Monday, June 8, 2009 On Boats And Safety

Since we've been talking about boats and safety recently, I found the following entry this morning in Oswald Chamber's My Utmost For His Highest. It's quite interesting. He writes...

"If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of his purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get past the harbor into the great depths of God..."

Are we spending all our time in the calm waters? In the safety of the harbor?

Don't get me wrong, Jesus died to bring us peace. He came to give us rest and comfort. But that safety is found in Him alone – not in our retirement plans, not in our job security, nor in our convenient participation of church activities. The safety we seek is granted within and despite the chaos of the raging storm.

I see this daily as I am reminded how crazy it is to launch a new church in a city that already has dozens; when I am reminded that we are in economic hard times; when I am reminded that Helena is not immune to the violence and heartbreak of tragic events like last week's shooting.

While we find peace and fulfillment in Him, may we remember that Jesus didn't die to make us safe. He died to make us dangerous — to the storms, to spiritual apathy, to the evils of this world, and to the status quo.

Perhaps God is moving you right now to sever the lines of complacent safety. Perhaps He's calling you to take an active part in being a positive agent of change in Helena. Contact us — we would love to talk to you about what Encounter is doing and how we plan to conquer these storms through Jesus.