As the title suggest, my question to me and also to you on this forum: What are you loyal to, or where do you place your allegiance?
I have mentioned a few times on SOS that my wife is from the Philippines and when she went through the process of becoming a United States of America Citizen, she had to repeat out loud in a ceremony with about 75 or so others seeking Citizenship her "change" of loyalty or allegiance to the USA. However, it has been known in the Filipino/American community that a Filipino can also apply for a Dual Citizenship. Thus this has advantages in being able to visit her country with out the "stay limitations". However, it is the USA allegiance that remains the most important.
So, what is the deal here. Of course, since this is a Devotional after-all - I think it appropriate to discuss our loyalty in a spiritual matter. Before, I get into that, we all know there are so many things in life we are loyal to: These goes without question - and I am sure that I am leaving out some things: Our Jobs (if we are still working), our spouse (if we are married), our other important significant other person - brothers, sisters, in-laws, and sometimes even our pets !
I am sure that I am leaving out some things that we place our loyalty on - hey ! - Even our model ship - yes, we are tied to the loyalty to that it seems. Well, sometimes, it is easy to get burned out (lose our loyalty / allegiance) on our ship and we have this desire to put it away for a while until we regain that desire. This happened with me on my USS Constitution, but I am slowly going to start working on it again. But, in the long run, I am still committed to completing her.
So, what does all this have to do with spiritual matters? Please let me say that it is easy to offend some, and this is not my motive. Back in 2009 when I started and created SOS, it was my desire to help people get started and keep and maintain your love for this hobby. Notice that I said "keep and maintain" your love and not become frustrated or become less frustrated.
For those that embrace the Christian lifestyle, that means to keep and maintain your "Loyalty and Allegiance" to God. It is more than just to say or think that you believe in God, and the Bible says that even the Demons believe (or acknowledge Jesus and God), but that is NOT where their allegiance is. So, I am addressing those that are already in the "faith". We must "keep and maintain" our loyalty to God and not stray from our belief. Hard times to come to everyone. It rains on the just and unjust. Good and bad things happen to everyone living on this planet. This is the nature of things from the beginning of time. In the end, God will resolve all things. We often forget that God is in heaven and he does as he pleases - he gives and he takes away. Our response is this: God is in control of everything that happens and Jesus is seated as King and has authority over all things in heaven and on earth.
For those that might not wish to embrace the aforementioned. I want to encourage you that what ever you are in life right now - Give God a try. What do you have to loose? What do you have to gain? My friends, the Bible and God is not a fairy tale. The Bible was written by many different people over the course of thousands of years with many prophecies - most all of which to date have some to pass - and yet some to yet get fulfilled. Some prophecies were written back in 700 BC foretelling the arrival of the "Messiah" plus many others. According to statisticians, for any one particular prophecy to come to pass would be astronomically in the order of over 1 in several trillions. So, we should not question. What stands in the way is our own humanity of thinking we are better off for ourselves. What does all this require? It requires a shift in what we think and what we believe. No, all religions of the world do not lead to God. Jesus is the only figure that lived on this earth that claimed He is the way to everlasting life. He was the only one that died and actually resurrected. He is the only one that is seated at the right hand of God in all authority in heaven and on earth interceding for the faithful. No other person or religion can claim this and never will. So, I leave you with this decision - make a decision today to change your allegiance to the only Lord and Savior - as it is written; For God so loved the world (and you) that he gave to us (and you) his only unique son, that if anyone believes (have loyalty to) will not perish, but you shall and will have eternal life to come.
Peace to to all
and keep up your work on your model and if you get burned out, just give it a rest for a while, that desire will come back.
Donald B. Driskell
Founder of Ships of Scale
I have mentioned a few times on SOS that my wife is from the Philippines and when she went through the process of becoming a United States of America Citizen, she had to repeat out loud in a ceremony with about 75 or so others seeking Citizenship her "change" of loyalty or allegiance to the USA. However, it has been known in the Filipino/American community that a Filipino can also apply for a Dual Citizenship. Thus this has advantages in being able to visit her country with out the "stay limitations". However, it is the USA allegiance that remains the most important.
So, what is the deal here. Of course, since this is a Devotional after-all - I think it appropriate to discuss our loyalty in a spiritual matter. Before, I get into that, we all know there are so many things in life we are loyal to: These goes without question - and I am sure that I am leaving out some things: Our Jobs (if we are still working), our spouse (if we are married), our other important significant other person - brothers, sisters, in-laws, and sometimes even our pets !
I am sure that I am leaving out some things that we place our loyalty on - hey ! - Even our model ship - yes, we are tied to the loyalty to that it seems. Well, sometimes, it is easy to get burned out (lose our loyalty / allegiance) on our ship and we have this desire to put it away for a while until we regain that desire. This happened with me on my USS Constitution, but I am slowly going to start working on it again. But, in the long run, I am still committed to completing her.
So, what does all this have to do with spiritual matters? Please let me say that it is easy to offend some, and this is not my motive. Back in 2009 when I started and created SOS, it was my desire to help people get started and keep and maintain your love for this hobby. Notice that I said "keep and maintain" your love and not become frustrated or become less frustrated.
For those that embrace the Christian lifestyle, that means to keep and maintain your "Loyalty and Allegiance" to God. It is more than just to say or think that you believe in God, and the Bible says that even the Demons believe (or acknowledge Jesus and God), but that is NOT where their allegiance is. So, I am addressing those that are already in the "faith". We must "keep and maintain" our loyalty to God and not stray from our belief. Hard times to come to everyone. It rains on the just and unjust. Good and bad things happen to everyone living on this planet. This is the nature of things from the beginning of time. In the end, God will resolve all things. We often forget that God is in heaven and he does as he pleases - he gives and he takes away. Our response is this: God is in control of everything that happens and Jesus is seated as King and has authority over all things in heaven and on earth.
For those that might not wish to embrace the aforementioned. I want to encourage you that what ever you are in life right now - Give God a try. What do you have to loose? What do you have to gain? My friends, the Bible and God is not a fairy tale. The Bible was written by many different people over the course of thousands of years with many prophecies - most all of which to date have some to pass - and yet some to yet get fulfilled. Some prophecies were written back in 700 BC foretelling the arrival of the "Messiah" plus many others. According to statisticians, for any one particular prophecy to come to pass would be astronomically in the order of over 1 in several trillions. So, we should not question. What stands in the way is our own humanity of thinking we are better off for ourselves. What does all this require? It requires a shift in what we think and what we believe. No, all religions of the world do not lead to God. Jesus is the only figure that lived on this earth that claimed He is the way to everlasting life. He was the only one that died and actually resurrected. He is the only one that is seated at the right hand of God in all authority in heaven and on earth interceding for the faithful. No other person or religion can claim this and never will. So, I leave you with this decision - make a decision today to change your allegiance to the only Lord and Savior - as it is written; For God so loved the world (and you) that he gave to us (and you) his only unique son, that if anyone believes (have loyalty to) will not perish, but you shall and will have eternal life to come.
Peace to to all
and keep up your work on your model and if you get burned out, just give it a rest for a while, that desire will come back.
Donald B. Driskell
Founder of Ships of Scale