Spiritual Pirates

November 15, 2008 Somali pirates hijacked a supertanker hundreds of miles off the Horn of Africa, seizing the Saudi-owned ship loaded with crude oil and its 25-member crew, the U.S. Navy said Monday.

WOW, Pirates??? When I mentioned this to my daughter she couldn't believe it. She started asking if they wear the kind of clothes like Pirates of the Caribbean? No...they don't wear those kind of clothes but they do the same kinds of things, they steal, kill and destroy on the high seas just like the swash buckling pirates of old we think about. These guys are up to no good!

According to a Presentation OF MICHAEL S. McDaniel, ESQ. Before The PROPELLER CLUB OF THE UNITED STATES At The Port of Chicago NOVEMBER 20, 2000 he stated that "202 pirates incidents happened in 1998. These were followed in 1999 by about 309 incidents. In the year 2000 there were well over 300 attacks. But even these numbers don't include another 3,000 incidents involving yachts and small boats.

Piracy and marine fraud is a US$16 billion industry on the rise. If piracy were a stock, it would have traded well above Mircosoft on world exchanges for the Year 2000. Who could have imagined that a 17th Century concept could out pace "techno-growth.""

THE BIBLE talks about spiritual pirates that invade our lives. In the book Song of Solomon 2:15 it talks about the little things that spoil our lives, "the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." Those pesky little foxes.

These little foxes sneak into our lives and they try to steal and ruin our spiritual fruit. In the OT they ruined or spoiled the grape vineyards. What are these little foxes or /spiritual pirates that try to "get aboard" our life so they can steal, kill and destroy?

"Little foxes" seem innocent enough but are quite dangerous. What about a particular TV show that has some bad stuff in it. The Bible says those impurities will start to cloud our thinking and our mind.

Trashy books, magazines etc. can seem innocent at first but it never stops there. If those little foxes are allowed to continue in our life and our mind and flesh it will eventually show itself in other areas of our life and begin to spoil and ruin our testimony and our Christian life.

Experimenting with drugs, alcohol, sex are foxes that, again might seem harmless and "the norm" at the beginning but unless they are stopped it will lead to ruining our life and what so many have found so hard to over come; addiction!

Some of the lesser thought of "foxes" might include gossip, hatred, anger, unforgiveness, lust and the list goes on! You see, these "little foxes" as Solomon calls them are "SPIRITUAL PIRATES." They want to get abord our life and steal, kill and destroy.

Satan has the same agenda. Jesus said in John 10:10 "the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy." Listen, that sly little fox will try to steal your Christian joy, kill your Christian testimony and destroy your relationships. It's not worth it to allow this spiritual pirate any room in your life.
In that same verse, John 10:10 Jesus said, "I came so you can have life to the fullest!"

So how do we keep these spiritual pirates out of our life? The Bible mentions many ways but one way I want to leave with you is found in Philippians 4:5-8 "Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. 7And God’s peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. 8In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable."

Don't let "spiritual pirates" hurt you. Sin will always take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you want to pay and keep you longer than you want to stay. Let's fill our minds with the things of Philippians 4 so we can experience life to the fullest!

Just a thot,
Pastor Dan