Christmas deployed

Hello and Happy Christmas! Its been a very busy run up to Christmas and I don't expect things to slow down until after it has finished!

I am writing this post a day earlier than usual as I am off on my Christmas holiday to be with my Girlfriend tomorrow. 

I thought I would share a little Christmas story with you. In my 14 years in the Navy I have been away from home for Christmas twice. Last year I spent Christmas at sea bobbing about in the Indian Ocean.

The other Christmas I spent deployed was a totally different story. I got loaned to the Army for a year and went out to Iraq doing an operational tour for seven and a half months. Part of this tour was over Christmas.

I worked for the Royal Artillery and my job was to operate a massive gun which was used to shoot down rockets and mortars which were fired into our camp. 

I used to work a shift pattern of 12 hours on and 12 hours off the gun. Christmas Day found me on a night shift and I finished my shift at 8am, went back to my tent, crawled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep. 

About an hour later I got a shake "Steve, get up, you need to come and get your christmas present." I cannot repeat my reply on this blog! But long story short I ended up getting up after only a tiny bit of sleep.

So I fell into squad with the rest of the battery outside our tents as we paraded. Our Commanding Officer came out and gave us a 25 minute speech and then we had to line up in rank order to collect our Christmas box. Being a sailor in an Army regiment I was right at the back. So after queuing for ages I finally got my Christmas box and I returned to my tent and got straight back into my bed. (I say bed, but for the whole tour my bed actually consisted of a few wooden pallets under a sheet of steel for protection.)

I quickly drifted off to sleep, but then was woken up less than 30 minutes later. "Steve. get up, you need to go  get your Christmas Dinner." Again I cant tell you my reply! Needless to say, no matter how much I said I just wanted sleep and didn't want to go to dinner, I found myself fell back in with the battery for the second time in the day.

We were marched down to a massive car park where we had a church service. I was not a Christian back then, and I certainly did not appreciate being made to stand in the mid day heat for an hour having a church service  when I should have been asleep!

With that over we were marched to the dining tent where we all had to line up for our Christmas dinner. Only now it was just not my battery waiting it was half the camp! 

Finally I got my Christmas dinner  and took it to a table and sat down with my mates, I was just tucking into my first spud when we heard the unmistakable Crump! Crump! Crump! Noise that mortars make when they explode close by.

So we all dived onto the floor, which is what you do when there are mortars landing close by. Food  went every where! Great there goes my Christmas dinner! 

We all lay there on the floor with mortars going off every few minutes at various distances away from us for about an hour. By the time the all clear was sounded my dinner was ruined and so went straight into the bin.

I walked back to my tent totally fed up. Not only had I spent an hour laid on the floor with someone trying to drop an explosive shell on my head, I had been made to spend my time off the gun awake rather than being asleep. I get very grumpy when I am tired and I really was not very happy.

I got back to my tent but could not  get to sleep, I shared the tent with 40 other people, and no matter how tired I was everyone else was making the most of Christmas and being noisy. 

So now after only having had a tiny bit of sleep in 24 hours, I walked back up to my gun for another 12 hour shift.

When I was up at the gun I climbed up onto the 8ft sandbag wall which protected it to sit and watch the sun go down. It had been a bad day and the worst, most depressing Christmas I had ever had! I was not very happy at all.

As I was sat there watching the sun going down, turning the sky an amazing red colour I could picture Mary and Joseph slowly making their way to Bethlehem. I know Iraq is not the same as Israel, but it was close enough. I could picture it in my head. I could see the wise men on route to see the baby Jesus. I could see the shepherds sat on the hill overlooking Bethlehem and I could almost imagine the sound of the angels singing.

I sat there for ages just soaking up being in that landscape and reliving in my mind the Christmas story I had learned as a child. As I have said before I was not a Christian then. But that experience changed my life and has brought me closer to the Christmas story every year since. 

I felt a lot better after that, and that short period of time turned what had been the worst Christmas Day ever into one of the best ones ever. 

So this Christmas Day try to take the time, even if just ten minutes to forget about what society tells us Christmas is all about. Spend just a few minutes thinking about the real meaning of Christmas and the real Christmas story, the fact that over 2000 years ago a child was born who would change the entire world. A baby who people traveled vast distances to see. 

Why not have a think, how far today are you willing to go for Jesus?

 

Future Army

Hello everyone, this is probably one of the strangest places I have written a blog post, sat in my car at work in the pouring rain waiting to go into the dentist! 

This week there has been lots and lots of talk on Facebook about uniforms and what the real Salvation Army is and what real Soldiers are like. I have also been reading "Founding Vision For A Future Army" By Alan Burns.

I really do think the Army needs to change, these changes do not mean that the people making them or Corps where change is taking place are any less "Army" than those Soldiers or Corps which remain more traditional. If anything I would say that in those areas Salvationists and Corps are being more in line with what early Salvationist did, they were not afraid to adapt and change and do what ever was necessary to save souls.

In the First World War Generals thought they could fight a war in the same way as they did 50 years earlier, with cavalry charges and set infantry attacks. But with the advances in technology they found out these tactics no longer worked and the Western Front  ended up in the blood bath where so many people died. 

I feel this is the position the Salvation Army is in today. We need to adapt and change our tactics to suit these modern times, whilst still trying to maintain the original aim and spirit of the Army. We seem in so many ways to be stuck behind the times. In areas where that works then that is fine; but in areas where these tactics  no longer work we need to change, or quite simply the Army will continue its decline until we die.

I must also add that as far as I am concerned, although I do like our uniform and I enjoy playing in the band I feel these two things do not make the Army. They are both weapons to be used in spiritual warfare. But like all weapons they need to be deployed where they are suited best and where they  are effective. For example In many areas where a traditional open air style meeting would not be effective why can't we try a more busking style of ministry? 

I hope people understand what I mean by that, I am not saying scrap bands and uniform, what I am saying is that they are not the only options to ministry and we need to adapt and use all the weapons available in our armoury for warfare; be that Bands, guitars, uniforms or army branded clothing. 

I really do feel we need to come together as one as an Army and try to understand this. There is so much talk of if people or Corps are traditional or not and this almost always usually judged upon their rules on uniform and style of worship. I really do feel this is wrong.  

