It felt wonderful being back at my home church away from home. The River has been a blessing to my life the past two years and I love my church family there. The message this morning was great and challenging. The passage that my pastor spoke from was Matthew 14:22-33, where both Jesus and Peter walk on water. The main idea was reviving the passion within each one of us and being obedient by getting out of the boat and walking to Christ. To walk in radical obedience we first must be willing to get out of the boat. The few verses states that Jesus told his disciples to go on ahead across the lake while he stayed behind and prayed. Jesus gave his disciples a simple task of rowing across to the other side of the lake and they probably grumbled a little because that is all Jesus asked them to do. In the words of my pastor, "the challenge is obeying when the command seems boring and mundane. We forget the beginning of the journey is not the end." But soon afterwards, Jesus finished praying and he went out to them, walking on the lake (v. 25). The disciples were scared and alarmed because they thought they saw a ghost coming to them, but it was Jesus and he even said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid (v. 27)." "Once we realize its Jesus moving, we have to be willing to ask for the impossible and when we do we have to be willing to do the miraculous." When Peter saw Jesus walking out on the water, he said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water (v. 28)." Peter was willing to ask the impossible thing of walking on water and then actually doing it. Peter might have thought in his mind that there was no way he could walk on water, but he was willing to ask the impossible and actually let the miraculous work play out. "If we are willing to embrace the miraculous, it allows us to go to the places where Jesus is." It is important to note that when we choose to live a radical life with Christ, we might look foolish in the world's eyes. The other disciples might have thought in their minds that Peter was out of his mind in asking to walk on water, but Peter believed and he not only was able to walk to Jesus, but also walk back to the boat, with Jesus by his side. "We are capable of doing things far greater than we can imagine when we step towards Jesus." It takes a radical, passionate pursuit of Jesus Christ to leave behind our natural, normal way of thinking and moving towards the pursuits of thinking and living like Christ. Let try to be bold in getting out of the boat and walking on water towards Christ. And when we do, Christ promises far more greater things than we could ever image.
January 24th, 2013
Gift #182: Warm mittens.
Gift #183: A blue soup bowl.
Gift #184: Water from the wind shield wipers crystalizing into small wonderful ice flakes.
Gift #185: The full moon in the evening sky.
Gift #186: Cheddar bunnies crackers.
January 25th, 2013
Gift #187: A gracious lady drove me to work instead of me having to walk down.
Gift #188: Being back at Riverview Nursery School.
Gift #189: Playing with the two years old and eating lunch with the four years old.
Gift #190: Warm homemade chili.
Gift #191: Cornbread.
Gift #192: Magnetic letters and numbers on a white board.
Gift #193: Friday night in NYC for an event.
Gift #194: Beautiful night of worship and prayer for human trafficking.
Gift #195: The crunchy sound of snow beneath my shoes.
January 26th, 2013
Gift #196: The sun reflecting off the new fresh snow.
Gift #197: Morning bike ride in the snow.
Gift #198: A much needed Saturday afternoon nap.
January 27th, 2013
Gift #199: Fun and colorful socks.
Gift #200: Being back at my college home church, The River!
Gift #201: Worship time at The River.
Gift #202: Sunlight flooding through the stained glass windows in arrays of colors.
Gift #203: "We got joy unspeakable flowing through our veins."
Gift #204: Singing, clapping, and dancing to our Abba.
Gift #205: Praying for my brothers and sisters in small groups.
Gift #206: Colored plates in the caf.
Gift #207: Scrambled omelette for brunch.
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