Meet Your Stranger

“And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.” Mark 5:9

Jesus asked this question of the demoniac of the Gadarenes, “What is your name?” Although, the devil tempted and confronted Jesus, He expressed no fear of Satan.  He treated him like a defeated enemy.  Do not fear the devil but you must examine other forces that war against you. 

The Unknown Disease.  All are subject to this stranger.  Many have gone through extensive testing to diagnose a disease or a condition that was life threatening.  There may be many of us who will face this in the future. I have something to say about this stranger, however.  First, God can heal any kind of disease.  “By His stripes, we are healed.”  Call for the elders of the church to anoint you with oil and pray for you.  If God chooses not to heal or deliver you, before you get a disease that will take you down, you need to get the power that will take you up!  

The Uncontrollable Urge.  There exists in many people a tendency to act impulsively, irrationally, and without the ability to restrain their actions.  Our prisons are populated with inmates who did not act with premeditation.  Achan was a man like this.  He couldn’t keep his urges under control and it led to his demise.  Your mind may be telling you that you are in control of your urges, but you may find out too late that you were actually under the control of a stranger.  The man in the tombs could not be tamed even by the authorities or by chains or ropes.  

The Unconquered Passion.  Like the uncontrollable urge, unconquered passions can lead to destruction as well.  The difference is that passion doesn’t seem like a stranger.  People identify with their passions more than their urges.  “I’m just being me,” they say.  The action seems like something they really want to do, despite the dangers and the sin that it involves.  If your passion is leading you into sinful, perverted or destructive behavior, you had better identify it as an unconquered passion, not as an authentic characteristic. Samson failed to conquer his passion and he forfeited his power.  He surrendered it to the devil from the lap of Delilah.  When his eyes were burnt out by the hot irons thrust into the eye sockets and he was helplessly chained to the grinding mill, he realized that he should have controlled his passions. 

The Unrepented Sin.  Unrepented sin is under your control.  When you fail to repent, or you rationalize your sin away, you set yourself up for a terrible penalty. Ahab was a wicked king who stole the vineyard of Naboth.  When Ahab was out enjoying the stolen grapes, he had an untimely visit by the prophet, Elijah. “And Ahab said to Elijah, ‘Have you found me, O my enemy?’ And he answered, ‘I have found you: because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.’” Ahab thought he had gotten away with his crime.  Twenty years later, however, an arrow shot at random by an enemy archer flew through the air.  In mid-flight, God reached down and wrote Ahab’s name on it. Eventually, unrepented sin will catch up with you. 

The Unsound Mind. The last stranger is the most fearful of all.  People boast, “I would never do anything like that.” If you are not in full control of your faculties, you never really know what you’ll do!  When you are out from beneath the umbrella of God’s protection and governance, you expose yourself to horrific powers. There is only one solution: the power of God!  ^“Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” 2 Timothy 1:7. 

Never think you can confront these strangers by yourself.  Put your life in the hands of Jesus! He has power over the strangers!

Mind Games

“Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2

Mind games are acts or series of acts of calculated psychological manipulation, especially to confuse or intimidate.  Some exercises are only activities that provide entertainment and challenge the intellect.  For example, solve these brain teasers on the left:

Our mind (nous) is the intellectual capacity which allows us to register information, analyze data, form opinions, develop sentiments and make decisions.  Famous minds like those of Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, Wernher Von Braun and even Adolf Hitler captivate us because they show the distant reaches to which the mind can go.  Every aspect of the human character, both good and bad, comes into being in the mind.  The mind plays the major role in our relationship with God and the direction of our lives.  But—-and this gets scary—-imagination, creativity, dreaming and virtual reality also proceed from mental machinations.  Somewhere, in the vortex between conformation and transformation, the mind discovers its own reality.  This is where the games begin.

Brain teasers may be fun, but serious mind games comprise the social and psychological agenda for all facets of human relations:  courtship, engagement, marriage, parenting, buying and selling, working, schooling, playing, conversing and the list goes on.  People lie, deceive, fib, distort, shade, exaggerate, downplay, hide, distract and gloss over because they have agendas.  There are things we want to do and we don’t want to be told no.  There are things we don’t want to do and we don’t want to be forced to do them.  There are things we want others to do…or that we don’t want others to do.  There are things we want to know, and things we don’t want others to know.  We play mind games to get our way.

