Reflections at the Beach: A Sunset Ending

 

Picture Credit: My beloved wife Tiffanie.  This is taken as 

drove over the Bay Bridge.  She would tragically pass away

from cancer one month after this picture was taken.

Each sunset matters, even the glorious final one when 

we go home to heaven.

Reflections at the Beach

Week sixteen

A Sunset Ending 

Psalm 113:3

      I can't think of a better way to close out a day at the beach than simply walking hand in hand with those that you love as the sun sets near you. It might sound overly romantic or somewhat cliche, but nothing can disturb the perfection of a sunset. Nothing can compare with a sunset near the shore.  The typically blue sky is radiated with Hues of orange, pink, and purple. The Master Artist chooses to change the palette of His colors He uses. Each brushstroke reminds us to magnify His name. The final few rays stretch the heavens to remind us of someone far greater than us. It's incredible that the most important star in our solar system which resides over 93 million miles away can have such an effect on us. Humanity since its creation has been in awe of it. Sunsets also remind us of the beauty in endings. Endings don't always seem beautiful though. I'm sure we've all watched movies or read books where the ending wasn't quite what we expected. Possibly it was anti-climatic or disappointing. But the glory of a sunset reminds us that endings can be beautiful, but can be difficult. 

      Most of us have adopted the picturesque image of every story ending with the words 'they lived happily ever after.' The idea that happy endings are etched in stone is nothing more than wishful thinking. Every story has an ending, but maybe not the happy one that we had planned. What do we do when the relationship that we planned falls apart? What do we do when the dream job closes? What do we do when a doctor's visit changes our entire outlook? Or when our spouse gets cancer? Or loved ones endure dementia where they don't even know who they are ? Or what do we do when the college we wanted to go to says no? None of that was in 'the cards. ' We didnt plan for that to be the ending. We would have never wrote the story in that fashion. What do we do when our happy ending forces a new beginning?  The psalmist wrote "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised (Psalm 113:3)." How can we praise God when disappointment and discouragement strike our hearts deeply? How do we thank God when we are mired in the fog of confusion? How do we praise God when an ending tragically causes us to say goodbye to those we love the most? We're able to praise God because He holds every tomorrow, the expected and the unexpected. We're able to praise God because the ultimate ending is to be with Him forever through Jesus Christ. Each of our temporal endings on planet Earth fluctuates, but our Eternal ending is a glorious promise to live with Jesus forever. Maybe you are stuck right now living in the disappointment of what could have been. Maybe you are carrying feelings of bitterness because the ending is not what you expected. But don't allow the bitterness to take your eyes off of the Lord and to praise Him. To give Him thanks for each ending, happy or not. And give Him the ultimate Glory that the ending of your story is His story. 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Fourteen

"Packing Light"

Focus Text: Hebrews 12

       So, you’re going on a vacation. Typically, there is a lot of planning that goes into a vacation....and a lot of packing (dun, dun, dun, dramatic effect). Packing. That single word has caused small wars in families. Tense road trips are usually birthed from whose ready and where to put all the stuff. There are two types of people in this world. One group of people pack days before the trip and the other group pack the morning of the trip. Those two very opposite types of people usually marry each other. In our home, I’m typically the early packer. My bag is usually ready about a week before the trip and sitting by the bedroom door, but my wife is the master packer of items in the van. She looks at those odd-shaped items and creates some sort of geometric puzzle that only makes sense to her. Somehow, she can fit a trapezoid-shaped item into a square hole! If you are a family of multiples you know how hard packing back be.  You are packing up your house, especially when the kids are young. You have high chairs, walkers, bumbo seats, bathtubs, and the list could go on and on. It doesn’t take long to figure out if you have overpacked. I’m sure that each of us has overpacked at some point and time in our life. We get one of those hotel luggage carts. Other people stare in amazement as you continue to load what looks like the leaning tower of Pisa. The luggage sways as you push the cart. Occasionally something falls off; a sock here, a pillow there, a binkie for a baby there, etc.

