If You Shall Take a Step..

"You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Matthew 14:31

Jesus charges these words to the passionate disciple Peter when Peter tries to walk on water. The issue lies not with Peter's physical capibility to walk on the water because Jesus had already given him the ability, this deals Peter's faith in that Jesus would carry him through and allow him to walk.

As men we are charged with from the Lord to "walk on water" or to do the things that the Lord wants us to do, yet we fall in this category because we are scared of the outcome. We are scared of the danger of "drowing" or failing, or getting laughed at by others. We often don't stand up and truly walk because sometimes our faith in Christ is lacking and we don't truly believe he will bring us through to the end.

Or are we just too comfortable on the boat? Are we too comfortable with our own surroundings? Many times I find myself enjoying things that have no eternal value and have nothing to do with the advancement of Christ. I constantly need to be "realigned" (as Oswald Chambers put it," or put back into the footing of a fully devoted Christ follower.

"Matthew 14:27: "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."
In Gladiator, do we ever see Maximus wimp out and run to the corner and hide from the lions?No we see him courageously in battle standing up for what he believes in, slaying anything that comes near him. Christ calls us to be warriors on the field of battle, so stand up and fight for the truth that has set us free, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And when the stormy waters come around, don't be afraid to get out of the boat and walk on the water, for in Him all things are possible. (phil 4:13)

Lets walk on water courageously friends!

Encouragement

The title says it all. 

This verse really struck me one night and reenergized my ever so lukewarm faith. Lukewarm faith as you know, does not fly with the Lord and he says in Revelation 3 :16 that He will spit you out of his mouth if you are lukewarm.  

So how did I get out of the lukewarm mess?  Well, late on a Friday night, I took the time to settle myself down and spend some time with God. Right there during that short period of time, I felt as if I was pouring refreshing water down my body in a Saharan Desert. The Lord truly reenergized me when I turned the page to Proverbs 23:19-28, which says, 

"Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor,  and drowsiness clothes them in rags. Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding. The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice! My son, give me your heart and let your eyes keep to my ways, for a prostitute is a deep pit and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait, and multiplies the unfaithful among men."

The Lord's commands were clear;

1) Keep your heart pure

2) Keep away from drunkeness

3) Listen to your father and mother

4) Hold onto truth

5) Gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding

6) Give the Lord your heart

7) Stay away from lust

When spending time with the Lord, doesn't that list become accomplished? With the Lord, I felt a sense of satisfaction. Instead of drinking and giving my heart away to girls, I was spending time with the Creator who loves me wholeheartedly. I cant think of any better picture of love than that.  

Sincerely,

Matt 

 

For Those Who Simply Can't Make It On Their Own

   To those who cannot make it on their own,

             The truth is simply that we all fit in the category of not being able to make it on our own. Those trying to walk down the path of righteousness and truth without the help of our Lord Jesus Christ will always fail. The funny part of that is that we all have done exactly what I just said, for we try too often to live for ourselves and not for Him above. Most days I sadly look back and can say that I am right there in that boat of living for myself.  But the great thing is that Jesus will never judge us for living for ourselves, and He never fails to scoop us up and tell us that He loves us! Is it just me or is that ridiculously amazing?? Especially for a guy like me who is consistently falling to what I want compared to what He wants.  Psalms 139:11-12 puts it perfectly saying,  "If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me and the light around me is about to be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." 

            After a long twelve hour school-day, I had to look back and ask, "How did I get through that?" The answer comes from Christ, the one who gave me the strength to keep going. During cross country today we had a very intense workout- enough to the point where I just didn't think I could keep going. After giving up on the first sprint, I had run completely out of gas to keep going. I had to call upon the Lord for strength. I simply could not do the workout on my own strength, however as always, the Lord gave me the extra strength to keep going and persevere through the fire. I praise God for teaching me the valuable lesson I learned today on the track! 

So what does the Lord have to say about trust and getting our strength from Him??

Isaiah 30:15- "In returning (repentance) and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength."  If you keep reading on it says that the Israelites ignored this statement made and did not trust in him, providing an example in the Bible of people who also make the mistake of trusting in him and continued on with their own ways. There is consequences sometimes to not trusting in him though- for in chapter 37 we see that Judah was invaded. Another verse in Isaiah that stuck out to me was Isaiah 12:2 which says, "Behold the Lord is my salvation, I will trust and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation."  Man that verse says it all for me, let us trust in the Lord and not be afraid, for if He is with us, who shall fight against us? I pray that everyone relies on the Lord this week as school continues on! stay strong my brothers and sisters! 