Look at the many acts of deception in the Bible:  Satan deceived Eve.  Eve deceived Adam.  Both Adam and Eve tried to deceive God.  Jacob deceived Esau and got his birthright.  Jacob deceived Isaac and stole Esau’s blessing.  Laban deceived Jacob and made him work seven more years.  David deceived Uriah to cover his own adultery and sent him to his death.  Joab deceived Abner and assassinated him.  Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Apostles and to the Holy Ghost.  Simon the Sorcerer deceived the people.

Satan has perfected mind games to an art, but much of our anguish and anxiety in our relationship with God does not result from Satan’s lies, but by constantly playing mind games with ourselves.  How?  By questioning, doubting, surmising, speculating, figuring, hashing and rehashing, jumping to conclusions, rushing to judgment, guessing and trying to play everything “by ear.”  Consider these mind games that lead to discouragement and spiritual stagnation: 

Doting on the past.  “I wish I could go back to the way I used to be.”     Lost innocence, lost relationships, lost perspectives will never be recovered.  Don’t place an impossible burden on yourself to recreate who you used to be.  Your present “you” is just as valuable as your past “you”.  Start now—-with where you are and who you are.  This is the meaning of the new birth.

Overestimating the opposition.  “This is too hard.”    Do not grant omnipotence to the devil.  In all of his wiles, he is a grand failure, a defeated foe.  God always provides you with an escape.

Misunderstanding the miracle.  “God has to do this for me.”  Or else, what?  Or else God isn’t God?  Don’t be foolish.  God will never give you permission to commit suicide, spiritual or otherwise.  If you pray for a miracle outside of the will of God, be thankful that he doesn’t answer your prayer!  When you define what you think God must do, you never get it right.  Remember, the miracle for the three Hebrews was salvation out of the fire, not from the fire.  Then, there was Daniel in the lion’s den and Paul and Silas in prison.  When God doesn’t do what you think he ought to do, Satan always turns it into an attack on your faith.

Fear of failure.  “I will think less of myself if I fail, so I won’t risk it.”     Don’t quit before you even start.  It’s like the athlete who says “I probably won’t make the basket, so I won’t take the shot”, or “I’ll probably just swing and miss, so I won’t swing.”  Fear of failure is already failure. 

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.”  Romans 12:1-2.  TLB.  “When an archer misses his mark, he turns and looks for the fault within himself. He never considers that failure to hit the bull’s-eye is the fault of the target. If you want to improve your aim, improve yourself.”  That means letting the mind of Christ dwell in you.  He plays no games.  (Answers: Upright piano; unfinished business; headquarters; season ticket.)

Anonymous Alcoholics

Insidious kidnapper.  Personality destroyer.  Inhumane dehumanizer.  Charade creator.  Alcohol takes a unique and treasured individual and strips him or her of everything special.  It promises peace and delivers chaos.  When a drunken person wakes up from an alcohol-induced stupor, precious time has been stolen and opportunity for significance has been lost.  It waters down talent, blunts sharpness, blurs focus, fogs the brain and turns beauty into putridness.  

The word anonymous literally means without a name, lacking individuality, unique character or distinction.  The alcoholic unwittingly participates in the drowning out of his or her own personality.  If the condition persists long enough, the alcoholic actually comes to believe that the lack of personality is his or her real personality.  Whatever goodness, or interesting feature, or talent or ability that the person inherited from birth morphs into a blob of nothingness.  The god Alcohol says, “I have re-created you into a stupid, boorish klutz that has no value to yourself or anyone else.  All of life’s meaning is found in the bottle.  You are a lousy drunk and you’ll never be anything else!  Just be happy that I let you live long enough to have another drink!” 

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. Proverbs 20:1 (NKJV) 

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?  Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.  Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;  At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” Proverbs 23:29-35 (NKJV) 

Any person with an ounce of self-worth should run from the temptation of alcohol and never stop.  Even the smell of hard liquor should gag someone who truly understands the menacing effect that alcohol portends.  My words to you are, “You are too beautiful, too full of potential, too valuable to yourself, your family and your God to soil yourself with the pigswill named booze.  You are too smart to be fooled by the blue satin and diamond studded divas on the billboards who represent magnificent lies.  Every inebriated moment foregoes a chance to do something lasting and edifying to others in life.  Not one sip, not one swig, not one swallow of a cocktail is worth the subversion of your personality, your purpose, your role or your calling.  Just as a fine car is not built for a garage, or a powerful airplane is not meant for a hanger, neither were you created for a wasted existence.  You are far too elegant, too important and too valuable to be anything less than your full capability.  

Once you fully accept and embrace the fact that God loves you and created you for His glory, you will surrender yourself to His will, and separate yourself from the sinister alcohol. 