 

      We need to be mindful of the items that we pack. We should ask “Do I need this?” We need a spiritual packing list too. Oftentimes we carry around unnecessary spiritual baggage. This cumbersome baggage weighs us down, wears us out, and steals our joy. The writer of Hebrews tells us “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which cling so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hone in on that phrase “lay aside every weight.”  The Greek phrase means to put something off something and it always refers to something that harms our life.   The term never tells us to lay aside beneficial things, only detrimental things. What are some pieces of luggage that the Bible tells us to leave behind?  Things like anger, wrath, hurtful words, impure thoughts, envy, any former work of darkness, and traits of our old person. Read over that list again. What piece are you currently lugging around? What benefit does it bring to you? How is it impeding your walk with Jesus? The closer it clings to us the further we will find ourselves from Jesus.

 

Reflection on the Road:

Unzip your spiritual suitcase. Look over each internal item and ask “Does God want this in my life?” If the answer is no then ask the Lord to help you to lay it aside and give it up. Walk lighter and with less encumbrance. Pack carefully each day.

Reflections on the Beach: Rainy Days

Reflections on the Beach

Week thirteen

"Rainy Days"

Focus Text: Hebrews 13

      Nothing puts a damper on a beach vacation quite like a rainy day.  The family sits in their swim trunks, all lathered up with sunscreen, ready to tackle the sand only to hear the crack of thunder.  The dark clouds roll in and start to pour rain.  The smiles turn upside down.  The rain streaks across the window as the family wonders, what do we do now?  What is plan B?  Is there a plan B?  Do we sit and watch the same tv shows we could watch at home (I'm game for watching the Andy Griffth show anytime)?  Do we play board games?  Do we take a nap?  Do we simply stare at each other?  No matter what, we need to change plans.  

      Life demands that we change plans from time to time.  We don't like it, as a matter of fact, we begrudgingly go along with it out of necessity.  Our world is a fully revolving door of changes.  Nothing typically goes to plan because we can't see what the future will bring.  We don't have a 'crystal ball' to see what will happen tomorrow.  Thankfully in a world full of change, there is a God who never changes.  He remains faithful, His attributes are constant.  Hebrews 13:8 says that "Jesus Christ is the  same yesterday and today and forever."  Why doesn't God have to change?  Why can Jesus stay the same?  The reason why is because God is omniscient, He is all-knowing.  He sees the past, present, and future all with one glimpse of the eye.  While we are scrambling looking for plan B's because the plan A's of our life implode, we can still rest in a soverign God who remains a lone constant.  God's love will not change, His mercy will not change, His tender kindness will not change, His grace will not change, His holiness nor His justice change.

Reflection on the Road:

Maybe you are enduring a time in your life of seemingly unending change.  Maybe it's job, an empty nest, recently losing a spouse, moving, etc.  Your life feels like its in upheaval.  Let your anchor, in the midst of change, be God, who changes not.  May the words of the old hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness encourage your soul:

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

as thou hast been, thou forever wilt be.

      

Reflections on the Beach: "Are we there yet?"

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Twelve

"Are we there yet?"

Focus Text: Titus 2

      Nothing says vacation like a minivan loaded down with luggage and multiple children.  What could go wrong with everyone huddled in our foreign-made minivan with nearly 215,000 miles?  One quintessential part of a family road trip is having at least one child saying "are we there yet?"  Those four words are very contagious because every child buckled up will start asking the question with repeated urgency...almost as if it were a life or death situation.  On one of our most recent trips, our first child popped that dreaded question within the first twenty minutes of our four-hour drive.  One reason they ask that question is because they are tired of being cooped up (I don't blame them) but another reason is that they are excited.  They don't ask 'how much longer until we get to the dentist' or 'are we there yet' about getting a check-up at the doctor.  They genuinely are overwhelmed with anticipation.  

