Risk

Most people don't like risk. It scares us. It makes us anxious when we move out of our comfort zones. However, the greatest irony in the area of risk and faith is this:

• When we risk something for God, our faith comes alive!

I seen this so often in my own life, as well as in the lives of others. Faith can become boring if we just go through the motions and get into a rut. Then faith moves dangerously into the territory of 'religion.' When I read the Gospels, and even the book of Acts, I constantly see 'RISK' - it is a complex thing, but being a Christ-follower involves risk.

"We risk for him to the degree that we know we are loved by him." - Brennan Manning

May you risk something for Jesus today.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

When in doubt...

I came across this powerful illustration last week and wanted to share it with you all (apologies to those who heard it on Sunday evening)...

"One summer, a man spent the day on the beach in Jacksonville, Florida. The undertow was unusually strong that day, and more than once, lifeguards jumped down from their towers to rescue swimmers from the treacherous surf. Finally, the man went to the lifeguard station to express his appreciation for the dedication of these men. When he walked inside, he noticed a sign on the wall in large red letters: "If in doubt, go!"
And the man said, "Those same words should be on the walls of every church and on the wall of every person’s soul."

So if it involves the Kingdom of God and bringing glory to Jesus, don't hesitate - GO! This is our call - there is no room for doubt!

Moved by Grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Thanks to www.sermonillustrations.com for this story.

Walking on Water

Hey there! It's been a while since I last posted anything and that is purely down to having a hectic Easter period and being involved in a Youth Camp over the Easter holidays. Being part of the camp experience again was totally awesome and even though I felt "old" sometimes, I appreciated the immense value in investing in the spiritual lives of the young teens. I have just started reading a great book by John Ortberg, 'If you want to walk on water you've got to get out of the boat.' Wow, this book is really challenging and I find that it is speaking to me on a whole number of different levels. I will have to share some of these insights with you in the weeks to come. First thought though - Why is it that we so seldom take risks? Is it because of our personality types? Is it because we are afraid of the "F" word - failure! Or is it that we are just far to comfortable with where we are in our spiritual lives and in our relationships with others. I'm not sure about you, but I want to be person who is willing to "walk on water" or at least to say I have tried it. We usually reflect back on the incident where Simon Peter starts to walk on water and then realises that he is hectically out of his comfort zone and starts to sink. We focus on Jesus' words "You of little faith. Why did you doubt?" However, we miss what Jesus could have said to him, but which is not recorded in Scripture. Perhaps, Jesus said, "Well done dude, at least you tried!" or "Hey bud, at least there are two of us who can say we have walked on water!" Im sure that Jesus was chuffed that Peter at least got out of the boat. The other 11 guys were so afraid they were literally clinging onto each other and praying that they would survive the storm. From that day on Peter had bragging rights that the other disciples never had - "I got out the boat and I walked on water...even if it was only for a short time."
Let's try and live in the moment and take worthy risks. Enjoy walking on water!
Have a great day.
BDT.