Volunteer to visit prospective members of your church. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Let’s] fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of him. - Hebrews 12:2 Matthew 14:22-32 14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 14:24 but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. 14:25 And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. 14:26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. 14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid." 14:28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." 14:29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. 14:30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" 14:31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 14:32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. -------------------------------------------------- Sitting in church, I heard a fellow member offer a prayer of thanksgiving for a new family attending worship. Earlier, when members of the church had visited the family, they chose to open the door in welcome. Opening their door to strangers took a certain amount of risk for that family. I thought about today’s passage from Matthew where the disciples encounter Jesus walking on the water. I imagined myself in that scene, looking at the immense sea from my vantage point in the boat. Then I heard Jesus call to me as he called to Peter: “Come on out!” I thought of Peter’s faith to leave the safety of his boat to walk out to Jesus, and I wondered: What would I have done? To be sure, Peter became afraid and began to sink, but only after he trusted Jesus enough to leave his boat. Jesus is asking us to trust him with our lives and to go where he commands us. If we look and listen with eyes of faith, we know Jesus’ power will be with us wherever we go. No waters are deep enough to hold us back if we place our trust in the power of Christ. So let us wade into the water — no, step out onto the water — and truly follow the One who calls us. Ivelise Batista M. (Dominican Republic) Thank you, Father, for loving and calling us to your work. May we trust you to help us move across the waters of life without fear. Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 11:27:40 +0000
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