      As a believer, we should have the same kind of excitement and joy as we look forward to heaven.  Paul talks about this excitement when he writes to his young apprentice Titus.  In Titus 2:3 we find Paul writing "Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus."  Looking is in the present tense of the Greek language; that means something we should be habitually doing.  Most believers are not looking for the return of Jesus.  We are so busy with our lives, goals, and agendas that we have precious few moments to think about Jesus at all, let alone His return.  But over and over again the Scripture encourages us to look, frequently and often for the return of Jesus Christ.  Not looking forward to it with dread and fear, but look forward to His return with joy and excitement.  Why do we look for His return, especially since none of us know when He will come back?  We do it because we love Him; because we look forward to being with Him, and because nothing in this world can compare to His glory.  When was the last time you thought about His coming again?  When was the last time you said to yourself "are we there yet?"  We might not be there yet, but today is closer than yesterday.  Don't let time cause your anticipation to diminish but instead with each passing day let the fire of our desire grow more and more.

Reflections on the Road:
Reflect on these lyrics written by Bill and Gloria Gaither.  May they encourage you to keep looking up.

What a day that will be,

When my Jesus I shall see,

And I look upon His face,

The One who saved me by His grace;

When He takes me by the hand,

And leads me through the Promised Land,

What a day, glorious day that will be.

Reflections on the Beach: The Busted Flip Flop

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Eleven

"The Busted Flip Flop"

Focus Text: Psalm 1:1

   A few weeks ago my wife and I managed to get away to the beach for a short overnight stay. We were walking down the boardwalk, hand in hand, listening to the ever-rolling waves crashing against the shore. The sun had set and the streetlights were starting to come to life. We were headed straight toward our favorite ice cream spot when all of a sudden the unexpected happened (let's be honest, the unexpected always happens all of a sudden, or else it wouldn't be unexpected). Tiffanie said "Ut Oh" and showed me her now busted flip-flop. It was beyond repair, there was no way to resuscitate it, its time had come. The only problem was that we were too far to return to the hotel to get her sneakers. Tiffanie tried to continue to walk with the broken flip-flop. Needless to say, our pace was a lot slower, there was plenty of laughter, and it complicated what was an ordinary journey for ice cream.

      Jimmy Buffett wasn't the only one who blew out his flip-flop. We've all had the thong on our flip flop give way, usually at the most inopportune time. It's hard to walk on a broken sandal but it's even more difficult to walk faithfully when our life is broken. The Bible makes it clear that Christians are never supposed to be able to sin with success. When Christ-followers deviate from the path and go into unrepentant sin we can expect our journey to be complicated. We will find our passion for Jesus cool, our prayer life goes on life support, devotional life evaporates, and our life becomes murky. In Psalm 1:1 the Psalmist says that a man is blessed when he doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, stands with sinners, and sits with the scornful. The idea behind blessed means happy, or complete. There will never be true joy or 'completion' in our life when we choose to live in the trifles of sin. We are choosing to walk on a broken pathway and then complaining when life is hard.  What path are you walking? What is the result of that path?

Reflections on the Road

    Too many of us are walking on 'broken flip flops' spiritually. We are too far from Jesus, we aren't listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and we are too often living for ourselves. If you tire from trying to maneuver a broken life, then repent and put Jesus back into the number one spot in your life.

Reflections on the Beach: The Lifeguard

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Ten

The Lifeguard

Focus Text: Matthew 14:22-33

Bible Reading: Ephesians 2-Philippians 1

      There are certain mainstays that are at every beach.  Most beaches have the boardwalk, quaint shops, more pizza places than you can count, sand and surf, boats roaring in the water, seashells littering the shoreline, etc.  There is one constant at the beach that we take for granted until we hear them blow a loud shrill from their whistle.  The mainstay is the lifeguard.  We have seen lifeguards before sitting in their tall white chairs, overseeing the scene before them.  Typically they are clad in some kind of red swimwear.  The lifeguards at the beach are considered the best trained.  They see and experience situations that other lifeguards will never endure.  Usually, the lifeguard doesn't have to do much more than just watch.  But I'm sure that there has been a time when we were visiting the beach when the lifeguard sprang to action, diving into the ocean making all efforts to rescue someone.