The tradition of the Salvation Army is the will and passion of its Soldiers to go out and save souls by any means necessary. Thats what a traditional corps looks like, it should be a place  where outward things are not as important as the Corps mission of saving souls. This will differer from Corps to Corps and each one will look  vastly different. However this does not mean any of them will be any less "Army" than the next. Provided their aim fits the founders aim. To go out and spread the Gospel and save souls.

The Sailing Salvationist 

Is your life hectic?

Hello everyone, I am really sorry I did not write a post last week, as you know I was on holiday. I planned to write a post on the train on the way home, however it seems the train company had other ideas. I ended up standing half way across the country even though I had a seat booked. By the the time I finally managed to get my seat I was shatterd.

Then for the rest of this week I kept on planning to write a post, but things just kept on coming up. I also guess that is the whole point of this post really. Its all about life being hectic.

People who reguarly read this blog will probably have noticed that the tone of these posts have changed a lot between when I was on the ship and now I am at home. When I was on the ship my posts were often more Biblical and theological. Where as since I have been back my posts have been more social work based. 

There is a reason for this, when I am on the ship I have lots of time to sit around and think and read and just be a more thinking person really. But when I am at home it is totally different. Most of the time I do not know if I am coming or going. I always seem to be rushing here or there doing this and that. 

Dont get me wrong when I am at home a lot of my time is spent doing Army work,in fact I spend more time doing Army work than Navy work (Dont tell my boss!). But this can mean The partys of my life which are so important to me when I am at sea such as prayer and Bible study can get left behind.

Thats reaslly not good. Life can be hectic and we can spend our time running and rushing everywhere, often doing work for the Church, but if that means we forget why we are doing it then it can be harmful to our spiritual lives.

This week I am going to really try to take a little bit of time each day to try and get as disiplined as I was about reading my Bible when I was at sea. If you have let things go a bit slack recently and you know you have not been spending as much time as you probably should have reading the Bible then why not join me.

The Sailing Salvationist.

P.S. My fitness training has gone out the window as well, but I can wait until the new year to get back on track with that!  

Others

Hello, well this is a first, I am actually writing this blog post on my I Pad sat on a train on the way to my Girlfriends for a weeks holiday. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to use the bluetooth keyboard I bought months and months ago, but have yet to really use! So if this blog comes out in a funny format you now know why!

This week I have been reading a book called "The Common Peoples Gospel" By a Salvationist man called Gunpei Yamamuro. He was a Salvation Army Officer who wanted to spread the gospel to his native Japanese people. So who wrote this book which aims to introduce people to the Gospel. Its a very good book and has sold millions of copies since it was released in 1899. 

Its still a great book over 100 years later and is well worth a read. One thing I read in it this week has really stuck in my mind and made me think. So here is a quote from the book:

"If we stop dealing with other people's sins and start examining ourselves we will know how sinful we really are. The purest person is the one who fully and sorrowfully acknowledges the sin in his heart"

 Now I find that quite hard to take in, not because its wrong, I think it is 100% true. Its because it means quite often the way I act and my outlook on life is often totally wrong!

This quote is also extremely Biblical, as we read in Matthew 7:3-5 that Jesus said;

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. 

I had to go for the King James Version there as it is the only version I have available offline. But the verse basically says how can you comment on the sin of others, when your vision is blurred by your own sin! 

Now again I find that really hard teaching. Its so much easier to comment on others and anything we may perceive as sin in their lives or actions. However perhaps we should instead be looking at the sin in our lives.

Imagine how much of a difference we could make if we concentrated more on banishing sin from our own lives rather than trying to comment and have digs at others about the sin in their life.

I think that is something we should all aim to do, and certainly something I aim to try and do this week.

The Sailing Salvationist 

Alone?

Hello again. This morning I stood at the side of a grave in my Naval uniform as an 89 year old ex sailor was buried. I only found out about this man because my Corps Officer messaged me last night and asked if I would be able to attend.

At this mans funeral there were very few people; in fact there was only my Corps Officers leading the service, a handful of carers who had looked after him and myself. No friends, No family.

The same kind of thing happened a few days a go to a man up country. After an internet appeal lots and lots of people turned up for his funeral: it even made the national news. Now I think its great that so many people turned up to his funeral to pay their respects to a veteran, however what did it actually achieve?

When I was at the funeral today I just could not help feeling how sad it was that he had no friends and family there. But worse than that I could not stand the thought that this poor man had no friends and family to visit him when he was alive. However it also made me wonder how many people there were in my local area who are shut in and lonely.

Imagine if all of the people who attended the mans funeral on the news chose to spend that hour visiting someone who was shut in their house and alone. Surely that would have been a more productive way to spend that hour than at the funeral of someone who has already died.

It made me wonder what does the Bible say about loneliness and what does it call us to do?

Well firstly right at the start of the Bible we are told that man is not meant to live alone, we are called to live with others in community. God did not make us to be on our own:

Genesis 2:18 NIV

The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

But the Bible also tells us who we should care for:

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV         

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

It is quite clear we should care for those related to us. However there are many of us who live far from their family, or those who have no lonely relatives alive. But that's not an excuse, because the Bible further defines who our relatives are:

1 Timothy 5:1-2 ESV  
       
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.

So the Bible tells us that we should treat all people as if they were our family. Surely then, this means we have a responsibility to care for those around us who are alone.

So perhaps this week, everyone who reads this blog could take the time out of their busy lives, even just 30 minutes, to go and visit someone. It could be a family member, a neighbour, someone who used to go to church but now is not well enough to get there, the list of possibilities is endless as there are lonely people everywhere.

30 minutes is not long really, but it could break the boredom and loneliness suffered by someone and might just make some ones week.

The Sailing Salvationist

Rememberance

Hello :)

Well its been quite a busy week, I have started back at work on my camp again. But for a change I have been sent somewhere nice to work. I requested to work at the Naval Chaplaincy in my time off the ship and that is where I have been sent! Its very rare for things like that to work out so easily!

As I should imagine just about everyone here in the UK already knows its Remembrance Sunday tomorrow. (I think its called veterans day in the US and held on Monday).

I have to admit, I really don't like Remembrance Sunday. People may think that's strange, but just hear me out. I am glad there is such a day as Remembrance Sunday, I am glad there is a special marked day for people to remember those who have fought and died in many different wars.

