Pearls from the Sea Read online

  Pearls from the Sea

  180 Days Sailing the High Seas with Jesus at the Helm

  Authors:

  MaryLu Tyndall

  Debbie Mitchell

  Copyright 2013 MaryLu Tyndall and Debbie Mitchell.

  All quotes from other works are used for purposes of illustration and criticism only and no infringement is intended.

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  Hoist all sails, weigh anchor, and come aboard the tall ship, Pilgrimage, for the voyage of a lifetime! Spend 180 days with Jesus at the helm while you navigate dangerous shoals, climb the rigging to the top yards, enjoy breathtaking horizons, suffer through the doldrums, battle fierce pirates, and endure violent storms! All the while, getting to know the captain of your ship (and your soul) and learning to lean on Him.

  Who is the captain of the Pilgrimage? He is the Son of God, and He wants to take you on a journey that will change your life, your heart, and your outlook. He wants to teach you how to navigate your ship in the dark, how to keep your sails full of Holy Spirit wind, how to endure the storms of life by His side, how to battle the enemy, and finally how to reach those glorious eternal shores where you will find rest for your soul.

  Debbie Mitchell has taught Sunday school for over 20 years. She is a firm believer in reading through the Bible each year and is working on her 13th time through. Keeping in the Word and teaching Sunday School has helped her to recognize and face the enemy. She lives in California with her husband Jack and their two dogs. She has one son, two daughters, two sons-in-law and has been blessed with grandchildren that truly make her days.

  MaryLu Tyndall is a Christy Award Nominee and author of eleven Inspirational Historical Romance Novels. Her books are not only known for their romance and adventure but for their strong spiritual themes. MaryLu has been walking with God for fifteen years, but prior to that, her experience as an agnostic has given her a unique perspective on all things both spiritual and carnal. Her life mission is to encourage believers to not take for granted the love and power of God and to live their lives fully for Him! MaryLu lives in California with her husband, six children, and three cats.

  Day 1: Set a Course for That Eternal Horizon!

  What is eternal life?

  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23 NIV).

  And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life (1 John 2:25 AKJ).

  Sure, we’ve all read these verses a million times. We believe, we’ve repented . . . we’re going to heaven. It’s all good! But what do you think of when you hear the words eternal life? I always pictured myself in a glorious new body (thin and in shape and gorgeous, of course!) strutting down Heaven’s golden streets, hanging out with friends and family, talking with God and doing His work for ever and ever and ever. Amen! Most of us have some picture of our heavenly future in our mind, though I’m sure it will be far better than any of us can imagine.

  But did you realize Jesus Himself defined eternal life to us?

  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3 NIV).

  The You here is Father God. So, eternal life is having a relationship with God. Pure and simple.

  In 1 John 1, the apostle John even calls Jesus by the name Eternal Life.

  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20 NAS).

  I don’t know about you, but this really struck me. Eternal life isn’t a thing or a place or a span of time. It isn’t achieved by saying a prayer or offering a sacrifice. Eternal life is knowing God. Like the natural sun, God is the source of all life and power, and the more time we spend with Him, the more we fully inhabit eternity.

  In times past, before modern technology, ships at sea had more difficulty navigating at night than in the daytime. If the skies were cloudy and they couldn’t see the stars, they had no way to set their course. Even during the day, they needed the sun to be able to use their instruments to determine which way to go. Without the sun, they were dead in the water.

  Aren’t we very much like those ships? Without a relationship with the Son, we can’t find our way to eternal life. He is eternal life. Talking with Him, hanging out with Him, reading His Word, knowing Him like we know a close friend or family member—this is eternal life! We must plug into the source of life and love and power and follow His brightness to that eternal horizon.

  So what are you waiting for? Climb aboard!

  MaryLu Tyndall

  Day 2: All Ashore Who’s Going Ashore!