      Traditionally my family and I visit the beach in the off-season because it's cheaper.  One of the downsides of visiting the beach during that time is that there typically isn't a lifeguard on duty.  They will have a sign that says 'swim at your own risk.'  There is a certain danger to diving into the water when the lifeguard's eyes are not there.  As a Christian, we have a lifeguard, a rescuer.  A lifeguard who never knows an off-season, a savior who never takes His eyes off our lives.  His name is Jesus Christ.  Jesus entered into this sin-cursed world and threw Himself headfirst into the currents of an evil world.  He fought against the strong currents of sin and temptation and came forth victorious.  His victory did not come at a discount price, it cost Him His very own life.  Imagine for a moment if a lifeguard enters the water to save someone from danger and dies in the act of rescue.  He would be lauded, praised, and memorialized.  Jesus did so much more for us.  He entered the current of sin, laid down His life as a sacrifice, and rose victoriously from the grave granting us salvation and hope.  Our lifeguard is not overcome by the waves of sin....remember our lifeguard walks on water.  He isn't just a lifeguard, He is a life Saver.  

Reflections on the Road:

This week take time to recount again your salvation story.  Remember when you were tossed about with the waves of sin and despair.  Remember your hopeless estate.  But also rejoice knowing that in the face of your doom a lifeguard named Jesus plunged in to rescue you.  May your reflection this week be filled with abundant praise and celebration.

Reflections on the Beach: The Selfish Seagull

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Nine

The Selfish Seagull

Focus Text: Philippians 2

Bible Reading: Galatians 1-Ephesians 1

      One of my favorite Disney/Pixar movies is Finding Nemo.  Finding Nemo premiered in 2003 and remains the best-selling DVD in history.  The movie follows the undersea exploits of a clownfish named Marlin who is frantically trying to recover his son named Nemo who was taken by a human diver.  Along the way, Marlin meets a well-intended, though absent-minded fish named Dory.  Together they team up to take on the whole ocean.  Sharks, mines, scary fish with flashlights on their heads, jellyfish, the East Australian Current, nor whales can stop them from completing their epic journey.  One of their greatest enemies in the movie were seagulls squawking "MINE, MINE, MINE" while trying to eat them.  Seagulls are notoriously selfish.  All you have to do is throw a french fry onto the beach and they will practically fight to the death over it.  Each beachgoer has encountered the displeasure of sneaky seagulls encroaching on their beach blankets.

     Seagulls are rats with wings.  Their number one priority is themselves.  Tragically we as Christians battle with selfishness from time to time.  We like the attention and the priority to be upon ourselves.  I can honestly say that as an only child I struggle with being selfish from time to time, putting other people as more important than me.  It is our nature from birth to demand our own way.  Picture a baby.  A baby's primary concern is them.  We are 'inbred' to be selfish due to our sinful nature.   We find Paul tackling this exact issue in Philippians 2:2-3.  Paul challenges the believer to put on the mind of Christ and the mind of Christ was that of selflessness.  We can be reminded of Jesus' own words when  He said "I came not to be served but to serve and to give my life ransom for many."  Paul exhorts us to do NOTHING from selfishness.  He doesn't leave a lot of room for interpretation.  We can't afford to be self-centered.  As Christ-followers we cannot desire to have the spotlight on us.  The seagulls in Finding Nemo said "MINE, MINE, MINE."  Tragically we emulate that in our lives from time to time. Instead, we should be saying "others, others, others" or better yet "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."  When we focus our eyes off ourselves and onto Christ we will quickly notice the needs of broken people.  With the eyes of Christ, we will be burdened for less of us, more of Him.  

Reflection on the Road:

How selfless are you?  Do you listen to other people?  Do you try to help them?  Do you value other people?  Can you work with others or do you always need things to go your way?  This week's challenge is to extend your hand with selfless acts of love and grace.  Look for other people to prioritize in your life, but make Christ the main priority.  