However after spending so much time in Iraq, having lost quite a few friends over the years out there and seen some really horrible stuff, I don't need a special day to remember. I remember it all daily; and quite often all the TV coverage and talk about it brings back too many things I just want to forget.

But then as I say I am glad there is a day set aside when the whole Country can remember, and people should remember, as we would not have so much freedom in so many ways if it were not for the sacrifices people have made through the past 100 years.

This week here in the UK the Salvationist magazine did an article where 4 members of the Royal Navy (either serving or having served) wrote about life as a Christian in the Navy. I was asked to contribute and as I know a vast majority of readers of this Blog come from places other than the UK I thought I would post the section of the article I wrote.

I hope you all enjoy it:

While serving on a warship in the Indian Ocean, Steve Callister writes about the challenges and opportunities he faces as a Salvationist sailor.

I grew up going to Falmouth Corps, but when I was 16 I turned my back on God. I joined the Navy and spent many years working in the Iraqi desert. In 2009 I was on an 18-month promotion course in Portsmouth. One afternoon I decided to look up ‘Christians in the Armed Forces’ on the Internet. It’s amazing how one Google search can change the path of your life. I discovered the Naval Christian Fellowship and subsequently met a group of Christian sailors. I started hanging out with them and going to church. When I was drafted to RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall, I decided to go back to Falmouth Corps. It felt like I had returned home.

In January 2012 I became a soldier. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. I was not sure if being a soldier in The Salvation Army was compatible with life in the Armed Forces, but I soon had the opportunity to find out; just a few months later I was drafted to a ship on anti-piracy patrols in the Indian Ocean. I have been on the ship for almost five months on my current rotation.

Life at sea can be very challenging. I am the only Christian on my ship out of a crew of nearly 200 people, so maintaining my Christian integrity is a daily struggle.
In every situation people are always watching to see how I react. It is like walking a tightrope; wobble too far one way and you will be branded a ‘Bible basher’, but if you act the same as everyone else, people will not even know you are a Christian. I have found this balancing act very tough and there have been many times when I have wobbled one way or the other.

A particular challenge is the drinking culture. The bar area is the only space to relax and socialise, so there is often a lot of pressure to drink alcohol, but by standing my ground, people have learnt to respect my decision. My reasons for not drinking are also a good conversation starter.
Another aspect I struggle with on the ship is isolation. I have spent 11 months out of the past 13 here at sea which puts a lot of strain and pressure on almost all of my relationships at home. However, being a Salvationist also allows me to develop relationships on the ship. Many people come into my office to chat about home, work, hopes and fears for the future, faith – just about everything! If all I have achieved in the past 11 months is helping a few people with their problems then I feel as though my service has been worthwhile.
Obviously one of the biggest challenges is maintaining my faith. I am so far away from other Salvationists and I don’t have a church that I can attend each week. To keep strong in my faith I immerse myself in Bible study and prayer. I am also taking part in the New Testament Bible Challenge and write in my prayer diary every day. Fortunately, I have occasionally been able to attend some Salvation Army meetings in Dubai and have made many new friends there.

The Internet is also extremely beneficial in maintaining my faith. I created a Facebook group called Salvationist Armed Forces Fellowship. There are about 30 members. Most are bandsmen in various regiments, and some serve in the Navy and RAF. We are able to support each other, and some of us have even been able to meet. This kind of support is essential when away from home and the Army for such a long time. I also write a weekly blog on being a Christian in the Navy.

Being a Salvationist in the Armed Forces is not easy. It takes a lot of integrity and you have to earn the trust of those around you, but if you stick with it the rewards and satisfaction are worth the effort and sacrifice.

The Sailing Salvationist

David and Goliath

Hello again. 
Well this morning I led my first ever SA Meeting, which I really enjoyed doing, although I was a bit nervous at first! Anyway as promised here was my sermon.

Sermon Fighting your giants

Today's bible reading came from the book of first Samuel, and it contains what I see as one of the most exciting action stories of the Old Testament.

In it we see two armies lined up and ready for battle, on one side the Philistines and on the other side the Israelites, Gods chosen people, led by King Saul. 

In old testament times very few countries had established armies like we have today, armies were often made of all the men of a fighting age; very few were professional soldiers and most had normal every day jobs. Yet when their country was threatened their king would call upon all men of fighting age to assemble for battle. 
However this was not that practical, even if a country was to win a battle or a war they could lose a large amount of their workforce which would be economically bad for a country. 
Therefore it was common for armies to line up and the whole battle could be decided by a single fight between each armies champion. 

This is the position we find the Israelites in; each day the philistine champion Goliath would come out and basically shout "come and have a go if you think your hard enough!" 

Now Goliath was a massive man, 3 meters tall, armed to the teeth and wearing thick armour. Goliath literally was the tank of the Old Testament battlefield. And the problem was none of the Israelites actually thought they were hard enough to fight him! Well none of King Saul's army anyway! 
But a young Sheppard boy visiting his brothers in the army heard Goliaths challenge and was not afraid. This young boy David accepted Goliaths challenge. And not only did he go out and face this giant. He won! 

It's a great story, but how does it relate to us today? What can we learn from this story? And how can we use what it tells us to help us in our everyday life?
I mean we don't see giants walking around the streets every day do we? Yes we might see the odd really tall person, but we certainly don't end up trying to fight them! 
But I think in reality we do see giants, not human giants, but giant obstacles in our lives. We all have giants we need to fight in our lives, battles we can either hide away from like the Israelite army, or stand up and fight like David.

What kind of giants do I mean? There are many things which can be giants in our lives; personality traits such as anger, spitefulness, hatred can all be giants that effect how we act. There can be things we are addicted to such as alcohol or cigarettes which can be giants in our lives. Habits in the way we act can also be classed as giants in our lives, are we short tempered, are we unforgiving or do we talk about people behind their backs? We can think we have these things under control when really they control us. And when we do try to stop doing or feeling these things they can basically turn around and shout "come and have a go if you think your hard enough" And to be honest, often when we try to defeat them on our own, like the Israelite army we will fail. 
But we do not want to be like the Israelite army and cower and hide away from these giants, letting them rule and ruin our lives, we want to be brave and meet them in battle head on. 

But how do we do that? how did a young Sheppard boy not just take on this giant, but win? And what can we learn from this to help us defeat our own giants? 

