Hello, it’s Friday again so time for another post. It’s been quite a busy, stressful and uncertain week. You only need to have watched the news in the past few days to imagine that! But it’s still another week done and hopefully another week closer to my flight home!
This Sunday evening I was watching my “I’ll Fight Congress” DVD. One part in particular really struck me. In the Saturday evening meeting the song “I dare to be different” was sung. I have had the song in my head all week, I have also had a go at playing it on my old battered cornet I have out here. (You will all probably be glad I’m thousands of miles away and you have not had to hear that!)
The song says how we will dare to be different and stand for Christ, even when we are alone. I can relate to that! I'm the only Christian on this ship, and there are often times when I feel very alone. But how often do I really stand for Christ? Now there is a tough question to ask yourself!
Being a Christian in any situation is hard. But I feel on a ship it is especially hard; on a ship it is like walking on a tightrope. It’s a real tough balancing act. Go too far one way and constantly go on and preach at people, and it will not take long before people just totally ignore you, and not listen to a word you say. But go the other way and people don’t see any difference in you and so don’t see the effect of Jesus in your life.
I have to admit there have been times on this ship where I have struggled to stay on this tightrope and swung from side to side. To be honest there have probably been a few times when I have fallen off and landed flat on my face as well. But in that situation the most important thing to do is get back up, brush yourself off and get right back up on the rope again!
One thing I often struggle with is knowing what to say when people are questioning me about my faith. Often people come across as aggressive or micky taking when asking about it. That’s the bit that gets to me; sometimes it throws me, sometimes I know what to say; but often when put unexpectedly on the spot; I don’t.
Sometimes I beat myself up about this, but then I try to think of the disciple Peter. Peter the rock, the disciple who built the Church. There were times when he really dared to be different, but then there were times when he epically failed. He knew what it was like to walk the tightrope; he also knew what it was like to swing precariously from side to side. He fell a few times, but always got back up again; and just look how God used him.
That makes me feel better; yes I dare to be different, yes sometimes I fail, but at the end of the day, when I do fail I get back up and try not to make the same mistakes again.
The song says “I dare”. Doing things daringly is not easy. It’s hard and it’s scary, but sometimes you just have to step out of your comfort zone to move on in your life. God does not want people who are too scared to step out of their comfort zones. He wants people who are willing to walk the tightrope. He wants people who really do dare to be different.
So I would say to you try it; take that step out onto the tightrope no matter how scary it will be. Pray about it, God will send his Holy Spirit to strengthen you and enable you. It can be amazing how much God can use you if you are brave enough to take that first step, and if you wobble a little bit or fall off, don’t worry! Just think about how God used Peter; and get back onto that tightrope again!
The Sailing Salvationist
Friday 30 August 2013
Friday 23 August 2013
Light
Hello again.
Fridays seem to be coming around very quickly! Sadly though that does not seem to make this trip seem to go any faster! It's been a mixed week, with e-mails playing up for half the week, but then, all of a sudden, they started working again! You can't believe how much this cheered me up after a frustrating week and a half of having problems contacting home.
As I have said before I get up every morning at 5am to go training. I finished the Insanity program and I am 3 weeks into a program called P90X. It's much the same except now I use weights to train as well. But this is not a blog about exercise!
Every morning when I get up I go to the hangar to train; this is a large open space at the back of the ship. This past week I have been opening the large hangar door to let a bit of fresh air in to try to keep the temperature a bit cooler. This has had a really amazing effect. It's still boiling hot! But I have also managed to be blessed by one of the most amazing sights of Gods creation.
When I get up its still pitch black outside, but this week there has been a large full moon shining down, add to this the millions of stars shining bright in the sky and it's a real effort to pull myself away from this amazing view and start training!
Usually if the ship is sailing west, after about 30 minutes the sky starts to go the most amazing bright orange colour. Then slowly the sun starts to come up, causing amazing reflections on the calm sea. The few high clouds that are in the sky also turn a wide range of amazing bright colours. So many different colours I can't even begin to describe them.
This morning however the sky was full of clouds, not a single bit of light from the moon shined down on the flight deck and when the sun rose, it just brought a sky of dull grey and dark colours. But the fact is the light was still there, shining bright behind the clouds. It was just obscured from view.
