peace, be still”. So much so, that it is often forgotten that Christians are supposed to have storms! But, in knowing this, there is also the assurance that God is here to anchor us when times get rough.

Do you know what an anchor does? An anchor insures that the ship won’t move too far from where it is supposed to be so that it won’t flip over or sink. In times of rough seas, the anchor is sometimes used to keep a ship in place when it can’t come into port.

In the lives of Christians, God keeps them anchored. It doesn’t mean that you won’t go through the storm, but it does mean that while everything is going on around you, you don’t go under. You might stay and have to go through the storm, but you are supposed to. It teaches you something, and later on, you might be able to pass it on to someone else so that they might have encouragement while weathering the storm.

I guess the lesson here is to be properly anchored in Jesus Christ. To keep yourself afloat in the sea of life, you have to be properly anchored. There is no way around it.

Don't Believe the Hype

You know, once you have a relationship with Christ, not paying proper attention to that relationship leaves you feeling worse that than any drug addict who yearns for even the strongest drug. Knowing who you are in Christ is the greatest thing. But to know who you are in Christ requires a relationship with him. If you know this, but you ignore Christ, even as he is calling to you as all times, it leaves you feeling so empty.
For example, take people who are taken to church as children, but they drift away as they get older. They get into drug, sex, alcohol, etc… but all the while they still have that empty feeling. It’s like they have bought into the lie that they can be complete through those things. But they can’t. They can only truly feel, and be, whole again if they return to Christ.
The empty feeling they feel the whole time is the space where the closeness with Christ used to be. Nothing else can fill the place of that relationship; not a relationship with another person, place, thing or idea.
A relationship with Christ is like any other relationship in the aspect that it takes an investment of time, self and resources to be successful. Sometimes we forget that. We hear “Once saved always saved”, and we call it a day. We let our bibles collect dust and our time of prayer comes fewer and far between. Then we are confused when we look around and see that are “Christian” lives look just like our unsaved friends.
The Christian life is like working out or exercise. You experienced the amazing change. Just like those amazing weight loss or exercise programs, Christ came into your life and now the after picture is drastically different from the before. Giving your life to Christ however is the most life changing thing you can ever do. Everything from the inside out changes. The way you view life, the way you think, the way you dress and talk are all changed. But just like these workout programs, you need to stay vigilant. Just as you must run or lift weights to keep up the results or advance, you must read the word, pray, worship, and be taught in order to keep that closeness to Christ.
So many times, the world will throw its weight on you. If, you are not right with Christ, it will feel as if you are carrying this weight on your own. The world will tell you God isn’t real, he doesn’t care, all sorts of lies. But don’t listen to the lies. God is there. Even more, the closer you are to Christ, the more you will realize that he is the one carrying the weight. But it takes effort to pray and stay in the word. So when the world gets you down and you feel alone, just tell yourself, “Don’t believe the hype”.