"CLAIMING THE HIGH C'S"
PART II
THE CAPTAIN
For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity
lives in bodily form,
and you have been given fullness in Christ,
Who is the Head over every power and authority.
(Colossians 2:9-10, NIV.)
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CHAPTER 4
CHRIST
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Christ our spiritual leader is the chosen Captain, because He is Creator and Sustainer of not just the high seas but also the entire universe. Without Him nothing was ever made or known (John 1:1-5, Colossians 1:16-17)).
Our Captain is able to vanquish all foes (Colossians 2:15) as He sails forth in triumphal victory (II Corinthians 2:14 and I Corinthians 15:57). Oh what joy and blessed assurance we are given because God has placed all things under His feet and appointed Him head over everything (Ephesians 1:22, Colossians 1: 18).
Questioning or doubting the Captain's Words is a trick the enemy Satan plays on our minds. And this enemy will contradict our Commander just because he doesn't want anyone claiming the High C's or enjoying the voyage. Let's look to our Captain and ask Him for open eyes and hearing ears and willing hearts, all attuned to Him.
"Yes, Lord Captain, we are ready to follow You."
 "Blessed Assurance"
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior (my Captain) all the day long.
by Fanny Crosby |
CHAPTER 4
CHRIST
Cornerstone:
the basic, essential, most important part.1
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The storms, the tides, the coastlands with rocks and sand and mud... there are so many things to remember. And there are many things that people in marriages and families need to remember as they take their voyages across the oceans and seas.
Who is Christ...?
Who is Christ? Why choose Him to be Captain? Does He really know what He's doing?
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,
but fellow citizens with the saints,
and of the household of God:
and ye are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone;
in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord:
In whom ye also are builded together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
(Ephesians 2: 19-22.)
In real life, there are forces that can pull us away from the Captain (the Cornerstone) and away from family and friends. Sometimes this looks like confusion or chaos… busy, busy lifestyles or little time to think.
Do you see any confusion in your life? If you see it or recognize its effects, then something is not right in your family.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace,
As in all churches of the saints.
(I Corinthians 14:33.)
What's Confusion?
The Greek word for confusion in this Scripture is &uqot;akatastasia".2 This is a funny sounding word if you speak it out loud, but it denotes confusion and chaos and the utter inability to think with wisdom and clarity. Further definition is things are out of control and there's not a lot you can do about it.
Confusion could be compared to two occurrences in the ocean. The first is a whirlpool.3 Caused by two meeting currents or when winds meet tides, violence is predominant when whirling, rapidly swirling water forms a circle that draws any floating objects down and under.
The second occurrence similar to confusion is a tsunami. Inaccurately called a tidal wave, it is derived from the Japanese words for harbor wave. A tsunami is "a huge sea wave caused by a submarine disturbance, such as an earthquake or volcanic eruption."4
Whenever we see or experience whirlpools or tsunamis in our lives, we can know something isn't right! This type of living is not what God has authored or designed for His children. He wants us to have peace. So from where do these aspects come?
When you see confusion or chaos or criticism and contempt (that hurts or kills the receiver), you can know Satan is present. He wants to hurt you. He wants to kill God's presence in your life. He wants to steal from you everything good. He wants to destroy your relationships, because then he will have destroyed the chance for love to flourish.
Akatastasia is never a good thing! It always comes with the thief, who will attempt to kill and destroy. We can see other aspects of the thief's presence in our families, too. He brings unresolved conflict, crime, conspiracy, and contention, corruption and condemnation, uncontrollable crying and carnality. Complacency can begin to rule, often seen in committee meetings that go on and on and on (!). Chronic illnesses and severe life threatening cancers feed on the stresses and corruptions of life in this downward spiral. Akatastasia perverts God's intended abundant life.
What's the downward spiral? It's a way of life that leads you further and further away from God. Such a style of living causes you to hold onto some or many of these worldly/common C's. A life that would worship troubles and abnormal ways of living; you would feel unnatural without it! These ways are abnormal because they are not Christ like. Christ is the norm and the model for health and well-being. He is the Captain and anything contrary to His command will cause undue hurt and harm.
The downward spiral can lead a person so far down that coming back up looks impossible. As you travel down the spiral, things get darker and darker, life seems more and more hopeless, and desperation and despondency can be the norm. Bad things can seemingly happen faster and faster. You might even seem to be caught in a vortex: drawn irresistibly into a black hole. |
Family Life with Christ... |
If Christ really lives in us and if He really is the Captain and anchor, and chief cornerstone, then how does this look in our present lives? What does it mean?
CHRIST AS THE MAIN THING
Someone once said, "Always keep the main thing the main thing." As Cornerstone, Christ is named the basic, essential and most important part of everything. He is the main thing!
In the New Testament, Peter quotes from Isaiah 28:16...
See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in Him,
will never be put to shame.
(I Peter 2:6, NIV.)
And Paul writes to the Ephesians stating,
... Christ Jesus himself (is) the chief cornerstone.
(Ephesians 2:20).
He is the first and most important aspect of any foundation. He is the "chief" or main thing, the cornerstone: nothing else can take His place. Everything rests upon Him. The building placed upon the foundation of Christ includes all people who believe in and accept Him as Lord: husbands and wives, children, extended family and lots of friends. All Believers are fitted together and growing into this building, the Holy Temple. It is a temple made for God's Glory, where God Himself resides through the Holy Spirit.