All this week these sun rises and night skies have really made me think and reflect upon my spiritual life. Often when things are going well, it's quite easy to be a Christian. Things are all good, and it's easy to thank God for all the amazing blessings he has given us. Everything seems to be going to plan. It seems like God is right there with us and things are all going well.
But when things don't go right it can often be a lot harder to be a Christian, we find it harder to find things to thank God for. We struggle; we can start arguing with God about the way things are going. We can even turn our backs on him. But he is there! Just as the sun was still there and rising brightly this morning. But just as the clouds obscured the sun this morning, the grey clouds and worries of life can obscure the light of God from our lives. We can feel like he is not there, but he is! He is always faithful and never changing! The Bible tells us that:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
The prophet Isaiah wrote about this:
Isaiah 9:2 MSG (The Message)
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows - light! Sunbursts of light!"
For those who read this blog who are not Christians I would say just try it, trust that no matter what is going on in your life, God can shine his light on you through any darkness; no matter how bad you may think it is. At the end of the day, he wants to know you; he cared about you before you were even born. So much so that he sent his son to earth to die on the Cross so your sins could be forgiven and you could let his light into your life.
Isaiah 42:16
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."
For those who are already Christians I would ask you to look at your lives. Are there any areas where there are still clouds of darkness? Are there any areas where the light of God does not shine in your life? Pray about it; pray about it hard. And see the way God can shine into your heart and soul and really change you into the person God created you to be.
The Sailing Salvationist
Fridays seem to be coming around very quickly! Sadly though that does not seem to make this trip seem to go any faster! It's been a mixed week, with e-mails playing up for half the week, but then, all of a sudden, they started working again! You can't believe how much this cheered me up after a frustrating week and a half of having problems contacting home.
As I have said before I get up every morning at 5am to go training. I finished the Insanity program and I am 3 weeks into a program called P90X. It's much the same except now I use weights to train as well. But this is not a blog about exercise!
Every morning when I get up I go to the hangar to train; this is a large open space at the back of the ship. This past week I have been opening the large hangar door to let a bit of fresh air in to try to keep the temperature a bit cooler. This has had a really amazing effect. It's still boiling hot! But I have also managed to be blessed by one of the most amazing sights of Gods creation.
When I get up its still pitch black outside, but this week there has been a large full moon shining down, add to this the millions of stars shining bright in the sky and it's a real effort to pull myself away from this amazing view and start training!
Usually if the ship is sailing west, after about 30 minutes the sky starts to go the most amazing bright orange colour. Then slowly the sun starts to come up, causing amazing reflections on the calm sea. The few high clouds that are in the sky also turn a wide range of amazing bright colours. So many different colours I can't even begin to describe them.
This morning however the sky was full of clouds, not a single bit of light from the moon shined down on the flight deck and when the sun rose, it just brought a sky of dull grey and dark colours. But the fact is the light was still there, shining bright behind the clouds. It was just obscured from view.
All this week these sun rises and night skies have really made me think and reflect upon my spiritual life. Often when things are going well, it's quite easy to be a Christian. Things are all good, and it's easy to thank God for all the amazing blessings he has given us. Everything seems to be going to plan. It seems like God is right there with us and things are all going well.
But when things don't go right it can often be a lot harder to be a Christian, we find it harder to find things to thank God for. We struggle; we can start arguing with God about the way things are going. We can even turn our backs on him. But he is there! Just as the sun was still there and rising brightly this morning. But just as the clouds obscured the sun this morning, the grey clouds and worries of life can obscure the light of God from our lives. We can feel like he is not there, but he is! He is always faithful and never changing! The Bible tells us that:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
The prophet Isaiah wrote about this:
Isaiah 9:2 MSG (The Message)
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. For those who lived in a land of deep shadows - light! Sunbursts of light!"
For those who read this blog who are not Christians I would say just try it, trust that no matter what is going on in your life, God can shine his light on you through any darkness; no matter how bad you may think it is. At the end of the day, he wants to know you; he cared about you before you were even born. So much so that he sent his son to earth to die on the Cross so your sins could be forgiven and you could let his light into your life.
Isaiah 42:16
"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."
For those who are already Christians I would ask you to look at your lives. Are there any areas where there are still clouds of darkness? Are there any areas where the light of God does not shine in your life? Pray about it; pray about it hard. And see the way God can shine into your heart and soul and really change you into the person God created you to be.
The Sailing Salvationist
Friday 16 August 2013
Cleaning
Here we are again, another Friday and time for another post, although to be honest I'm not really sure what I am going to write! I have had a few ideas here and there all week, but none of them have come to anything. So I'm just going to start typing and hope inspiration comesto me!
It has been a rubbish week, probably the worst I have had this trip, nothing this week seems to have gone right. One of the main problems has been contact with home. The e mails have been more than temperamental; they work for an hour, then you sit waiting for an e mailfor over an hour and you get 5 at once in a mixed up order! The phones have also been just down right annoying! I ring home, get to speak for about 30 seconds then the phone goes crackly for another 30 seconds and then just cuts off. It's been a major struggle not to pick up the phone, take it outside and launch it off the side of the ship! It's amazing how much lack of contact with home can get you down. But I have already done a post on communication, so that's no good for this post!
As I have said on one of my first posts, every Friday we clean. So this morning I spent 2 hours cleaning toilets. Not exactly what I joined the Navy for; but it needs to be done. If things don't get cleaned regularly and maintained all sorts of problems can occur. Take the toilets for example, if they are not cleaned properly it would not take long before the system broke and we would be left with no working toilets on the ship; not ideal! If they were not cleaned the risk ofsickness would greatly rise. This would be disastrous on a warship, as due to the cramped conditions and ventilation systems, sickness can spread through a ship like wild fire. This has more than one consequence; as a crew who are all ill are not able to work or fight the ship, this would mean the ship is no longer fit for purpose as it would not be able to fulfill its operational role. It would just be a useless lump of metal floating around the sea.
This week I have been reading a bit of the Hand Book of Doctrine. For anyone who does not know about it, it is a book which explains what Salvationists believe and why. It's a bit hard going in places but it is a good read.
In the back section of the book it has the Soldiers Covenant. This is a list of statements which someone makes and agrees to adhere to when becoming a Soldier in the Salvation Army. When I was made a Soldier I stood there and read them out and made a promise before God and all the people who were there that I would try my hardest to live up to and keep these promises I had made. I then signed the certificate as a physical reminder of the promises I had made.
I have this certificate at home kept in a frame; it sits on my chest of draws in my room next to my bed. So every morning when I am getting dressed there in front of me is a reminder of what I have promised. But they are not just promises I made to any person here on Earth; they are promises I made to God. They are more than just an earthly promise; they are a covenant, a sacred contract between me and God.
But here on the ship I have no visual reminder of these promises that I can look at every day. (Although now I have found them in the Handbook of Doctrine I can) When I read through them in my book I was quite shocked by how much some areas of my life had slipped away from these promises. In no way was this done intentionally; but that does not matter, these are promises I have made to God which I have either not kept, or not tried my hardest to keep.
That made me think, its quite easy to keep these promises when living a nice comfy life at home surrounded by other Christians, but its harder here on the ship when I'm alone. But that does not make it ok! That's just an excuse; and there are people in a lot worse situations than me who have kept these promises!
That left me a bit gutted and upset, I hate letting people down. I always try to be a man of my word, if I say I am going to do something or be somewhere at a certain time usually nothing will stop me; I will be there or it will get done. But here I had not let any earthly person down, I had let myself and my standards down and most importantly I had let God down.
So I was left wondering what I should do about this. It didn't take long to work out. I took myself outside to the side of the ship, sat there looking at the calm sea and prayed. I prayed for God to forgive me. I told him that I was sorry I had not kept my end of the covenant I had made with him. I asked him to fill me with the Holy Spirit to strengthen me, so I would be able to keep the promises he had made. I also thanked him for sending his Son Jesus. Because without thesacrifice of Jesus on the cross it would be impossible for me to be forgiven for these errors I have made.
Immediately I felt better. I had a fresh new start; yes I had messed up in places, but God forgives! God wants us to be close to him, and I really believe he rejoices when one of his people realises their mistakes, apologises and asks for help not to make the same mistakesagain. In fact I know this is true! It's promised in the Bible; and unlike us at times God always keeps his promises.
1 John 1:9 (New International Version)9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So although this week has been hard in many ways I also feel like it has been a good week in other ways. I really do feel I have cleaned out my soul a bit. (See the link with cleaning there! I knew this was going somewhere!) I would encourage all Soldiers who have made the same promises as I have to read through the promises you made with God. If something is not right there is no shame in it! We all fall short and mess up at times. The important thing is realising it and then coming before God in prayer to ask for forgiveness and strength not to make the same mistakesagain!