Reflections on the Beach: Sin Burn

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Eight

Sin Burn

Focus Passage: Psalm 51

Bible Reading: 2nd Corinthians 7-13

      There are so many wonderful things that can happen on a vacation at the beach.  You share great memories like burying dad in the sand, building sandcastles, going for a stroll on the boardwalk, eating yummy food (Thrasher's  French Fries namely), playing games at the arcade, and stopping by your favorite local shops.  Almost nothing can ruin a vacation to the beach....that is until you suffer through the effects of sunburn.  Each of you reading this have been there, done that, and probably didn't learn your lesson.  The pain of a sunburn is constant.  It hurts to wear a shirt, to lay a blanket over your body, every move you make is literally agony.  The worst thing is that you typically get burned on your back which is the one place you need help from someone to apply aloe to soothe you.  I am one of those people that doesn't tan, I burn.  I go straight from pale white to bright red.  I hate sunburn.  I bring the strongest SPF spray they make, I wear a hat, and of late I wear a t-shirt to avoid sunburn.

      Too much exposure to the sun does damage.  Likewise, too much exposure to sin in the life of the Christian does spiritual damage to our life.  We know that the ultimate damage done by sin is death (Romans 6:23) but we also know that we have been given eternal life as a free gift through Jesus Christ our Lord.  As Christians we no longer fear the ultimate damage, suffering in hell, but that does not mean that we receive a sin freely card at salvation.  We are saved by grace through faith but that does not excuse us from not displaying the fruits of a changed and new life.  While we will not be perfect on this side of heaven we also should strive to be Christlike.  Each Christian will battle sin, we will lose, and we will fail miserably.  Our text for today showcases how David dealt with sin exposure.  He was broken, hurt, shattered, and without excuse.  David's lone hope was by repenting and confessing his sin.  Though we are saved we will still deal with the effects of sin in our life.  The longer we dabble in sin the more normal that lifestyle becomes to us.  We start to quench and grieve the Holy Spirit.  But please know that God does not allow us to sin cheaply or without ramifications.  The longer you remain in sin the worse the damage will be.  Maybe one of you reading this have been feeding out of the pigpen of sin for too long.  The Master calls you to His table to dine.  Repent, turn from your sin, and run to Jesus.  

Reflections on the Road:

      We live in a world of cause and effect.  We do something and there will be an effect.  It would only make sense that this scientific law would trickle down to our spiritual life too.  What effects are you currently experiencing from unrepentant sin?  The lone means to be 'healed' from too much sin exposure is to agree with David's broken heart "Against you, You only, I have sinned...create in me a clean heart O' God."  Admit your guilt and failure to the Lord.  He is gracious and merciful.

Reflections on the Beach: Forgiveness at the Surf

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Seven

"Forgiveness at the Surf"

Focus Passage: Colossians 2

Bible Reading: 1st Corinthians 16-2nd Corinthians 6

      One of the first lessons I learned as a father is that there are certain tasks that dads typically do on a trip.  Most dads do the driving, and much to our wife's dismay we also do most of the navigating. We can't choose what the radio station will be despite the fact we are driving, (Baby shark on repeat for a multiple hour drive is not part of a relaxing vacation), we do most of the arranging of luggage items, and then when we arrive at the hotel we do most of the unpacking of the car.  It's almost as if certain things are ingrained into our Y chromosomes.  I also have come to the conclusion that it's our manly duty as a father to tote more stuff than humanly possible through hot, soft sand.  Take a moment and watch guys with a family try to make it a single trip, it will entertain you.  And yet another observation of being a beach dad is that it is your job to chase down any toys that were taken away in the surf.  You hear your child scream that the waves have taken away their precious fifty-cent sand bucket and we respond by throwing caution to the wind by diving headfirst into danger to rescue the irreplaceable bucket that can be found at any storefront along the boardwalk.