  Just before a ship departs, one of the ship’s officers bellows a warning that all who are not sailing on the ship need to get off immediately. If they do not heed the warning, they are stuck on board. And if they do not pay the fare, they are put off at the first port. So, if they truly do not want to be on that voyage, they’d better get off in time.

  Our walk with God can be compared to traveling on a ship. Once we board His ship, we’d better make sure it’s where we want to be. Otherwise, we had better get off before it sails. It would be devastating to be put out at the first port. Those who chose not to board His ship and those who are put out at first port have a rude awakening coming to them.

  Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! God has cursed you! Go into everlasting fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels!’ (Matthew 25:41 GOD’S WORD Translation).

  In life, the waters can get choppy. Being on God’s ship helps us to weather the storms. His ship has high railings to keep us from falling into the seas of despair. His sails carry us on the right path, and His rudder keeps us from veering in the wrong direction.

  In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling (Exodus 15:13 NIV).

  For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end (Psalm 48:14NIV).

  So, do you want to sail on God’s ship, or do you want to have a rude awakening?

  Your choice.

  “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . . as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15 NIV).

  Debbie Mitchell

  Day 3: Promises Dead Ahead! Never Fear!

  Did you know God is a God of the I wills? When you find one of His I wills in the Bible, you can bank on it. He never goes back on His Word. He never changes His mind. I ran across these seven I wills in Exodus 6. Moses is complaining to God about his task of freeing the Israelites from Egypt. The first thing God says to Moses is “I am the Lord.” Then He goes through a series of seven promises.

  I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

  I will free you from slavery.

  I will rescue you with an outstretched arm.

  I will take you to Me for a people.

  I will be to you a God.

  I will bring you into the land concerning which I lifted up My hand and swore that I would give to Abraham.

  I will give it to you for a heritage.

  Then He ends this list with another emphatic “I am the Lord.”

  As I read this, I realized that though none of these things were simple or easy—most actually impossible—God accomplished all of them.

  So, I went in search of I will in the Bible. Here are some real gems that I found:

  Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him (Psalm 91 NKJV).

  Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you (Proverbs 1:23 NKJV).

  I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save (Isaiah 49: 25 NIV).

  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:29 ESV).

  Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men (Mark 1:17 ESV).

  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40 KJV).

  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also (John 14:3 NASB).

  And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13 ESV).

  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him (John 14:21 NKJV).

  I challenge you to look up your own I wills in God’s Word. Then memorize them and recite them often, especially when your ship heads into turbulent waters and storm clouds settle on the horizon. You can take God at His Word. He is a God of the I wills!

 
MaryLu Tyndall

  Day 4: All Aboard!

  Imagine standing on the deck of a ship. You look out over the clean, blue water and are in awe of all of God’s creations. You can see the shoreline in the distance, the trees, animals . . . such beauty.

  The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them” (Genesis 6:5–7 NIV).

  When I read this passage, it saddens me. God created such a beautiful world and filled it with such amazing creatures. And for what? To be destroyed by His own hands. How heartbroken He must have been.

  But then there was Noah, the one shining light in this darkness.

  But Noah found favor in eyes of the LORD (Genesis 6:8 NIV).

  Because Noah found favor in God’s eyes, all hope was not lost for the world. Sure, eventually the earth was flooded, but I like to think of it as a “washing away” of all the sins.

  The LORD then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation” (Genesis 7:1 NIV).

  Once Noah entered the ark, a new chapter began for the earth.

  And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood (Genesis 7:7 NIV).

  After they were all safely inside, the Lord shut the door and the cleansing began.

  I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:11 NIV).

  Even though God promised never to flood the entire earth again, He can still cleanse us from our sinful lives. We have but two options in this life: one, we can turn from our sins and enter the “ark” with Noah and be saved; two, we can refuse to turn from our sin and “drown” with the world.

  I choose to board the ark!

