BUT THE SET OF YOUR SAILS

Rev. A.J. Ogden

The words of this title have been spoken for years by many people who were much wiser than I. But I believe they express a great truth which is desperately needed in a world which is blinded by sin.

A seaman once said that if you set out to sail from Europe to New York just a little degree off course, by the time you reach America you would miss your destination several hundred miles. This is also true in the lives of men and women. Some people get a bad start that ruins all of their years of life. In many cases their sails were not set in the right direction.

The Bible says in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Joshua was aiming in the right direction when he said to his people in Joshua 24:15, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” He had set his sails and was encouraging them to set their sails on pleasing God. The great man of God did not want to be one degree off course.

Ungodly choices in the early years cause many boys and girls to live a life of misery, without God and without hope of Heaven. Parents should not even give birth to a child unless they are going to train them up for the Lord. Too many people are just rearing children for Satan.

Right now without calling any names, I know of a beautiful little girl who made it to Hollywood, and what a sinful world calls success. She started smoking, drinking, gambling, adultery, drugs, and now she is in deep despair after making millions of dollars that will never help her in the least. That is not success!

All drunkards start out with one drink. All drug addicts start with one fix, don’t they? All thieves probably just start out taking one little thing. All adulterers start out with one night on the town. Have you set your sails on Jesus? If so, you won’t play around with sin. It will destroy you.