"'Come' he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus." Matthew 14:29
If it had been anyone other than Jesus who said "Come," Peter would have surely sunk like a rock. But when Jesus says "Come" he enables us to walk on water or do whatever else is necessary to obey His call. And if we falter through our own lack of faith, Jesus is present to lift us up again and help us on in the walk of obedience. Obeying the call of Jesus may seem to lead into stormy waters at times but there is no safer place than walking in obedience after Jesus.
Father, may my ears be so attuned to the call of Jesus today that I answer with absolute trust in His enabling power and gracious help.
I'm praying for you.
Pastor Mark
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Anger and fear are not good counselors when it comes to making good decisions.
ReplyDeleteTo make matters worse Herod is now trapped by foolish words and a mindless oath. Waiting in the shadows is one who hears the promise and is fired with an anger that can only be quenched by the spilling of blood and the silencing of reprimands. John the Baptist is taken from prison, beheaded, and his head is brought on a platter to the king. When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Jesus is so well-known now that He can not even find a place to griev john’s death. When He arrives at His destination, the crowd is already formed. Jesus had need of solitude but the demanding crowd fills His space. Even in deep grief, Jesus is more moved by His compassion. Every time Jesus is moved with compassion a miracle is not far away. The feeding of the 5,000 tells me that we generally make quick determinations whether or not we have enough to meet the need based on natural evidence alone. I wonder how many times I have moved away from a situation because I knew I did not have enough... I think the principal here is to take what you have to Jesus and He will make it enough and more than enough. Maybe now Jesus can grieve or He needed time alone with the Father. Jesus sent the disciples to the other side by boat. Wouldn’t you have loved to be in on the boat conversation about the feeding of so many with so little. They had already witnessed too much that was unexplainable. They were seeing healing every day but how did He feed all those people and end up with more than we started with? And then as the winds are against them they see Jesus walking on the water. Fear grips their hearts and Jesus calms their fears. Peter is so overwhelmed with all the happenings that challenges the Lord that if it is Him, let him come on the water to Him. Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. How easy it is to criticize Peter for not continuing to walk on the water while we stand safely in the boat. Peter’s three-word prayer was enough for Jesus to save him. Last week I finished a small little book, “The Power Of Crying Out” by Bill Gothard. I find it amazing how God laid a foundation for me last week for what I would read in His word today. Peter CRIED OUT, “Lord save me.” Those two words exploded with definition, examples, and cross references all because I read another book on that subject last week.