Firstly David took strength from the battles he had won against different enemies in the past. In verses 34 to 37 he explains how protecting his father's sheep he fought both lions and bears. He states that if he defeated these wild animals, despite his age and his size, why should he be afraid of any man! 
We can adapt this in our own lives and our own battles. It's hard to change massive things overnight, change often takes time, and I know that is certainly true in my own life. Yet over time, taking strength through each small victory, we can see and change massive things in our lives. 

Secondly David did not let himself be weighed down by others. Earlier in our Bible reading we heard how King Saul tried to dress David up in his own royal armour. Yet although many would think this would aid David, he knew this armour and weight would be a hindrance rather than a help to him. He did not feel pressured to put trust in the things of man rather than in God. 

Likewise we should not put our trust in the things of the world to aid us in battle against our giants. No earthly armour can aid us in these battles, however Pauls letter to the Ephesians tells us about the armour which God can provide us with, it is the same armour which David protected himself with. Not earthly physical armour, but the Spiritual Armour of God. We need to arm ourselves with the Belt Of truth, Brest plate of righteousness, Feet fitted with peace, Shield of faith, Helmet of salvation and the Sword of the spirit. 

Thirdly David did not listen to the taunts of the enemy, Goliath said all kinds of things to both intimidate David and make him look small and stupid. The world often treats us that way, believe me, as the only Christian on a ship I know all about the things people say to taunt and intimidate you. But like David it is important not to let this effect the way we feel and the way we fight our giants. How we react to these taunts and comments can have massive consequences, if we react badly, rather than fighting our giants we can actually be feeding giants such as anger and hatred. 
We must also remember that people who taunt us are also often just looking to see how we react. If we react badly it just gives them more ammunition to use against us. However we never know how God plans to use us in the lives of these people. Remember God turned one of the most vicious persecutors of the early church Saul into one of the most passionate and successful spreaders of the Gospel. 

Lastly and most importantly David put his entire trust in God. David states many times that God will protect him from his enemies, whether they be lions, bears or massive Philistine warriors. In the same way we must have the same amount and depth of trust in God as David had. We need to be confident that God can help us fight our giants, more than that we need to know that God can, will and does help us win. 
In the New Testament In Matthew chapter 17 verse 20 Jesus tells us "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." 

This is a promise of God that we need to trust and be certain of, even before Jesus had come to the earth, David had this much faith in God, he was certain that God would be with him and would help him defeat this mountain of a man. 

Likewise if we have such faith and put our trust in him, with God's help we will defeat our own giants. 
These giants in our lives can take so many forms, I know, I have had to fight many of them over the past few years, and if I am honest there are many I am still fighting today. 
There is nothing to be ashamed about having these giants in our lives, there is nothing wrong with admitting there are things we find hard and things we struggle with. 
The fact is I would say almost everyone in here today has at least one of these giants in their lives, but it does not matter if we have 1 or 100 of them, the most important thing is that we put our trust in God and decide today right here and now that we will be more like David and less like the Israelite Army. 

We need to identify these giants in our lives, admit them, firstly to ourselves and then perhaps to someone we trust for support and then decide to go and face them, head on like David, un-afraid, un-intimidated by them and safe in the knowledge that God does and will help us defeat them. 
See the thing our lives are much like the battle in this story, the devil can send out his giants to tempt and hurt us. 
Although at times it may seem we are on our own and it can seem we have to fight these giants by ourselves the truth could not be further away. We do not have to fight these giants on our own.

Much like David went and fought the giant for King Saul, Jesus will fight our giants, in fact he already has! He died on the cross, for our sins, for the way our giants cause us to act when we give into them, he has already fought them and he has already won! 
His victory does not mean that accepting these giants, or choosing to stand up and fight them will be easy, but it does mean we can face them safe in the knowledge that no matter how tough the fight may get at times, ultimately, just like David facing Goliath, helped by God we will win. 

Response 

We are going to now enter into a time of reflection, mark is going to come up and we are going to sing the song "Our God" prayerfully. 

It may seem like a strange song to sing as a reflection song, however the chorus states the truth that "if our God is for us, then what can stand against" and that’s the whole point and message of this meeting and sermon, no matter what the giants that stand against us, if we ask him to stand with us, God will, and then victory is assured, we cannot be beaten. 

As we sing this song there should be a paper pebble, which was on your seat before the meeting, just like the pebble David used to slay his giant. As we sing this song I would like you to write on this pebble the areas in your life where you have giants to fight, and then if you would like to, you can come to the mercy seat and place your paper pebble, asking God to help you in these areas, and asking him to stand with you and help you fight them. 

Then you can take one of the real pebbles from one of the bowls. 
Keep it with you all week, perhaps in a pocket, or in your handbag, then at the times when you feel giants trying to tempt or fight you, you can feel it and be reminded that you are not alone in this fight, and that just like David, God will help you defeat your giants.

Getting back to normal!

Hello everyone, well the day after my last post I travelled back home to Cornwall. I was really excited about this, as I could not wait to see my family after being away for so long.

I also got to go back to my home Corps for a meeting on Sunday which was great. Especially as I am leading the meeting this Sunday! I cant give the whole thing away, but I will probably post my sermon at some point after I have done the meeting on Sunday. But my blog post will be slightly short this week, as writing the meeting and sermon is taking up most of my time.

Its been a very busy week, and I am almost looking forward to going to work next week for a rest!

Its hard to imagine, unless you are in the situation, but sometimes, coming home can be just as hard as getting used to being away. That might not make sense, but trust me it is often the case.

Things and people change, in fact, in the space of six months things and people can change massively. One of the main places this is evident is in children, they grow extremely fast and its very strange to go away with them in prams and coming back and them being able to walk and talk!

But as well as physical changes, relationships also change. People don't just sit at home waiting for you to come back and their lives move rapidly. After months with no contact sometimes its hard to fit back into peoples lives.

Often it takes time to get to know people again, re-build friendships and catch up with all that has been going on over the past few months.

The problem I have is I have spent so much time away in the past 14 months, I came home earlier in the year after six and a half months at sea, but was home for less than 3 months before I went back to sea again.

But one thing through this time,  the time adjusting to being back at home and just generally all the time at sea, which has remained constant has been God and his love. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when it has been hard to see it, or it has not felt like it, but it has always been there, never changing, constantly remaining.