I am really hoping this next week will be a better one. I enter it knowing there are massive challenges and changes I need to make to keep the promises I made with God. But I also know it's a fresh start and he will strengthen me!
See you next week!
The Sailing Salvationist.
Below is link to the Soldiers Covenant if you want to have a read of it.
http://web.salvationarmy.org/
Here is another link to the 11 doctrines of the Salvation Army.
https://www.salvationist.org/
(Im not sure if these links will actually work, but if not both theDoctrine and Soldiers Covenant can be easily found on Google)
Friday 9 August 2013
Is our future in our past?
Hello again, yet another Friday comes around and I am another week closer to home! Hopefully only 9 weeks left until I will fly back to the UK. Not that I am counting or anything!
Modern technology is great isn't it? At the beginning of the year I was in an American Navy camp and I picked myself up an I Pad. It's an amazing piece of kit and it's revolutionised my life at sea. No more carrying a laptop around, I can listen to my music in my office when working, my photos are instantly at hand and most importantly if I am in port I can just go to somewhere with Wifi and in seconds I can be on Skype and talking to home!
One thing I love about it as well is the fact I can download and store magazines on it. Every time I get into a port and can get wifi I download the Salvationist and the War Cry. This gives me something to read when I am out at sea and makes me feel a bit more in contact with the UK. Don't get me wrong, it's not as good as physically having the paper itself to flick through, but it saves my mum having to post them out to me!
One thing I like about the Salvationist is the New Commitments page. I love looking to see if there is anyone I know, or any new Soldiers in Corps I have visited. As much as I love to see who is new in the Army, I have often wondered how many people each week have left or died. I have often thought, it looks like there are lots of new Soldiers and Adherents, so the Army must be growing.
I also like to read an online magazine called "Journal of Aggressive Christianity" The Journal is published online every other month, and it is well worth a look. Just follow the link if you fancy a read. http://www.armybarmy.com/jac.
This week I read an article in the JAC called "Salvo Stats Snapshots". This really got rid of any misconception I may have had that the Army is growing. Have a look at the article; the Army is not growing, it's rapidly in decline! I was not overly surprised that numbers in some places are dropping, but I was alarmed by the rate in which the Army seems to be loosing Soldiers, Junior Soldiers, Officers and even whole Corps.
This got me thinking; how come in the early days the Army saw such rapid growth and today it is seeing such rapid decline? Really it's a massive subject and there are many reasons and no easy solutions. But anyway here is my taking on some of the reasons and how we can buck the trend.
I must admit I can be a bit of an SA History geek at times. Just ask my girlfriend, I took her all the way to London, just to go to William Booth College and the Heritage Museum. One of the things I like to do is collect and read old SA books.
I find these books really interesting and love the passion with which the early Salvationists used to go for souls! As most people involved with the Army know it was set up in the west end of London, which at the time had some of the most shocking and poverty ridden conditions in the world. The early Salvationists would be right there, in and amongst the poor, living with them, sharing the same conditions, and trying their hardest to save them. This approach seemed to work and many people were saved this way. This was extremely effective in so much as when someone from these conditions was saved they knew exactly how to reach out to others who were in situations such as they had been in. This led to self perpetuating growth, as those poor people who were saved carried on to save those around them.
I know today there are many great Army people doing great outreach work in this area, but what of the average Soldier, what are we doing to reach out to the poor and the homeless? What are we doing to save and recruit these people? If were not doing a lot (and I'm not sureI am!) then what can we do! I am sure these days in many places the average Soldier has separated themselves from the poorer side of society and feel that they are better than them. It would seem in many places Corps want to be respectable rather than full of ex alcoholics, prostitutes and drug addicts. But that's exactly who the SA was established to save! This way of thinking must change if we are to see the Army get back to where it should be, and see the numbers start to rise again.
Another thing I have noticed in these early Salvationist books is the amount of time and effort people put into the Salvation War. People worked just as hard as we do now, if not harder and they did not have many of the comforts lots of us have today. Yet most nights andalmost all weekend they would be out trying to Save Souls, trying to lend a hand to help people, or doing some part to support the effort. It seems sometimes these days we just don't put enough effort and commitment in.
