You’ve heard of the Swan Lake ballet but probably  missed the Moose Lake Ballet. It’s not as graceful as the former, but it’s far more exciting.

The setting is a dark country road. The players are a moose, a frozen lake (actually a pond, but give me some room for artistic license on that point), a driver, and a car.

Some years ago, I was driving home from a friend’s house after dark. As I approached a bend in the road, a huge moose was hurrying across the lake headed in my direction.

At the same time I braked, the moose saw the car. The moose quickly applied its brakes but couldn’t maintain its balance on the ice. Its front legs buckled under him. The moose crashed onto its face with a loud grunt and slid on the ice face first.

With God’s protection, both driver and moose left the scene of a potentially very dangerous accident unharmed. After I got over the fright of the near miss, I could see the humor in the moose and his fall.

Moose are not the most graceful animals in the forest, but falling like that is ungraceful even for a moose. 

Like the moose and his sudden stop, sometimes we can be far less than graceful. Sometimes, that’s a lack of physical grace; more often, it’s a lack of grace in our words. Our words can do tremendous damage. 

It’s no wonder Scripture is full of admonitions about the tongue.

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. James 1:26

How’s your tongue? As graceful as a charging moose on ice? Or does it bring forth wells of love, blessing, and life?

Until next time, may your tongue bring blessings, not curses.

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

__________________________________________ 

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Subscribe today: https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1 

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© 2024 Gleanings From the Word, K.F. “Kevin” Corbin. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Kathy and I were taking sailing lessons off the  Eastern coast of Canada’s Vancouver Island. The craft we were learning in were small, two person, 12′ mirror dinghies. Each dinghy was just big enough to hold a couple of people learning the fundamentals of sailing.

We had to learn a whole new vocabulary. Inboard. Outboard. Astern. Alee. Port. Starboard. Athwartship. Booms. Halyard. Winch. Spar. Mast. Spreader. Rigging. I can still remember the words, but I would be hard pressed now to remember what they mean.

The feel of the breeze and the saltwater on your face is quite invigorating. Nearly tipping over a few times because of poor sailing techniques is even more exhilarating. Getting hit with the mast, pinching your fingers in the ropes—it’s all part of the fun of learning.

Learning the sailing techniques and then actually using them in the sea was an enjoyable challenge. 

Learning to maximize the use of the wind. Learning to tack or zigzag to play the wind. Learning the hard way about the no-go zone winds … when the winds come at the right angle to leave your sails flapping or “luffed,” when you cannot go anywhere.

Too many years have passed now, and I confess that I have forgotten most of what I learned that autumn. In order to sail again, I would have to start with beginner lessons and refresh my memory totally. It was a delightful experience. However, I am glad we invested the time. 

Sailing is both an art and a science. It takes technical ability and finesse to do it well. A sailor must read the winds and the waves, all the while keeping the destination in sight and being aware of any potential danger spots.

Scripture speaks frequently of ships, which is surprising in a way, since we seldom think of Israel as being a seafaring nation. Yet, her neighbors were sailors, and the people of Israel had their share of fishermen. We are familiar with Jonah’s maritime misadventure and Paul’s shipwrecks. 

The Bible talks of seafaring traders and the exotic goods they brought. The disciples had a fearful time while on the Galilee in a storm, at least until Jesus rebuked both them and the storm.

Even today, Israel maintains a navy as part of its national defense program. Although the Navy is not as prominent as the Army or Air Force, it still plays a vital role.

When scripture speaks of being adrift or tossed about on the waves, the people of Israel understood the concept. It was not something foreign to them. 

When James said in his letter:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 2:1-8

His readers understood the concept. Stay the course. Persevere. Hold fast. God will come through despite the storms of life.

We need to do the same. We may or may not ever have been on the sea to see the effect of the waves, but we do know that life can brew up some nasty storms to rest us. When they come, persevere and trust in Him. He is the anchor that will hold you fast.

Until next time … when the storms come, batten down the hatches, trust God, and sail on.

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.

__________________________________________ 

Did you know that we have an email version? It has the same great content but in a different format.

Subscribe today: https://mailchi.mp/f27bbeb09c22/gleanings-1 

For an archive of many back issues, visit our website at https://gleaningsfromtheword.com.

© 2024 Gleanings From the Word, K.F. “Kevin” Corbin. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.