Matthew 14:13,14
Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He came ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.
Jesus was a busy guy with a lot on His plate; He had just received the news of the beheading of His close relative and the man who was to prepare the way before Him. It's understandable that He wanted to be alone with the Father, and yet how does He respond when that is interrupted? With loving compassion and kindness. He doesn't yell at the crowd or bitterly turn them away. He doesn't shame them or make them feel like a burden, but instead, He loves them, not just in His heart but in action! He takes the time to love on them and heal them. Despite the emotions that must have been running through His mind and heart. He is living what He teaches and preaches. Are we?
Do we have time for that perceived inconvenience or that "one person" that always needs something? Are we willing to put ourselves aside and respond the way Christ does here? Jesus had so much more on His plate than we ever will, yet He sets Himself aside, yet again, and loves on those around Him! This response draws people in, whereas our flesh responses will push people away. He didn't make them feel like a burden He had to deal with but rather like a cherished, wanted, and important person to Him! Can the Body of Christ do this collectively? Yes, but in order to do that effectively, we must first practice it individually!
James 2:16-19- If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.
God bless! I love you all, but His love never ends! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
Matthew 14:15-18
As evening approached, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” He said.
The disciples identify and acknowledge a very real problem, but they miss the very real Answer standing right in front of them, Jesus! It can be hard to remember who He is and all that He is capable of when we’re staring down a problem we can’t fix on our own. The disciples had a problem that was impossible for them to fix on their own; their best answer was to send the people away and let them fend for themselves. This in and of itself isn’t bad; there is nothing wrong with people getting their own food, but the part that they failed at is they never took it to Christ to fix. They had the answer to everything standing in front of them, and yet they still reverted to fixing the problem themselves and in a way that is of the flesh and not the Spirit. They were stuck in their physical limitations and missing His limitlessness. Do we ever do this?
We, like the disciples, walk with Christ daily and experience His power and goodness all around us, and yet when a problem is presented, we revert right back to fixing it ourselves instead of taking it to Christ. The disciples say, “We only have such and such,” but Christ says, “No, you don’t, you have Me, and I am more than enough!”
If He can solve the problem of our sin and separation from God, then I believe He can handle the daily problems we face, whether life-altering or mildly inconvenient. He was faithful to feed the 5000, and He will be faithful in whatever you are facing. Will you bring it to Him today?
1 Peter 5:6,7- So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
God bless! I love you all, but His love leads the way! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
Matthew 14:25
Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
The sea represented chaos, sin, and death; yet notice how Christ walked on top of it calmly! How He kept His eyes and spirit focused on God and how as long as Peter stayed focused on Jesus, he was able to stay above all the chaos as well!
I felt led to share this with you all as we are going through some tough and anxious times, but Jesus is saying, “Stay focused on Me, not the chaos around you, and I will guide you through!! He promises never to leave or forsake us!!! And as my mom always likes to say, “No word from God will come back void!!!” Those are truths we can hold tight to during these trying times!!
Luke 1:37: “For no word from God will ever fail.”
Give God all the glory and stay watchful in prayer! I love you all, and God bless!
Matthew 14:28,29
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
Many of us are familiar with this story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter trying to do the same. In prayer this morning, I had a thought and felt led to share it. The wind and the waves are moving, the boat is being moved by them, and even the disciples are being jostled around in the boat. Everything is being moved by the storm, except Christ! He wants us to know that the storms of this life may move everything around us, but they can't and won't move Him. That there isn't anything or anyone in this world that can overpower or change Him.
Think about that scene; everything is moving being thrown about except Christ, our Rock, our Anchor, our firm foundation! Since we know He did it then, we can count on Him to do it now.
Hebrews 13:8- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
He has not and will not change, so the same Jesus that stood in the storm with Peter is the same Jesus who will stand in the storm with Stephen or with you! He is unchanging and unwavering and unable to be anything less than our Lord and Savior, King of the world, and strength in the storm!
One last thing, we see Jesus tell Peter to come to Him, but when do we see Jesus move? When His disciple cries out for help. We see our King spring into action and grab His hand! No storm can move Him, but an honest cry for help He will not despise.
Matthew 14:30,31- But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
Psalm 51:17- My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
God bless! I love you all, but He loves us through the storm! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!
Matthew 14:29
“Come," He said. Then Peter got down out of the
boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
I woke up late and didn’t have my normal devotional time today,
but this has been bouncing around in my mind and spirit all morning. To me, Peter’s
failure here speaks more than if he would have succeeded. So often, I am
looking at the problem instead of the Problem-Solver. Peter’s job wasn’t to
make sure he walked on water or survived the storm, but only to listen, obey,
and trust the Lord! To me, Peter had a victory by just getting out of the boat,
and even though He sank, the Lord still saved him!
Jesus wasn’t any farther away from Peter when he started to
sink. In fact, Jesus was closer to Him because it says He immediately reached
out His hand and saved him. Peter was walking obediently in God’s will, so it
didn’t matter that he failed because Jesus was right there to save him!
I say this to encourage you to step out of the boat and
don’t be afraid to sink. The further you get away from the boat (what’s safe
and comfortable), the closer you get to Jesus, and trust me, that’s where we
all want to be! We all have a boat in a storm, and Jesus is saying, “Come”! The
question is, will you step out?
Be bold, Be kind, Be humble, and be ready to fail because sometimes,
our failure is what drives us to cry out to the Lord the loudest!!!
I love you all, God bless, and Glory to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!!!
Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
I love the Apostle Peter. I’m like him in so many ways, bold and daring yet at times can miss the Truth or the point right in front of me. This is by no means a successful mission for Peter outside of the boat, and I imagine the walk back to the boat with Jesus was humbling, to say the least.
But the key is he got out of the boat. The boat represents everything that was comfortable and normal to Peter. He was a fisherman by trade, so a boat would have been like home to him. But many times, Jesus calls us out of these comfort zones so that we have to fully rely on Him, and that, my friends, can be a scary yet extremely blessed place to be!
Now, fast forward to after the crucifixion, and the disciples are out fishing again…
John 21:7: Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
Peter is back out of the boat and into the water with urgency and purpose. He knows that Jesus is waiting, and he isn’t going to miss his chance. The point isn’t whether he sinks or swims but that he was willing to get back out of the boat and go toward the Lord!
Jesus isn’t going to let you drown!!! Don’t let fear, doubt, or shame keep you in that boat, but rather jump out that boat and trust that the One who gave all for us will make sure you make it to shore!
What boats are you still in that the Lord is calling you out of? Put on your swimsuits and get in the water!!!
I love you all. God bless. Glory, Honor, and Praise today and forevermore to God Almighty, King Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!
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