The Church Mouse: Keep Moving Forward

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” – 2 Corinthians 7:1

So what do you know about sharks?
There are 470 species of sharks in 13 classifications. Scientists tell us they have been around since 450 B.C. or longer. (Well Duh! After all God made them on the 5th day of creation!) Until the 16th century sharks were called “Sea Dogs”.

Did you know that most sharks have to keep moving in the water or they will die? They get oxygen from the movement of the sea water over their gills and they can only make this happen by constantly moving forward through the water, because of the placement of the gills on their bodies. In other words, they must keep swimming, you know moving forward in order to live.

Sometimes moving forward is a painful process for us humans. Sometimes I do not want to move forward or move in any direction. I am comfortable in the place I am at right now and I want to stay there and wallow in my sin.

My excuse is I want to rest or I am comfortable right where I am. Beside that I am not hurting anyone! Or am I?
Most of the time I am just being lazy and don’t want to move or I just do not want to admit that I am sinning.

Sometimes moving means changing things. I am not very good with change unless it is my idea. In my case it is usually God’s idea because I am not where I should be or doing what he wants me to do.

But in order to grow or in the case of the sharks to live we must keep moving. We should always be striving to become better persons. We humans have to keep moving forward to the eternal prize.

We are not always the people we want to be?

I believe in love, justice, forgiveness, second chances and generosity–after all. Oh Yes, I know that I do not always give peace a chance and I do not always choose love first and more often than I care to admit, the person I am today does not resemble the one I hope to be tomorrow. However that is alright, so long as I keep moving forward, little by little, every day.

I do not always live up to the ideals I profess. No matter how hard I find that stretching a little farther than I think I am able. This is a painful process.
I hang on to the belief that, it is better to reach too far and fall short than to settle for mediocrity and succeed.

I know that when I fail I can ask God for forgiveness. He will pick me up out of the trash heap that I have fallen into and dust me off and set me back on the straight and narrow path that leads to him.

Life demands that sharks and people keep moving forward. This is our call from Christ. Remember Paul’s words to the Romans about moving forward to become a better Christian. It is a struggle but think of the rewards; they will be heavenly.

Prayer—Father, in heaven, help us to become the people you want us to be. Help us to let go of the things we are holding that are not good for us. Stretch us to reach for higher goals. Encourage us to love deeper. Move us to show more generosity to those in need. We really want to let your light shine show us how to put you first in all things. We will give you the glory, honor and praise. In the name of our Lord & Savior, Amen.

the church Mouse
Work hard; Pray harder!