Greetings, brothers and sisters in Christ and children of God,

Have you ever been on a trip and used a navigator app? We think we can trust them, so we listen to the voice directing us, and then they say, “re-routing”. That can be frustrating. Now your route must alter. Then you feel more lost than when you started. Altering your route can be scary when you do not have the right navigator. You become anxious about your journey and begin to question the path.

Before we choose to follow Christ, we must first humble ourselves and approach Christ and ask for His leadership and navigation for the journey that we have chosen to walk. Not our own journey that we chose before coming to Christ, but the journey we have chosen with Christ, who only walks in righteousness. We must confess our sins, believe that He is the Son of God, and ask Him to enter our lives. This means we choose to alter our journey of sin and begin a narrow path of righteousness. Many of these decisions are made when we approach the altar and ask Jesus to release us from the burdens of sin that we are under.

Do you notice the play on words? We “alter” our journey when we come to the “altar”. I do not think this is a mistake in our language. To change our ways, we must ask Christ to enter our heart and change us from the inside out. We must be reformed and conformed into Christ so that we may walk as Christ. We must repent, which is to go the other direction, or alter our direction that leads to sin and eternal darkness. Choosing to come to Christ means we choose a life of hope, redemption, and eternal light.

However, so much can happen between the altar and the door. We lay down our sins and transgressions at the altar and choose to change, choose to accept Christ, but so often when we touch the door handle to leave and re-enter the world, we fail to hold on to our desire to change and walk in righteousness with Christ.

Good ‘ol Peter had a moment when he chose to take a step out of the boat and onto the water. As he was walking across the water with his eyes on Christ, he knew where he was going. He knew the direction he desired to go. But when he began to look at the waves that were around him, when he looked at the world around him, he took his eyes off Christ and began to sink into the water. Jesus, however, took him by the hand and pulled him up and saved him.

Christ will always save you when the waves become too high, and you begin to sink into the world that surrounds you, if you call out to Him. He will reset you and re-route you. He will once again alter your journey. But wouldn’t it be easier to just keep your eye on Christ and complete your walk across the water to Him and let Him lead you and walk with you on your journey home?

I believe it can be done, but the flesh will always get in the way and cause us to become lost again. Never doubt the Navigator, and in those moments you find yourself drifting off the path between the altar and the door, quickly turn to the altar and alter your life.

Last week, the little lambs investigated the story of Naomi and Ruth. This week, the lambs will answer the question of whether God really talks to people, as they investigate the story of Samuel hearing God’s voice. Does God talk to you, or is it just your imagination? The little lambs will discover the answer.

I look forward to worshiping with you tomorrow with songs of praise and dancing for the One who is well deserving of our praise. If for whatever reason I do not see you, may the Lord bless you with peace and joy, and may He guide you on your path, comfort you, heal you, and give you strength when you are in need.

God bless you

Your brother in Christ

Michael (Mr. Michael)