SONday Devotions

Ship's Log  05.03.2015



Ahoy Mateys! I pray that these devotions bless ye in a big way!

SONday Devotions

Pearls From The Sea

Don't Give Up the Ship!

By MaryLu Tyndall

   Don't give up the ship. Not while God is the captain, for no matter how rough the storm, He won't lose anyone on board!

   Most of us have at least one family member who doesn't know the Lord. One person we cry out to God day and night to save. As the years go by and nothing seems to happen, it can be heartbreaking. But God's Word has much to say about lost loved ones.

   Consider the story of Noah in Genesis 6. God looked down upon the earth and found nothing but wickedness and violence, and He was grieved that He had made man. Yet, the next verse states that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, only Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth....The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation."

   Why did the Lord allow Noah's entire family to be saved even though only Noah was righteous? I believe it's because God is a God of families. He created families. He is the ultimate Father. He understands the intense love that exists in families. He saves entire families! So, are members of a family automatically saved by the belief of one member? No, of course not. However, Scripture confirms that if one member is a Christian who loves the Lord, who serves the Lord and who is fervently praying for his or her family to be saved, they will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at some point in their lives. The Bible is filled with passages about God saving families because of one righteous member. 

   Consider Lot, who was not all that righteous. Over and over, God rescued him for Abraham's sake.

   So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that overthrew the cities where Lot had lived (Genesis 19:29 NIV)

   In Joshua, the prostitute Rahab was saved along with her entire family because of her faith in God. 

   And don't forget the jailer who, after Peter was miraculously delivered out of prison, asked: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

   So, Don't be disheartened. Search the Scriptures for other instances where God saves families and descendants of the righteous. And pray and fast for your lost loved ones. Don't give up the ship. God is a Father, and He understands your love and your fears for your family. He will calm the waters and rescue your lost ones!

Beaten, Stoned and Shipwrecked

By Debbie Mitchell

   Have you ever boasted about your suffering?

Seems absurd, doesn't it? Yet, that is exactly what we should be doing. Paul suffered so much in his walk with God. Among other things, he was beaten, stoned and shipwrecked. He was constantly in danger from strangers and from his own countrymen. In all this, he chose to boast about his sufferings. He refused to boast in any of his good fortune, only in his suffering.

   If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30 NIV).

   When things are going smoothly in our lives, we have no problem boasting about our success. But when we face any kind of suffering, we complain about it. What we need to realize is that the Enemy hates it when we live our lives for God. So, he brings suffering to us, to try and make us complain about it. When we complain, we make Satan stronger: we make him smile. Yet, when we boast about those same sufferings, we wound Satan. No smile there!

   We need to see suffering as a blessing. If we suffer, it means Satan sees us as a threat. Therefore if we are suffering, we must be doing something right. So, let's take Paul's lead and start boasting about our sufferings. Let's Beat, Stone and Shipwreck Satan!

   Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 5:8-11 NASB).

Have a blessed SONday, Mateys!!!!