I’ve had the privilege of growing up going to church and I can say it is simply the greatest place to be.
There are many places and things to busy ourselves with. We find ourselves doing one thing or another, going to one place or another or perhaps your week has just bogged you down. It’s worth the effort and sacrifice to make ones way to church where you will find new strength.
The term “going overboard” has a literal and also a figurative meaning. When you are on a boat and jump off you are going overboard. This phrase has also gained a meaning for people who act in ways that are considered extreme. When we see someone acting in an extreme manner, we will often say they are going overboard.
In Matthew 14:28-31 we see that Peter stepped out of the boat in the middle of a storm, this would be considered slightly extreme, some would call it going overboard. What made this different is that Jesus had invited him to come and Peter stepped out and obeyed. What some may label as extreme is simply a step of faith to where Jesus has invited you to walk.
Learning Facts:
FACT #1: It is possible to get an education and not learn from it.
FACT #2: Successful people are continually learning.
FACT #3: Anything not growing is diminishing.
FACT #4: There isn’t anything in life that you can’t learn something from.
One minister I know made the statement years ago that he had never heard a sermon that he didn’t learn something from, although a few had come dangerously close. Although he said it in humour, I would like to concur with his point of view and take it a step further. I have never heard, seen, or experienced anything in life that I couldn’t learn something from.
All of us have asked God the loaded “Why?” question at one point in our journey. If there is ever a crossroads where people lose their way, it is here.
One of the devil’s oldest and most effective tactics is to bring into question God’s character and His love for us. He tried it first with great success on Eve in the Garden of Eden. Eve said, “…. God told us not to eat the fruit of the tree or even touch it, if we do, we will die. The snake replied, ‘That’s not true; you will not die. God said that because He knows that when you eat it you will be like God …” Gen 3:3-4
He cast doubt on God’s motives, and lead her to believe God had deceived her and lied.
But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked. 1 John 2:5-6
We have all heard the saying, “If you talk the talk, you must walk the walk.” And I’m sure we all understand what that means, if we want to talk about a decision we’ve made or a way of life we have chosen, then we must also follow through with our word and live according to how we have said we would.
I want to introduce a new saying God laid on my heart. “We must walk the talk and talk the walk.” So often we find that we can talk about the praises of God, about His word, and His greatness, but we don’t actually follow through and spend time praising Him like we should be in our private prayer time. From the outside and to the public it looks like we are so in tune with Jesus, so holy and righteous, however in our own prayer closet we can barely pray for 30 minutes. We must learn to not only talk the talk, but walk the talk!
Everyone, no matter how perfect their lives may seem, has gone through a hard time, a storm. The intensity of the storm should not be judged, because each individual has a different threshold to endure their storm. Some storms will blow things around, and maybe stir up the dirt. Others will blow so hard that we feel like we can’t stand it. Then there are those storms that leave us seemingly without any power and perhaps some damage to our surroundings. Often in a storm, we bear down, close our eyes and try to “ride it out.” What if during these times instead of burying our head and hoping we get through it, we instead trust that we have done the preparation to come out safely and better than before. Those storms that leave us feeling powerless and torn apart, are instead opportunities to rebuild, to become stronger and better than we were before the storm.