A ship has been launched in this world that will give you the journey of your life! This Ship is not a common, man-made boat; it is the Lord's Glory Boat! It can't sink, break down or get off course, for it has been made and is operated by the Hand of God!

The name of this Boat is "The Ark of Safety." It is now cruising across a temporal ocean called Life on Earth. Its destination is Heaven's Eternal Shore, and it will arrive there right on schedule! (Which may be very soon, because, lately, it seems to be picking up a lot of speed!)

The passengers on the Ship of Life are all who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior. The boarding price is very expensive, but all tickets have been bought and paid for by our Heavenly Father. All on board are definitely going to make it to the final destination--each one at their appointed time--for that is a promise we have from God!

Precious cargo is aboard this Ship--each passenger is worth more than all the gold and silver in the whole world (1 Pet.1:18,19). Also, aboard are treasures beyond measure, which out- value anything this world has to offer; treasures, such as, hope, peace and joy, just to name a few; truth, righteousness and faith, to name a few more. Anyone who receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior is instantly placed on this Boat by the Hand of God. I came aboard back in the year 1964, and I am finding that the trip gets better and better as I draw closer and closer to Heaven's Shore.

Having the privilege of being on this Glorious Cruise Ship all these years has given me plenty of time to observe many of the passengers. Even though I try to keep my eyes on the Captain, I can't help but notice some things that are going on aboard the ship.

Some of the passengers are such a delight to be traveling with. There they are, so thankful to be aboard, just cruising along with the flow of God; resting in the light of the Son; enjoying the awesome love of God . . . oh, what a wonderful time they are having on this Luxury Cruise!

Others are not doing that well: Some have brought their old humanistic work rags aboard to wear as clothing (Isa.64:6), rather than wearing their beautiful robe of righteousness woven by the Son of God on the cross of Calvary (Isa.61:10). Also, some are awfully seasick from feasting on the letter of the word rather than the Spirit of the Word (2 Cor.3:6). Others are terribly sick from eating bad bread--the kind that is made by ones who have an evil eye (Prov.23:6-8); in other words, they have been listening to gossip and complaining. It is hard not to notice passengers who are hanging over the railing, throwing up. (If we eat [take in] gossip, we will surely vomit it up by repeating it to others. If we listen to complaints, surely we will end up railing [complaining] ourselves.)

Many passengers aboard are highly talented, hard workers, who willfully offer their services to the Captain. But some of them, as soon as they get working, try to run the Ship. I am sure many of them mean well for they think being in control is a good thing, as it may have helped them get ahead in things of the world before they boarded the Ship.

Some of the most gifted, hard-working Christians I know can't understand why others on the Boat don't want to hang around with them, when they are constantly trying to run the Ship or they are hanging over the railing. I am not suggesting that any child of God who has a control addiction or constantly gripes and complains should be made to walk the plank; I am just saying there is a better way to live while traveling on the Boat of Life!

One may expect to see people in the world behaving this way, but should such a sight be seen on the Lord's Family Cruise Ship, traveling to such a glorious destination? After all, this is not a party boat full of drunken sailors, drifting along with the sinful flow of the world. This is the Lord's Boat on the Sea of Life!

It is a troubling sight to see some people aboard the Ship who are too frightened to move about freely. They are the ones who won't let go of the Old Covenant. They are hanging onto the law for security and tiptoeing around as if they were walking on a narrow tightrope, rather than walking freely, believing that the Lord has set their feet in a large place--His unlimited, unending grace (Ps.118:5). After God saves us and securely places us in His Family Boat, He doesn't bind us up with cords of rules and regulations to control our behavior. We do have freedom to choose.

Some others on the Ship have chosen not to trust the Captain of the Ship and prefer to guide their own course through life, using a worldly compass.

Observing all these things made it easy for me to see why many passengers on the Boat are not enjoying the trip.

But now, let me tell you about another group of people on the Boat who are not enjoying the trip the way they should; and I never could understand why. This is something that has puzzled me for a long time, but now I am beginning to recognize what is causing their problem.

