Remembering the Titanic

The 15th April 1912 was a day that many people of that generation (and those since) would never forget. It was the day the unsinkable Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, taking around 1300 lives with her. Many survivors shared their insight on how that day changed their lives, one of them being Jack Thayer, the son of a railroad millionaire:

“There was peace and the world had an even tenor to its ways. From time to time there were events — earthquakes, floods — which stirred the sleeping world, but not enough to keep it from resuming its slumber. It seems to me that this disaster not only made the world rub its eyes and awake, but woke it with a start, keeping it moving at a rapidly accelerating pace ever since, with less and less peace and happiness. To my mind, the world of today awoke on April 15, 1912.”

I find his words haunting.

If you had to read his observations from the viewpoint of our time - being stuck in lockdown and the global impact of Covid-19, then they sound even more scary. I pray that this would not be true for our generation. We can't simply go back to living life as normal - let alone, allowing life to accelearte away from us. And what we desperately seek is 'peace' and 'happiness' not turmoil and more heartache.

The writer of Proverbs was right when he called out to us...

²⁰ Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and marketplaces, ²¹ calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together:
²² “Foolish people! How long do you want to be foolish? How long will you enjoy making fun of knowledge? Will you never learn? ²³ Listen when I reprimand you; I will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you. ²⁴ I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me. ²⁵ You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you." - Proverbs 1:20-25 (Good News Translation)

What do you think?
 
Living in Grace
D3LM3

36 - Meteoric and Titanic,

"God’s love is meteoric,
    his loyalty astronomic,
His purpose titanic,
    his verdicts oceanic.
Yet in his largeness
    nothing gets lost;
Not a man, not a mouse,    slips through the cracks." - Psalm 36:5-6 (Message)

How amazing is this passage from Eugene Peterson's translation? Have you ever considered these aspects of God and heard them described in this way?

Love - Meteoric
Loyalty - Astronomic
Purpose - Titanic
Verdict - Oceanic

God is so incredible that not even a mouse slips through the cracks - God always notices us. 

Reflection: Take a minute in your prayer time to use the four words from the Psalm to offer prayers to God. Meteoric, Astronomic, Titanic, Oceanic.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

3 Oranges

I absolutely love this story! It speaks so clearly of what we value the most.

As we come to the 105^th Anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic – April 1912, there is an interesting story that comes out of that tragedy. It was reported that eleven millionaires went down on the Titanic. Major A. H. Peuchen left $300,000.00 in money, jewelry and securities in a box in his cabin. "The money seemed a mockery at that time," he later said. 

Do you want to know what he picked up on the way to jump off the ship? He told reporters later that, "I picked up three oranges instead." - Source Unknown.

In the end, he took what he needed most to survive - and he realised that money wasn't going to get him through the next few hours of his life. Everything has a value and sometimes we need a 'tragedy' to remind us of the true value of things.

As you start this week please remember that you are valuable to God. Jesus loves you so much.

John 1:14 - So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Living in Grace
D3LM3 

Titanic, Meteoric and Astronomic

"God’s love is meteoric, 

his loyalty astronomic, 

His purpose titanic, 

his verdicts oceanic. 

Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost; 

Not a man (or woman), not a mouse, slips through the cracks." - Psalm 36:5-6 (Message)

Don't you just love the way this Psalm speaks about the "Awesomeness" of God?

When last did you use the words: Meteoric, astronomic, titanic and oceanic all in one sentence. I think it's BRILLIANT.

May God bless you with his glorious riches today.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

We are not as Invincible as we think

Today marks the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The 15th April 1912 will go down as the day 1500 passengers aboard the "unsinkable" Titanic died in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean. If you would like to read some interesting facts about the Titanic go to this link and enjoy the article.

The reason I am reminding us of this fateful day in Nautical history is because the Titanic will always confirm that "people are not as invincible as we think we are!" This ship was lauded as being "practically unsinkable" and no one believed it would end in the way it did. As humans, we got arrogant and with this pride, we fell into the age-old trap of self-reliance. We thought we had it all covered, but there were a few things that the owners, engineers and builders had neglected to check out. The most obvious one being the number of life boats on board the Titanic - there were only enough boats for 1 out of 3 passengers!

Although I believe we can  'do all things through Christ who strengthens us' (Philippians 4:13), I do feel that we need to maintain proper perspective. As a human being, I am deeply loved by Jesus, but I am not Invincible. In fact, the sooner we realise that "we are not God" the better for us all. It will be the pride of humanity that we lead to our ultimate demise.

What do you think?

Proverbs 16:18 - "First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the harder the fall" (Message)

Living in Grace
D3LM3