Thinking about walking on water?

Last Sunday's sermon was about Peter’s experience about walking in water.  Over the years, I have heard a few sermons about walking on water and I started thinking about it.  All of them have taught me something.  I would like to share my thoughts and observations about Peter’s experience.

Only two people in recorded history have walked on water, Jesus and Peter.  These two people were and are quite different from each other.  Peter was an ordinary man with the propensity to often act and/or speak before thinking.  As a result, we see him often with his foot in his mouth.  Jesus was not anything like Peter.  He was fully man and fully God, perfect.  Yet they both walked on water.  It is easily understandable that Jesus could and did walk on water.  God, the father, spoke the water into existence.  Jesus was the Word become flesh.  But Peter, why him?

There are two other people in the Bible who had experiences that could very well have been opportunities to walk on water, Jonah in the Old Testament and the apostle Paul in the New Testament.  Both were in boats, in storms, in trouble, found themselves in the water and in need of saving.  Neither walked on water.  Jonah was “saved” by a whale and Paul had to swim or cling to a chunk of wood to get to shore.  Peter and Paul were following the Lord’s directive.  They were in/on the right boat heading in the right direction.  The same cannot be said for Jonah.  He was on the wrong boat heading in the wrong direction.  It is easy to understand why he did not walk on water, since he was in direct disobedience from what God had instructed him to do.  Paul, however, was doing what the Lord had directed him to do and yet he ended up in the middle of a storm and in the water.  God did protect him and provide a way of escape; but he had to swim just like all the others in the boat.

Now, now getting back to Peter.  He along with the disciples was told by Jesus to “get in the boat” (Matt 14:22) and go to the other side of the lake.  I find it interesting that this incident in recorded in the books of Matthew, Mark and John; but, Luke did not include it in his gospel and only Matthew records the part of Peter walking on the water with Jesus.  I have never heard anyone mention this or try to expound on it; but if I had been there, I would think I would have included it. 

Peter was the only one of the twelve that is recorded to have said anything, even though they all were afraid of this “ghost” walking on the water.  Again Peter was quick to speak and act; but he was the only one to get the chance to walk on water.  He asked Jesus that if it was really Jesus for him to come.  Jesus said come.  Peter got out of the boat ONLY AFTER receiving a direct command from the Lord. 

Before getting out of a boat and trying to walk on water, make sure you are in the right boat, heading in the right direction and following a direct command of Jesus.  I have heard many people use the example of getting out of the boat encouraging others to take a chance and step out in faith saying they have heard from the Lord.  If God wants you to walk on water, he will tell YOU.

Now once Peter gets out of the boat, he starts walking on water; but when he saw the waves, he started to sink.  He took his eyes off Jesus and started looking at his circumstances.  What did Jesus do?  He said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt”.  Now some may say that this was not a rebuke but an encouragement; but, if it was me and Jesus said that to me, I think I would seen it as a rebuke.  There are four other occasions that Jesus used the phrase “ little faith”.   All four were in speaking to His disciples.  On one occasion he commended someone for their “great faith”, the centurion, a Gentile.  I find it interesting that Jesus used these men of “little faith” to turn the world upside down and gave them power against demons to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness. Matthew 10:1. At the same time He did not “do many mighty works” in Nazareth because of their “unbelief”.  God can use people of “little faith” but He cannot use people with unbelief.

Now after being told the he had little faith, he had to get back to the boat.  He either swam or walked on water, hand in hand with Jesus.  I think they walked.  No time for a pity party. I think Peter might have been thinking about the eleven still in the boat.  They did not have enough faith to step out of the boat.  He at least got out of the boat and walked a little way on water.  "Hey Jesus, how about telling those guys in the boat that they have no faith".   Today, nobody wants to hear about having little faith.  WE are people of faith!  God’s answer must have been “no” or “not yet”.  It could not be because of my “little faith” or “unbelief”.  How arrogant can we be?

People are encouraged to “get out of their boat”, get out of their comfort zone, based on what someone who portends to speak for God.  At the same time, we are not following direct commands from God because it does not fit our image of God.  It does not fit in our theology, what we have been taught.  We don’t anoint the sick with oil.  We don’t lay hands on the sick.  We don’t believe that we have the power to do these things, in spite of what Jesus taught, commanded and charged us to do.  Maybe we fit in the “unbelief” category, rather than the “little faith”.  God, the Father, not only gave us the authority but instructed us, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."(John 14:12)  How much simpler and more plain can He tell us?  Now there is a "get out of the boat" command!!!  Jesus said it!  I believe it! That settles it!

