Articles & Devotionals
The Heavenly Salt Life
Have you ever been sailing? I’ve been only once—on the bay out of Fort Myers. That day came with a calm breeze, blue sky, and white puffy clouds. It was such a pleasant experience. And thinking about the sea, did you know the New Testament has a few things to say about it? You can’t read the New Testament without seeing water everywhere. Have you ever thought about how much the Scriptures say that relates to life on the water?
For example, we have an anchor. You don’t want to be on the water without an anchor! Right? The writer of Hebrews tells us that we “have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enter within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us…” (Hebrews 6:19-20). Sailboats need anchors. One windy day I was running along the Gulf of Mexico when I looked far out in the west and saw a sail boat stuck on a sand bar, tilting over, engulfed by the waves. They should have used an anchor to stop them from going onto that calamity! And in life, we need an anchor for the soul. Hope based in Jesus is the anchor given to us to bring surety and steadfastness to our lives. “Hope is to the believer what a secure anchor is to a ship. Hope sustains and braces the Christian in the midst of all of his trials; but when hope fails, he is left to drift aimlessly and falls victim to the merciless ocean.” (quote from Jesus Christ Today by Lightfoot, p.18). Our hope is steadfast and sure because it is based in two things—God’s promise and God’s truthfulness (Hebrews 6:17-18). Hope is based in Jesus, in the reality of heaven and Jesus opening the way to heaven. No matter what storms of life pound against you, never let go of Jesus. Hold tightly to Him and your anchor of hope.
Another text that takes us by the sea is found in Ephesians chapter four. Here Paul wrote about the teaching and leadership gifts Christ gave to the church (4:11) for its growth and for the equipping of Christians “for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” (4:12). God wants Christians to grow so that “we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (4:14). Good Bible teaching backed by loving and caring leaders can help us to stand strong in a world battered by human philosophy and immorality that is opposed to God. Speaking the truth (God’s word) in love (4:15) will help us to hold tightly to the anchor, our hope in Jesus. We will be able to withstand the wind and waves. Keep sailing.