What I had not been able to understand was why so many precious people of God who love the Lord dearly; read the Bible constantly; encourage and help many who are downhearted; go to church services regularly; are generous, kind, loving and full of truth; can convey spiritual truths to others . . . but . . . yet . . . they themselves don't seem to benefit that much from God's truth in their own personal lives. I have known for a long time that some Christians are not aware of something that is blocking their way to the treasures in the inheritance of Christ that come with salvation. Many have been storing wonderful truths from the Bible in their hearts for twenty or thirty years; yet, it does not seem to have much of an effect on their daily life style.

There they are, safely placed in the Lord's Boat by the Hand of God, a Boat loaded down with treasures of love, peace, patience, truth and righteousness, freely given to them; and even though they have it all, they personally don't seem to be benefiting from it. I couldn't help but cry out in my heart, asking our Lord why such a condition has come upon so many precious, dedicated people, traveling on His Wonderful Boat?

The answer recently came to me from a line in a message, written by a great evangelist, called Lighten The Ship. It was: "If you don't surrender control, you can have a cargo of truth, yet not benefit from it at all."

I find that most people don't realize the effect of not surrendering control; how many lives it destroys; how it prevents us from receiving our true riches in the inheritance of Christ. When I try to warn some about it, they wonder what I am talking about; many look at me as if I am speaking in a foreign language.

I can't point a finger at them, for it took many years of seeing a lot of devastation in Christians' lives before I realized the destruction that controlling can cause. And especially when complaining is added to it. (Complaining is one symptom of the advanced stages of controlling.) During that time I also observed that when complaining is added to controlling, it is like pouring gasoline on a raging fire! I have also seen the devastation that can come from being controlled, which is just the other side of the coin of being a controller.

There came a point in my journey through life when I knew if I was to enjoy the Boat ride, that I would have to be willing to let God deal with the control issue in my own life. I got a view of how good life could be if I would give up controlling or give up being controlled. After that I asked the Great Physician to operate on me and do whatever it takes to get that control bug out of my life.

At the time, I was thinking of a little procedure where I would just pray, receive a healing and that would be the end of it. I had no idea what I was getting into. Nor did I have any concept of the size of the roots of control that are embedded in human nature, or how deeply they are buried in our subconscious. Also, I did not realize how much of a satanic stronghold we attack when we stand up, using wisdom and faith, to resist a controller. But what I did know is that our Lord is the Wonderful Physician, so gentle, so kind and so patient. Year after year He keeps operating on me, little by little, deeper and deeper; and I don't feel any pain, only love. As the roots of that old control cancer come out, rich treasures from Heaven come flowing in. Also, every time a stronghold of Satan is knocked down, a flood of freedom comes in.

Right now you may be having some smooth sailing and feel no need to deal with this control issue, or you may think it simply just doesn't apply to you. Sometimes, when I remind God's people of the dangers, as I see them entering into a control mode, it is like I have pushed their anger button. If you feel I am beginning to rock the boat, at least, know that I am doing it in love!

If you don't want to let go of control or being controlled . . . hang on . . . for those two things are bound to generate some rough waters! Many disastrous storms on the Sea of Life could be avoided if we would simply heed the warning not to control--or be controlled (or complain). But that is much easier said than done.

There are two main courses that can be taken to avoid control storms: One is a hard route and is not that effective; the other is an easy, enjoyable course that can't fail. The hard way is to just don't control or don't be controlled--or complain; in other words, try to control yourself not to be a controlling complainer. This will avoid some storms even for those who are not yet in the Lord's Boat.

But the easy, enjoyable, heavenly delightful and unfailing way to avoid control storms, is to simply live in the new creation we became when we received Christ as Lord and Savior (2 Cor.5:17). Another way to say the same thing is: Choose, moment by moment, to walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh (Rom.8:1).

Walking in the Spirit (living in the new creation) is believing and living in the finished work of Christ on the cross. We can say we are doing that, but if we are working to earn our righteousness, we are just talking rather than walking in the Spirit. We can say the blood of Christ was enough to wash away all our sins--past, present and future--but if we live under guilt and condemnation, we are not living in our new creation. If we are not willing to let go of control, we are not living in our true identity (our new creation), for Jesus is not a controller. His Life in us will not try to control people.