  Debbie Mitchell

  Day 5: Your Captain Supplies All Your Needs for the Journey

  I love the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 in Matthew 14. Actually, it was more like 10,000 people if you count the women and children, probably more. So if you had been there and had only had five loaves of bread and two fish, what would you have done? Or let’s say you lost your job and your mortgage or rent is due in one week, and you’ve got only $30 in your checking account. What do you do? Or you have a job but your electric and heating bills have gone through the roof and your children have been sick and you’ve had to fork out money for medicine and doctors and your electric company is going to shut off your power in one week if you don’t pay. What do you do?

  When presented with the problem of feeding 10,000 people, Jesus’ disciples did the following:

  They tried to get rid of the problem by ignoring it. (They told Jesus to send the people away).

  They only looked at natural means to solve the problem. (They told Jesus it would take 200 denarii to feed all the people).

  They laughed at the impossibility of the task (disbelief).

  How often do we do the same? We sit and wallow in our problems, complaining and fearful, trying to solve them on our own, even laughing inwardly when people tell us that God can help us. We look at the impossibility of the task, and our faith falters. But we forget how big our God is!

  I love the innocence of the little boy who came forward to offer his lunch. Think about it for a moment. He could have kept it to himself. He could have reasoned that there would be no way to feed everyone with what he had and he might as well eat it himself. After all, he was the only smart one who thought to bring some food along! But he didn’t. He went forward and gave all he had to Jesus. He trusted it in God’s hands and believed He could do something big with it.

  Then Jesus “looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples.” And what did the disciples do? (They listened to God and obeyed Him, even though they probably didn’t completely believe that He could do it.)

  And the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

  What can we learn from this?

  Bring your problem to Jesus.

  Surrender what you have to God. It may not be much, but give it to Him.

  Give thanks for what you have and believe God can multiply it.

  Obey whatever God tells you to do.

  If you have gotten yourself into a bad situation due to your own poor planning and negligence (or if ye’ve come aboard and forgotten yer supplies), then be aware God may not grant you an easy way out. He may be trying to teach you something. But I guarantee that if you come to Him and surrender your problem and your will and you truly put Him first, He will help you. He can’t do otherwise; it would be against His nature.

  I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread (Psalm 37:25 NIV).

  Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33 KJV).

  MaryLu Tyndall

  Day 6: Getting My Sea Legs

  When I was new to my faith, I had no idea how to approach people about Jesus. I wasn’t overzealous like a lot of new Christians. I was quiet and downright afraid to speak to anyone about my faith. Then one day I was in church, and one of the Sunday school teachers asked me to help her with her class. I love kids, so I said I’d be glad to help. That’s all it took for me to come out of my shell. The children gave me the courage I needed. Shortly after helping in that class, I was teaching my own class. I have been a Sunday school teacher ever since. God had a plan for my life.

  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11 NLV).

  As a teacher, I have a great responsibility to the children. The words I say must be God’s words and not my own. I will be judged by the way I teach. That is quite the incentive to do my best.

  Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1 NIV).

  I no longer fear talking to others about Christ. God used the precious children in my life to help me stand in my faith.

  No more wobbly legs for me.

  Debbie Mitchell

  Day 7: Beware the Shoals!

  Lighthouses were erected to warn passing ships about the location of dangerous shoals, reefs and the close proximity of land. If the captain of a ship ignored the warning lights, he could strike a shoal or run his ship aground. If he did so during a storm, his ship would be lost.

  Everyone knows the story of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt and the ten plagues God sent on the Egyptians. Every time Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, King of Egypt, to demand that he let the people of Israel go, Pharaoh would not agree. So, God sent plagues to convince him. But each time, Pharaoh refused Moses’s request—or as Scripture says, he hardened his heart. In fact, he did so seven times before God finally gave up on him. After that, it was God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart for him. If you read the text, starting in Exodus chapter 5, you’ll see phrases like “Pharaoh’s heart grew hard” or “Pharaoh hardened his heart” seven times, then after the sixth plague, it says, “But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” And from then on, it is the Lord who forbids Pharaoh to comply with Moses.