Epic Life Church

It is September already, schools are starting and Fall is quickly approaching, which calls for a new series. I’m looking forward to this series because it will reflect so many of our lives in many different ways and speak about the regeneration process and transformational power of our God.

When I was young there were several summers that my family would climb a nearby mountain called Buffalo Hump. From a distance of eighty miles the mountain struck the pose of a silhouetted buffalo traveling north into the wilderness. Buffalo Hump is a 9,000 foot mountain that boasts an amazing 360 degree view from the top of the final 1,000 foot rock strewn rise. At the top we would sit on massive boulders above the tree line and gaze in awe looking West into Oregon and Northeast into Montana from our perch in the heart of North Idaho.
After sitting on top for several moments we would always be lured to the opposite side of the summit from where we had climbed. On the West side of Buffalo Hump was a cliff that fell over a 1,000 feet to crystal clear mountain lake. The distance was staggering and if a person would stand too close to the edge of this cliff he would feel a strange since of being pulled over the edge, only to fall to an assured death.
We would often push large rocks over the edge and watch as they plummeted down the escarpment, bouncing off the wall, breaking into pieces and within a few seconds would hit the lake below creating an inaudible splash.
Once the rock started to plunge off the cliff there was no stopping it.
There are a few stories in the Word that speak of life in this manner. Sometimes when we make poor choices we too begin to plummet over a cliff and often don’t stop until the lake below engulfs us in an icy cold watery bath.

Life comes at us hard, often much harder and fast than we know and can handle. We are constantly beaten down by the environments that we live in. We are under-appreciated at our jobs, at homes and in ministry and this beats us up. We are constantly bombarded by temptation that consistently consumes our thoughts and seizes our actions. We find ourselves facing many opportunities to love others but end up running the opposite way because of fear and selfishness. Because we live in this sin ridden world we are constantly lied to, assaulted, put down, pressured, tempted and insulted.
These pressures often push us to the breaking point, a point where we could make a decision to continue standing strong or to give in to the affliction. Sadly humans are known for our giving up. We quit when times get tough, citing that we just can’t handle the unbelievable strain on our lives. So we allow these strains, pressures, temptations to push us over the edge like one would push a rock over a ledge and watch it tumble down the cliff bouncing off the rock wall and splashing into the lake below.
God has something to say about this and throughout this month we will be looking at the lives of four men from the Word of God who didn’t stand up to the stresses of life and fell over a very high cliff. But they didn’t all stay there because they believed in a God of grace and restoration.
Let’s journey together as the Epic Life Family and discover the lives of King David, the Apostle Peter, John Mark and Solomon… There are many truths we can learn from these men as they made a remarkable Come Back and one who didn’t..