      The surf/tide is powerful.  It brings in seashells but it also takes away things.  It washes the shoreline clean.  During one trip my children and I were sitting near the water.  They were learning their letters and we were quickly trying to write them out before the wave came in and erased them.  I used this occasion to write the word sin.  The kids saw it and waited for the wave to wash it away.  Sure enough, the power of the wave overmatched the sand writing, and it vanished as if it was never there.  God does this in a much more powerful way in our life.  The problem is that the sin of our life is not written on sand, it's written on our hearts and soul.  Sin, the things we think, say, and do that doesn't please God, cannot be easily removed by a wave.  Because of the depth of our sin, because of how seemingly permanent the stain is we need something more powerful.  What is more powerful than our sin?  What is of such a force to wash away sin?  Jesus.  God in His infinite love sent Jesus Christ, His precious and perfect Son, to come to this world to die for us.  Jesus loves you, He shed His blood for you on an old rugged cross.  Colossians 2:14 says "By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross."  Our sins are forgiven only by the death of Jesus.  Not by my own works, effort, morals, or religion.  It is by grace, through faith only.  It is only by Jesus.  You can't wash away sin etched on our stony hearts, but the Lover of our Soul Jesus can with His shed blood.

Reflections on the Road:

Robert Lowry, the famous pastor and hymnist asked a question in one of his songs, "What can wash away my sin?"  His reply was nothing but the blood of Jesus.  Nothing, not one thing other than the blood of Christ can cleanse us from all sin (1st John 1:7).  Have you come to Jesus to be saved from sin?  If not, why not today?

Reflections on the Beach: The Innumerable Promises of God

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Four

"The Innumerable Promises of God

Focus Passage: Isaiah 40:29-31

Bible Reading: Romans 11-1st Corinthians 1

    You can't make a journey to the beach without having an encounter with SAND.  Sand is everywhere. When you first step onto the sand at the beach it's very hot and typically very loose. It's ZERO fun pulling a beach wagon, strapped down with chairs, and managing three children through that wasteland. But as you get closer the sand gets cooler, firmer. You can lay out your beach blanket, plant your umbrella, set up your chair, and relax on the cool sand as the ocean waves crash about your feet (you have to want to go to the beach now). Sand isn't just everywhere at the beach but it travels with you everywhere you go. It's almost impossible to get it off. We found sand in the back of the van weeks after a trip. Sitting at the beach I often contemplate how much sand there is.  The amount is innumerable and inestimable.  One group of scientists did a study concluding that "if you assume a grain of sand has an average size and you calculate how many grains are in a teaspoon and then multiply by all the beaches and deserts in the world, the Earth has roughly (and we're speaking very roughly here) 7.5 x 1018 grains of sand, or seven quintillions, five hundred quadrillion grains (https://www.quora.com/How-many-grains-of-sand-are-there-on-Earth-and-how-many-stars-are-there-in-the-universe#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Internet%20%E2%80%9Cif%20you%20assume%20a,sand%2C%20or%20seven%20quintillion%2C%20five%20hundred%20quadrillion%20grains.%E2%80%9D). I don't know about you, but that seems like A LOT!

   There is another number that we struggle to wrap our minds around, the number of promises that God gives us in the Bible. There are an estimated 3,000 promises in the Scripture (if you count the times they are repeated then there are nearly 9,000).  God doesn't just make a lot of promises, but He is also a promise keeper. Each of you reading this are promise makers, but we are not always promise keepers. We have failed countless times to uphold our word. Typically the people that we break the most promises with are the people we love the most, namely our family. I can't tell you the number of times I said I would do something and didn't fulfill that promise (I owe my kids at least one hundred trips to get ice cream). God is the total opposite, His promise is a guarantee, unbreakable. One promise that stands out to me is in Isaiah 43:2, which says "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." God doesn't say that our life will be easy, instead, He makes it clear that the waters will rise and there will be fire, but amid those turbulent times, He has promised us that He will be with us. Read that promise again, that unfailing, unchanging, unbreakable promise at the start of verse two, I WILL BE WITH YOU. Breathe that in, rest in that truth. No matter what you are enduring or going through right now, He is with you. Promises mean nothing in the good times when the skies of life are clear. The depth of their meaning and the strength behind them are fortified through the affliction. Despite your circumstance, you can know His promises are unfailing.

