'To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven... And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose is that people should reverently fear Him.' (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 14)

'And straightaway Jesus constrained His disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It is a spirit"; and they cried out for fear. But straightaway Jesus spake unto them, saying, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me to come unto Thee on the water." And He said, "Come". And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, "Lord, save me." And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.' (Matthew 14:22-32)

This is a wonderful story in Matthew. Very simple. So easy to understand. Yet somehow it is the simplicity of the story which makes it so real. I am convinced there is one problem with religion. Religion seems to make believing in Jesus so difficult. And yet I find talking about Jesus and believing in Him so simple. I want to also tell you, Jesus has a reason for everything. It is wonderful to belong to Jesus. I can ask people, do you believe? If I were to ask you here today, do you believe? Most would say, 'I believe'. But that is not enough. Just believing doesn't mean very much. I can say, 'I believe it is not raining outside'; I am not sure, but I don't think it is. You can say, 'I believe in God', it is no use asking people to put their hands up if they believe in God, because I'll tell you the truth, the devil believes in God; he knows the truth. So, don't tell me, 'I believe in God'; yes, that is a beginning. But it is only a beginning. It is what happens afterwards that counts. The wonderful thing about knowing Jesus, being part of His family, is that when you know Him, love Him, and He loves you, everything that Jesus does for us has a purpose. I can say with absolute confidence, God is in control of my life! He is the boss. He is in control. He loves me. I do what He says. That is the Christian life. It is so simple. This is not religion. It is not a formula. Just Jesus and you. End of story. That is the beginning of the story and the end of it too. Jesus and you. Jesus always knows in advance what is going to happen. And on this occasion, He felt the need to go alone to pray. - This shows us something else important. It is wonderful when we come together to pray. I love to pray in a service. But my real praying, is not when I am with you, it is when I am with Him. Do you understand? When I am alone, I like to go up the mountain, just like Jesus did, and I like to pray; why did He do it? To talk to His Father. Why do I do it? - To talk to the same Father. His Father is my Father. My Father is His Father. His Father is your Father.