Yes, you are that important to your God. 

Spiritual Power and Spiritual Authority

The two words ‘authority’ and ‘power,’ differ greatly. The Greek word translated as ‘authority’ is ‘exousia,’ and means to have the right to rule or govern. In contrast, word translated ‘power’ is ‘dunamis,’ meaning to have the strength or actual ability to bring about a desired purpose. A modern illustration may be seen in the roles of a truck driver and a traffic officer. An semi has inherent strength and so its driver has direct or ‘dunamis’ power at his disposal to perform his task. An officer has no physical power to stop a truck, but he has delegated or ‘exousia’ authority at his disposal. When the traffic officer stops the trucker, his gesture conveys the whole weight of the Police Department. 

Christ has not given us direct or ‘dunamis’ power to overcome the power of Satan. Instead He has entrusted us to wield the authority that is attached to His name, the name which is the greatest in all creation. “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” (Key Bible Reading ). We may exercise the authority contained in the name of Jesus over the power of Satan. For instance we may, in the name of Jesus, cast out demons, or bind the powers of darkness away from our circumstances, or loose those who are held in bondage to the enemy. However, it is important to see that our authority to use the name of Jesus is closely linked with our spiritual state of union or relationship with Him. Just as a traffic officer is stripped of his authority if he steps outside of his jurisdiction, so too we lose our authority when we step out of an abiding relationship with Christ. Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5). Before we can wield the authority of the name of Jesus we must be united and one with Him—so bound and yoked to Him that we are of one mind and one heart with Him. He must initiate, and we must respond in obedience. He then confirms our legitimate use of the authority of His name by instructing the Holy Spirit to perform the works that we have commanded. 

Our authority must be linked to God’s authority.  Obedience is the key to successful operation of progressive authority. If there is obedience throughout the chain, then each link is upheld by the authority of the links above it. However if one link in that chain is disobedient, then its authority can no longer be upheld by those above it, and the chain is effectively broken.  God is the supreme head of all authority. His ultimate omnipotence cannot be disputed.  Satan’s authority over mankind, however, is not absolute. It is proportional to the degree to which man chooses to disobey God. Because of the depravity and rebelliousness of fallen man, the apostle John conceded that, “…the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:19. The fact is that we are not just dealing with Satan as a deceiver, a liar, an evil spirit, etc. We are dealing with him as one who is in authority over this present world. The only way an individual can be delivered from the authority of Satan is to submit to an authority that is higher than Satan! (Colossians 1:12-13.) 

No person is an authority unto himself. Regardless of where you are, someone has authority over you, usually depending upon your citizenship. Do not operate under false assumptions about your relationship with God. Obedience is not scalable. It cannot be mixed with disobedience. That brings us back to Jesus Christ.  Since obedience is at the heart of all true authority, it was appointed to Jesus to become a sacrificial offering—not only as an atonement for the sins of mankind—but as the ultimate display of obedience. His task of redeeming mankind was complete—a perfect work done in perfect obedience. By accomplishing His perfect work, Christ has laid the foundation for re-establishing God’s authority on earth.

How to Speak in Tongues

Okay, the title is a little misleading.  I’m not going to tell you how to form the syllables and sentences of glossolalia because that would be fraudulent.  Tongues is a Spirit-driven utterance accessed in the supernatural realm.  Many get stymied here.  The miracle only happens when the human propensity for control gives way to the control of the spirit.  This is both the easiest and the most difficult thing in the world to do.  

Christianity is not exclusively an intellectual matter.  Gentile philosophy was based on intellectual inquiry.  But, Apostle Paul said,  “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”  1 Corinthians 1:21.  God created man to have faculties beyond his mental powers only, but also to have physical, emotional and spiritual aspects as well.  Jesus’ miracles underscored God’s intention to bypass human logic and understanding and force man to enter the realm of faith.  

God desires the physical realm to be impacted by the spiritual realm.  God did not intend for the physical essence of man to dominate over the spiritual; the spiritual must drive the physical.  “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  So, then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” Romans 8:4-9.  This is significant language. 

The Spirit infilling is not automatic but deliberate and conditional.  The Spirit of God does not automatically takes up residence in people the moment they believe in Christ.  For example, we find this in Acts 8.  “…Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:  (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.” Acts 8:14-17.  Paul asked, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.” Acts 19:2.  Thus, receiving the Holy Spirit is subsequent to the act of believing.  One must deliberately seek the gift of Holy Spirit and meet certain conditions to receive it. 

