June 15, 2010 by Sal Termini.

In the movie, A Few Good Men, a top military commander is being questioned in a courtroom. He is being told he must tell the truth. He answers in a now famous statement, “You can’t handle the truth.” This statement is true of every one of us. Truth is both frightening and overwhelming. To know the truth means we are now responsible to measure up. It is the purpose of life to come to grips with the truth as God has revealed it to us. We may think we are fighting philosophies, religions, ideologies, but in reality they are mechanisms to cope with the truth we don’t want to face.

Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” We will stand before God’s court one day and we will be asked whether or not we received and obeyed the truth. Jesus said, “Light came into the world but mankind loved the darkness rather than the light.” Jesus came so we could face the truth, obey the truth, and live the truth. I know the Bible is God’s word because it is so contrary to human nature. Yet through Jesus Christ we are brought to the truth. If we surrender to it, a term the Bible calls repentance, we will be set free from theconsequences of living a lie.

I have heard many times, church is for weak people. I believe the opposite is true. To join the church takes extraordinary courage and faith. We who follow Christ have faced the truth and have overcome all excuses, weaknesses, fear, and hypocrisies to love the truth and walk in it. The church encompasses people who are noble and brave.

To walk outside the truth is to sin against God and all that is good. The truth is the highest morality and ethics.

Truth is love, lived out every day.

Truth honors God.

Truth is loving God.

Truth is loving one another as human beings.

To not walk in the truth is to be found guilty, and we will one day be held accountable. We need forgiveness because of the suffering we have caused to others, and the violence we have done to God’s kingdom and purposes. We need forgiveness because of all the people we hurt by not walking in the truth. Jesus came to bring us the forgiveness we need so we can have a fresh start, walking in the truth. Ask Him to forgive you by His death on the cross and you will be forgiven and given power through His Spirit to walk in the truth.

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June 8, 2010 by Sal Termini.

It is early in June and a beautiful summer day. I am heading for the beach at Ditch Plains in Montauk NY. The wind is blowing about 20 to 25 miles an hour. The waves are shoulder high and peeling beautifully. The waves are mostly breaking near the shore because of the wind. The strong northwest wind is keeping the waves from breaking farther out. I put on my wet suit and take my paddle board and head out to catch some waves. I paddle through the whitewater barely making it through the heavy breaking waves near the shore — called beach break.

I struggle to find a place to catch some waves that are not too close to the shore. I then paddle about a quarter of a mile down the beach and find a wave thats breaking about two football fields from the beach. I smile knowing this means nice long rides. The wave driven by a northwest wind is moving quickly at a severe angle to the beach. This makes the wave harder to catch because you have to paddle hard against the wind, and at the right angle, as the wind tries to spin you in the wrong direction. It is going to be a challenge just to catch a wave, not to mention to try and surf well.

I catch a wave and paddle to my left, for me it’s what surfers call backside. My back is to the wave as I try to turn into the curl. On a paddle board you must lean heavily on the paddle to turn this way, making it harder than on a conventional surfboard. I turn as hard as I can but it’s not enough and the breaking wave slams into my body. I could not get past the part of the wave that is breaking called a section. I’m now under water and swimming to the surface to find my board and try again. I get my board, grab my paddle, jump back on, stand, and then steady myself so I can try and paddle past the strong surging whitewater.

I barely make it out over two big breaking waves. I see the next group of waves, called a set, and paddle myself into position to catch the biggest wave of the set. I catch the wave start down the face and begin my turn, when the wave starts to break. I ride whitewater instead of the wave. It’s not my best wave but I turn and head back out to try again. While paddling back out I see a beautiful set of waves forming. I quickly turn my board and paddle at an angle to make the steep drop, I set may paddle deep in the wave and begin my turn. To my great joy I am turning perfectly into the curl of the wave. I turn slightly more and go up the wave for more speed and height to make the next section. I zoom down the wave staying ahead of the whitewater all the way to the beach. I am so excited that I almost fall off my board trying to get back out and do it all over again.

My greatest passion in life is telling people about Jesus Christ. I am excited every chance I get to share with others about His love and power. There are times when I have to work hard just to do what is right. Sometimes everything seems to line up against my faith, like the wind and the waves did today. Then suddenly it all comes together into a moment of perfection. You see, just like when I surf, I am always striving for perfection. Serving Jesus Christ is like that perfect wave. It brings incredible satisfaction and joy. I know I cannot always be perfect, whether I am serving God or surfing, but the greatest joy comes when I hit that sweet spot of perfection. No striving for perfection, no joy, no satisfaction, and no glory.

Don’t be discouraged by your momentary failures to serve God or do what is right because in the end there will be moments of perfection and you will never forget them. This moment of perfection is what we are all looking for. It is a far greater reward and pleasure to do it for God than anything this world can offer. To feel the pleasure and love of God because you succeeded in pleasing Him is like no other feeling I have ever had. We are created to strive for perfection. We were created to succeed. All this is only possible if we refuse to quit. Perfection is only possible if we strive for it. It was a very challenging day of surfing. Anything really worthwhile will be challenging. Yet it was worth it. Perfection is the goal of any endeavor and the pursuit of it is the reason we are given a lifetime.

Give God your best, just like you would anything else in life to succeed. Don’t neglect God. The most perfect joy you can ever know is when you experience His love.

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