Sincerely your brother in Christ, 

Matt Galvin

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What If?

Matthew 25:35-40 "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. The righteous will answer him saying, 'Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, "Truly as I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' 

What If?

That is the question I dare to speak about. What If?

What if we were a friend to the kid at school who has none?? What if we said hi to our neighbors today? What if we encouraged our siblings today? What if we let that elderly person take our seat on the bus? What if we had a smile on our face everyday? What if we fed the kids that stare at us with longing and empty stomachs? What if we gave drink to the people that beg for a small sip of the many drinks that we fill our throats with everyday? What if we welcomed that nerdy looking new kid at school to hang out with our friends? What if a homeless man asked for clothes? What if that dying person had someone that cared after them before they passed away? What if we reached out to those people that have sinned just like us and poured into them? 

The list goes on and on...

This is the Lord's call for us- Go serve these people! 

I know for me this list is often a list I overlook and say, "I'll have plenty of time to do this when I'm older and involved with the Church and whatnot." Not until recently have I discovered the fault behind that statement. The answer comes from 1st Timothy 4:32 "Do not let others look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. Paul continues on to tell Timothy who is a young believer to read the scriptures in public and to teach the Gospel! We are called to serve no matter our age! This is one of my go-to verses because its so applicable to me and all my peers who are still young. Who said we can't be leaders for Christ? In fact we are urged by Paul to be the example for the believers!!! If your reading this that is what I want you to take to heart- that you can be a strong leader even if you are young! Backtracking to Matthew 25, if we all committed ourselves to following what those verses challenged us with, our world would be changed. The sad thing though is there are few that commit to that, and I am the first to admit that I haven't been following that challenge given to us by the Lord. So what if?? What if we took these verses to heart and changed the world, living it out for Him above and concerning ourselves with reaching out to those who are sick, hungry, thirsty, naked, in prison, those lonely and unwelcomed. 

Lets GO for it! I'm game for sticking to the challenge! Hope you are too!

Run hard to the cross my friends, 

Matt Galvin

Brick Wall?? I think so

Its good to be back writing again, anyways check out this wacky picture- 

                    looks like he hit the wall pretty darn hard there. 

     This picture relates to my walk with Christ lately, simply running as fast as you can, then smacking into a massive wall. The fall takes much time to recover from, for one cannot run as fast as they were before, but have to accelerate and gain momentum to get up to speed.  Likewise in our walk with Christ, no one can begin being on fire for Christ instantly or all the time, we have to prepare our hearts and commit everything to the Lord before our fire comes. Recently my daily walk with Christ has been like a wet fire that will not burn. The things I have said, my actions, my thoughts, my prayers, the way I have been looking at girls, etc... has not been aligned with what Christ wants, but what I want.  John 15:4 says, "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." Consistently I find myself falling and falling and falling into the ways of this world and everytime the Lord scoops me the lost sheep up and reminds me of the path to take- the path that is straight and true. I love these lyrics that Casting Crowns sing because they are so true and relate so well to this very matter.  check it out- 

 Who am I? 

That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I? 
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

- No matter who you are and what you have done, I would encourage you to look to the Lord for he understands you and your situation. So many people always say, "O I just don't think that the Lord understands me." But I am here to say, Of course he understands you! He created you and knows more about you than anyone does. Its amazing to see how great a father the Lord is to us daily, helping us and showing his love to us everytime we sin right in front of him! "For let us not be conformed by the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." -Romans 12:2.  

Your brother in Christ, 

Matt Galvin

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Mg

The Challenge

Dear Friends, Excitement is in the air! It is that time of year again! What time of year you ask, why it is that glorious time of year that I call KANAKUK! I cannot physically wait for another amazing month of sports, pain, new relationships, reconnecting with old friends, k-2 triathlete, and most of all- getting to know Christ better and growing in him, learning valuable life lessons. Since I am leaving tomorrow at 5 am, this will be my last letter unless the classic all-nighter is preformed. Though I will be gone, I challenge each of you to stay strong in Christ, stay in constant prayer as seen in 1st Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for You." Don't be afraid to be bold in your walk with Christ. I can think of many situations when the Lord gave me an opportunity to share the gospel with someone and I completely froze up and failed to take advantage of the chance that the Lord gave me. Its like fumbling the ball in the endzone when your about to score, but you come up short. I still regret fumbling the football in situations like these, but the Lord uses experiences like that to help us grow and become bold so that the next chance he gives us we can be strong. As a young believer, I've really stuck to a couple of verses that have always encouraged me. These verses are John 3:30, "He must become greater, I must become less," and Isaiah 41:10, "Do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." During pressing times these verses have always been faithful to spur me on and help lead me towards the right direction.

