Jesus Is Here
Wednesday July 16, 2014
Can Jesus really help us? Is Jesus really who he says he is?
In the middle of an ugly storm that threatened to swamp their boat and drown everyone in it, Peter and his friends thought they saw Jesus coming to them ON the water. Actually they weren't sure who or what they were seeing. Was it a ghost or was it really Jesus?
About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”
Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. (Matthew 14:25-29 NLT)
I don't know what you'd do in the middle of a storm while you were scared stiff because you thought you'd seen a ghost but I know my first response wouldn't have been to test out who I was really seeing by saying "If it's really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water." What was Peter thinking? The panic had mixed up signals to his brain, it seems.
Peter had seen Jesus do amazing miracles. He saw him make sick people well, raise dead people from their graves and watch them come alive again. He'd just watched Jesus take a little boy's lunch of 5 little buns and 2 small fish and somehow multiply it so more than 5000 people were fed. Peter knew that Jesus had amazing power. He was coming to believe that Jesus truly was God, as he claimed to be. Almost unconsciously it seems that Peter was putting all of this to a test in this seemingly life-or-death moment. Human beings couldn't walk on water so only the power of God could make that happen.
Jesus invites Peter out of the boat and what happens? Peter walks on water. Who of us can say we've walked on water? Only Peter. Why? In an impossible moment, Peter reached beyond his own understanding and reached out to God. God did not let him down. Jesus demonstrated once again that He is God, that He has power over what He has created, and He's willing to bring His amazing power into our lives in just the right way, at just the right time, to show us without question how reliable He is. When God tells us to do something, even though it might seem impossible, it's time for us to believe that it is possible. Where is that a challenge for us today? a) beating addiction, b)staying away from criminal behaviour, c) relationship restoration, d) painful memories healed, e) shame and guilt dealt with, f) being able to find a place in the “normie” community. Let's give God a chance. Let's put our lives in His hands as surely as Peter was putting his life in Jesus' hands when he went over the edge of the boat onto the water. He risked certain death in the stormy water unless Jesus empowered him to do something amazing. We risk certain disaster unless we trust God to empower us to do impossible things.
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