GET OUT OF THE BOAT
October 1, 2013
Last week I was reading a familiar bible story to my son. We read about Jesus walking on water and how Peter was also able to walk on water by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mat 14:28). Peter was able to get out of the boat and walk towards Jesus, but as he looked around him and saw the waves, he became scared and started to sink.
We are just like Peter. We feel strong and safe when we are walking with the LORD, but when we take our eyes off of the Savior, to look around at things in the world, we start to sink, just as Peter did.
The news is pretty gruesome today with murders, kidnappings, landslides, sink holes, fires, floods, and earthquakes. It's all too easy to get wrapped up in those things (especially if you, or someone you know has had a tragedy in their life recently) and we begin to question our faith, wondering where is God in all of this? That is the moment we begin to sink. Peter got rebuked by the LORD for his loss of faith, do we really want Jesus to rebuke us for the very same thing?
We must never forget the Savior's great love and mercy for us! Psalm 34:17 says, The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. And verse 19 says, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Who are the righteous? Those who were washed in the blood of the LAMB, who's sins are hidden in Christ Jesus. Romans 4:7 tells us, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1 also confirms, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Now that we know we are righteous, how do we know that God will keep His word to rescue us in time of trouble? Psalm 34:7 affirms that the Angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. He doesn't just put up a hedge of protection around us, but He delivers us also. When Peter realized that he was sinking, his first instinct was to call on the LORD Jesus to save him. Mat 14:31 says, and immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
We can clearly see that God wasted NO time saving one of his own. The minute Peter cried out, he was saved. The same is true for us. The very minute we cry out to Jesus, we are saved. He gets no pleasure from our struggle here on earth. He seeks the lost, heals the lame, and offers grace and mercy to those who cry out to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says this: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Lets challenge ourselves to keep our spiritual eyes on Jesus and not look around us in the natural, lest we get discouraged and start to sink in our faith. We all like to make resolutions about our health, jobs, relationships. How about our spiritual relationship with the King of Kings? Lets resolve ourselves to allow HIM to guide our lives. Lets fix ourselves on Him, especially in these troubling times.
He is coming soon. His return is sooner today than yesterday. Lets not be caught sleeping, but waiting with great anticipation for the return of our Blessed Hope! Lets keep our eyes on the One who really matters, lets keep our eyes on Jesus!
Last week I was reading a familiar bible story to my son. We read about Jesus walking on water and how Peter was also able to walk on water by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mat 14:28). Peter was able to get out of the boat and walk towards Jesus, but as he looked around him and saw the waves, he became scared and started to sink.
We are just like Peter. We feel strong and safe when we are walking with the LORD, but when we take our eyes off of the Savior, to look around at things in the world, we start to sink, just as Peter did.
The news is pretty gruesome today with murders, kidnappings, landslides, sink holes, fires, floods, and earthquakes. It's all too easy to get wrapped up in those things (especially if you, or someone you know has had a tragedy in their life recently) and we begin to question our faith, wondering where is God in all of this? That is the moment we begin to sink. Peter got rebuked by the LORD for his loss of faith, do we really want Jesus to rebuke us for the very same thing?
We must never forget the Savior's great love and mercy for us! Psalm 34:17 says, The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. And verse 19 says, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
Who are the righteous? Those who were washed in the blood of the LAMB, who's sins are hidden in Christ Jesus. Romans 4:7 tells us, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1 also confirms, Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Now that we know we are righteous, how do we know that God will keep His word to rescue us in time of trouble? Psalm 34:7 affirms that the Angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. He doesn't just put up a hedge of protection around us, but He delivers us also. When Peter realized that he was sinking, his first instinct was to call on the LORD Jesus to save him. Mat 14:31 says, and immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
We can clearly see that God wasted NO time saving one of his own. The minute Peter cried out, he was saved. The same is true for us. The very minute we cry out to Jesus, we are saved. He gets no pleasure from our struggle here on earth. He seeks the lost, heals the lame, and offers grace and mercy to those who cry out to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says this: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Lets challenge ourselves to keep our spiritual eyes on Jesus and not look around us in the natural, lest we get discouraged and start to sink in our faith. We all like to make resolutions about our health, jobs, relationships. How about our spiritual relationship with the King of Kings? Lets resolve ourselves to allow HIM to guide our lives. Lets fix ourselves on Him, especially in these troubling times.
He is coming soon. His return is sooner today than yesterday. Lets not be caught sleeping, but waiting with great anticipation for the return of our Blessed Hope! Lets keep our eyes on the One who really matters, lets keep our eyes on Jesus!
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