Yielding is the key act to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Yielding to the Spirit of God is how those who received the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost “spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance.”  Acts 2:4.  Other translations use the phrase “as the Spirit prompted them to speak.”  In other words, the Spirit of God does not commandeer a human body and, robotic-like, force a person to speak.  Speaking in tongues happens only by the recipient’s consent, by a human vessel sensitively responding to the impression of the Spirit of God.  It is a beautiful, synergetic fusion of the Holy Spirit with the human spirit.  

This brings us to the broader truth about speaking in tongues.  While we herald glossalalia as a marvelous, and essential, component of the new birth, it was never meant to be an end in and of itself.  Yielding to supernatural speech is the precursor to yielding to the Spirit’s control in our everyday walk with God.  If we first learn to speak, pray and sing in the Spirit, we can then learn how to walk in the Spirit.  If we give Christ control over our tongues, we have a pattern for giving Him control over our lives.  Tongues represent only one aspect of true spirituality.  The overarching purpose is to permit Christ to be the command and control center of our entire being. 

Singing Acapella

Acappella music is specifically group or solo singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It contrasts with cantata, which is accompanied singing.  When you sing driving down the highway, or in the shower, or spontaneously break out in song, you are singing acapella.  Some of us, however, can’t carry a tune in a bucket.  We wouldn’t even venture to sing without help from an instrument.  You need to strum a guitar, or hit some notes on the keyboard, or even have someone play a harmonica if you are going to sing.  

But, sometimes, we find ourselves alone, out on the stage, blinded by the spotlights, having to sing a song all by ourselves.  Sometimes, we listen for some accompaniment, we look around desperately—waiting for some help—and it doesn’t show up.  Sometimes, the people we have leaned on, the people that usually carry the day for us, the faithful support that we have always counted on, are not there.  The audience waits with bated breath for you to break forth in joyful song like you have always done.  This is the situation in which Israel found itself. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.  We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.  For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?” Psalms 137:1-4 (KJV) 

It’s a haunting question.  It reverberates in our ears even today.  How can you sing when you have lost all reason for singing?  How can joy spring from your soul when you are in the midst of a waterless desert?  How can you sing of the joy of sunlight when you are swallowed up by the darkness of night? But what the Jews in exile didn’t realize at the time—but they found out later—is that even when the music stops, you can still have a song.  But the only way that it happens is when the song you sing from your heart does not originate from the music in your ears.  And so, the passing of the night and the dawning of the day issues a brand-new challenge to you:  You must reconnect with the song. 

Let’s go now to a deep, dark, dank prison in Philippi.  Paul and his cohort, Silas, had been arrested for the crime of preaching the Lord Jesus Christ in the streets.  It was dark.  It was cold.  Rats were running around.  Vermin coated the floors and walls.  The chains were heavy and the stocks were rough.  The blood circulation may have been cut off and the shrieks and groans of other prisoners were assaulting their ears.  ^“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Acts 16:25 (KJV). Midnight is not the best time to sing.  At midnight, we would feel like thumping anyone who started singing.  The pain worsens, the spirit sinks, the gloom and doom seem the most suffocating at midnight.  Someone has said that you’ll never know how strong you are until your only option is being strong.  Suddenly, a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, setting Paul and Silas free.  Their concert brought down the house! 

But in the strict sense of the word, we’re not really talking about singing, are we?  We’re talking about a reconnection with the presence and power of God.  We’re talking about a deep, soul-stirring, life-rearranging revival that leads us into the very throne room of the Almighty.  Regardless of what the past took away from you, it did not kill the Lord’s song.  It did not negate the love of God from encircling you.  Remember: when you don’t have the music, you still have a song. When you don’t have accompaniment, you still have your God! Sing away!  He’s all you need.

How Valuable is the Word of God?

“Thy word is truth.” John 17:17 

This question alone is an understatement of epic proportions. The Word … valuable? Is a detailed set of prints valuable to building a skyscraper? Is an understanding of aerodynamics valuable to piloting a plane? Does a brain surgeon value rigorous medical training? Is a constitution valuable to running a country? These concepts go without question. Yet, we stumble in assigning real value to God’s Word, both in assimilation and application.

We should be alarmed at lax, dismissive view of the Bible that has crept into the attitudes of many. Apostolics, the people who base their beliefs upon a literal rendering and practicing of scripture, must not permit this to happen.  The Bible remains a timeless statement of God’s truth. But this position directly contradicts today’s increased sensitivity to human wants and desires. What if the Bible gets in the way of modern life? Not only do many people do what they want to do (as they always have), more of them are willing to cast off scriptural restraints in order to do it. The church also feels tremendous pressure to accept variant viewpoints in the interest of fairness and humility.  

