If Noah was boarding the ark today, would you be in line to embark with him? Or would you be watching as he loads the animals two by two mocking him for his foolishness like everyone in his day did? Even knowing how it turned out way back then, I’m guessing many would make the same mistake that the wicked people of that early world did. In fact, so many already are.

Let me explain.

I attended my grandson’s baptism this past weekend, and the Pastor made the analogy between the waters of baptism and the waters of the flood as described by Peter in 1 Peter 3:20-22 and how just like the floodwaters washed away all the sin of that day, baptism washes away our sins today. Although many believe it was the ark that saved Noah and his family, in fact, it was the water that separated them from the sin and wickedness of the world, just like the waters of baptism separate us from sin and wickedness of our world. It gives us new life and allows us to live with a clear conscious.  

In baptism, we identify with Jesus Christ, who separates us from the lost. It’s not the ceremony that saves us, but rather our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection that saves us. The ceremony is a symbol of the transformation that happens in our hearts when we believe. 

Pastor went on to share that the church serves as the ark for people today. It serves as a vessel that carries us to safety, much like the ark carried Noah and the seven others in his family to dry land once sin was washed away from the world.  

That concept really got me to thinking. As many of you are very aware, there is a prevailing thought that attending church is not a necessary component to salvation, that being a good person and believing is enough.  But Peter was very clear in Acts Chapter 2 verses 38 and 39 when he said, “Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you and your children, and even to the Gentiles – all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

Let me read that again to give it a moment to settle for you. What word or words strike a chord with you? Is God speaking to you in these verses today? 

“Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you and your children, and even to the Gentiles – all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

So not only must we turn away from our sins, we must turn to Christ and depend upon Him for forgiveness, mercy, guidance, and purpose.  Our baptism connects us with other believers. And as believers, it is our purpose to grow in our faith and continually strive to become more like Christ as we mature and grow. The best way to do that is to be in community with other believers so we can learn God’s Word, pray, and hear Christ’s teaching from others of the faith. 

When we are in community with other believers, we have the opportunity to serve one another and others outside our community together with each one using their unique gifts and talents. Unfortunately, when we go it alone, it can be frustrating because we may not be able to adequately address the needs of those we are attempting to serve because our talents do not lie in that arena.  Others with skills we either haven’t developed yet or talents we simply lack can help fill the gaps in our abilities.  

I have become acutely aware of this recently.  Although God has provided me with vision, empathy, intuition, and outside the box problems solving skills, all of which make for a great coach and mentor, I have yet to build my muscles in the area of marketing what I have to offer.  I’ve hired some of the best pros in the business to help me with that area of weakness, but what I’m finding is many of them do not approach it from a Biblical perspective and it can be difficult to discern what is of God and what isn’t.  Their methods are amazing for many, but when I put their teachings through my faith filter, it comes out confused and jumbled. 

But I’m learning.  I’m shifting my focus to seek advisors that offer solutions from a Christian perspective and am finding that the process is so much easier without my having to pull everything apart and put it back together again with the proper approach. 

It’s actually a little embarrassing because even though I’ve been talking about trusting God and letting go of worldly goals, I haven’t really followed my own advice. I realized that by hiring business coaches who have been wildly successful in the industry without regard to their faith, I’ve allowed myself to get off track and focus more on the financial successes than the things that really matter.  I’d fallen right back into chasing someone else’s idea of prosperity instead of what I know is true success. And as a result, I became anxious. I started to doubt myself. And I even started to question my purpose. 

Fortunately, I have some really great friends and coaches in my life who have helped me refocus on who I am, whose I am, and what my calling is. They’ve guided me back to a place where I believe in the promises God placed on my heart and the knowing that He will come through with those promises if I don’t get discouraged and give up. By allowing my coaching friends to hold a mirror up for me to see myself, I realize how far I’ve already come. I can see that God has provided me so many successes, many just don’t look the way I thought they would. But they are successes none the less. 

How about you? Do you find yourself wandering through life feeling empty and unfulfilled? Are you in a place where none of life makes sense and you feel like you’ve lost connection with the things you are called to do? I find this typically happens when I’ve stepped away from my Christ-Centered community and try to go it alone in the mainstream society. So is that where you are? Have you stepped away from your faith community? Or maybe you are in a community, but you’ve kept it superficial and aren’t truly connecting with your faith and living it day by day.

We all live in a sinful world and there will always be things that will pull us toward worldly goals. We all WILL get pointed in the wrong direction and when we do, we need not be too hard on ourselves, judge ourselves, or beat ourselves up for where we are. Instead, we can simply acknowledge what is and find a way back to our path.  It’s during those times when we’ve stepped away from our path that we need to connect with a Christian friend or coach who can get us back into the ease and flow that we are all intended to live in instead of the struggle and overwhelm that can come with being out of alignment with our intended purpose for life.   

I am so grateful for the people that God has placed in my life that recently helped me get grounded in my purpose and get back on MY path again instead of chasing after someone else’s. Out of shame for admitting my weakness and fear of doing it wrong again, I almost didn’t reach out for help. But it’s been an agonizing journey and after just one quick conversation I already feel like I’m back on track. 

So back to the original question. If Noah was loading the boat today, would you be in line to get on board, or would you be holding back playing it safe out of shame or fear of what someone might think of you? God has a plan for your life and he has given you a path to follow to fulfill that plan. Are you holding back or are you moving toward your life’s purpose? If you aren’t sure or if you’ve gotten confused along the way, find someone to help you get on your path. 

You were created for More, so go find your More and start living it today. Just be wary of all the things that will pull you off your path and don’t let them get a grip because the further off track you get, the more difficult it is to get back on track. Not difficult in the things you have to do, but difficult in the things you have to stop believing about yourself that aren’t true. 

The church community is there waiting for you. If you find judgment, shame, and guilt in your community, I encourage you to find one that is grounded in the Word.  That is where you will find peace and hope and joy and love. If your heart is telling you it is time to get on the ark, I strongly encourage you to take the first step. 

Even though I’ve floundered some along this journey, I’ve never questioned my salvation. I will be there the day Christ returns and I want every single one of you there with me. That is why l do what I do. If you are confident of yours but know of someone who you aren’t so sure about, invite them to coffee and share your story, invite them to your church community, or share this episode with them. There is no greater gift you can give than the gift of knowing Jesus and making sure they will be on board.  

As we celebrate this season of advent, remember that we have a promise of eternity with God the Father. The promise is ours and it is free, but it is up to us to accept the gift.  Go be with your people. Listen and feel His peace. Don’t wait another day, because you don’t how many you are promised. If you have any questions or if I can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to ask.  You can find me at vonajohnson.com.