BBD 12.19.14 Boiling the Ocean (New)

#1 · December 19, 2014, 7:24 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on December 19, 2014, 7:24 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day”
and read the devotional there.

The Burning
Bush Devotional

12.19.14

Boiling
the Ocean

…I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to
this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be
impossible for you. - Matthew 17:20 NKJV.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John
3:16 NKJV.

While I
was waiting for a haircut today, I read some magazines and learned a new phrase
or saying that I had not heard before: “Boiling
the Ocean.” The Urban Dictionary defines “boiling the ocean” as: “To attempt something that is way too ambitious, effectively
impossible. An idea too broad in scope to accomplish.” They also had
this to say about usage of the phrase: “Jargon often used by self-important corporate middle
managers prone to bloating their speech with meaningless and unnecessary
buzz-words.” An example of someone using this phrase according to
the Urban Dictionary is, “Herb, buddy, you're really ‘boiling the ocean’ on this
one. We can't manufacture and nationally distribute fifteen-thousand widgets in
ten minutes.”

In
these days of the 21^st Century, more and more things appear to me to
be like trying to “boil the ocean.”
If I had known that phrase this morning when I was attempting to move an old
sleeper sofa out of the house, I would have said that would be like trying to “boil the ocean.” Jeanie has wanted to
do this for two years, and today was the day she wanted to “boil the ocean.” Really, things do appear far more difficult than
they did a few years ago having so many technological advances in such a short
period of time. Synching your phone with your car…I’m not sure I can do that.
My new phone should be synched now, but it still doesn’t work right. Some
houses are so technologically advanced that you probably have to synch your
phone with your house. For me that would be like trying to “boil the ocean!”

Even
though things may appear difficult, with God it may be as easy as telling a
mountain to move from here to there (Matthew 17:20).
If you look back through the pages of the Bible, you will find that there was a
lot of ocean boiling going on. Noah built the ark to save mankind and every
animal species. Abraham left his home only knowing God wanted him to leave, not
knowing where he was going. Moses and the Israelites walked across the Red Sea
on dry ground, while the Egyptians were pursuing them. Water coming out of
rocks, and the walls of Jericho falling down after the people walked around it
a several times and they all shouted. Caleb conquered a mountain full of giants
when he was 80-years-old. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego made it through the
fiery furnace, and Daniel survived a night sleeping with the lions in their
den. David killed Goliath, the giant, with a slingshot. Peter walked on water
and Paul survived being stoned almost to death, being drug outside of Lystra
and left for dead; but he rose again after they had a prayer meeting and went
back into the city (Acts 14:19-20).

The
greatest of all ocean boiling moments occurred when God in His audacity came
down from the glories of Heaven to be born as a tiny baby into a lowly
carpenter’s family. What ocean boiling that was, to think that a tiny baby
could become the Savior of all who would seek Him. But that’s what God did
because “God so loved the world….” So the next
time someone tells you that you need to stop trying to boil the ocean, tell
them that sometimes even greater things happen. And that is what Christmas is
all about; a Savior was born because our courageous God loved you and me. Let
us follow His example, attempt those great things for God, because sometimes
mountains do move.

Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

The New Pastor's
Training Manual is now available for download on Amazon. You can READ for
FREE a LARGE SAMPLE (approx. 17 pages) which includes how God worked in my life
to Call me to Preach and other material. Click on the “Look Inside Link.” If
you do buy the 216 page eBook for $3 (FREE if you have KINDLE UNLIMITED.)
please write a review. Thanks! Here is the link: http://amzn.to/1ufa1ov If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from the
Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Please pray for
an end to the racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace
and love. Please pray for Justin Lewis who is battling cancer. He is a young
Christian man with a wife and two children. Unless God intervenes there is
little hope for him. Please also pray for Shane Hall who has cancer and for all
those afflicted with this terrible disease. Many prayer needs are posted at the
Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer
requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for
me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

If for
some reason you do not receive your email version of the devotional please
check the Burning Bush website at http://www.theburningbush.net for the “Devotional of the Day”
and read the devotional there.

