by Jesse Abel
A Word from Papa “J”
Have you ever purchased a new vehicle? I hope you have, yet there are some today who have never purchased a new pair of shoes. You say “how sad!” well let me say this! At the rate of decline in this nation it is possible that your great grandchildren will be without shoes and other needs. Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
Good Morning
Once as a young sailor the naval ship I was on had a pool, a small basketball court, a movie lounge and a large recreation area for a ping pong table. The ship was the USS Searcher YAGR-4. It was a radar picket ship and part of NORAD, an early warning system back in the early nineteen sixties to warn the U.S. of an enemy attack. There were a dozen or so ships like the Searcher and if you are interested, you can find out more by using your search engine online.
The pool was on the main weather deck near the bow, but no one was allowed to swim except for the Captain of the ship, who I remember; did take a dip in it twice in the three years I was aboard. One drawback was that each time the pool was filled with salt water, us sailors would have to strip off the paint and repaint it because of rust. During the swim time, the captain would have the Chief Master-at-arms stand guard, (his personal body guard) of whom he used on other odd occasions, too.
Yesterday we were looking at the section of scripture that most identify as the LORD’s Prayer which is really an instructional passage that Jesus used to teach His disciples how to pray. So in Matthew 6:12-13 Jesus teaches that we should ask God to pardon us from human failures within our daily activities.
As captain of a ship at sea the officer was completely within His power to restrict the use of the pool to himself, yet there is a debt of responsibility to those around him to justify his action. If he does not choose to justify his action and protect his selfish ways the effect will interfere with other things that he may do, such as; leadership skills that govern the way the crew reacts in more serious matters.
Also the crew in their own response to the captain’s actions will create a debt as they backbite the actions of their leader. This debt is by definition sin, what kind of sin? The sin of guilt; on the part of the captain for not being a man of integrity in the face of his crew and also for the crew because they have spoken among themselves and accused their captain of treating them wrongly. Some people hold on to this guilt for a life time, when all that is needed is to ask God’s forgiveness.
Now there is a progression here. If we fail to forgive others it will lead to further temptation which as the LORD Jesus explains leads to further sin. Only God forgives acts of sin, yet there is responsibility for you and me to clean up our personal actions and to let God shut the door to the presence of evil. James 1:12-18.
Have you ever purchased a new vehicle? I hope you have, yet there are some today who have never purchased a new pair of shoes. You say “how sad!” well let me say this! At the rate of decline in this nation it is possible that your great grandchildren will be without shoes and other needs. Ecclesiastes 9:11-12
Good Morning
Once as a young sailor the naval ship I was on had a pool, a small basketball court, a movie lounge and a large recreation area for a ping pong table. The ship was the USS Searcher YAGR-4. It was a radar picket ship and part of NORAD, an early warning system back in the early nineteen sixties to warn the U.S. of an enemy attack. There were a dozen or so ships like the Searcher and if you are interested, you can find out more by using your search engine online.
The pool was on the main weather deck near the bow, but no one was allowed to swim except for the Captain of the ship, who I remember; did take a dip in it twice in the three years I was aboard. One drawback was that each time the pool was filled with salt water, us sailors would have to strip off the paint and repaint it because of rust. During the swim time, the captain would have the Chief Master-at-arms stand guard, (his personal body guard) of whom he used on other odd occasions, too.
Yesterday we were looking at the section of scripture that most identify as the LORD’s Prayer which is really an instructional passage that Jesus used to teach His disciples how to pray. So in Matthew 6:12-13 Jesus teaches that we should ask God to pardon us from human failures within our daily activities.
As captain of a ship at sea the officer was completely within His power to restrict the use of the pool to himself, yet there is a debt of responsibility to those around him to justify his action. If he does not choose to justify his action and protect his selfish ways the effect will interfere with other things that he may do, such as; leadership skills that govern the way the crew reacts in more serious matters.
Also the crew in their own response to the captain’s actions will create a debt as they backbite the actions of their leader. This debt is by definition sin, what kind of sin? The sin of guilt; on the part of the captain for not being a man of integrity in the face of his crew and also for the crew because they have spoken among themselves and accused their captain of treating them wrongly. Some people hold on to this guilt for a life time, when all that is needed is to ask God’s forgiveness.
Now there is a progression here. If we fail to forgive others it will lead to further temptation which as the LORD Jesus explains leads to further sin. Only God forgives acts of sin, yet there is responsibility for you and me to clean up our personal actions and to let God shut the door to the presence of evil. James 1:12-18.
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