A Sailor's Sunrise: Ninety Days on Contract-Meditations for Mariners

By Captain M. Reasoner

The Bible, the Word of God, is filled with maritime references. And yet, few mariners know Him or how He permeates their life and livelihood. Going to sea with God is an adventure unlike any other voyage. In a Sailors Sunrise, see the glory of God as He speaks to you. Relax as He calms the storms and stands watch. Enjoy promotion because you are qualified in Him. Let God salvage and sooth your soul.

Please visit the website at www.sailorsunrise.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512745672

Captain M. Reasoner

Captain Reasoner is a United States Coast Guard licensed Master with thirty plus years of seagoing and shore-side operational experience. Captain Reasoner is a graduate of the California Maritime Academy, and currently works in the Marine Personnel and Labor aspect of the maritime industry, persuasively pursuing mariners to join the field.

Book preview

Going to Sea with God

Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on great waters,

They see the works of the Lord,

And His wonders in the deep.

For He commands and raises the stormy wind,

Which lifts up the waves of the sea.

They mount up to the heavens,

They go down again to the depths;

Their soul melts because of trouble.

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,

And are at their wits’ end.

Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,

And He brings them out of their distresses.

He calms the storm,

So that its waves are still.

Then they are glad because they are quiet;

So He guides them to their desired haven.

Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,

And praise Him in the company of the elders …

Whoever is wise will observe these things,

And they will understand the loving kindness of the Lord.

—Psalm 107:23–32, 43 NKJV

As mariners, we sometimes take for granted the work we perform and the platform upon which we operate. We place our trust in the seaworthiness of our vessels. We are secure in our own abilities, in the experience of our fellow crew members, and in the skill of the master to safely bring our vessel from port to port. In terms of safety, we may even get complacent in our responsibilities and duties and take pride and comfort in our vessel’s size, propulsion, and familiarity. This ship, this mode of transport that carries goods, products, and cargo, is sometimes more our home than our dwelling ashore. Our fellow crew may know more about us and our secrets than our wife, husband, brothers, sisters, or friends. Our seagoing career can be a totally separate life for us.

But as we sail, stand watch, do day-work, wrench, make arrival, go ashore, or take departure, we must never forget the impressive works of the deep or the beauty and awe of the sea. Enjoy the horizon, the sky, the stars, the shores, and the sights, for we have these privileges to behold.

Make this trip different! Each day, on this contract or hitch, take a moment to contemplate the Creator of this environment that you call home or work. Commit to spend time with the one who will never leave you or forsake you. Give praise and thanks for His great love and His wondrous deeds. Honor His power and protection. Marvel at His gifts and provision. Submit to his direction, leadership, and guidance. Grow in relationship with the higher power—the triune being known as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and grow in relationship with others.

Go to sea with God! Please read this book daily, one day at a time, and both ponder it and employ it—this could be the voyage of your life.

Qualifications

If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame. (Romans 10:9–11 NIV)

In order to be a qualified mariner, there are a lot of things to do and a lot of training that has to be accomplished. The International Maritime Organization sets the standard for qualification for operating in international waters. Mariners must comply with the requirements of STCW 2010—the Manila Convention. There are requirements for officers (deck and engine) as well as requirements for ratings, both deck and engine. Depending on the type of vessel on which you serve (e.g., tankers), there are additional endorsements required. You must qualify on vessel equipment: RADAR, ECDIS, cranes, engine propulsion, safety gear, etc. There are sea service requirements to maintain or to achieve the next higher level. Depending on the flag state of your vessel, the flag may add additional requirements or set the format for the presentation of training and qualifications. If it is a US flag mariner, then the US Coast Guard establishes the training qualifications as well as determines who is approved to provide that training. In addition to training requirements, there are medical requirements and fitness certificate requirements that pertain to overall health, vision, and hearing. Also, you must add on company, owner, charterer, or customer training and qualification requirements to go with experience and time in grade. And then top the list of requirements with a repetitive frequency for renewing training. When you have done all that, and more, you are considered a unique, skilled, and sought-after seafarer.

