Sharing Life and Christ

So, I've passed 6 of 7 sections of my E-6 board for my surface warfare qualification. One section (Operations) didn't show up and we are still waiting to reschedule. As I was praying this morning, God revealed to me how there really are no obstacles, only opportunities, when we seek to honor Christ. Day shapes are literally shapes like balls and diamonds that are flown from the main mast to allow approaching vessels to know things that could be very relevant to the safety of both vessels. Here are some of the day shapes and the thoughts that God spoke to me this morning about them. One black ball: If you see this flown, it means that the ship is anchored. Obviously, an anchored ship isn't going to move out of your way, so you might want to go around it if you are continuing to approach! As Christians, we should be anchored. We should be so grounded in Christ that we are clearly seen to be flying one black ball. We should clearly communicate through our lives that we...

This question has been on my heart today since shortly after I woke up. As I look back on this underway, I have faced some new challenges and some old ones as well. I knew at the outset of this deployment that I would be challenged by ship life because I always am. I also knew that it would be a time of great growth if I remained grounded in Christ. As I've seen countless times in my life, God is always faithful. I have continued to see that truth on this cruise. There have been some low times in the past two months. I have worked hard for things that at times don't seem to have an end. I have sought to energize myself and others while feeling alone or distanced from others. I have tried honoring God in everything that I've done. In the midst of these efforts, I have at times tried to do it myself. I've tried to strap all of these problems on my back and failed to remember to come to Jesus with my burdens. How badly I yearn to have rest for my soul! How silly...

I must confess that I have slacked off royally in my study of Romans. Honestly, I just got lazy for awhile there. It is amazing how fast and easy it is to slide back into a complacent state instead of an energized and excited state of fellowship with Christ. With that being said, I will press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus! I didn't have a chance to finish all of Chapter 5, but I wanted to share some thoughts on the first 11 verses. The first half of Chapter 5 has some amazing truths that really give me joy. Paul discusses a lot of wonderful truths and I'm excited to write about them. He also stacks a lot of things in this section and uses words like "more than that" frequently to add to an already amazing truth of God. Peace with God Through Faith (v1-11) At the end of Chapter 4, Paul says that the words "counted to him as righteousness" were not only for Abraham's benefit but also for the benefit of all...

One of the things that I've had to learn for my Surface Warfare qualification is all of the different tests that fuel oil has in order to ensure its consistency and performance abilities. One of these said tests is the clear and bright test. Clear means that it is free from sediment and debris. Bright means that it is free of water. As I was thinking about it more, I realized that God would never fail this test. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 How awesome it is that we can rejoice knowing that God is perfect and unchanging! Jesus never sinned and filled His life with "debris." He never had false motives and never clouded His heart with harmful "water." He is the clearest of all and the brightest of all. I praise God today for that.