"Caught in a Tempestuous Head Wind?"

Steven J. Wallace

"But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive" (Acts 27:14, 15).

The apostle Paul found himself in the middle of a Euroclydon (or hurricane) that took his ship and wrecked it onto the coast of Malta. In the middle of this storm, Paul declared his faith in God's word. He stated, "Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me" (Acts 27:25). Let us place as much confidence in the revealed word of God as the brave apostle did in the tempest. Let's have the same confidence in the sunshine as in the storm.
Jesus taught that our house would be assaulted by storms and that we ought to have a storm-proof religion in Matthew 7:24-27,

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock; and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

It is not physical houses of brick and mortar that Jesus is concerned with, but the lives that we lead. There are two kinds of builders. Both of these fellows build and have their work tested by the storm; both hear the same message, but one is wise while the other is judged a fool. How is one wise and the other a fool? The wise man hears and builds upon the sayings of Christ, while the foolish hear and do nothing. We must hear the right message and then do those things in our lives. James wrote in James 1:22-25,

"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

Where Jesus speaks, do I trust and obey? What about these?

To live as salt to the earth and light to the world (Matt. 5:13-16)? Or have I lost my flavor and covered my light?
To guard against unjust anger in the heart and seek first to reconcile with your brother (Matt. 5:21-26)? Or do I wait for those whom I am upset with to make the first move?
To guard against looking at a woman to lust after her (Matt. 5:27-30)? Do I bounce my eyes away or stare?
To not unlawfully divorce and remarry (Matt. 5:31, 32)? Do I believe I can divorce for something other than fornication and remarry?
To be true to your word (Matt. 5:33-37)? Or can I say things with the notion to deceive?
To not live vindictively and even love my enemies (Matt. 5:38-48)? Do I see that even my enemies have a soul that needs saving?
To not seek personal glory (Matt. 6:1-5, 16-18)? Or do I do things to be seen and praised by men?
To forgive and not hold grudges (Matt. 6:14, 15)? Are there things that I simply cannot let go of? Are there some things that I've done that I want God to let go of?
To be loyal to one master—God and not mammon (Matt. 6:24)? In my list, what is higher? Money and materialism or God's ways?
To not be burdened with worry over things you cannot change or preoccupied with fruitless concerns (Matt. 6:25-32)? Do I choose to worry or pray about these?
To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33)? Is the kingdom truly first in my life or is it shuffled around on the list?
To not worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34)? Have I disciplined myself to live by sufficient is the day for its own trouble?
To not judge as a hypocrite (Matt. 7:1-6)? Do I readily see mistakes in others while being blind to my mountainous blunders?
To be persistent in prayer (Matt. 7:7-11)? Or do I shun this blessing?
To do unto others as I would have them do to me (Matt. 7:12)? Or do I live by doing unto others the way they have done unto me?
To enter by the narrow gate which leads to life (Matt. 7:13, 14)? Or do I believe that any and all ways are right?
To beware of false teachers and unlawful worship (Matt. 7:15-23)? Or do I believe that good intentions justify the actions?

What is your house built on? Will it survive life's Euroclydon? Will Jesus say, "Great was its fall"? We need men and women today who, like Paul, will assure others around them in the storms of life "I believe God that it will be just as it was told me." Unfortunately, many go through life today being ignorant of what God has commanded them. They have built their life on the "here and now" and the ever-shifting sand of the wisdom of this age. They have developed their skills in "things" and accumulated mountains of wealth that will only be blown away in the storm.

It doesn't have to be this way. You can begin building according to God's master plan today. Choose to visit with us and devote your energy to knowing and doing His will. We would be happy to study with you in person, online, or even through the mail.

"Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me…He who believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Acts 27:25; Mk. 16:16).

"Caught in a Tempestuous Head Wind?"

"But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive" (Acts 27:14, 15).

To live as salt to the earth and light to the world (Matt. 5:13-16)? Or have I lost my flavor and covered my light?

To guard against unjust anger in the heart and seek first to reconcile with your brother (Matt. 5:21-26)? Or do I wait for those whom I am upset with to make the first move?

To guard against looking at a woman to lust after her (Matt. 5:27-30)? Do I bounce my eyes away or stare?

To not unlawfully divorce and remarry (Matt. 5:31, 32)? Do I believe I can divorce for something other than fornication and remarry?

To be true to your word (Matt. 5:33-37)? Or can I say things with the notion to deceive?

To not live vindictively and even love my enemies (Matt. 5:38-48)? Do I see that even my enemies have a soul that needs saving?

To not seek personal glory (Matt. 6:1-5, 16-18)? Or do I do things to be seen and praised by men?

To forgive and not hold grudges (Matt. 6:14, 15)? Are there things that I simply cannot let go of? Are there some things that I've done that I want God to let go of?

To be loyal to one master—God and not mammon (Matt. 6:24)? In my list, what is higher? Money and materialism or God's ways?

To not be burdened with worry over things you cannot change or preoccupied with fruitless concerns (Matt. 6:25-32)? Do I choose to worry or pray about these?

To seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33)? Is the kingdom truly first in my life or is it shuffled around on the list?

To not worry about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34)? Have I disciplined myself to live by sufficient is the day for its own trouble?

To not judge as a hypocrite (Matt. 7:1-6)? Do I readily see mistakes in others while being blind to my mountainous blunders?

To be persistent in prayer (Matt. 7:7-11)? Or do I shun this blessing?

To do unto others as I would have them do to me (Matt. 7:12)? Or do I live by doing unto others the way they have done unto me?

To enter by the narrow gate which leads to life (Matt. 7:13, 14)? Or do I believe that any and all ways are right?

To beware of false teachers and unlawful worship (Matt. 7:15-23)? Or do I believe that good intentions justify the actions?