God is seeking you. He wants you on His crew. He wants you to join a vessel called the Sonship in a relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The term Sonship describes not only just an association of a son to a father, but it also means being a child of God regardless of your gender. You are not just signed on for a brief time—you are adopted into the family, forever.

There are only two qualifications to join the Sonship:

1. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.

2. Speak the words out loud that you believe.

Join God’s crew, and say this prayer out loud:

Father God, I believe that You are Lord above all things. I believe in Your Son, Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin and walked on this earth and upon these seas. I believe that You were crucified on a cross, died, and were buried. I believe You rose again. I believe that You died for all my sins, past, present, and future, in order to secure my place in Your crew and in Your family. I believe in Your Holy Spirit, who will help, comfort, and teach me. Come into my life. My desire is to seek You and to have a relationship with You all my days.

He answers, My child, I will never leave you or forsake you! I love you!

Change

I am the Lord and I do not change. (Malachi 3:6 NIV)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. (Revelation 22:13 NIV)

Life is ever changing. As much as we want things to remain the same, the world around us and those in it are always changing.

I well remember my first fix as a cadet when I was taken aboard ship in the commercial world. I methodically plotted the visual bearings I had taken, double checked the radar bearings, and then triple checked with Loran C lines (an ancient form of electronic navigation). I was confident in my position and in my capabilities. The master came up a few minutes after the hour and asked, Where are we? I proudly showed him where we were at on the chart, and to my amazement he said, No, we’re not there! Surprised, I quickly took another round, replotted things, and came up with another fix close by. The captain had remained on the bridge, so I showed him where my new fix showed us, and he said again, No, we’re not there! Of course, since I must have made another mistake, I quickly took another round, plotted my lines, obtained a third fix—which was again close by—and called the captain over. He looked at my position on the chart and said, No, we’re not there! By the time you think you have a fix, our position has changed!

His words have stayed with me to this day. When things change, there is a certain amount of fear and frustration that goes with it. However, at sea, the c in company and in crew stands for change. We are in a constant state of flux. Time moves on. People change, weather changes, politics change, the schedule changes, children change, technology changes, attitudes change, the wind changes, fashion changes, moods change, etc. Knowing things will change and that it is out of our control gives a measure of peace in any situation.

Knowing that God is the whole of anything—from beginning to end and everything in between—gives a peace that surpasses all understanding. To know God as unchanging, as the first and the last and all in between, is to grasp the concept of eternity and how fixed God is in His place.

The Right of Selection

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. (Deuteronomy 7:6 NIV)

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV)

For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14 NLT)

From a vessel management perspective, hiring the wrong crew member can have a great effect. A poor employment choice, aside from making it more difficult for work on the ship to be completed, can cost your employer due to repatriation travel expenses, sailing short-handed, the additional time and effort in recruitment, and the added replacement expenses. The mariner selection process can be quite extensive depending on who you work for. Some crew inclusion considerations are:

• qualifications;

• CV or resume;

• contractual/employer/customer requirements;

• experience;

• knowledge of past performance and performance evaluations;

• recommendations;

• training;

• safety record;

• character;

• motivation and personality;

• leadership skills; and

• personal bias.

Some contracts and agreements may have a clause regarding suitability for employment, giving the company the right of selection and not consenting to assignments solely by the manning agency or union rule.

Selection can apply not only to jobs but also to teams, friendships, elections, or club/group memberships. It is the process of being carefully or fastidiously chosen in preference.

Do you know that from the beginning of time God has carefully and fastidiously chosen you of all people on the face of the earth, from the beginning of time, for His possession, holy and blameless before Him in love, to be exactly where you are right now, in this moment, before anyone else? Regardless of what preceded, you are His first choice.

Probation

Yes, now I see it all—it was good for me to undergo this bitterness, for you have lovingly delivered me from death; you have forgiven all my sins. For dead men cannot praise you. They cannot be filled with hope and joy to your promises; their probation is at an end, their destiny is sealed. The living, only the living, can praise you as I do today. One generation makes known your faithfulness to the next. (Isaiah 38:17–19 TLB)

Isaiah 38 is