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 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.