Earlier this week Jason Romero became the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest as the ripe old age of 13! Not only that, but he only has one more peak to have climbed the highest peaks in all 7 continents. He now has his sights on the last, Vinson Massif in Antarctica.
Apart from cruising at 35,000 ft in a 747, the highest I’ve been is several peaks in Colorado at just over 14,000 ft. We spent a week last year at Leadville, CO, which is the highest city in the U.S. I was sick at my stomach most of the week because, like an idiot, I forgot to do what I told the rest of the group before we left: drink tons of water!
I’m not particularly afraid of heights & have worked several stories up in carpenter work & repelled several times. Unfortunately I have one little hitch-jumping from heights into water. I suppose it’s a phobia. Odd how I can repel or hang hundred feet up, but ask me to jump off into water & I start backpedaling & breaking out into cold sweats!
Stems from an incident YEARS ago where I served on a mission team. We were at FBC Searcy & the entire youth group went to Greer’s Ferry Lake in Heber Springs were they all jumped off the tallest cliff like a bunch of crazy Acapulco cliff divers or something. They all shouted some stupid phrase they had & jumped out into oblivion. Me & my team-mate were the last on the ledge & knew that: 1. they had all jumped & survived 2. They somehow even ENJOYED it 3. If we didn’t they weren’t gonna listen to a word we had to say all week. So, I took a deep breath & launched out.
I free-fell for what seemed like minutes, when a thought went through my mind: you are supposed to jump out or you’ll be a greasy spot on the tapered rocks on the shoreline. Did I jump out far enough? Uhhh….I looked down to see. That’s when I hit the surf at about 100mph! Felt like someone hit me with a table leg, or a brick bat. I know…been there, done that.
Almost unconscious, and what seemed like 100ft below the surface, somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered-‘when you’re underwater & disoriented see which way the bubbles go from your mouth.’ They went up sideways. Otherwise, I would have swum into the lake and, well, I wouldn’t be typing this now.
So, there you have it. I don’t relish jumping off into water. Thing is, no matter how high I go or how low I were to dive, I could never be apart from the presence of God. He’s with me wherever.
“Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths.” Psalms 36:5-6 NLT
My prayer, as always, is that you know His presence. You know His unfailing love. He loves us deeply & wants to have close fellowship with us. We need to allow Him control & make our lives aright. At the furthest reaches we are not alone. He is there. When you feel your lowest & alone, He is there, as close as our next breath & heartbeat.
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
-Right Decision, Right Direction-
Ever headed a direction & realized you had to back track from a wrong turn? My family went to Murfreesboro diamond mine. On the way back I was coming to a fork in the road & was distracted by my cell phone. I headed down a road & realized in a few miles it was unfamiliar & wrong. I backtracked, hit the right fork & saw familiar sights. Thankfully we hadn’t gone far & wasted much time. Ever done that in life!?
At the end of Jesus’ time on earth a scene played out that has played out in many other lives all down history. You can check out the story in John 21-
His followers had become disheartened, tired, & disillusioned. Though they had followed Jesus for some three years & had been used to perform miracles & share God’s truth, they threw in the towel & headed back to the old life; fishing.
Working all night, these ‘professional’ fishermen caught zip. Jesus, who had died & arisen as He said, showed up on the shoreline & called to them. “Caught anything?” “Naw. Sorry night!” “Tell you what; drop it on the right side & you’ll be surprised.” So, for some reason, they did as the stranger said. Why? Nothing to lose, maybe they had forgotten the old trade. Nets loaded down & about to bust with fish. 153 large fish to be exact.
Why 153 fish? Lots of speculation from: 153 generations until his return, 153 different kinds of fish in Galilee (debunked by many), 153 people were blessed by Jesus during His ministry, 153 nations in the world, etc. Whatever the reason, obviously John was an eyewitness & they suddenly realized it was Jesus!
They made a b-line to shore where Jesus was waiting: cooking fish & bread. (Apparently He didn’t even need their work to provide food!) He asked them to contribute to the meal with their new catch. A gentle reminder that it wasn’t all for nothing, He was still Lord of all. They still needed to follow Him!
Stop. Click tracks way back to first scene some three years earlier. Couple of the same guys were at a seaside doing what they did; fishing. Jesus, whom they had seen & heard of & thought to be the Messiah, called to them:
"The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus." John 1:35-37 NLT
They dropped it all to follow Him. They decided He was The Way & set the course of their lives with Him. It was a roller coaster ride: wonderful highs, but hard, unsure times too. Most of them would literally die because of the decision they made there, but oh was it worth it.
Earlier Peter had made a strong confession to Jesus: "Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:67-69
He had to be reminded with the 153 fish that the right decision means the right direction. Anything else is a waste of time & fruitless. It may seem lonely & unsure, but don’t give in & don’t give up. If you have never even decided to follow Him, then your story hasn’t really even started! He will bring a purpose, direction & a right destination to your life!
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
At the end of Jesus’ time on earth a scene played out that has played out in many other lives all down history. You can check out the story in John 21-
His followers had become disheartened, tired, & disillusioned. Though they had followed Jesus for some three years & had been used to perform miracles & share God’s truth, they threw in the towel & headed back to the old life; fishing.
Working all night, these ‘professional’ fishermen caught zip. Jesus, who had died & arisen as He said, showed up on the shoreline & called to them. “Caught anything?” “Naw. Sorry night!” “Tell you what; drop it on the right side & you’ll be surprised.” So, for some reason, they did as the stranger said. Why? Nothing to lose, maybe they had forgotten the old trade. Nets loaded down & about to bust with fish. 153 large fish to be exact.
Why 153 fish? Lots of speculation from: 153 generations until his return, 153 different kinds of fish in Galilee (debunked by many), 153 people were blessed by Jesus during His ministry, 153 nations in the world, etc. Whatever the reason, obviously John was an eyewitness & they suddenly realized it was Jesus!
They made a b-line to shore where Jesus was waiting: cooking fish & bread. (Apparently He didn’t even need their work to provide food!) He asked them to contribute to the meal with their new catch. A gentle reminder that it wasn’t all for nothing, He was still Lord of all. They still needed to follow Him!
Stop. Click tracks way back to first scene some three years earlier. Couple of the same guys were at a seaside doing what they did; fishing. Jesus, whom they had seen & heard of & thought to be the Messiah, called to them:
"The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus." John 1:35-37 NLT
They dropped it all to follow Him. They decided He was The Way & set the course of their lives with Him. It was a roller coaster ride: wonderful highs, but hard, unsure times too. Most of them would literally die because of the decision they made there, but oh was it worth it.
Earlier Peter had made a strong confession to Jesus: "Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 6:67-69
He had to be reminded with the 153 fish that the right decision means the right direction. Anything else is a waste of time & fruitless. It may seem lonely & unsure, but don’t give in & don’t give up. If you have never even decided to follow Him, then your story hasn’t really even started! He will bring a purpose, direction & a right destination to your life!
www.myspace.com/davejacksonnewport.
Dave Jackson on facebook
ASUN website www.bcmasunewport.org
Cell: 870-217-9376
Dave Jackson-Campus Minister djackson@absc.org
Dave’s Desk - http://bcmasunewport.blogspot.com
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