Jim Elliot, the missionary murdered by the Auca Indians in Ecuador at the age of 28, said:

“ It makes me boil when I think of the power we profess and the utter impotency of our action.  Believers who know one-tenth as much as we do are doing one hundred times more for God, with His blessing and our criticism. Oh if I could write it, preach it, say it, paint it, any thing at all, if only God’s power would become known among us”.

Lord, Help Me To Be The Person My Dog Thinks I Am

This is a bumper sticker that I recently saw in a tourist trap store in Orlando.  Unknown to me until a few minutes ago, it is also a country song, sung by the Bellamy Brothers.  I have never heard it but I looked up the lyrics and I think some of them fit well in this blog. 

Slapped a buncha change on the bar
said, "call it my platinum card"
then fish-tailed off in my bucket o' rust
after four bourbons n chasers
those state troopers' tasers
just made my brain feel a little more buzzed

but when I made bail and fin'lly got home
my hound was waitin' at the gate
wagged his tail when I tossed him a bone
and later that night I prayed

Lord, help me be the man
my dog thinks I am
a good and kind provider
not a drunken midnight rider
down on my knees askin' please
Lord, help me be the man
my dog thinks I am

Lord, help me be the man
my dog thinks I am
not some selfish womanizer
who can't pass a breathalyzer
down on my knees askin' please
Lord, help me be the man
my dog thinks I am

well, I went to church to learn good works
and try to live a better life
but I swore like a trucker, mispronounced Fuddrucker's
in front of the preacher's wife

O Lord, help me be the man
my dog thinks I am
a righteous, honest person
not some dumb cuss prone to cursin'
down on my knees askin' please
Lord, help me be the man
my dog thinks I am

You might be scratching your head wondering why I included this or why I even bring up the subject.  Many of you were brought up in a church, taught “to learn good works”, trying “to live a better life”; but feel “like the harder I work, the behinder I get”.  Well welcome to life.  The apostle Paul had similar feelings:

I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway.  My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.  It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.  I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?

Romans 7:19-24 The Message Bible

This was from the man who wrote more of the New Testament that any other author.  Paul was not the only person In the Bible to experience this.  Look at the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11.  None were perfect.  They include murders, liars, prostitutes, adulterers, cowards and a womanizer; but, God sees them as Heroes of Faith.  David in the Old Testament was a liar, adulterer, murderer, polygamist but God called him “a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will”. Acts 13:22

God loves us not because of who we are, how good we are or how good we think we are.  Christ died for us while we were sinners.

God doth commend His own love to us, that, in our being still sinners, Christ did die for us; Romans 5:8

When He now looks at us, He sees us as righteous.

Much more, then, having been declared righteous now in his blood, we shall be saved through him from the wrath.  

 Romans 5:9

He clothed me with garments of salvation, with a robe of righteousness covereth Me, as a bridegroom prepareth ornaments, and as a bride putteth on her jewels.  Isaiah 61:10

For him who did not know sin, in our behalf He did make sin, that we may become the righteousness of God in him. 2 Cor 5:21

Your, our, my heavenly Father sees us as righteous.  We are the Bride of Christ.  We are the Body of Christ.

For the person who has received Christ as their Savior, a more appropriate prayer should be:

Lord, Help Me To be the person:

-      that You see me as

-      that You have made me to be

-      that you have called me to be

-      to do the work that you have charged me to do

God and Colonel Jessep

I want to credit Dr Russell Howard, associate pastor at McGregor Baptist Church, Ft Myers, for much of the ideas for this blog.  I have added some of my thoughts.

The last few days at our winter church in Ft Myers have been trying.  Our senior pastor, unexpectedly, resigned last Sunday, citing health reasons concerning his wife and himself.  It was a shock to all.  The normally confident, take charge pastor, made a short statement announcing his resignation, appearing a broken man.  We were all very sad.  You wanted to just give him a hug, but he exited the auditorium holding back tears.  I want to share some of the thoughts from our associate pastor from that service and his Wednesday night Bible study.

What happens when we are overwhelmed; or better yet, how should we respond.  When everything goes along as expected, it is easy to take God for granted; but when the unexpected happens, it’s hard to see God’s will in it.  Pastor Russell has repeatedly said in the past that what ever happens in the Christian’s life is for God’s glory and our good, as He defines it.  Sunday this became more appropriate.  God has a plan, period!

God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah said: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).  In Psalms 37:23, the Psalmist proclaims: “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delights in his way." On most good days, we have no problem with this; but in the valleys, where “the rubber meets the road", this is a little harder to take.

Keep in mind that HIS PLAN is for HIS GLORY.  You may think that this is pretty bold on His part.  BUT remember he made us for His Glory.  God speaking through Isaiah says: “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." (Is. 43:7).  He is the potter, we are the clay. (Is 29:16)  He made us.  He redeemed us.  We are His, twice over.  If you build a sand castle in the sand,  do you have the right to wipe it out?  So does God!

