Tag: Destiny

Viking Travel Journal––Day 4

Norwegian Glaciers

We opted to take a seven hour train ride from Oslo to Bergen, Norway because it was a “must do” and the scenery was supposed to be “breathtaking.”

It was neither.

It wasn’t bad; it just didn’t live up to the hype.

The best scenery is captured in the pic here of the glaciers.

The Wife summed it up best (as she normally does): “It just looks like East Tennessee.” And she should know.

But that was okay because today was a day to read about Olaf Tryggvason (Cir. 960–1,000 A.D.) the man who brought Christianity to Norway.

Olaf’s story is a remarkable for a couple of reasons. First, he spent much of his boyhood as a slave. He was born into royalty, but through some political changes in Norway ended up being separated from his mother and sold into slavery. I was immediately reminded of John Knox and St. Patrick, whom we studied on last years’ GSB tour. Continue reading “Viking Travel Journal––Day 4”

Will You Sacrifice Your Calling For Comfort?

“Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel…But David stayed at Jerusalem.” (2 Sam. 11:1).

You probably know what happens next.  David engages in the 1000 B.C. version of watching porn (roof-gazing), gets to know Bathsheba in the Biblical sense, and then has her husband killed.

This was the worst series of events in David’s life, and on top of that it all got written down so people for the last 3,000 years could read what he did and lawyers masquerading as bloggers could blog on it.

This is not something one would hope for, but it all started because at the time when kings go out to battle David stayed home where it was safe and comfortable.  David was a king.  His calling was on the battlefield leading his people.  When David stepped out of his calling, he stepped into temptation.

If you are a Christian, your destiny is like a flowing river.  Sometimes you will be tempted to step out of it onto the shore just to get your feet dry for a little while, but when you do, you can never step back in at the same place because the water you stepped out of has moved on, and worse, what waits on the shore is your anti-calling, all the temptations that would lead you away from the river.

Don’t sacrifice your calling for comfort. GS