Friday, January 31, 2020
The Prayers of Christopher Columbus
According to author Phyllis Schlafly, "Christopher Columbus had a mystic belief that God intended him to sail the Atlantic Ocean in order to spread Christianity. He said his prayers several times daily. Columbus wrote what he called a Book of Prophecies, which is a compilation of passages Columbus selected from the Bible which he believed were pertinent to his mission of discovery. ... Columbus's own writings prove that he believed that God revealed His plan for the world in the Bible, the infallible Word of God. Columbus believed that he was obeying the mission God staked out for his life when he set sail west across the Atlantic Ocean." (The Mission and Faith of Christopher Columbus)
There are few historical events that rival the “discovery of America.” Although we know people already lived on the continent and that other people from Europe had visited it before him, the voyage of Columbus was the beginning of a sea change in the distribution of world power.
In 1492 Columbus sailed 33 continuous days into the unknown. The journey was so nerve-racking that his crew threatened mutiny toward the end of their journey. Looking back, it becomes obvious that every decision he made was crucial to the success of his expedition and the survival of his ships. George E. Nunn, a prominent geographer wrote, “It is amazing, that Christopher did not make a single false move in the entire voyage” (Nunn 43).
The sea route Columbus took seems almost providential. Over the next five hundred years it would prove to be the best possible course for sailing west from southern Europe to North America. But Columbus gave the credit to God. He wrote, “With a hand that could be felt, the Lord opened my mind, to the fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies” (West and Kling 105).
One example of what Columbus considered to be answered prayer took place on September 23, 1492. The sea had become calm. This was a problem for him since his ships were driven by the wind. Columbus chronicled in his journal that the crew began to complain. But, shortly, the sea mysteriously rose without wind, astonishing the crew. Columbus called this a divine miracle. He wrote, “the high sea was very necessary to me, [a sign] which had not appeared except in the time of the Jews when they left Egypt [and complained] against Moses, who took them out of captivity”.
From where we sit in history, we can see that the significance of Columbus discovering America was not in that the Americas would achieve world power or wealth. The significance was in that he paved the way for many to come to the new world where they could practice religion freely and eventually spread democracy, freedom and evangelical Christianity throughout the whole world. The prayers Christopher Columbus prayed worked!
Saturday, January 25, 2020
It Changed Everything
You can have it if you can afford it: A beautiful five-bedroom, stone home that is advertised to “easily accommodate fourteen family members.” Located in Danbury CT, this 4,000 square foot home with oversized windows and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace is definitely appealing. But, even with all that, you may wonder why it is on the market for $2.7 million. The answer: it is located on Candlewood lake.
At 5,420 square acres, Candlewood Lake is the largest manmade lake in CT. With over 60 miles of shoreline, this lake has been a recreation magnet and created some of the most expensive real estate in the area. But it wasn’t created for the real estate value, it was created to be a source for electricity.
The lake was constructed between 1926 and 1928. Six thousand acres of land in five towns had to be purchased from farm owners. One thousand, four hundred men were hired to clear out the valley of four thousand, five hundred acres of trees. Six cemeteries worth of coffins had to be dug up and thirty-five families needed to be relocated. After the hydroelectric dam was built, 7.5 billion gallons of water were pumped up from the Housatonic river to create this major water feature. It changed everything. Average land became prime real estate.
When CT Power and Light launched the project, it was largest of its kind and quite different from the typical reservoir:
Similar to a giant battery, its main purpose is to store water during periods of low electrical demand for power generation when demand is high. Excess electricity from the valley's hydro-system is used to pump water up a hillside into the lake from the nearby Housatonic River during spring, and overnight hours in summer. The water is then allowed to flow back down into the river when extra electricity is needed in the grid, often during the region's mid-to-late summer heat waves. (Wikipedia)
Man has gone to great lengths to create dams and reservoirs, like Candlewood Lake, all over the world. Driven by the need for electricity and massive quantities of water, mankind has built some of the biggest man-made structures on the planet. The survival of a populated earth demands these great water sources. Now water gates all over the world regulate the flow of water and electricity to the people they serve.
In much the same way, mankind’s spiritual survival is dependent on another source for survival: God’s love and power. Our God is an inexhaustible reservoir. He has ordained gates and channels by which he can flood our lives. He flows through His Word. He flows through people who love and serve Him by ministering to others. He flows through churches who let people know about this tremendous life source. He is the source of salvation joy, peace, healing and wholeness. When God flows into someone’s life, it changes everything.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Uncommon Unity
An alarm pierces the night. Men scramble out of bunks, yank on their clothes and try not to trip over one another as they scurry to battle stations. Officer Mack makes his way toward the control room, adrenaline pumping through his veins. Every soul on the submarine is now in his hands. They have trained for hours just so the next few minutes can go smoothly.
As he steps into the room someone shouts “officer on deck!” With an obligatory salute all soldiers turn their attention to him as he orders, "Set course 180 degrees."
Immediately the Conning Officer says, “Set course 180 degrees.”
Then the Helmsman calls out, "Set Course 180 degrees."
As the vessel turns the Helmsman shouts out, " On course, 180 degrees."
The Conning Officer responds, "180 degrees, aye."
To watch a scene like this unfold in a group of battle proven men who are under intense pressure is an amazing experience. It is a picture of uncommon unity. Most successful military operations have similar protocols. Many businesses that are engaged in dangerous endeavors and many emergency responders do the same. They listen for a command and then repeat it, to insure that everyone on the team is in complete unity. It is a beautiful thing when everyone cooperates. Lives are saved. Everyone on the team understands that those who give the orders are only human, but more is accomplished through unity than would be accomplished if everyone was making their own judgment calls.
I wonder what would happen in a local church, or in the body of Christ at large, if we adhered to this method of operation? What if everyone responded to what God said by repeating the same thing? What if every preacher preached what the Bible said instead of their spin on what the Bible said? What if elders in a church accepted direction from their pastor without arguing for their point of view? What if a man could be anointed of the Holy Spirit to preach and the congregation could be anointed to hear, so that when the preacher said something true, the whole congregation would agree and maybe even say, “amen”?
Obviously, the first step toward a world of unity rather than obstruction and internal sabotage, is to come to agreement as to who is in charge. When societies, churches, families or individuals demote God from commanding officer to consultant everything begins to break down. When they begin treating God’s Word like a book of proverbs and myths, the enemy quickly gains the upper hand because confusion rules the day.
Truth be told, we are in a war between good and evil, and God is trying to speak into our lives. It is also true that the enemy is always trying to divide the troops, and that he has the legal right to mess with people that are out of order. For example, Jesus was God in flesh, speaking truth and going in the right direction. Judas was off base, but he convinced himself otherwise and ended up betraying Christ and then committing suicide. In contrast, the rest of the disciples, although afraid and confused, did not rebel, but followed to the best of their ability and eventually “turned the world upside down”. If the eleven did it, we can do it. It all starts with complete trust in God and those He has called to lead, so we can all live in uncommon unity.
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