How do I know this? Well firstly I can feel it, I live it and I know it. But I am also re assured by what the Bible tells me;

Psalm 117:2 (NIV)

² For great is his love toward us,
  and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

  

This verse from the Psalms is just one of many which reassures us of Gods constant love. 

So next time you feel far from God, or you are doubting your relationship with Him, why not open your Bible and have a read of some of Gods promises to you.

 

The evidence is there for you to see. Gods love is here, constant and un changing, no matter who you are, or where you are.

 

The Sailing Salvationist

Here is a photo from my recent trip

Home Again

Hello, I'm sorry I didn't post last week, as you can imagine my first week back in the UK was hectic.

It's amazing to be back home in the UK after 5 months away. Its been great to meet back up with  my girlfriend, friends and family; and I still have more excitement to come as tomorrow I will be returning to Cornwall to meet up with my family.

But just because I have not been at work does not mean I have not been busy! In fact, I think I will have to go back to work soon for a rest!

One thing I have been up to in the past week is helping out with the local food bank. Food bank is something I have known about for a long time, but not really known much about. Every time I go to ASDA I have seen their bins for collecting food, and I have often thought I should put something in, but if I am honest I never have.

Food bank exists to provide emergency food to people and families when they really need it. But if I am honest I have thought in the past, people cant really be at risk of starving here in the UK, that's what benefits are for; to help people out when they really need it; Surely these people are just trying it on.

Helping out at the food bank distribution point last week was a real eye opener. I was quite shocked at how many people turned up and the different and varied stories they had. These people certainly were not trying it on, and I feel ashamed now that I might have thought that at times.

So next time you go shopping at your local supermarket why not pick up one extra tin and put it into the food bank bin, it really is needed and the people who use the food bank really are in need.

The Sailing Salvationist

Homeward Bound!

  Well this is the post I have been looking forward to writing for months. This time tomorrow I will be sat at the airport waiting to fly back to the UK! This post will be slightly different as there is not really going to be any of my usual spiritual ramblings in it, as I am currently doing my hand over to my relief so time is short.

        The past week has been another week of ups and downs; there have been a lot of problems with flights, which of course is very stressful when all you want to do is get home. At first we were due home on an RAF flight, which is an epic journey. It is not rare to spend over 30 hours trying to get home that way. Which when you hate flying as much as I do is a nightmare. Then we were told there was no space on the weekend RAF flight so we would have to leave the ship and stay at the military airport until the mid week flight; not a good thing to be told! But then there was no space on the mid week flight, so we were told they were looking into civilian flights. After being told we were booked on flights twice only to find out we actually were not I was not really a happy chap. But then finally we got our flight conformation and it was certain we were booked onto a civilian flight straight home. Believe me that is such a good feeling!

        I also had an e mail this week which confirmed I had a place to run next years London Marathon for The Salvation Army. I was really happy about this, although it does mean to do a 6 month training plan I have to start training on Monday! Oh well may as well get straight back to the UK and hit the ground running!

        Looking back over this trip it seems like this has been the longest 5 months of my life. I really have not enjoyed this trip. There are a few reasons of this, my heart is not really in the Navy anymore, I used to love going to sea, but this trip I just did not want to be away. The trip itself has also been quite bad, usually you have some good port stops to look forward to and break the trip up. But this trip we have only really had one good stop.

        This trip has been so hard for me, I have never ever struggled with being away before, and I have always loved it. But there have been times this trip where I was ready to jump off the side of the ship, swim to shore and then get a flight home. But then anyone who read my triathlon post will know I would not have got very far in the swim!

        I really have enjoyed writing this blog over the past few months. I was not sure if anyone would actually be interested in anything I had to say! But nearly 2000 people have read this blog and some weeks over 100 people read the posts. That's way more than I ever imagined. Thank you to everyone who has read it and even more to the people who have been coming back every week! I also need to say a big thank you to my Girlfriend, as due to the ships rubbish internet I cannot actually get onto blogspot, so each week I have e mailed here my posts and she has taken the time to upload them for me.

        I was only going to do this blog for the trip, but I feel there has been such interest in it I will carry it on when I get back to the UK. So hopefully I will speak to you all again next week when I am back in the UK! (It feels so good to say that!)

The Sailing Salvationist

Spiritual Man Flu!

Hello again, today is a big day. The day count is now in single figures, only 9 days until I get back to the UK! Whoop Whoop!

This week has been quite rubbish really, for the past few weeks there has been this nasty virus making its way around the ship. That is the problem with living in such cramped conditions with re-circulated air conditioning. Once a germ gets onto the ship it goes around and around from person to person; and this week it was my turn to get it.

I knew I was getting it one day this week when I woke up with a sore throat, this got worse and worse through the day. I went to bed thinking "Hopefully it will be better when I wake up". But that was not the case; much to the joy of everyone else on the ship I woke up and couldn't speak! Then I started getting the symptoms of full on man flu! Sorry ladies, you just can't understand how bad man flu actually is! I had a couple of really bad days, but I think now, although I am still a bit groggy and rough I am through the worst. I hope so because I want to be well when I go home!

I think one of the reasons I got this illness is because about two weeks ago I thought "I am fed up of getting up at 5 am, I only have a few weeks left, I'm going to stop going training." Since I have stopped going training it seems my body has just decided it has had enough and I end up waking up every morning feeling more rough and tired than I ever did when I was getting up at 5am.

But what has this little moan got to do with spiritual life? Well quite a lot really. When you look at it, this illness is a lot like sin in our lives. I stopped physical training and as soon as I did illness, aches and pains crept into my body. Much in the same way if I stopped my spiritual training, if I stopped reading my Bible and praying sin could easily creep back into my life.

That sin can also be infectious, spreading into others, as my actions could affect what others do and how they act. Just as this virus is spread around the ship via the cramped conditions. So my actions and what others see me doing in these cramped conditions could affect the
way other people act.

In the Bible Paul knew about how important keeping your spiritual training on track was, he wrote a letter to a young lad called Timothy. Timothy was a young Christian who Paul took under his wing and sent out to preach the Gospel. In a letter of guidance and encouragement
Paul said to him:
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

I am quite surprised how my body has reacted so badly to simply stopping training for a few weeks, I thought it would give it a rest and make me feel better and more energetic; but I could not have been more wrong. It is also essential we keep our spiritual training up, even when
we find it hard and tough going.

So what is the point of this post? I know it has turned into a bit of a rant! Well the point is, keep up your spiritual training, even when it is tough, or there are other things you want to do instead. Don't get spiritually lazy. Because when you do, sin and old habits can easily creep back into your life.

The Sailing Salvationist

Making Waves

 Hello again, I’m not counting or anything, but just so you know I should be back in the UK in 16 days! The only time I am glad to see the RAF is when one of their aeroplanes comes to take me home!

            It’s not really been that long since I wrote last, only a few days, so I was slightly worried I wouldn't be able to think of anything to post. Yesterday I had an hour free and so I decided I would just try and go outside and sit still for an hour. Anyone who knows me will be able to tell you how hard a task I find sitting doing nothing! I am always on the go, and I really struggle just to sit doing nothing, I find it such a waste of time! Although I know I should do it a bit more often.

            I went and sat on some fire hoses on the side of the ship, just watching the world go by as we slowly sailed along. I started watching our wake and that set me off thinking.

            For those who don’t know, the wake is a V shaped wave the ship makes as it cuts through the water. As the ship pushes through the sea it splits the sea in front of it and this split water then travels down the side of the ship and off the stern, by which time it can be quite a large wave; depending upon how fast the ship is travelling. The faster the ship goes, the bigger the wake and disruption.

            This disruption to the sea acts as a visible marker of where the ship is, where it has been, what direction it is travelling in and how fast the ship is going. But the thing that really stuck me was how far the wake could be seen for; the disruption the ship made could be seen all the way to the horizon.

            But what on earth has all this useless information got to do with a blog about being a Christian on a warship? Well it set me off thinking. Often as we travel through life we are like a ship travelling along; and often we leave a wake behind us.

            The actions we take in life often affect those around us, either directly or indirectly. Just the same as a ship leaves a long trail in the sea via its wake, we often leave our own trail.

            In fact I would think just about everything we do affects others. From our personal relationships we have with people, to short chance encounters, right down to where the products we choose to buy come from.

            This all set me off thinking, what kind of wake do I leave as I travel through life? For many years I left a trail of destruction, I was steaming along at maximum speed, leaving a massive wake, but not really a positive one; as all I was worried about was myself.

            Now I am a Christian, surely the trail I leave should be better? I would like to say most of the time it is. But then there are also times when it is not as good as it should be.

            The thing with the wake is there is nothing you can do to erase it, modern warships try to lessen it, but it is always there, it is always a marker to show exactly where the ship is and where it is heading.

            Do the people I come into contact with know which direction I am heading in? Do they know from the way I act and the wake I leave that I am a follower of Christ and actively trying day by day to travel in his direction? They should do; the Bible tells us that they should;  

          
Matthew 5:14-16 (New International Version)
 ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.             As Christians we should always be shining out the light of Christ; that should be the wake that we leave. People should be able to see by our actions and the trail we leave the direction we are heading in. We should always try to affect people in a positive way, showing them that we are followers of Christ and that we are travelling in his direction. Being more like him every day should be our aim and our destination.
           
 So I would ask you today. What kind of wake are you trailing behind you? And in what direction is it headed?

The Sailing Salvationist.
(By the way I lasted 45 minutes sat doing nothing; I think that’s a personal record!)

William Booths Vision

Hello, sorry it's a very late post this week. Life has been very hectic and I have been very busy working out on the flight deck; which has meant I have not had time to get to a computer. Also the e mails have been down from Thursday night until today (Monday). As I can't actually get onto blogspot from the ship I always write my posts and then e mail them to my girlfriend who kindly posts them for me. So even if I had written a post on Friday it still would not have got posted until today! I sound like I am making an excuse for my homework being late!

        Anyway, as I say I have been very busy out on deck over the weekend. On Saturday I was stood on the flight deck waiting for a helicopter to arrive, just looking out to sea. Next to the ship, down near the water line I noticed a small bird. It was only a tiny little thing, yet here it was far out at sea. It must have flown for miles and miles, a massive journey for such a little bird. But what really amazed me was how close it was flying to the sea. It literally was skimming the waves about one inch from the surface.
      
  For some reason this made me think of something I have read a few times. It was a vision the founder of the Salvation Army William Booth had and then wrote down. It is called "A vision for the lost". It's a bit long for a blog post, but I thought I would include it, because it really is worth a read.

A Vision For The Lost
'On a recent journey I found myself thinking about the multitudes around me. They were living carelessly in the most open and shameless rebellion against God, without a thought for their eternal welfare. As I looked out of the coach window, I seemed to see them all ... millions of people given up to their drink, pleasure, dancing and their music, their business, anxieties, politics and troubles. Ignorant - willfully ignorant in many cases - and in other instances knowing all about the truth and not caring at all. Suddenly, as I thought about them I had a vision.In it I saw a dark and stormy ocean over which black clouds hung heavily. Every now and then vivid lightening flashed and loud thunder rolled, while the winds drove foaming waves into a tempest that was claiming lives. There were myriad's cursing, struggling and drowning, and as I watched some of them sank to rise no more.

The rock of safety

Then I noticed a mighty rock that rose up out of the dark angry ocean. Its summit towered high above the platform. Onto this platform, I saw with delight that a number of the poor struggling wretches were continually climbing out of the angry ocean. And I saw a few of those who were already safe on the platform helping others onto the rock. Many were working with ladders, ropes and boats to rescue those who were drowning. Occasionally someone actually jumped into the water, regardless of the consequences in their passion to "rescue the perishing". I hardly know which sight delighted me more - the sight of the people rescued, or the devotion and self-sacrifice of those had who rescued them. Looking more closely, I realized that the people on the platform were quite a mixed company. They occupied themselves in different ways. Some spent their days trading while others amused themselves by dressing up for the admiration of their peers. Many were chiefly concerned with eating and drinking and yet others were taken up with arguing about the people that had already been rescued. Only very few of them made it their business to rescue people from the sea.
What puzzled me most was the fact that although all of them had been rescued from the ocean at one time or other, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten about it. And what seemed equally strange was that they did not even seem to care about the people who were drowning right before their eyes - many of whom were their own spouses, brothers and sisters and even their own children.