Please don't think I'm having a dig at anyone here! I know modern life can be hectic and draining. These are just my thoughts on the subject and I am just as much on at myself! Half the time I go to the morning meeting on a Sunday, but by Sunday evening I just want to chill out so don't go to the evening meeting. But I really don't think that is the right attitude! Yes we need down time to rest and relax, but we also need to increase our commitment and time spent serving God in this battle. We need to spend more time out and actively fighting this war and less time fighting on Call of Duty on the X Box, or slumped on the sofa watching TV. It seems most early Salvationists had no other hobby; there only aim when not in work was to save souls! Now that is commitment! To them the Salvation Army was not just something they did on a Sunday, or a building they would class as the place they worship.
It was a way of life. They lived for the fight!
These are just two of my thoughts on the subject as I said earlier, the subject of decline and the reasons behind this are massive. I could spend all day writing about it, but to be honest I expect you would probably get bored of listening to me rant on!
I really do think every Soldier should ask them selves the following questions though:
1) What am I personally doing to reach out and not just help, but save those that no one else in society cares about?
2) Am I really truthfully and honestly giving God as much time and effort in my life as is possible and as He deserves?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should necessarily go back to the tactics used by early Salvationists. Personally I'm not sure if marching up and down the streets every night with a brass band would have any effect! (Just my personal opinion there sorry to any bandos!). I feel we need to move forward in our methods and evangelical tactics.
But I also think we can learn a lot from the early Salvationists. I do feel we should move backwards in or commitment and passion to fight this war and reach out to the lost. I think if we re-engage the enemy with the passion and commitment of the early Salvationists we just might be able to turn the rapidly decreasing Army into a growing Army.
The Sailing Salvationist
Modern technology is great isn't it? At the beginning of the year I was in an American Navy camp and I picked myself up an I Pad. It's an amazing piece of kit and it's revolutionised my life at sea. No more carrying a laptop around, I can listen to my music in my office when working, my photos are instantly at hand and most importantly if I am in port I can just go to somewhere with Wifi and in seconds I can be on Skype and talking to home!
One thing I love about it as well is the fact I can download and store magazines on it. Every time I get into a port and can get wifi I download the Salvationist and the War Cry. This gives me something to read when I am out at sea and makes me feel a bit more in contact with the UK. Don't get me wrong, it's not as good as physically having the paper itself to flick through, but it saves my mum having to post them out to me!
One thing I like about the Salvationist is the New Commitments page. I love looking to see if there is anyone I know, or any new Soldiers in Corps I have visited. As much as I love to see who is new in the Army, I have often wondered how many people each week have left or died. I have often thought, it looks like there are lots of new Soldiers and Adherents, so the Army must be growing.
I also like to read an online magazine called "Journal of Aggressive Christianity" The Journal is published online every other month, and it is well worth a look. Just follow the link if you fancy a read. http://www.armybarmy.com/jac.
This week I read an article in the JAC called "Salvo Stats Snapshots". This really got rid of any misconception I may have had that the Army is growing. Have a look at the article; the Army is not growing, it's rapidly in decline! I was not overly surprised that numbers in some places are dropping, but I was alarmed by the rate in which the Army seems to be loosing Soldiers, Junior Soldiers, Officers and even whole Corps.
This got me thinking; how come in the early days the Army saw such rapid growth and today it is seeing such rapid decline? Really it's a massive subject and there are many reasons and no easy solutions. But anyway here is my taking on some of the reasons and how we can buck the trend.
I must admit I can be a bit of an SA History geek at times. Just ask my girlfriend, I took her all the way to London, just to go to William Booth College and the Heritage Museum. One of the things I like to do is collect and read old SA books.
I find these books really interesting and love the passion with which the early Salvationists used to go for souls! As most people involved with the Army know it was set up in the west end of London, which at the time had some of the most shocking and poverty ridden conditions in the world. The early Salvationists would be right there, in and amongst the poor, living with them, sharing the same conditions, and trying their hardest to save them. This approach seemed to work and many people were saved this way. This was extremely effective in so much as when someone from these conditions was saved they knew exactly how to reach out to others who were in situations such as they had been in. This led to self perpetuating growth, as those poor people who were saved carried on to save those around them.