Have a blessed summer and stay strong in Christ my friends,

Matt Galvin
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Mg

Dependence

To the Believers,

Sometimes nothing seems to be going right in your life (as I say this none of my pencils seem to be working), but you just got to throw down your pride and put your dependence on Him. Though these frustrations you and I constantly go through never seem to end, the Lord has a unique purpose for them, even though we can't always seem what that is. Its only after going through the fire do we realize what exactly the Lord has planned for us. Suppose we never find out what the trial or frustration did to fulfill the Lord's perfectly crafted plan. But the Lord knows doesn't he. If our allegiance is with Him, then we needn't worry about such a thing, as long as we understand that ultimately it is for His glory. When writing about this subject, there are so many verses that come to mind that all accurately illustrate why we go through trials. But one came to mind, 1st Peter 1:6-7 (NIV) "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." So these frustrations and trials are tests of faith, and faith which Peter describes as being worth more than gold! He also goes on to say that Christ take pleasure in genuine faith, but when Jesus comes back (when Jesus Christ is revealed verse 7), he will honor us with praise and there will be much celebrating. (for an eternity too) Looking at the trials and frustrations that way gives you a little more eternal perspective than our normal whiny selfish way of thinking. The fact is though, life is not going to be a joyride in the park. The Lord never once voiced that to us. What he did say though, is to always be dependent on Hum and He will provide you the strength to pull through. Check out this verse shouting that out loud and clear, "For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:8 (NIV). All we need to do is simply put our dependence on him and he will straighten our ever so crooked paths. Today, (yesterday when I wrote this) I felt like the Lord layed some trials upon me, for I went through the fire, yet came out burned. I thought I could handle things on my own but no; the Lord was there to show me otherwise and it hit me like a couple of sucker punches to the kidneys! However, he isn't all just justice, (otherwise we'd all be screwed) for he is like a father, and he picked me up and put me back straight. Like always, my Father and Lord is ready and there for me.

Press on brothers and sisters in Christ,

Matt Galvin
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Mg John 3:30

Spiritual Fitness

Dear Friends, 

Sometimes one can become distracted with what the world has to offer. Today I must admit I have stumbled and found myself so wrapped in it that I have not spent time with the Lord lately. This is a difficult letter to write, for everything has been out of alignment. Just like running, its like trying to go run without having run in a month or a year. Everything is slow, the joints are tight and nothing feels right. You feel so out of place and would rather be on that couch watching sportscenter with a cup of coffee. However, the Lord, our coach, calls us to continue on with our workout, our life journey or race. To get up to speed just takes time and demands hard work and perseverance. 1st Corinthians 9:25-27 coins what I have just talked about perfectly by saying "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that lasts forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it into a slave so after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." To be strong in our faith even Paul says we must train ruthlessly so that we can become spiritually fit so that we can be eligible to recieve the prize. What does spiritual training consist of for you?? It may be getting truly into the word everyday, praying and mentoring others, preaching the gospel or things of the sort. But the main point I'm getting at is that the Lord as well as Paul demands us to be doing the things that spur our relationship on with Him, instead of the things that drive us away from him, such as my error that I made. If we are going to run the spiritual race, RUN THE RACE WELL!