Reflections on the Road: 

One of the most famous hymns is Standing on the Promises. We do indeed stand on the promises of God, but I find that life sometimes levels me, and knocks me down. In those moments I cling to the promises, I knell on the promises, I weep on the promises, and I claim those promises as my own. This week, reflect on one promise God makes to us in the Word, write it down, and watch God work.

Reflections on the Beach: The Incredible Creator

 

Reflections on the Beach

Week Three

"The Incredible Creator"

Focus Passage: Genesis one

Bible Reading: Romans 4-10

      One of my favorite things about going to the beach is the constant rolling of the tide.  I love to hear the noise of the waves breaking on the shore.  It's relaxing, almost therapeutic.  I could easily sit for hours in a beach chair reading a book and listening to the waves.  The waves remind me that despite all the chaos and change in our world that some things remain unchanged, and some things can be depended upon.  But when we look at the waves we need to ask, why do we need the waves and what causes them?  The tide exists because of the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon on the earth's oceans.  Those two cosmic bodies are constantly pulling at the waves, churning them.  The moon has a greater effect on the tides than the sun, so what would happen if we didn't have the moon in the sky?  A lot of things would change.  First, the tides would be dramatically smaller, if existent at all.  The ocean would be dependent upon the sun alone for the tide. It is possible that ocean life would become stagnant and potentially die without the moon. The moon also helps slow down the earth's rotation.  Scientists believe that if the moon were to disappear that we would have 6-8 hour days instead of the typical 24-hour day.  Fathom that!  Naturally, the night sky would be darker since the moon is the brightest object in the night sky.  The next brightest object in the sky is Venus which is only 1/14000th as bright as our moon.  This would change the life of nocturnal animals since they rely on the light of the moon for hunting and would potentially eliminate them.  Nocturnal animals have a significant impact on our everyday life.  They eat a tremendous amount of bugs, some of which carry diseases that affect humans.  And yet another massive change would be the earth's tilt.  The earth is perfectly tilted on a 23 degrees axis.  If the moon were to vanish our axis would change dramatically, which would result in massive climate change and probably near extinction of human life.

      Evolutionary science believes that the moon came into existence 4.5 billion years ago when our planet crashed into another planet called Theia causing the moon to be formed from the surfaces of both planets.  Over the course of billions of years, the moon's surface became smoother resulting in the rock we see today.  Science has zero proof, the history channel even calls Theia an 'imagined' planet.  The Bible doesn't leave us to speculation.  Genesis 1:16, 19 says "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also....there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day." The Bible makes it clear that the moon was created by God with a purpose, to provide 'light' at night and seasons.  Our seasons exist because of the moon.  Genesis one was written thousands of years prior to science understanding why we have seasons!  The moon's existence is not some cosmic accident, the result of two colliding celestial bodies.  Instead, it was purposefully created and designed by God.  Next time you go to the beach and see the tide be reminded that we have an incredible Creator God, who is all-powerful and all-knowing.

Reflections on the Road:

Our God is a creator.  Your reflection this week is simple: make it a point to thank God every day for His creation, which He designed for you.  AND mark down your favorite thing that God created.  Brownie points: it is Valentine's week, so husbands feel free to write down your wife's name as your favorite thing that God created.

Reflections of the Beach: Yucky Water

 

Reflections at the Beach

Week Two

"Yucky Water"

Focus Passage: John 4

Bible Reading: Acts 25-Romans 3

 

   Many of you can recall stories from different vacations. Vacations are always about building memories as a family but the best vacation memories are usually the ones unplanned and are typically the funniest memories. As a father of three, I can say that taking a vacation isn't always very relaxing.  It's parenting but in a different place. On one particular trip to the beach, our youngest was very thirsty, and needless to say, we were out of water. His tiny little toddler mind saw the ocean, knew it was water, and decided that it would be a good idea to give it a sip. I wish I could have captured his face of disgust! His exact words were "yucky water."