I know today there are many great Army people doing great outreach work in this area, but what of the average Soldier, what are we doing to reach out to the poor and the homeless? What are we doing to save and recruit these people? If were not doing a lot (and I'm not sureI am!) then what can we do! I am sure these days in many places the average Soldier has separated themselves from the poorer side of society and feel that they are better than them. It would seem in many places Corps want to be respectable rather than full of ex alcoholics, prostitutes and drug addicts. But that's exactly who the SA was established to save! This way of thinking must change if we are to see the Army get back to where it should be, and see the numbers start to rise again.
Another thing I have noticed in these early Salvationist books is the amount of time and effort people put into the Salvation War. People worked just as hard as we do now, if not harder and they did not have many of the comforts lots of us have today. Yet most nights andalmost all weekend they would be out trying to Save Souls, trying to lend a hand to help people, or doing some part to support the effort. It seems sometimes these days we just don't put enough effort and commitment in.
Please don't think I'm having a dig at anyone here! I know modern life can be hectic and draining. These are just my thoughts on the subject and I am just as much on at myself! Half the time I go to the morning meeting on a Sunday, but by Sunday evening I just want to chill out so don't go to the evening meeting. But I really don't think that is the right attitude! Yes we need down time to rest and relax, but we also need to increase our commitment and time spent serving God in this battle. We need to spend more time out and actively fighting this war and less time fighting on Call of Duty on the X Box, or slumped on the sofa watching TV. It seems most early Salvationists had no other hobby; there only aim when not in work was to save souls! Now that is commitment! To them the Salvation Army was not just something they did on a Sunday, or a building they would class as the place they worship.
It was a way of life. They lived for the fight!
These are just two of my thoughts on the subject as I said earlier, the subject of decline and the reasons behind this are massive. I could spend all day writing about it, but to be honest I expect you would probably get bored of listening to me rant on!
I really do think every Soldier should ask them selves the following questions though:
1) What am I personally doing to reach out and not just help, but save those that no one else in society cares about?
2) Am I really truthfully and honestly giving God as much time and effort in my life as is possible and as He deserves?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should necessarily go back to the tactics used by early Salvationists. Personally I'm not sure if marching up and down the streets every night with a brass band would have any effect! (Just my personal opinion there sorry to any bandos!). I feel we need to move forward in our methods and evangelical tactics.
But I also think we can learn a lot from the early Salvationists. I do feel we should move backwards in or commitment and passion to fight this war and reach out to the lost. I think if we re-engage the enemy with the passion and commitment of the early Salvationists we just might be able to turn the rapidly decreasing Army into a growing Army.
The Sailing Salvationist
Friday 2 August 2013
Life in a cell
Hello, well it’s another Friday so time for another post; I love writing them as it’s a marker in the week and every one is a Friday closer to home!
As I had said previously my girlfriend came out to visit me the other week. We had an amazing time. It really was the best week ever. It was so nice to be able to spend quality time together, as even when I'm back in the UK I am based 100’s of miles from where she lives. We had a great time seeing the sites and just enjoying being with each other. I suppose calling her my Girlfriend is wrong now, I should call her my fiancée because when she was out her I proposed and we are now getting married in exactly 365 days time!
But the week had to end, and I had to take her back to the airport and watch her leave for home. That was so hard and was just horrible because I knew it would be at least 3 months until I could see her again. It really was soul destroying, it was very hard for both of us; especially as it is the Muslim religious month of Ramadan, so I could not even give her a hug goodbye at the airport.
Needless to say I returned to the ship quite grumpy and feeling down; yes it had been an amazing week, but everything just felt so grey and empty. Alright I know I live on a ship that is painted grey! But im sure you know what I mean! Being on this ship at times is very much like being in prison. You are stuck sharing little rooms, you have little to no privacy and when you’re at sea there is just no escape.
I was really feeling like I was going to be doing a prison sentence for the next three months when I returned to the ship, and I was just so tempted to say “I have had enough of this” and jump on a plane home! Although I didn’t really fancy having the military police chasing me for the rest of my life for being AWOL!
I have been doing the New Testament challenge this year, I always try to follow a Bible reading plan as I need the structure to keep me disciplined. The day I got back to the ship I was so tempted to just not do it. It thought “I can’t be bothered today, ill just catch up tomorrow” But I am so glad I did. The days’ reading was from Acts Chapter 12. It finds Peter in prison for spreading the Gospel, here is the bit that I found helpful and interesting.
