We recorded most of the sessions for Training Camp and over half of the sessions for Youth Camp.

Follow Me: The Man Who Missed The Boat

 But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.  And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.  Matthew 8:22-23

Matthew paints the scene: Disciples of Jesus approach him as he is about to enter a boat.  Jesus gives an invitation to follow Him.  They turn back toward home and miss one of the greatest displays of His power – the calming of the sea.  The disciples in the boat respond with “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” (8:27)

The first psalm in the order of our Bibles is actually found in Exodus 15.  Israel sings of the deliverance by the Lord and in verse 10 “Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them“. They conclude with “Who is like unto thee, O LORD” (15:11).  How similar this response is to that of the disciples on the boat.  The One who spoke creation into existence and brought forth the dry ground out of the seas is able to send a wind to divide the waters as a path of escape for His people and to still a might story with the sound of His voice.

Now back to the man who missed the boat.  He may never have learned what he missed  that day.  This experience changed the lives of the men on that boat but this man fades back into obscurity.  What if he had joined the disciples that day? Would we now know his name?  Would he have seen “greater things than these”?  As far as is known he was never called upon again.

Do you feel the Lord calling upon you to follow? What holds you back? Do you think that if you wait until your education is complete or your house is paid off or your family is raised that you can answer the call then?  Sometimes things work that way, but most times they do not.  In general when we fail to follow when the Lord calls we can never replace what we missed.

When you hear the call, don’t “miss the boat”.  Follow Him!

“My little children, keep yourselves from idols.”  (1 John 5:21)

I grew up in a large family with colorful relatives.  Among them was my beloved Aunt Hazel.  Her home was like a museum filled with images and statues of idols from around the world.  I don’t think she actually worshipped them but it was clear that she was fascinated by them. She knew their names and their supposed powers.

The last gift that I received from her was a small box of miniature carved statues with a card telling me their names.  It is now part of an illustration I have used for years in children’s gospel meetings called the “idol box.”  Nobody would argue that these items belong in that box, but the other items may surprise you.  A baseball, coins, a miniature television, and other assorted icons of daily life that may be useful or necessary, yet any could become an idol.

What exactly is an idol? The images of man or beast carved into wood, metal, or stone are the obvious ones (Deuteronomy 29:17).  Colossians 3:5 ends a list of sins done in the body with “and covetousness, which is idolatry:” I am not so sure that the grammar in the sentence may not dictate that everything on the list is also idolatry, but covetousness is synonymous with idolatry in and of itself.

 The basic idea of covetousness is desire.  It could be the desire for something that does not belong to us.  Or perhaps it could be the desire to be something that we are not.  Through the magic of the media we are made acutely aware of what we could have and what we could be and before long we want it.

 The root of covetousness is not being content with what we have or who we are. There is an old adage that states “if you want what you have, you will have what you want.”  Paul’s similarly admonishes Timothy that “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).  What you do not spend (lose), you save (gain). That makes sense.

 The idolatry of covetousness drives man into debt or at least wastes his resources that could be better invested. Many always need (want) the newest gadgets and gizmos. (I speak to and of myself).  For some it is riches, for some it is relationships, and for others it is recognition.  You get the idea.  Now you know what to look for. 

 “My little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).

SBS
October 2012