Even though everything is for HIS Glory. It is for our good, as He defines it.  The MESSAGE Bible says it most clearly in Romans 8:28-32: “That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us.

Even knowing all this, there is still the nagging question, Why?  God is big enough to handle that question.  It does not offend Him.  Job cursed the day he was born asking why did he not die in the womb.  God let Job ask his questions and build his case.  It took 38 chapters before God spoke out of the whirlwind.  God spoke but did not give Job the answers that he wanted.  Instead God started questioning Job.  God first told Job to put on his big boy pants,  “Pull yourself together, Job!  Up on your feet!  Stand tall!  I have some questions for YOU, and I want some straight answers”.  Job 28:3 The Message

After God get finished questioning Job, Job was convinced that “God can do anything and everything”. (Job 42:1 The Message) and that he had “babbled on about things far beyond him”.

After all this you may be wondering about Colonel Jessep and why I put his name in the title of this blog.  Colonel Jessep was in the movie A Few Good Men.  When Lt. Daniel Kaffee yelled at the colonel, “I want the truth”.  Jessep answered, “You can’t handle the truth”.  Do you think that maybe God sometimes is trying to tell us the same thing when we ask, Why?

Our finite minds can’t comprehend or fathom God’s Big Picture.  All we can stand is little glimpses.

Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, tells them that “We only know a portion of the truth”  but some day after Christ comes again, “we will see it all then, see it clearly as God sees us.  The Message Bible, 1 Cor. 139-12

So the next time you ask Why?  God won’t get mad; but He may tell you, You can’t handle the whole Truth.  I have given you as much as you need.  Now pull up your big boy panties, TRUST ME!

Burger King, Frank Sinatra and Elvis

What do Burger King, Frank Sinatra and Elvis have in common or maybe the better question is, what makes them different?  Burger King does it your way.  Frank Sinatra and Elvis did it their way. 

Most people are very familiar with the song My Way.  Paul Anka wrote the lyrics but Frank Sinatra is the artist that made the song popular. According to Wikipedia over 50 artists have recorded or produced versions of this song. The lyrics are:

And now the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Regrets I've had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way

Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it all
And I stood tall and did it my way

I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing

To think I did all that
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way

For what is a man what has he got
If not himself then he has not
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

Sinatra was the first to make the song popular, Elvis made the song more popular.  Elvis sang it during his show, Aloha from Hawaii in 1973 but ironically, it was not released as a single until after his death in 1977. What makes it ironic is when you read the lyrics realizing how and under what conditions Elvis died.

Both Elvis and Sinatra led very troubled lives and struggled with personal demons.  Sinatra was manic-depressive, married 4 times and often associated with crime bosses. Elvis although deeply religious, was addicted to drugs.  In the end, I think they would have said that they had regrets if they were honest.

Although Sinatra considered himself Catholic, his personal statements contradicted the Catholic faith.  Elvis was raised in a Christian home, sang gospel and, in fact, the only Grammys he won, were all for gospel songs.  I would not presume to know where either is today.  But I do know that doing it “my way” will end in Hell.

In the end, ^“what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Mk 8:36

Hell will be full of people who “did it their way”, with “many regrets”. 

And in hell he (the rich man) lift up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’ Luke 16:23-24

On this Easter remember Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me.” John 14:6

Heaven is for real.  Hell is for real.  Heaven is FOREVER!  Hell is FOREVER!

Life is not Burger King.  Jesus Is THE KING, not the Burger King.

Where will you spend “FOREVER”?

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov. 14:12

CHREASTERS

Some of you are wondering, “What is a Chreaster?”  According to the Urban Dictionary, a Chreaster is “Those Christians who only show up to religious services on Christmas and Easter. 

With Easter being a few days away, I thought I might share some thoughts.  I have always been amazed that many people, that are not overtly Christian, want to have a pastor officiate their wedding, baby dedications/baptism and funerals.  They are also probably the ones that show up on Christmas and Easter.

I have also met individuals that consider themselves “Christians” who do not believe that Jesus was God’s son, the second person of the trinity.  They believe Him to be a “good man”, a great prophet; but not God.  Some “Christians” do not believe in the virgin birth or His resurrection.  I find this to be in the words of Star Trek’s Spock “not logical”.

C. S. Lewis expressed it best in his book Mere Christianity:

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

I challenge everyone reading this who may fall into this category, to read to any of the gospels and then logically answer the question that Jesus asked his disciples, Who do YOU say that I am?

 “Whom do men say that I am?  And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.” Mark 8: 27-29