Acts 12:5-7 (New King James Version)Peter Freed from Prison5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off hishands.
I found this really helped me, and in such a grumpy mood feeling like I was stuck in prison it really picked me up. Not because it shows how Peter was released from prison. I'm not expecting God to send down an Angel who will suddenly get me off this ship! But because it shows the amazing power of intercessional prayer!
Verse 5 says constant prayer was offered by the church for Peter, and look what happened! The people petitioned God through prayer and he answered! How amazing and mind blowing is that! But what really strengthened me in this extract is the fact I know back home and in other places people are praying just for me. People are asking God to keep me safe, watch over me and ensure everything is alright! So just as God kept Peter safe I trust that he will keep me safe until I return home to.
As I thought deeper upon this passage I thought of another interpretation of it. How often do we see or hear of people that we know about who are stuck by some form of sin? Imprisoned in a spiritual cell of the devils making. But if we pray constantly for them we can have a massive impact upon them. As verse 7 says “And his chains fell off his hands.” That’s an amazing thought, by praying for someone we can help them shed the chains of sin that bound them!
Really the message of this post is the same as last weeks. Who could you be praying for? Find someone, pray for them constantly just like the young Church did for Peter; and you might be amazed what happens!
The Sailing Salvationist
As I had said previously my girlfriend came out to visit me the other week. We had an amazing time. It really was the best week ever. It was so nice to be able to spend quality time together, as even when I'm back in the UK I am based 100’s of miles from where she lives. We had a great time seeing the sites and just enjoying being with each other. I suppose calling her my Girlfriend is wrong now, I should call her my fiancée because when she was out her I proposed and we are now getting married in exactly 365 days time!
But the week had to end, and I had to take her back to the airport and watch her leave for home. That was so hard and was just horrible because I knew it would be at least 3 months until I could see her again. It really was soul destroying, it was very hard for both of us; especially as it is the Muslim religious month of Ramadan, so I could not even give her a hug goodbye at the airport.
Needless to say I returned to the ship quite grumpy and feeling down; yes it had been an amazing week, but everything just felt so grey and empty. Alright I know I live on a ship that is painted grey! But im sure you know what I mean! Being on this ship at times is very much like being in prison. You are stuck sharing little rooms, you have little to no privacy and when you’re at sea there is just no escape.
I was really feeling like I was going to be doing a prison sentence for the next three months when I returned to the ship, and I was just so tempted to say “I have had enough of this” and jump on a plane home! Although I didn’t really fancy having the military police chasing me for the rest of my life for being AWOL!
I have been doing the New Testament challenge this year, I always try to follow a Bible reading plan as I need the structure to keep me disciplined. The day I got back to the ship I was so tempted to just not do it. It thought “I can’t be bothered today, ill just catch up tomorrow” But I am so glad I did. The days’ reading was from Acts Chapter 12. It finds Peter in prison for spreading the Gospel, here is the bit that I found helpful and interesting.
Acts 12:5-7 (New King James Version)Peter Freed from Prison5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off hishands.
I found this really helped me, and in such a grumpy mood feeling like I was stuck in prison it really picked me up. Not because it shows how Peter was released from prison. I'm not expecting God to send down an Angel who will suddenly get me off this ship! But because it shows the amazing power of intercessional prayer!
Verse 5 says constant prayer was offered by the church for Peter, and look what happened! The people petitioned God through prayer and he answered! How amazing and mind blowing is that! But what really strengthened me in this extract is the fact I know back home and in other places people are praying just for me. People are asking God to keep me safe, watch over me and ensure everything is alright! So just as God kept Peter safe I trust that he will keep me safe until I return home to.
As I thought deeper upon this passage I thought of another interpretation of it. How often do we see or hear of people that we know about who are stuck by some form of sin? Imprisoned in a spiritual cell of the devils making. But if we pray constantly for them we can have a massive impact upon them. As verse 7 says “And his chains fell off his hands.” That’s an amazing thought, by praying for someone we can help them shed the chains of sin that bound them!
Really the message of this post is the same as last weeks. Who could you be praying for? Find someone, pray for them constantly just like the young Church did for Peter; and you might be amazed what happens!
The Sailing Salvationist
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