First, God’s Word is unique because it lives. “For the word of God is living…” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV). The life of God’s Word brings a singular dynamic to the world unmatched by any other literature. No Plato classic, no Clancy or Grisham thriller, no Catton history or even any Shakespearean drama, despite their considerable wit and brilliance, dispense life to its readers. The Word breathes, moves and inspires. It interacts with our thinking, both consciously and sub-consciously, and creates a new person within us. Its energy puts it on par with the very presence of Jesus, as we see in 1 John 1:1. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.”  

Next, the Word is powerful, or active. (Hebrews 4:12 NIV). Many speak, but none speaks words with innate creative power. God’s Word becomes a viable force, fully capable of performing its purpose. He does more than suggest or muse. “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11). The Word makes things happen. 

The Word also discriminates. It is “Living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12. The Word of God cuts away fat and fraud and exposing the hidden things of the heart. This makes lots of people nervous, even angry. But remember, while one edge cuts clean going away, the other cuts just as clean coming back, judging both the audience and the speaker alike. Long before psychology, psychiatry or any of the mind arts ever existed, the incisive Word penetrated the heart of man. 

Finally, the Word of God is truth. Vast, organized bodies of opinion float around out in academia, each one claiming or implying that it represents truth. It would totally exhaust our time, money and labor to fully investigate the plank and platform of their every claim. Forget it. 

“Thy Word is truth.” All else is futile.  Those who excuse scriptural commands as quaint, but out of touch aspects of the Word, tread on shaky ground. Simply put, we must read, believe and obey the Bible! Any departure from the verbal inspiration and the literal reading of the Bible undermines our insistence upon Apostolic doctrine. The Bible is living, powerful, discriminating and true. All of it. That’s the word on the Word. 

Ships to Tarshish

Can you believe anything you want to believe if you are sincere? Don’t all of us have a right to our own opinion? These questions seem logical and harmless, but they are based on a false, insidious premise. When it comes to living in the will of God, such questions subvert eternal souls and fling them into the tangled maze of falsehoods. In the Bible account of Jonah, the prophet was swallowed by a great fish. But the reason for his predicament was that he rebelled against God. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” Jonah 1:1. Instead, Jonah boarded a ship headed for Tarshish. God sent a violent storm and the ship nearly capsized. 

Come with me down to the Devil’s wharf and see the ships that lure paying customers aboard today on their way to a modern Tarshish. The first ship has a compelling name: Sincerity is all that counts. Those on board here place sincerity above doctrinal truth or conscientious obedience to the Word of God.  Not true! Every year, across America, hordes of florescent creatures will descend upon our forests and farm fields, hunting for deer and other wild game. Tragedy often strikes, however, when some overanxious trigger-puller sends a deadly missile to a moving clump of bushes. The movement turns out to be his buddy. He sincerely thought he had scoped a deer, but his sincerity wasn’t enough. The wise man Solomon said, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 16:25.

Here’s another stately-looking liner. God only asks us to do our best. Lots of people are sunning themselves on the decks of this vessel. They live their lives according to an internal set of standards with little regard for God’s instructions given in the Bible. What’s wrong with this? First, none of us can do anything to earn salvation anyway, and second, even if we could, it would never be enough.  Show me someone who represents the highest ideal, the truest example of virtue, and yet, without knowing Christ, he or she is still a miserable failure in terms of eternal salvation.  Isaiah 64:6 says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” 

This next ship promises its passengers a pampered excursion to exotic ports. To thine own self be true. Their world begins and ends in themselves, and they religiously believe that to be true to self equates with being true to God. This is known as egoism, or the focus on self.  But, Jesus’ message is anathema to the selfish or self-aggrandizing ego. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24-25.

How about a ride on the party cruiser, Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die? This is known as hedonism.  It refers to the actions which increase the sum of pleasure are thereby constituted right, and, conversely, what increases pain is wrong.  Paul said, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:8.

Another vessel is named: God helps those who help themselves. This gives the appearance of being self-reliant, self-starting, industrious achievers who refuse to be a burden to society. Instead, it often means that people are proud, arrogant God-rejecters who will not submit their will to the Almighty. The truth is that God helps those who cannot help themselves.  

But before you climb on board one of these ships, remember, ships sailing to Tarshish are headed for a storm.  Paul wrote to Timothy, “Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.” I Timothy 1:18-19. You are safest when you board the Word of God and set your sail toward His will. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”