captain – The Arrow Preacher

Captain My Captain:

Follow my leader, my Lord Jesus Christ. A path straight and true, my ship sails and even though troubled waters are ahead, the storm I shall not fear. My Lord leads me through the highest swells, the strongest winds, and no storm shall sink my ship. My captain I trust, my captain I have faith and fear will not control me.

Matthew 14:25:33“25 And in the fourth watch of the night[c] he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind,[d] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

When we give up the reigns and we trust in the Lord we will not be led astray. I believe one of the hardest things we will ever do is trust Jesus to get out of the boat of our safety net, and trust that we will not sink into the darkness. Sinking into the darkness, or trusting Jesus enough to let go of the power you believe you have. Power is the world’s greatest lie. We believe we have control over our lives, and that we are in charge of our own fate. While we do have free will, I challenge you to show me a life when bad and unexpected things don’t happen. We want to feel like we are in control but the truth is we don’t know what will happen an hour from now, let alone days, weeks, or years. Proverbs 3:5-6“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” The word in the Hebrew is Batach, to trust, to have confidence. Faith is an important part of trusting in the Lord. As we place our faith in many false teachings, many false beliefs, and people draw our faith, but I say this my brethren this is folly. Only one place your faith must go and that’s the Almighty God and His son Jesus Christ. Psalm 28:7“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” We only have one place to put our trust our faith, and in turn, we are graced with strength, and the fortitude to see the fight through to the end.

We see a theme from cover to cover in scripture and that’s trusting in the Lord. In the book of Daniel we see him thrown into the lions den and yet in Daniel 6:23“23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel trusted in the Lord and thus was delivered at the hands of certain death. Trust came in many flavors but the Lord’s promise is powerful. Do we curse the winds, which cause the waves? Do we curse the clouds, which empty the rains? We choose to venture onto the waters, and yet we take our risks against nature. We have to have faith in our Lord and Savior. Deuteronomy 31:6 “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Courage in the face of danger pushing the fear away, and trusting that no matter what happens in this life our love of Christ, the submitting to Jesus assures us salvation in Heaven. Isaiah 41:10 “10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” We cannot curse God for everything that happens to us. We must understand the route of all evil is Sin. Sin is everywhere and if we underestimate the power of the dark side we shall be overcome by it. People fall to sin and make selfish, lustful, poor decisions every day. We cannot blame God for the actions of people. We cannot blame God for every thorn, every thistle, every hiccup, and every trial. Know that God is always working Romans 8:28“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” We must not forsake our love for Christ with hate in our hearts. It is love that spared us death, and it will be love that will lift us up again. Love is the only way, and it’s in that love that we must have faith in the absence of things we cannot see. We live in this world but we must never succumb to it. We fight the fight so we can walk the path of rugged righteousness before our God. We trust in Christ to guide us in our way, the only way. Faith is Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” We put our faith in Christ to let go of our own prideful ways and instead give up control to Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Our faith to Jesus is where hope begins and ends. God’s grace will always be sufficient for us because we know the maker of heaven and earth, and trusting the way, the truth, the blood of Christ spilt to save us from our sins. My dearly beloved do not grow angry in the face of the trials, instead turn to the word of God to find your hope once more. Do not grow weary in the storm, for we see in 1 Peter 4:12-13“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

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Breaking the Bow

As a ships Captain the first duty is always to the ship. You must know how to manage the crew, know everything about your ship; know where you’re going, and how to get there. Now this next part will rattle some cages, so before you quickly judge, hear me out. Ephesians 5:22-24 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.” Men, this doesn’t give you free access to be hard headed, or stubborn, this doesn’t allow you to be controlling as a King would, but instead think of this as a ship. You men are the captains of your marriage. You should be leading with dignity, with grace, with kindness and compassion. You should be leading your marriage as a God fearing and loving home. Wives are the first mate, supportive, understanding, and strong in faith. No kingdom should be without a queen. As the saying goes behind every great leader is a great woman. Women play a vital role in the household. My personal belief is a woman can do anything a man can do.

So many males today have kids but refuse to be a father. So many boys today stay boys and never grow into men. It’s not enough to be an adult; you must act like a man. There are so many mothers out there raising children on their own. We men need to learn to act like men, and resume our place as leaders. Christ died for us, for all of our sins, and we men should be willing to die for Christ, for our families if need be. There should be a higher level of devotion from me.

Here however are the meat and potatoes of the post. Divorce. Husbands, especially ones who’ve served in the military should understand this. She’s (your wife) is your battle buddy. You don’t retreat. You lever quit, never surrender, never leave your buddy behind. We have to learn the language of love. Love isn’t a feeling. It’s a commitment. It’s doing it every day. Everyone goes through rough patches. You both need to learn how to bring each other up, not tear down. Often in a marriage especially one where infidelity has occurred it’s difficult to find any kind of peace. How do we move forward after an affair? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rue. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes for all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” Now even though the bible allows divorce for one reason alone adultery, that doesn’t mean that’s the right course for everyone. As Christ so loved us he forgave us for the most horrible of crimes. We however must want and ask for forgiveness. Any marriage can be saved so long as the lines of communication remain open. As long as both parties are welcome to the idea of seeking wise counsel. Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Proverbs 19:20“Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” Proverbs 1:5 “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance,” We men can be stubborn; we can be bull headed, and ignorant. We have gotten into an attitude of not wanting to ask for help, not admitting we need it. How foolish can we be to think we can handle every situation, every problem? The truth is every problem and situation has a solution, and even world leaders have a slew of people within their counsel. Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” In all things God will be there for us. He will provide the answers if we just learn to ask the right questions. As Peter wrote his letter 1 Peter 3:8-12 was particularly important in how to live within a Godly Marriage. “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. 9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; 11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Be your ships captain, be the masters of your ship, but bow down to the greatness of Gods creation. God’s master over all but expects us to command our homes. Don’t let your bow break on that ship of yours, navigate your waters, and avoid the storms when you can, but learn to prepare for them. Fight the storms, fight for your marriage, fight for what’s right and always remember God is your North Star. Place the compass North and set sail.