Lessons from Moon Beach
by Steve Hopple
Thirty-two years ago I served a 12 month tour on the island of Okinawa while in the Marines. Those of us at the bottom of the pay scale were required to serve 30 days either on guard duty or KP (that would be kitchen duty to you civilians!). I was blessed to serve guard duty and one of my favorite posts was the night shift on Moon Beach.
Moon Beach was a protected inlet with a beach small enough that a high school outfielder could throw a ball from one end to the other. It had cream colored sand that would be covered with crabs. The animals would dig holes near the surf allowing the tide to bring in whatever vittles they would eat. The holes would range in size from the diameter of a nickel to that of a half dollar. The interesting thing about these critters was that as soon as you would approach they would flee to the safety of their dugout.
Every other day or so I would be dressed in camouflage, flak jacket, helmet and rifle in hand to walk this beach for a four hour stint. Boring duty but quite peaceful. Here are a few lessons to glean from this situation...
1. From the fleeing crabs we learn what it is we should do when we sense trouble. Wouldn’t we would be better off if we would learn to flee from sin and its danger? The crabs were quick to run away, no hesitation, yet that is what we tend to do. We say to ourselves, “That temptation won’t get me this time.”, only to later lament, we once again find ourselves asking for God’s forgiveness. (1 Cor. 6:18, 10:14, 1 Tim. 6:11, 2 Tim. 2:22).
2. From the crabs' effort needed to maintain a place of safety we learn diligence. There is not one single time during the day that Satan is not active in trying to ruin us. Peter tells us that our “adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) This effort we must be diligent in is described by Paul in Philippians 2:12. We must pray to God, read our Bibles, worship, fellowship and serve others. It takes effort just to find the time to do these things but it is something we must do.
3. The last lesson here is in the uniform I wore. Read Ephesians 6 and note the uniform that a Christian should be wearing every day. Even before you put on your socks you should be holding your shield of faith. Before you leave your bedroom to brush your teeth you should be wearing your godly armor.
Moon beach was most serene, easy to be at peace there, spiritually or otherwise. Peace is what God wants us to have even to such degree it escapes our capacity to understand it, Phil. 4:7. And since our discussion here is specifically in relation to Satan’s attacks we should note the peace that God ultimately offers has much to do with this situation most of all, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Romans 16:20 (NASU) So stay hopeful, stay vigilant and STAY in His Word!
Want to know more? Want to know what it means to receive salvation from sin? Simply put, do you want to go to heaven? Let us know here.
(All Scripture is from the NASU unless otherwise noted. Permission granted by the Lockman Foundation.)
by Steve Hopple
Thirty-two years ago I served a 12 month tour on the island of Okinawa while in the Marines. Those of us at the bottom of the pay scale were required to serve 30 days either on guard duty or KP (that would be kitchen duty to you civilians!). I was blessed to serve guard duty and one of my favorite posts was the night shift on Moon Beach.
Moon Beach was a protected inlet with a beach small enough that a high school outfielder could throw a ball from one end to the other. It had cream colored sand that would be covered with crabs. The animals would dig holes near the surf allowing the tide to bring in whatever vittles they would eat. The holes would range in size from the diameter of a nickel to that of a half dollar. The interesting thing about these critters was that as soon as you would approach they would flee to the safety of their dugout.
Every other day or so I would be dressed in camouflage, flak jacket, helmet and rifle in hand to walk this beach for a four hour stint. Boring duty but quite peaceful. Here are a few lessons to glean from this situation...
1. From the fleeing crabs we learn what it is we should do when we sense trouble. Wouldn’t we would be better off if we would learn to flee from sin and its danger? The crabs were quick to run away, no hesitation, yet that is what we tend to do. We say to ourselves, “That temptation won’t get me this time.”, only to later lament, we once again find ourselves asking for God’s forgiveness. (1 Cor. 6:18, 10:14, 1 Tim. 6:11, 2 Tim. 2:22).
2. From the crabs' effort needed to maintain a place of safety we learn diligence. There is not one single time during the day that Satan is not active in trying to ruin us. Peter tells us that our “adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) This effort we must be diligent in is described by Paul in Philippians 2:12. We must pray to God, read our Bibles, worship, fellowship and serve others. It takes effort just to find the time to do these things but it is something we must do.
3. The last lesson here is in the uniform I wore. Read Ephesians 6 and note the uniform that a Christian should be wearing every day. Even before you put on your socks you should be holding your shield of faith. Before you leave your bedroom to brush your teeth you should be wearing your godly armor.
Moon beach was most serene, easy to be at peace there, spiritually or otherwise. Peace is what God wants us to have even to such degree it escapes our capacity to understand it, Phil. 4:7. And since our discussion here is specifically in relation to Satan’s attacks we should note the peace that God ultimately offers has much to do with this situation most of all, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Romans 16:20 (NASU) So stay hopeful, stay vigilant and STAY in His Word!
Want to know more? Want to know what it means to receive salvation from sin? Simply put, do you want to go to heaven? Let us know here.
(All Scripture is from the NASU unless otherwise noted. Permission granted by the Lockman Foundation.)