For the husband is the head of the wife,
even as Christ is the head of the church:
and He is the savior of the body.
(Ephesians 5:23.)
Christ is the head and the savior. The marriage union exemplifies this reality of His headship, but only to a very small degree. No person or thing ever comes near the headship of Christ. So Christ can be seen as the chief cornerstone and the head... the most important part of any building and any relationship.
Similar to the cornerstone of a building on land is the keel of a boat. The keel5 is defined as the "principle piece of timber upon which the entire boat is built." It is the "chief or base timber or steel piece extending along the entire length of the bottom of a boat or ship and supporting the frame; it sometimes protrudes beneath the hull. 'On an even keel' means to be steady, stable or well-balanced."6
When building a boat, the keel is laid on the ground to form the bottom most portion. Like a backbone of a fish, it forms the true structure from which all the other aspects, the very frame or ribs, are connected.
As the Cornerstone or keel of our lives, Christ supports everything. He keeps everything in balance and structurally viable. Yes, "all things are possible with Him" …Yes, we can do "immeasurably more then we ever thought or imagined". Just think… a family living together and loving each other.
To my Cornerstone...
"Lord, I praise You and thank You for letting me know
more about You.
May you be glorified in heaven and on earth…
On the land and in the seas,
May You be glorified in me.
And may You be glorified in my family.
In each and every person who is related to me.
And in my home and my neighborhood.
And in my work and church.
I recognize that You are the Alpha and Omega,
the first and last,
The One who is and was and is to come.
You are Holy and Creator of all:
full of mercy and loving-kindness.
Lord, check my heart and mind. See into all of me.
And see if there is any sin.
Specifically, is there something in my life where I've cast You
out or ignored You, come now and help me to see.
Help me to be open to You.
I invite You now into every area of my life.
I desire You to be in everything I do and think.
I want You, Captain of my salvation, to be in everything.
Come even into the dark corners and recesses
where I rarely look.
Come Lord God and help me see You.
Thank You God for gently and faithfully
helping me to see things clearly.
To see and acknowledge my sin,
so that I can put it down at the foot of the cross
and go forward with Your easy, light burden of mercy and
love.
I do love You and praise You.
You alone are God. You are my anchor, my captain, my very
cornerstone.
I worship You alone. You are my sure foundation.
In Jesus name, I confidently yet humbly pray."
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SO HOW CAN I MAKE CHRIST MY CORNERSTONE? |
A DAY IN YOUR LIFE… or one day at a time?
Here's more ideas…
Give your cell phone to God. Practice speaking God-filled words of mercy or encouragement on your phone. Use each call, even when work oriented, as a divine appointment to spread God's love or some nugget of truth. You can even do this silently: other people don't always have to know you are praying for them!
Bless all persons as they leave the house Before anyone can actually close the front or back door, say a short prayer or blessing, "God bless you, Robert". "Blessings on your work, Ella." This is a great way to start anyone's day. Wow!
Karen has made it a point to bless our children whenever they leave our home after a visit. Usually she says, "Blessings on your day." But this was beautifully returned on us as we finished a bed and breakfast stay in Ireland, when the hostess came to the front door and said an actual blessing over us and our the rental car. The Spirit was evident and we left that place filled with more than the extra warmth of a good breakfast.
Bless each meal. Begin to actually thank God for everything that goes into your mouth. Mmmmmm. "Thank You, Lord, for these great tasting French fries." Bless each snack and every sip of water. Let the blessing go on all day. "Thank You Lord for this nice hot cup of tea. And thank You for giving me this time to relax and enjoy the taste."
Create family time. Actually plan something with someone in your family. Unless you plan it, it won't happen! "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." So if there is someone in your family who needs time with you, write it down on your calendar, then give them a phone call or email, or just get up and go see them. Make a relationship happen!
If something happens and your plans have to be canceled, make another plan. Let the person know that they are important to you. Keep on trying.
Read Scripture together. Bill and Karen do this every evening, right before bed. We usually read in the living room, so we don't fall asleep. After we silently
read a chapter or two together, then we share our favorite verse or verses from each chapter. We share and discuss what caught our interest and why.
To understand how this works, silently now read Psalm One.
Vs.1 Blessed is the man that walketh not
in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Vs. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
And in His law doth he meditate day and night.
Vs. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
That bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
His leaf shall not whither,
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Vs. 4 The ungodly are not so:
But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Vs. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Vs. 6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous:
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Do you just like the imagery of trees or streams of water? Or do you see a big smooth lake with a tree next to it? Does it surprise you how meaningful even one short Psalm can be?
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CHAPTER FOUR NOTES
1 Guralnik, David, Editor. Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition. 1974. New York: William Collins World Publishing Company, Inc. pg. 317.
2 Strong, John. Strong's Comprehensive Concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary. Iowa Falls: Iowa: World Bible Publishers, Inc.
3 Guralnik, David, Editor. Webster's New World Dictionary, Second College Edition. 1974. New York: William Collins World Publishing Company, Inc. pg. 211.
4 Ibid., pg. 1529
5 Glossary of Nautical Terms (Circa 1814).
www.psych.edu.au/vbb/woronora/maritime/Glossary.html
6 Guralnik, pg. 770.
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