The Call

Those on the rock had received a call from the one who had Himself gone down into the sea. They'd heard His voice and felt that they ought to obey it - or at least so they said. They professed to love Him and to sympathize with Him in the task He had undertaken. But, they were so distracted by their professions, pleasures and their preparation for going to the mainland that they did not help Him. So the multitude went on right before them struggling, shrieking and drowning in the darkness. And then I noticed that some of the people on the platform were crying out to Him to come to them! Many wanted Him to spend His time and strength in making them happier. Others wanted Him to take away various doubts and misgivings they had concerning the truth of some letters He had written to them. Some wanted Him to make them feel more secure on the rock -so secure that they would be quite sure that they would never slip off again into the ocean.
So they would meet and climbing high on the rock they would cry, "Come to us! Come and help us!" And all the while He was down among those drowning in the sea trying to rescue them and looking to those on the rock for help.

The vision understood

And then I understood it all. The sea was the ocean of human existence. The lightening was the piercing truth coming from Jehovah's Throne. The thunder was the distant echoing of God's wrath. The multitudes struggling in the stormy sea were 'the Lost', ungodly people of every kindred, tongue and nation. That great sheltering rock represented Calvary, the place where Jesus had died for them. And the people on it were those who had been rescued. The way they used their energies, gifts and time represented the occupations and amusements of those who had been saved. The handful of determined ones that risked their lives to save the perishing were the true soldiers of the cross. The One calling on the rescued to help Him rescue others was Jesus Himself.

A time to act

Fellow Christians, you have been rescued from the waters, yet He is still in the sea calling for your help. Don't be deceived by appearances - men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea!Jesus is in the midst of this dying multitude, struggling to save them. He wants you to jump in and help. Will you jump or will you linger on the bank, singing and praying about perishing souls? Lay aside your shame and pride, your cares about the opinions of others and all the selfish loves that have held you back for so long, and rush to the rescue of these dying men and women.

Unquestionably the surging sea is dark and dangerous. The leap means difficulty, scorn and suffering for everyone who takes it. Yet He who beckons you from the sea knows what it will mean - and knowing, He still bids to you to come.
You have enjoyed your Christianity long enough. Going down among the perishing crowds is your duty. From now on your ease will depend on sharing their pain and your heaven in going into the very jaws of hell to rescue them. Now what will you do?'

        As soon as I had finished working that night I came to my office and googled this vision to re-read it. It set me off thinking, how much am I like that little bird at times? How often do I struggle and go a long way, working so hard to keep myself out of sin and out of worldly things. Yes it is better to be above the sea of sin, but does that help me save anyone else? Does it do anything to rescue the perishing from the sea? If I am honest I don't think so. Really that would make me more like one of the people in Booths vision who are just clinging to the rock, more concerned about themselves than those still in the sea.

        I remember being on exercise off the coast of Scotland about 11 years ago. One evening from the flight deck I sat watching Gannets fishing. Gannets are big impressive birds, they tend to hang around in large groups and they look for shoals of fish. Then from quite high up in the sky they put their heads down, tuck their wings back and dive like a dart into the sea, where they quickly snatch a fish before returning to the surface and flying away.
        
Surely Booths vision calls Salvationists and Christians to be more like a Gannet, flying above the sea, yet still making quick dashes into the sea to fish out those still lost in the sea of sin.
       
 Imagine how much difference we could make in the world if our Churches and Corps were filled with members who were more like a flock of Gannets than lone birds, only intent in keeping themselves above the water. Imagine a Corps where all members grouped together like a flock of gannets, searching the sea of sin, until individually they detached one by one; on rescue missions to dart into the sea and fish out those still drowning in the sea of sin. Imagine how many people we could save from drowning in a life of sin if we acted like that!

        So my question today is what kind of bird are you and your Corp or Church like? Are you too busy trying to keep yourself above the water, or are you willing to plunge yourself into the sea to rescue those perishing? If the answer is more like the first, I would urge you to re-read the vision and think and pray upon the last words in the vision.

"Now what will you do?"


The Sailing Salvationist

Don't be a Jonah!

 Hello, another quiet week done; so I'm another week closer to home. Its been another quiet and uneventful week really, which makes it quite had to think what to write in this blog!

        One lunch time this week I decided to go and sit on the flight deck and get some sun. I quite like sitting out there, feet dangling over the side of the ship, just watching the sea go by. I find it quite relaxing.

        Sometimes if you sit there long enough you get to see some amazing wildlife, different birds can be seen if we are close to land and flying fish are often seen skimming across the waves. Every now and again you get to see a pod of dolphins, and if your really lucky they
come and play in the wake of the ship. That really is something amazing to see!

        This week I thought I saw a first for me, I thought I saw a whale! I got quite excited by this as I have never seen one before;however my excitement was not very long lived as I soon worked out it was just two waves crashing together making a spurt of water and not a whale!

        This got me thinking about the book of Jonah in the Bible. I expect everyone knows the story well; it's a Sunday School favorite. Jonah is told by God to go to a city called Nineveh and warn them how wicked they are being and that they need to turn from their evil ways and return to God. But Jonah has other ideas, he does not want to risk going there and so decides to do a runner from God. He jumps on a ship and sails off in the opposite direction. The ship gets into a massive storm and is about to be wrecked. The crew, working out that its all Jonahs fault for running from God throw him into the sea. Once in the sea Jonah is swallowed by a whale. He lives in the whale for 3 days and nights until he prays and decides he should do as God commanded him. The whale then vomited him up onto dry land (Nice!). Jonah then went and did as the Lord commanded and took Gods message to the city of Nineveh.

        The story sounds a bit far fetched, I mean, could you really survive in the belly of a whale (or big fish as it actually says in the Bible) for 3 days and nights? But even if the facts of it are not 100% true it's a great story with a great message.

        I did however start to wonder how much of a Jonah I am at times though. So God has never spoken to me and said "Steve I want you to go this city and proclaim my message" However at the end of the day this ship is just like a city. I'm sure God has put me here to spread his word. But how often have I tried to run away from this task God has given me? Luckily God has not seen fit to make me fall off the ship and get swallowed by a whale though! But just because he has not, it does not mean there have not been times when he has probably been disappointed in the way I have not fulfilled the task he has given me.

        In the Book of Jonah we can read Jonah's prayer, it was when Jonah was in the whale that he called out to the Lord and asked him to forgive him for running and to give him the strength to carry out the task he had been given.
        There is a good message there, it is through prayer that we are strengthened to carry out whatever task God has given us, whether it be spreading his message to a city, town, work place, a single person or even a whole ships crew!

