August 4, 2008

Good Monday!

            Have you ever wanted to do something so badly that you could taste it?  Well, not literally, but you know what I mean.  Maybe it was talk to someone about something or stand up for a wrong that had been committed or just plain believe for something that seemed impossible.  I have.  I’m sure you have too.  But sometimes, we think we can muster up the courage to do that “something” and for some reason or another we kind of back down and let the moment pass.  And then you beat yourself up and say, “If I was a better or a stronger person, I could do that.  Sometimes it’s a matter of faith.

            I was reading this morning about Peter and his experience of walking on the water.  That previous day had been some kind of day for Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus had just heard that Herod had beheaded his cousin, John the Baptist.  He attempted to go away by himself to be by himself and the crowds began pressing him.  In Matthew it says that He had compassion on them and spent the day teaching them.  At evening time, the crowd was hungry and He fed five thousand men (plus women and children) using only five loaves and two fish, and his disciples, Peter included, was given the job of cleaning up afterwards.    When that task was finished, the Bible tells us “Immediately, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd” (Matthew 14:22).  So in the boat they went (where was Jesus?) and off they went to the other side.  Verse 25 tells us that at the fourth watch (about 3:00 AM), a huge storm came up and just tossed the boat all over the place and the disciples became terrified.  (Oh, Jesus, where are you when we need you?!)  And then, from nowhere, they looked out onto the water and they saw Jesus walking up to them.  At first they thought it was a ghost, but then they realized that it was the Lord.  He was telling them to have courage and to not be afraid.

            So Peter, always the impetuous one, looked out on the water and said, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.”  He saw Jesus and he thought, “OK, it He can do that, he can certainly make it possible for me to do it too.”  And so, the Bible tells us “Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water to Jesus.”  (“Hey, look at me, I can do it!”)  Here he was, perhaps feeling pretty confident in his abilities, when all of a sudden, it says that he saw the wind and the waves, he began to sink.  And as he was going under, this confident man looked over at Jesus and yelled out at the top of his lungs, “Lord, save me!”  I want you to hear what the next verse says. Verse 31 says, “Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.  “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”  Peter cried out in prayer and the Bible says that immediately, Jesus responded.

            By the way, Jesus spent the time between dismissing the crowd and walking out to the boat in prayer.  Back in verse 23 it says that Jesus went up into the hills by himself to pray.  He prepared himself ahead of time for the things that were ahead of him.  Even after a busy and stressful day.

            I want to encourage you today to begin each challenge you are faced with in prayer.  If you have something that you need to do, or say, or believe, begin the process with prayer.  Don’t do it like Peter did, who prayed after the problem started.  Now the good news is that no matter when you pray, immediately Jesus will respond.  But it is much more profitable for you to begin your endeavor in prayer rather than after the fact.  Don’t be afraid to go to God in prayer.  He can’t wait to hear from you.

            Have a great week!!!  God bless.

Pastor Tim