Lord It's Hot & Dry

Lord it’s so hot and dry in Texas the Baptists are sprinkling; the Methodist or using wet wipes; the Catholics as you know Lord are praying for You to turn wine back into water and the Pentecostals - well they are doing the rain dance.

FIRST LIGHT - Spiritual Shipwreck

1 Timothy 1:18-19 – “This charge I commit unto you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on you, that you by them might war a good warfare; 19) Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 

     Thinking of the Christian life as a ship vessel, we are all capable of spiritual shipwreck. The Titanic proved there is no such thing as an unsinkable vessel.

     Some are able to go through this life apparently without suffering shipwreck. However, others do not fare as well and end up shipwrecked.

1.  If the captain does not follow or heed to sea charts or radar, he may run aground in shallow water. When we live by our feelings instead of by the truth of God’s Word, we endanger ourselves.

2.  Pure neglect, over the course of time, will begin to take its toll. A ship goes to dry dock for repairs. We too, must always be alert for areas in our lives which need healing work or repentance and forgiveness. This should be urgent in our lives.

3.  Some ships sink by collisions. How many quarrels and disagreements have ended relationships in some people’s lives? God’s alarm system in our lives against such collisions is the voice of the Holy Spirit.

4.  How does shipwreck occur? Through carelessness! If you are to remain afloat in a ship, a captain and his crew know you cannot afford to be careless for one moment. Likewise, in your spirit to remain afloat you must follow the same rule. Don’t let down your spiritual guard for one moment.

5.  Another cause is storm. An experienced and wise captain has respect for the power of a storm, and also has learned how to sail through them.

     How is your weather gauge? We stand in danger of spiritual shipwreck when we see storms approaching our lives and do not prepare for them, or when we allow fear to paralyze us.

     As sure as sunny days come, storms will come. We can’t control the weather, but we can rely on the One who has control of the wind and waves. His name is Jesus, because He speaks to the wind, “Peace, be still.” And it obeys.

     Be watchful. It is possible to sail the seas of life without becoming shipwrecked, but danger is ever present.

     Someone once said “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns; they just shine.”

FIRST LIGHT - Real Hope and Change

Read: 1 Peter 1:3-9

     “Do you think our economy will pick up next year?”

     “Well I certainly hope so.”

     “Do you believe our next president will help America get back to the roots of what our founding fathers intended and envisioned for this great nation?  A nation with freedom which is strong, moral and prosperous who loves God, family, neighbors and I add supports Israel?”

     We would have tremendous hope that he or she could.”

     But please listen to me – The average man’s working definition of hope is “an optimistic outlook that things will turn out okay.” However, because such a view is founded on the ever-shifting sands of time, circumstances, people, and money, he has absolutely no foundation for genuine hope.

     The bible says: “ That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:” (Ephesians 2:12)

     “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy;” (1 Timothy 6:17)

     Listen: Anything the world offers as hopeful allurements – peace, success, enrichment – are mere illusions because they have no lasting power to fulfill their promises. The hope of the world is, in the end, hopeless.

     So what’s the Answer: It is only the person (nation) who has accepted the dynamic message of the abiding hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His finished work at Calvary’s Cross? Upon Him all true hope rests.

     “Do you know Him today?”