        So today I would ask that you think about the task God has given you. Are you fulfilling it? Or are you at times being a Jonah and running from it? Has God given you a task which you think is too hard for you? God knows what you are capable of and would not give you a task you cannot fulfill; just pray about it and he will give you the strength!

The Sailing Salvationist

Running the Race

        Hello, it's been another unexciting week here on the ship, although we are currently in port for two days. So it has been amazing to be able to speak to everyone at home properly! After over a month of being at sea it has been great just to be able to catch up with everyone properly. As not much has happened on the ship this week I thought I would start this blog post with a story.

        Last year I decided I wanted to branch out from just running and decided to do a triathlon. I thought, it can't be that hard, I know I can run, I often cycle the 15 miles to work and back and I was brought up in Cornwall swimming is in my blood!

        So I found a local triathlon and decided to give the organiser a call.
"This is a good tri to do as a first one isn't it?" "Oh yes" She said "Lots of people choose this for their first tri"

        So I booked a place even though it was only in a few weeks time, but I was sure I would be fine, I was fit and I knew I would be OK in all the different stages. Just to be safe I thought I better go to the pool and check I could swim the 800m I would need to in the race; which I managed without any real problems.

        So fast forward a few weeks to race day and there I stood, all ready to go, gear set up in the transition area feeling slightly nervous. Then I noticed something, my cheap halfords racing bike was blatantly the cheapest bike there by over £1000. I didn't see anyone else who looked like this was their first tri; everyone there was in their team training gear and looked like they were all taking this extremely seriously. It was at that moment I thought this really is not going to go well!

        The weather was awful, really raining, but this didn't really bother me as I was in a wet suit stood up to my waist in water ready to start the swim. The sea was also quite choppy, but that should not be too much of a problem should it?

        The race started and I set off swimming, like a rocket, perfect technique, swimming through the water like a fish. But then after about 50m I suddenly realised swimming in the sea against the waves and tide is a lot more difficult than swimming in the pool! I started to struggle to get enough air into my lungs; and before I knew it my perfect swimming form had turned into a weird half drowning doggy paddle!

        I made the 800m swim (just!) but I was the last person out of the water, I ran to the transition area, well I say ran, I challenge anyone to swim 800m then get out of the water and try to run! It must have been very funny to watch. I quickly took my wetsuit off and jumped onto my bike. I could not see anyone up ahead, but I do a lot of cycling, so I was sure I could catch someone up!

        But here is where mistake number two came in. Yes I do lots of riding on my bike, but I look at the weather forecast and if the weather looks bad take the car to work. But here I was on tiny racing tires in the
rain trying to cycle fast. It dawned on me; I had never ridden my bike in the rain before! I tried to get some speed up, but on windy country lanes, in the rain I quickly found out handling the bike was not as easy as in the sunshine! But I kept on going.

        Towards the end of the 13 mile bike ride I was feeling quite fed up and sorry for myself, but the most demoralizing part was yet to come. The race organiser's land rover started to follow me, and at each lamp post they stopped and took down the race direction signs. They were literally packing up behind me!

        At one point I even had to cycle about 100m past my house. The temptation to take the easy way out and turn left, go home and then pick up my car later was massive. But I knew I would regret taking the easy way out so stuck with it.

        I finally finished the bike ride, got to the transition area, and set of for the 4 mile cross country run. As I set off I asked one of the organisers, "How far ahead is the next person?" "About 15minutes ahead mate, you may as well give up!" was their reply!

        Well thanks for the support and encouragement! I thought, but there was no way I was giving up now. There was also no chance of me catching anyone else up, but that didn't matter, my only aim now was to finish and be able to say I had completed a triathlon.

        The run was uneventful, it hurt, in fact I would say it was more painful than the last few miles of the marathon I did. But I made it around. As I came around the last corner, I expected to still see people there to cheer me across the finish line. But to my dismay there was no finish line! They had packed it up and almost everyone had gone home! But I had done it, I crossed where the finish line would have been and the feeling was amazing. I did not care I had been last, I was just happy I had stuck with it and had
competed in a triathlon!

        So why am I telling this story? Well me and one of my mates have been talking lots about triathlons recently. He wants to compete in his first one and we often have a laugh and a joke about me coming last in the one I did. But it has also made me think lots about my spiritual life.

        The Bible has many references to running races, and there is good reason for that. Life can be very much like a race.

        Firstly we need to put the training in. I blatantly didn't for this triathlon, I over estimated my abilities and underestimate the race. To live a good Christian life we need to put training in, we need to put time and
effort into reading the Bible and praying. We also can't overestimate our spiritual abilities and underestimate the power of the enemy! Doing that can have disastrous consequences.

        We also need to think and fit our spiritual training to the areas where we think we are going to be challenged. If you think there is an area of your life where you will be tempted of struggle pray about it and train yourself through reading the Bible. Fit your training to where you think you will be tested, as there is no point training in the pool and being tested in the sea! There is also no point in being a fair weather cyclist if you have to race in the rain!

        Time will always come which are hard, there will always be ways and times when your spiritual resolve and integrity will be tested. But dig deep and hang in there. I could have just cycled home, given up and not have had to struggle with the rest of the race. But I would have regretted that for the rest of my life. This can happen in our spiritual life as well. We can be tempted to go back into the world, slip back into old habits or take the easy way out even though we know it's not the right thing to do. But don't! I would have regretted giving up the race for the rest of my life. I would end up regretting turning my back on Jesus for eternity!

        Don't be put off by others. I was intimidated right from the start by everyone at that race. They all looked so much better off than me; they had all the proper racing gear and looked the part. Often in Church it is easy to be put off by other people. They may have more than us, or always seem to get what they want, or seem to be more Holy. But that does not matter. Don't be intimidated by them.

        Lastly don't listen to the person who tells you "You may as well just give up!" At the end of the day its down to you, its your race, its down to you to run it, and it is you who will get the satisfaction of completing it, wither you come first to cheers from all the crowds, or last to a packed up finish line!

        Hang in there, stick with it when times are tough, don't listen to the words of the world when they tell you that you are wrong or that you are a freak for what you believe. Because one thing is sure; when you persevere and finish the spiritual race the finish line in heaven will not be packed away!

Hebrews 12 1-3

 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The Sailing Salvationist