Rev. Ray and Pat Amos
Exodus 2-3
“But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.”
Noah was directed by God on how to build the Ark. He was told to coat it inside and outside with tar and pitch. The basket that floated on the river with baby Moses was lined with tar and pitch. It doesn’t take a Maritime Degree to know why that was important.
Some seem to think that the old ship of Zion should be permanently dry docked and replaced with new ideas. That may be like having boats that are not going to hold up in the water when life gets rough. The saving arks that God designed were pitched with tar.
The church has the God given responsibility to be the protector of those who sail on board. We have a duty to pitch it with Love, faithfulness and the Holy Life. Remove the tar of Holiness, and the sea will soon be on the inside. The captain, who is Christ, will faithfully sail the sea of life; yet He expects the crew to follow Him in Holy living. We are a people of grace, but grace is never permission to be reckless with the truth of God’s Word.
Mark wrote that the disciples took Jesus even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. Our personal relationship with the Lord is like the little vessels. We can’t help everything that happens on the big ships, but we are responsible for our own boat.
Jesus prayed for us, because though we are in the world, we are not of it. A ship is in the sea, but the sea must never get in the ship. It is our responsibility to keep the sea of sin on the outside of our lives or we are sunk.
“A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify,
a never-dying soul to save,
and fit it for the sky.”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray
