Who is Jesus? #141

Ten Things You Must Know About Jesus

Well, I’m off on another path of Tittle Tangents. In the coming weeks, months, whatever – Ten Things You Must Know About Jesus. This first one is basic to all of the others that will be discussed. If we don’t believe this one, there is no use going any further.

His Reality

We are talking more here than just the fact that Jesus lived on this earth almost 2000 years ago. Yes, He is more than an historical figure, He is an historical fact. He really lived, walked, and ministered on this big blue marble. However, His reality goes well beyond the fact of His physical existence. Muhammad was real. Buddha was real. What makes the reality of Jesus any different?

The reality of Jesus is found in Him fulfilling hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament.

The reality of Jesus is found in His willingness to give it all up for you and me.

The reality of Jesus is found in the unsurpassed love He has for everyone.

The reality of Jesus is found in His expressions of anger, love, frustration, and other emotions.

The reality of Jesus is found in His discovery of what His mission on earth was all about.

The reality of Jesus is found not only by the fact that so many accepted Him, but also by the fact that so many rejected Him.

The reality of Jesus is found in the way He could touch people’s hearts like no one else could.

The reality of Jesus is found in the way He still touches the hearts of people today.

The reality of Jesus is found in the challenge He gives us today.

The reality of Jesus is found in all the people trying to discredit or deny Him today.

The reality of Jesus is found in relationships with others.

The reality of Jesus is found in the homes of His disciples.

The reality of Jesus is found in His presence with us in good and rough times.

The reality of Jesus is found in the many forms of mission and outreach accomplished in His name.

The reality of Jesus is found in the difference He makes in the lives of people.
Jesus will be just as real throughout eternity forward as He is right now. He is just as real right now as He was 2000 years ago. He was just as real 2000 years ago as He was in the beginning. He was just as real in the beginning as He had been throughout eternity backwards.

How about sitting down in some quiet place, just you, your Bible, and God, and let the reality of Jesus soak into the depths of your soul.

Remember the old song with the words, "My God is real; for I can feel Him in my Soul."

Who is Jesus? #140

"The fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."
In our modern ships the First Mate reports directly to the captain and manages the deck crew. Ultimately, he or she is responsible for most everything that has to do with cargo storage and how low the ship sits in the water. The First Mate has to mathematically calculate all kinds of data to get the right information. This information is necessary to keep the ship balanced and to know just how deep or shallow any harbor may be where the ship will be in port. The ship needs to be sitting high enough to see the line painted around the ship that shows how low, or high, it can sit and still be safe – the load line.

Do you ever feel like your life is all out of balance? Well, if so, you don’t need to do any recalculations; our First Mate has already done that. We probably don't need to rearrange the load on our life, things probably just need to be thrown overboard. Here are some instructions from our First Mate.
            “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
             and all these things will be added to you, (Matthew 6:33).”

           “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth….but lay
           up for yourselves treasures in heaven, (Matthew 6:19-21).”

Now that will balance the load.

Do you ever feel like you're riding so low in the water that you’re about to run aground where you are?  Sometimes life can just drag us down. When a ship runs aground it becomes useless. The same can be said of life. Let's make sure we are riding high in the water. Our First Mate has made His calculations and here is what He recommends:
          Cast all of your cares on Him, for He cares for you,
          (I Peter 5:7).”
         “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin
         that so easily entangles, (Hebrews 12:1).”

We will not ever be given more than we can handle so we ride above the load line and are safe.

With our load balanced and riding high in the water, we can safely make it to any port the Captain desires. Let's get underway.

Who is Jesus? #139

“The fullness of Him who fills everything is every way.” Back in Jesus’ day boats were propelled by either oars or wind or maybe both. I guess on a windless day the oars had better be handy or you would lose your source of income if you were a fisherman.

Have you been caught out in the lake of life without any wind? If so, have you tried rowing your own boat and reached the point of exhaustion? You have tried everything while the sail remains limp…lifeless. I remember being out on Lake Fork in East Texas on a windy day fishing with a friend. As the wind grew stronger and stronger, we decided it was time to get off the lake. My buddy pulled the rope, the engine roared, but we went nowhere – a sheered pin. There was an oar in the boat and guess who got to row while his buddy worked on the pin? We were going nowhere fast against that wind. We needed the power of the engine which we were able to fix with a little bit of creativity and finally made it to the dock.

We do get stuck in life from time to time without any power. There was a time when Jesus was trying to power-up his associates - probably because he knew what was ahead of them. Here is what John says:

        “And with that he breathed on them and said,
           ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ (John 20:22).”

He breathed and they were filled! He breathes and we are filled!! Our life is driven to its destination by the wind of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I can’t imagine why we have spent so much time arguing about the Spirit rather than being empowered by His presence?

If your life seems to be going nowhere, and all of us have experienced that at some point in our lives, let Jesus breathe into your life His Spirit and watch the effects of billowed, rather than limp, sails. He will get you where you need to go, if you are full.

Who is Jesus? #138

“The fullness of Him who fills everything is every way.” As I continue to reflect on the nautical usage of this word “fullness,” I realize I have pretty much left the realm of first century life. There were bigger ships then but we mostly are familiar with the small vessels used by fishermen. However, I will continue.