   We've all had the experience of taking in ocean water. It's disgusting. Ocean water is a bit deceiving because it's water but it's not potable. The proverbial saying goes "Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink." Ocean water cannot be ingested by the body because of its salt content. Our kidneys cannot flush out that much salt. Amazingly ocean water only contains 3.5% salinity. That doesn't seem like much but it's enough to make us sick or worse. Ocean water is water, but it is not a water of life. There is 'false water' in our world too that seems to offer spiritual life but is devoid of life. Jesus met a woman in Samaria who had been drinking of that well for far too long. In John four a woman of questionable background comes to a well in the middle of the day to avoid the scathing judging eyes of the other women. This woman was by all rights living a scandalous life. Amid this encounter, Jesus tells the woman "Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again, ever! The water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life." Jesus wasn't talking about physical water, but spiritual water, living water.  He was talking about Himself. Later we find that the woman had been drinking spiritual water from a source that did not provide life, it only left her hurting, broken, and lost. Countless false ways say they offer salvation, some of them like the ocean that looks appealing, but each of them is nothing more than a mirage, water that is poisoned, water that cannot provide life. The only water of eternal life is Jesus Christ. If you have trusted in anything else then you are drinking at a well that will never satisfy, that will never save. Leave the 'yucky water' behind that your soul cannot digest or process. Come to the water of life, come to Jesus. 

Reflections on the road:

Write your testimony down and put it somewhere you will see it each day (bathroom mirror, fridge, nightstand, car, toolbox, etc). Thank God for Jesus, the living water, who comes as the only means to satisfy thirsty men's souls.

Reflections of the Beach: The Vastness of God's Love

 

Reflections at the Beach

Week One

"The Vastness of God's Love"

Focus Passage: Ephesians Chapter Three

Focus Verse: Ephesians 3:18-19

Bible Reading: Acts 18-24

      It seems ironic that I am writing a devotional reflecting on God's message found at the beach as the thermometer reads 30 degrees outside and it's calling for sleet and snow this afternoon.  I am literally counting down the days until Spring (53 days, 18 hours, and 10 minutes to be exact).  But in the midst of the cold, I think we all could benefit from thinking about some warmer weather.  

      My family and I love the warm weather and our favorite place to enjoy the warm weather is Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  We fell in love with that tiny little beach town years ago.  Loving the beach is an oddity for me.  I used to hate traveling to the beach as a child.  My family would sit on the beach from sun up until sundown.  I would get bored (the joys of being an only child), sunburnt, and sand would get into my shorts.  But now as an adult, I love the beach.  I often take my Bible down to the shoreline and enjoy a few moments reflecting on how the beach illustrates Bible truth.  On one particular morning, I sat watching the waves coming in.  The ocean has always amazed me.  It is so vast.  The ocean covers 71% of the earth's surface.  From where I sat to the next shoreline in Europe was almost 5000 miles away!  The ocean is almost immeasurable in its vastness, no man can estimate its sum or value.

      But the ocean is not the only thing that cannot be measured.  Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:18-19 "may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."  Paul challenges us as Christians to attempt to measure God's love, to try to comprehend how much God loves you.  His love is so great that it surpasses all our knowledge.  We could dwell on the inestimable value of God's love for the rest of our days and never scratch the surface.  We might never be able to fully comprehend the vastness of God's great love for us but we can apprehend it for ourselves.  There is a difference between those two simple words: One means to understand (which we will never be able to measure God's love for us as sinners) but the other means to receive something as our own.  While we can not fully grasp the depth of God's love for us, we can indeed GRASP HIS LOVE.  We are so loved by God that the world's greatest computer cannot calculate the sum, but we can rest in His love knowing that it was for us in which Christ was sent to die (John 3:16).

Reflections on the Road

      The final stanza of 'The Love of God' goes "

1. Could we with ink the ocean fill,
   And were the skies of parchment made,
   Were every stalk on earth a quill,
   And every man a scribe by trade;
   To write the love of God above
   Would drain the ocean dry;
   Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
   Though stretched from sky to sky.
2.       Take some time this week and reflect on how much God loves you.  Write down one piece of evidence each day this week in which God showcases His great love.