In Christ Our Father,

Matt Galvin

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Mg

Boldness In Christ

Dear friends, 

My father once commented about the moon to my sister. He gave new perspective to her when he asked, "Isn't amazing that the same moon we are looking at now is the same moon that Jesus looked at many years ago." And I would agree to the same thing that yes, it truly is fascinating that we share the common view of the moon like that with Him, the Creator of the universe. As I was reading through Acts 7 this morning about the story of Stephen, my respect of preachers of the Gospel greatly increased. Here I am writing about the Gospel, but I don't get much heat for it. On the other hand, Stephen stands up in front of the High Priest and boldly calls them "stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, and resistors of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 7:51-53 ESV). If you ever needed an example of boldness friends, here is a prime example. We go on to find that the people are enraged, for they rush and him and then proceed to stone him. Stephen, on the other hand, isn't concerned with death. He is gazing at heaven, seeing the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. Finally, when Stephen is near to death, he then cries out to the Lord to forgive the people that have just stoned him to death! I'm not sure about you, but this stuff is crazy. How many people do we see that on their deathbed forgive the people that have wronged them? The reason why I talk about this is to give you examples of faith in the Bible so that we can press on towards being bold in our own walk with Christ and take this as encouragement to never give up. I am speaking to both the young and the old when I say these words- You can always always always  be bold and stand for Christ no matter the situation. Kids say they are too young... Did Paul or Timothy think that people were too young to teach or be bold? This is what Paul urges to Timothy (who is a young man) in his letter to him- "Do not let others look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, and in purity" (1st Timothy 4:12 ESV). So apparently not, even if you are younger than an adult, you still can impact them and set a Christ-like example for them. As for the others, Christ calls everyone as a believer to speak the word boldly, and if you feel as if you can't; pray for boldness as in Acts 4:29-31 "And now Lord, look upon their threats and grant your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness....... And when they prayed, the place in which they were gathered was shaken, and they all were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." I urge your friends and brothers, to be bold in your walk with Christ and stand up even you are young, look at Stephen's story and be filled with the Spirit.

Grace and Peace to you,

Matt Galvin

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Mg

The Joys of Nature and Abiding in Christ

Dear Men, 

I have found myself writing this letter to you all, only to pause and take in the beautiful sight that is by my side. for the natural morning light is streaming through the windows, and the scene is quite calming and peaceful as well as a reminder of God's artistic perfectness. "For his invisible attributes namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have clearly been perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made" (Romans 1:20 Esv). Taking a look at John 15 we can see that Christ calls us to abide in him, for we cannot live without nourishment from him, who helps us bear fruit (5).  He also says earlier in the passage that if we were not to abide in him then we cannot produce fruit on our own (4). Now an interesting element springs up in verse 7, when the Father says that one will be able to obtain anything he desires if he asks Him. But Christ made it clear that not everyone is eligible for this prize, he states at the beginning of the verse that "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you," then one who asks may receive what he desires. However if that case so happens, we probably won't see that person asking for a million dollars. When a person is abiding in Christ, his desires and thoughts are going to be more aligned with Christ's desires and his wishes less materialistic and more Christ centered. As I somewhat repeated myself in that sentence, I find it a necessary to do so because everyone can do a better job with aligning their own motives with Christ's motives. I constantly am catching myself victim to this very subject, I get too caught up in what "Matt wants" to what "Christ wants." So here is my challenge to whoever is reading this- Go slow down and take in Christ's wonderfully designed nature instead of chasing the fast paced world, and Abide in Christ so that you can bear fruit in your life and keep your desires aligned with Christ's own. As I challenge you, so I challenge myself to the same, and I know it will be difficult especially in the summertime, but stick to it brother and fight the fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2nd Timothy 4:6-8).

In Christ Our Lord, 

Matt Galvin

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Mg

The Mission of Christ

Dear men, 

It is our duty to withhold the mission of Christ here on Earth, for we are not yet home; we have much to endure before we reach our heavenly destination. We must keep in account that we were given grace and others also are given the opportunity, my point in being that we should not elevate ourselves over others even though they havent trusted Christ, because Christ loves and cherishes them as much as he cherishes us. All of us are immature followers of Christ, for there is always more to learn (and thats why I'm writing this myself, to learn more and become more mature in my own relationship or walk with Christ) When material things get too much ahold of us, our strength in Christ lessens, and our desires become placed in front of Him, which at that point the mission that Christ has set out for us is failing. What is the mission of Christ you ask? The mission of Christ is sharing the truth with others that He hath shared with us, that "whoever shall believe in me shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). So I challenge you just as Jesus challenged the rich man (Matthew 19:16-30), to let go of your possessions and follow full-heartedly after Christ. We are lost unless He leads and so we shall humbly follow. Our goal is not to make ourselves and our religion known, but to make our lifestyle and Jesus Christ known. 

In Christ Always, 

Matt Galvin

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Mg