One of the duties of an average hand on board was to swab the deck. What this actually meant was to take a mop made of yarn and mop the deck of the boat. For those who sailed on fishing boats, this was done several times a day in order to keep the deck clean from the refuse leftover from cleaning fish. This helped to keep the boat clean and a little less smelly.

There were a couple of other reasons for swabbing the deck. It was punishment for a sailor who didn’t behave himself and it was also used to keep sailors busy so as not to get into trouble.

When I think about this I can’t help but remember I John 1:7-8.

            But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
            we have fellowship with one another, and the
            blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
            If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
            ourselves and the truth is not in us.If we confess
            our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us
            our sins and purify us from
            all unrighteousness.

Sometimes our deck – life – is not clean. It is stained with the refuse of sin. It needs to be cleaned – continually cleaned. This is the promise for those who “walk in the light” of Jesus Christ. He continually swabs our deck. If we will admit that it needs swabbing, He will step in and take care of it.

For those who do not know Jesus. There is no deck so dirty that He cannot clean. Give it up to Him and give in to Him and let Him swab the deck.

I can’t help but also think of the time when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet (John 13). This was task of the lowest of the lowest servants in a household. Jesus demonstrated that he was not too good to take this job. He took the nature of a servant (Philippians 2:7).

He’s not too good for the job and He does it very well. How’s your deck?

Time Out for an Important Announcement

Mr. Jackson Brantley Carrigan. Born July 9, 2010. Weighed in at 8lb 10oz. and 21" long. Dad and Mom are Ben and Amy Carrigan. Everyone is doing fine and young Mr. Carrigan will probably come home from the hospital in the morning.

Who is Jesus? #137

I remember as a kid getting to go on a boat with my neighbor who was in the Coast Guard. On this particular day their job was to replace old buoys in Galveston Bay which were faded and ugly with bright new freshly painted ones. The technique was somewhat monotonous, but it provided a whole day of activity - pick up one buoy and replace it with another which had the same number on it.


The exciting part of the day was when I got to steer the boat. I have driven smaller fishing boats but never a large tug boat like this one. In addition, this boat was pushing a barge that had all of the buoys on it. If you can imagine, it was sort of like pushing a trailer with your car rather than pulling it. You had to think backwards in order to steer the boat where you wanted it to go.

Of course the real helmsman was standing there right behind me telling me exactly what to do in order to avoid all of the other vessels in the channel as well as other objects. He would say turn right or left (port or starboard) and then tell me to stop. I am pretty sure that I would have made a mess of things if he hadn’t been there with me. Of course when he was steering everything worked just like it was supposed to.

There is an obvious comparison here to Jesus. Or, is there? I believe we are interested most of the time in steering our own ship through life. There are a lot of obstacles out there to avoid. It would be great to let the master helmsman at the wheel. We do have one of those, but we have to be ready for Jesus to steer where we ought to go and not where we necessarily want to go. Remember when Jesus told his disciples, "let's go to the other side of the lake, (Mark 4:35)."  These seasoned sailors knew about those terrible windstorms that could explode on the lake at anytime. It probably would have been O.K.with them to journey around the lake rather than straight across.
Relinquishing the helm is tough. Listen to the comfort of these scriptures.

Psalm 34:19 19

A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

Isaiah 43:2 2

 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.

We used to sing that old song, "Jesus Savior Pilot Me"  For many of us it seems we are willing to let Jesus take over when life is tough, but when the sailing is smooth, we want our own hands on the wheel. Jesus will not be a part-time helmsman! He either has the wheel or He doesn't. Take over, Jesus. Steady as she goes!
Are you full yet?

Who is Jesus? #136

I guess if I don't know where I am going, then I will need someone who can tell me or show me the way. Since we are still talking about ships, that person would be the navigator. If the vessel is going to be true to her course and arrive at the desired destination, the navigator had better be accurate at his job. The navigator has maps, compasses, the stars, etc. at his disposal to chart an accurate course. He also will have to, from time to time, chart a diversion to go around a storm or other traffic on the high seas. Whatever it takes, let's just get there.

Before the days of the GPS there have been times I needed a navigator with accurate maps and directions. Speaking of GPS, my current GPS (won't mention the brand) does not know where I live. If I put in my address, it will say I have arrived a good two blocks short of my house. There's probably a good application here.

If Jesus is the navigator of the ship of our lives, then we are in great hands. There is no doubt about the destination and how to get there. "I am the way..." He says. But there is more to this than just Him knowing the way. This navigator has arrived. He is where we all want to be. I am not sure how many navigators out there have already been to the place where they are pointing the vessel.

There is more. Jesus not only knows the way, and has arrived, He has traveled the same road. He has been tempted just like we are (Hebrews 4:15). He had people along the way who told Him he didn't need to go there.

If you have lost direction in life may I strongly affirm this Navigator. He will not steer you wrong! Beyond anything that has already been said about His skills as a Navigator, He cares about your journey! He knows! He's experienced! He's aware of all the pitfalls! He will issue you course corrections if you have drifted off course. He's up ahead saying "Follow me." The fullness of Him who "fills everything in every way."