DON'T JUMP SHIP!

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Don't jump ship. cut the lines!

These are designed to be 10-15 minute meditation practices. If you don't complete the practice then good! Come back for more tomorrow and until it completes a work in your soul rhythms.
​Scripture Contemplation Guide: 1. Invite the Holy Spirit to speak, resonate, reveal, and renovate you. 2. Read through the passage and take in the landscape. What thought does the landscape provoke? What word or phrase pops from the passage of scripture for you? 3. Read slowly through the passage a second time and meditate in silence. What do you hear as you wait in God's presence? 4. Pray conversationally through the scripture to your good Father. Ask Him questions, tell Him about the things you are wrestling with in the passage. Cast your cares on Jesus, be candid, thorough, authentic, and most of all be you. 5. Now thank the Lord for the work He is doing in you and then come back for more as needed!

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Psalm 107:23-31
Some of us set sail upon the sea to faraway ports,
transporting our goods from ship to shore.
We were witnesses of God’s power out in the ocean deep;
we saw breathtaking wonders upon the high seas.
When God spoke he stirred up a storm,
lifting high the waves with hurricane winds.
Ships were tossed by the swelling sea, rising to the sky,
then dropping down to the depths,
reeling like drunkards, spinning like tops,
everyone at their wits’ end until even sailors despaired of life,
cringing in terror.
Then we cried out, “Lord, help us! Rescue us!” And he did!
God stilled the storm, calmed the waves,
and he hushed the hurricane winds to only a whisper.
We were so relieved, so glad as he guided us
safely to harbor in a quiet haven.
So lift your hands and give thanks to God for his marvelous kindness
and for his miracles of mercy for those he loves! (TPT)

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FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

Acts 27:30–32
And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off.

After jumping through legal hoops in Caesarea, Paul was finally sailing toward Rome to plead his case before Caesar. On the way, a storm arose that threatened the lives of the two hundred seventy-six soldiers, sailors, and prisoners on board with Paul. After the crew readied a lifeboat to avoid the inevitable dashing of the ship against the rocks, Paul, the little rabbi who was a tentmaker by trade and a prisoner by decree, said, “Except ye abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.”
I believe Paul’s words are the heart of the Lord for us today. There are times—maybe you’re in one right now—when the wind is howling, the waves are rising, and you find yourself saying, “I’m out of here. I can't take these circumstances one more day! I’m jumping ship. I cannot take this marriage one more day,” or—“I can’t take my parents, or boss, one more minute. Adios.”
Storms come, and the temptation arises within all of us to bail out when things get tuff or we think we’ve been tricked or cheated. 

Wive's, you might look at the man next to you and say, “I was tricked. He’s not the man I thought he would be.” Husband's, you might look at the woman you married and say, “She’s not the passion of my life. I didn’t know she would turn out this way.” But if you jump ship, know this: You will miss the blessing of the birthing of Jesus in a supernatural, incredible, wonderful way because there are no tricks in the life of a child of God.
Employee, you might look at your boss and say, “When I signed that contract, I didn’t know he would be such a jerk. I don’t care what I signed. I’m going to find a legal loophole. I’m jumping ship.” But when you put pen to paper and signed your name, your Father was there. And to the child of God, there are no tricks.
Teenager, you might look at your parents and say, “I was tricked. I must have been switched at birth. God couldn’t have chosen these people to raise me.” But know this: You are not only their child—you are a child of the King. He, in His wisdom, hand-picked them for you. And He makes no mistakes.
Paul said, “If you jump ship, you’ll lose your life.” And the centurion, knowing how tempting it would be for the sailors to bail out, to jump ship, to give up, ordered the soldiers to cut the lines so there would be no possibility of escape.

I know there are some who are saying, “I haven’t jumped ship. I’ve only lowered a lifeboat over the side. I’ll give it three more months, or two more weeks, or one more year.”
But if you keep an escape option open in your mind, I guarantee you will end up using it.
Think about divorce—and you will end up divorced. Think about other men or other women you wish you had because you’re feeling tricked by the one you’re with—and inevitably, you’ll bail out. Think about changing jobs, even though you gave your word—and you’ll miss out on what could have been.
Think about leaving home, even though that’s where God has you—and you’ll never see His reality.
Bag on the present ministry He has you in and you’ll be just like the Dead Sea, always taking in and never giving out until every thing in you dies. Everything your about seems to rob the life from you. I have watched individuals go off the path of the Lord that they were on just for a moment. The first thing that went away in their life was ministry, It lost its importance. And as fast as they began to grab for a new venue to satisfy themselves with, I watched the Joy drain right out of their lives and them fall right out of fellowship.. 
Get rid of the lifeboats. Cut the lines!

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