faith

The Captain’s Voice

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

L ord, if it’s really you,” said Peter, “tell me to come to you on the water.” – “Come on, then,” replied Jesus. Peter stepped down from the boat and did walk on the water, making for Jesus. But when he saw the fury of the wind he panicked and began to sink, calling out, “Lord save me!” Matthew 14:28-30 Phillips

One of the strongest memories I have of my Navy Captain grandfather is his voice. That low rumble that usually encouraged or joked with his grandchildren, could in an instant change. It didn’t get louder it just lowered even further and became the voice of command in our house. “Now hear this.” he would say with a power and ring of authority that snapped all of us to attention. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that when Jesus called Peter to come out to him on the water, His call was spoken with such power that even over the wind and waves Peter could clearly heard him,and it gave him the courage to obey.

Photo by Matt Hardy on Pexels.com

Right now my wife and I are being called out on the waters with the life of my sister-in-law drawing to a close. We are heading out to California to say our good-byes to a sweet precious lady who is also my wife’s best friend. Walking daily in such a life is more than challenging, it is overwhelming. Like Peter, we are overwhelmed by wind and waves and aren’t so sure we are ready to walk on water in the weeks ahead. But Jesus is calling us with a voice that fearlessly echoes out over our dark waters and carries with it both His peace and a command to venture out. Hearing His voice means that He is out there waiting for us. Our assurance is that our way is not just about difficulty, it is about the miracle of the presence of God’s Son. With His call comes His promise, to reach down and pull us out of the waters so we can walk with Him.

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”   Matthew 14:31 NKJV

Where is Our Hope?

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments 
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by          
Excerpt from Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti

I’m not much for remembering long pages of flowing verse from Dylan Thomas or T.S. Elliott, but what stays with me are tiny snippets of poetry that take quiet walks with me when I am alone. This week as I was struggling though some personal issues I remembered Christina Rossetti’s line, “But when the trees bow down their heads” and God gently quieted by heart. I had been making a fuss about things I could not understand like a crying child who refuses to take his afternoon nap. But like the perfect Father that He is, God comforted me with the reminder that faith is the way He chooses for everyone to walk with Him.

Sure, Moses saw the burning bush and Peter got to see Jesus transformed on the mountain. But for the vast majority of us, our faith is built on somewhat less spectacular experiences. In fact Peter himself points out that our hope and joy is based on a Jesus who we have never seen.

 And though you have never seen him, yet I know that you love him. At present you trust him without being able to see him, and even now he brings you a joy that words cannot express and which has in it a hint of the glories of Heaven; 1 Peter 1:8 Phillips Version

Some of you are probably struggling with loneliness, sickness or heartache, wishing that Jesus would just show up and fix things. It would be great to see God swing into action like Spiderman, just as our enemies close in, but He has a better way! His solution does not depend on anything we can see, but on the unseen love of Jesus Christ. We believe not because we have seen, but because we have experienced God’s gift of joy by means of a faith that gives with us, “A hint of heaven” and God’s Spirit whispers, “That hint is more than enough! “

Before the Dawn

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After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them. Mark 6:46-48 NIV

Have you ever wondered why Jesus let’s us get ourselves in a fix to begin with? Why do we find ourselves over and over in the middle of a sea of circumstances which we did not choose and wish we had never encountered? I know from the Bible that it is for my own good, but when I rowing hard in the middle of a pitch black night, I’m not liking a lot what He says is good for me!

But what I am learning is that in the middle of things that are deeper than I can understand and more powerful than I can control, Jesus is watching and Jesus is praying, and even better yet – Jesus is coming to meet us – just before dawn! When Jesus comes and gets in the boat, I am at rest – even if I still do not understand -and suddenly it becomes true in my complicated real life – that He comes just before the dawn!!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

Here is a song written by Bella Thompson, one of the residents at a nursing home where I visited last year before the virus hit. I pray that it will bless you as it has blessed me.