The Burning
Bush Devotional

12.19.14

Boiling
the Ocean

…I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to
this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be
impossible for you. - Matthew 17:20 NKJV.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John
3:16 NKJV.

While I
was waiting for a haircut today, I read some magazines and learned a new phrase
or saying that I had not heard before: “Boiling
the Ocean.” The Urban Dictionary defines “boiling the ocean” as: “To attempt something that is way too ambitious, effectively
impossible. An idea too broad in scope to accomplish.” They also had
this to say about usage of the phrase: “Jargon often used by self-important corporate middle
managers prone to bloating their speech with meaningless and unnecessary
buzz-words.” An example of someone using this phrase according to
the Urban Dictionary is, “Herb, buddy, you're really ‘boiling the ocean’ on this
one. We can't manufacture and nationally distribute fifteen-thousand widgets in
ten minutes.”

In
these days of the 21^st Century, more and more things appear to me to
be like trying to “boil the ocean.”
If I had known that phrase this morning when I was attempting to move an old
sleeper sofa out of the house, I would have said that would be like trying to “boil the ocean.” Jeanie has wanted to
do this for two years, and today was the day she wanted to “boil the ocean.” Really, things do appear far more difficult than
they did a few years ago having so many technological advances in such a short
period of time. Synching your phone with your car…I’m not sure I can do that.
My new phone should be synched now, but it still doesn’t work right. Some
houses are so technologically advanced that you probably have to synch your
phone with your house. For me that would be like trying to “boil the ocean!”

Even
though things may appear difficult, with God it may be as easy as telling a
mountain to move from here to there (Matthew 17:20).
If you look back through the pages of the Bible, you will find that there was a
lot of ocean boiling going on. Noah built the ark to save mankind and every
animal species. Abraham left his home only knowing God wanted him to leave, not
knowing where he was going. Moses and the Israelites walked across the Red Sea
on dry ground, while the Egyptians were pursuing them. Water coming out of
rocks, and the walls of Jericho falling down after the people walked around it
a several times and they all shouted. Caleb conquered a mountain full of giants
when he was 80-years-old. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego made it through the
fiery furnace, and Daniel survived a night sleeping with the lions in their
den. David killed Goliath, the giant, with a slingshot. Peter walked on water
and Paul survived being stoned almost to death, being drug outside of Lystra
and left for dead; but he rose again after they had a prayer meeting and went
back into the city (Acts 14:19-20).

The
greatest of all ocean boiling moments occurred when God in His audacity came
down from the glories of Heaven to be born as a tiny baby into a lowly
carpenter’s family. What ocean boiling that was, to think that a tiny baby
could become the Savior of all who would seek Him. But that’s what God did
because “God so loved the world….” So the next
time someone tells you that you need to stop trying to boil the ocean, tell
them that sometimes even greater things happen. And that is what Christmas is
all about; a Savior was born because our courageous God loved you and me. Let
us follow His example, attempt those great things for God, because sometimes
mountains do move.

Copyright © 2014. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

The New Pastor's
Training Manual is now available for download on Amazon. You can READ for
FREE a LARGE SAMPLE (approx. 17 pages) which includes how God worked in my life
to Call me to Preach and other material. Click on the “Look Inside Link.” If
you do buy the 216 page eBook for $3 (FREE if you have KINDLE UNLIMITED.)
please write a review. Thanks! Here is the link: http://amzn.to/1ufa1ov If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from the
Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have
received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating 15 years online since
January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been
spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000 subscribers across the
world.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of all of the pages.

Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
You can make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

Prayer Requests: Please pray for
an end to the racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace
and love. Please pray for Justin Lewis who is battling cancer. He is a young
Christian man with a wife and two children. Unless God intervenes there is
little hope for him. Please also pray for Shane Hall who has cancer and for all
those afflicted with this terrible disease. Many prayer needs are posted at the
Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer
requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for
me.).

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the
burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html
text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now
in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org
and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org