Walking in the flesh is easy, for it is a natural (not spiritual) thing to do. In some places in the Bible the flesh is referred to as the old sinful nature that was crucified with Christ on the cross. It is sometimes referred to as the "old man" or the old self (not the new creation). Many well-intentioned people of God try to die to self, which is really walking in the flesh, because it is trying to do something that Christ has already done on the cross. The Bible tells us to deny self and to reckon the old man dead (Matt.16:24; Rom.6:6-11); and, by faith, to put on the new man, which is created by God in righteousness and true holiness (Eph.4:22-24).

King David said to the Lord that his heart was not haughty nor were his eyes lofty, and that he did not exercise himself in matters or things too high for him; but that he behaved and quieted himself as a child that is weaned of its mother (Ps.131:1,2). Sometimes, that is how I feel when I try to apprehend the mysteries of God, which can only be grasped by faith. I don't know and can't explain how my old adamic nature, being dead--having been nailed to the cross with Christ--can still bother me so much here on earth, even after knowing I am safely placed in the Lord's Boat! Perhaps that old dead thing is still, in a way, being used by the Lord; for it is teaching me the importance of walking by faith rather than feelings

Walking in the Spirit is living in the new creation and it is a walk of faith. It is not a hard thing to do; in fact, we don't even have to try, for it comes automatically--that is, if we simply stay close to our Heavenly Father by abiding in Jesus, the True Vine (Jn.15:4,5).

There is a big beautiful lake in my home state that I love, but I do have a difficult time trying to navigate my boat on it, because there are hundreds of buoys marking danger areas to beware of. According to my Boater's Guide manual, I need to go on the north side of the buoys with black tops, while traveling east-west or west-east; and I need to go east of them when going north-south or south-north. The buoys with red tops, I need to go on the south side of them when traveling east-west or west; and I need to go on the west side of them when going north-south or south-north. It can get very confusing, especially when I don't bring a compass to know which direction I am headed in or which side of the buoys to go on. Sometimes I just go slow and pray that I don't hit any rocks.

I can see why you might get a little nervous if you were a passenger in my small, thirty-year-old, man-made boat on a big lake, with me at the helm; but there is no reason for you to be fearful on the Lord's Boat of Life. You don't even have to be afraid that you will miss seeing some of the many danger warning signs along the way--that is, if you just keep your eyes on Jesus,"the author and finisher of our faith" (Heb.12:2).

We can have happy boating even through the roughest storms of life, because Christ is not only in the Boat with us, He is also right in our hearts. He can calm the waters; He can give us perfect peace, even in the midst of a raging storm. In the roughest of waters, we can still enjoy being in the rest that remains for the people of God (Heb.4:9).

Throughout this marvelous journey on our Lord's Boat, it helps to remember that Almighty God, the Great Creator, who made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein (Acts 17:24), is the Captain of the Ship. He is responsible for the welfare and safety of the passengers; He is the One who provides the spiritual and natural food, clothing, shelter and everything else we need for a most enjoyable journey. With that in mind, let's just relax and be at rest; and not only enjoy the trip but enjoy the incredible love of our Heavenly Father, the Captain of the Ship.

On most cruise ships you would not be able to see much of the skipper, for he would be too busy running the ship. That is not how it is on the Lord's Boat! Because of what our Lord Jesus did on the cross of Calvary, we have access to the Father (Eph.2:13,18), who longs for us to be close to Him!

He just loves it when we get close enough for Him to hold us in His loving arms, so He can point out to us all the wonderful sights along the way. And He loves it when we are quiet enough to hear Him whisper to us the great plans He has mapped out for us on this marvelous journey. (He often speaks in a still small voice just to draw us closer.) You and I do have the ability, and the privilege, not only to make happy boating for ourselves and other passengers, but also for the Captain of the Ship!

But most important, the thing to keep in mind for a perfectly delightful journey is to remember that as we enjoy all the glorious things God has prepared for us along the way, that it is all just a taste of what is to come when we arrive at the final destination!