Day 345: Step Out of the Boat (Take Your Shot)

Matthew 14:28-29

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.

Today I want to talk about the simple fact that Peter got out of the boat. This is a well known story, one of the more famous passages in the bible, we all know that Jesus and Peter walked on water. People who aren’t Christian know this. A lot of time when we read this story we talk about how Peter took his eyes off Jesus and started to sink. Overlooking the fact that, Peter got out of the boat! He stepped out of a boat on to the water and walked. How many of us can say that we have done that, not in a literal sense, but we ask God for something and when it comes we get scared because we have to step out of our comfort zone a bit. We have to take a step off of our safety net and walk towards Jesus.  Sometimes even when Jesus is calling us out of the boat we are reluctant to step out. If Peter never stepped out of the boat he would have never walked on water. Too many of us are missing our “walking on water” moments because we are afraid to step out of the boat. We’re too focused on the fact that we might sink so in order to protect ourselves we stay in the boat where it’s safe. People can talk about how Peter took His eyes off Jesus and was afraid that’s when He began to sink. but at least he got out of the boat, whether he sank or not, he stepped out of the boat, and Jesus was there to pick him up. At least he took a chance. Even if he did sink, it would have never happened if he stayed on the boat. We can grow in our moments of sinking as well. He saw the opportunity and took it, some of us can have an opportunity staring us right in the face but the fear of failure is stopping of from attempting to succeed. Peter wanted to walk on water so he had to step out of the boat and walk, that was the only way he could do it. There was no other way. If we want to walk on water, the only way to do it is to step out off the boat. Sitting there wishing isn’t going to get us anywhere. Why do we sit there hoping and wishing for something to come to us when it’s right there, all we have to do is walk towards it.

We are too focused on the fact that Peter sank. We allow that to blind us to the real miracle here, Peter walked on water. He walked! On water! I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this but I have and I sank the first step I took, but this man walked on water because when Jesus told Him to come he stepped out of the boat and did it. Sometimes we will not know what it’s like to rise if we are never in a position of sinking.

Sometimes the people we have to prove wrong when it comes to what we can do, is ourselves. We often put limitations on ourselves. As my semester is coming to an end we are doing a lot of reflections and talking about our growth. I have come to the conclusion that the only reason I cannot do things is because I never give myself the chance to do it. I took a ballet class this semester and  was very reluctant to do it but a friend of mine talked me into doing it. I was reluctant to taking the ballet class because I was scared, I never liked ballet because I was never good at it. But I decided to step out of my comfort zone and give myself a chance, and see what happens. The things we can do when we just give ourselves a chance can be miraculous. When we take the limits off of ourselves and trust in the gifts God has given us, and just trust in the person God made us to be we will end up surprising ourselves. Even if we do fall, even if we do sink, we will be okay.

All this to say, give yourself a chance. Take a shot, step out of the boat, don’t worry about sinking, just walk. If you sink Jesus is right there to pick you up.

Reflection

Take the time to go over and think about what we discussed today. Think about how you have been limiting yourself and make a decision not to do that. Whatever is going on in your life and you are stuck or afraid, step out of the boat.

Prayer Time

Take the time to pray about what we discussed today. Take the time to talk to God about getting out of the boat and take a step of faith tonight.

I love you so much and I hope you have an amazing day! Make sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 346!

Day 159: Give What You Got

Acts 3:1-7

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!” Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

Something that stands out to me about this passage, that was actually pointed out by pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr., is that Peter and John didn’t have what the man was looking for but they had what He needed, Jesus. This man had been sitting by this gate called beautiful probably for as long as he could remember each day, begging for money from any and everyone that passed by. But one day he asked the right people and didn’t get what he originally wanted but what he needed. I’m going to say that he probably got what he had been wanting his whole life. He was able to walk, something he had never experienced. I think we can take two points from this story, from the perspective of the lame man but also from Peter and John.

Peter and John could have, one walked past this man, they could have just told him no and kept going, or could have tried to give him anything they had to help. But because they were willing to stop, this man was healed. Because they were willing to say, I don’t have and silver or gold, but I will give you what I have.  Now that last point is what I want to focus on. They didn’t have any money to give them but they offered him Jesus. Peter and John may not have had what he was asking for but they definitely had what he needed. Which leads me to the title of today’s devo, we have to give what we got. We might not have everything we think we need, to help people we may not have what people are asking for but we at least have something. We have something we can give, we can share Jesus with them. We might not have everything they’re looking for but we can lend a helping hand, we can pray with them, we can sit with them. We can do something. We don’t have to wait until we have everything or a lot of money to do something, if we have Jesus we have the greatest gift there is, and there’s nothing better than sharing Jesus with someone, and giving them the hope and peace and love you have experienced through Him.  

This reminds me of photos that shows a little girl holding a heart and putting in the hand of God. The caption says, “It’s not much, but it’s all I have.” One thing I try to do with everything in my especially my relationship with God, is give my all. Even if it’s close to nothing, We should learn to adapt to this way of living, that even if we don’t have everything we give what we have. A lot of times I have heard christians say that they want to get themselves together before coming to God. If that were possible we’d never come to Him, we have to come baring it all, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the down right out of line. We have to give our all to Him. We give our hearts to Him even if they’re broken and in pieces. We give Him every part of us, even if it’s incomplete, He will complete us.

The second point to make is that sometimes when we ask for things, we might not get exactly what we want but we definitely get exactly what we need. Sometimes we will get more than what we ask for. The man wanted money, but He needed Jesus, he also needed to walk. I’m sure he wanted to walk as well. It’s a blessing when God honors a need over a want, because it can end up changing our lives. This man who had never walked a day in his life stood up and walked because the power of Jesus Christ was spoken over him. He asked for money but he got Jesus, his legs got strength and he walked again. I can guaruntee you that this man would have taken the healing of his legs over money any day, that’s something money could never do. I love the excitement in those last few phrases; the punctuation, exclamation points, and just the excitement over all. He leaped for joy and praised God. Thousands of people probably passed him every day and millions over a lifetime, but one day Jesus sent the right people and his life changed forever.

We have to give everything we have to God first and His people. We may not have everything but we have something and we can use that to forward His kingdom. We can give something, no matter how big or small, we all have something to offer. Give what you have and see how God works.

Prayer Time

Talk to God about what we talked about today, take the time to give Him all of your attention and everything you can offer to Him. Just take the time to spend with Him today, converse with Him.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing day or evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 160!

Day 108:Your Mistakes Don't Define You

Today we are going to talk about Peter, and his relationship to Jesus. Peter seems, to me, to be a very passionate man. He seems to always want to be on the right side, and sometimes he ends up on the wrong side. Peter is known as the disciple that denied Jesus three times. But Peter didn’t think that He would be the one to deny Jesus, he couldn’t see himself doing something like that. We as humans can relate to this so much because, we are unpredictable. We don’t know exactly what will happen or what we will do. Sometimes we shock ourselves with the things we say and do, and this could be either good or bad.

John 13: 36-38

Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.

Before being told this, Peter said, “I will lay down my life for you” He was speaking to Jesus when he said this. Jesus foresaw what Peter could not, which is why He’s God and we’re not.

John 18:17

17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

That’s the first denial

John 18:25-27

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

Peter has just done the thing that he probably never thought He’d do. He denied Jesus. Earlier Peter said that he would lay down his life, but when faced with the fear that He might actually die, he denied Jesus. Peter knew the risk of being a Christ follower, or even a disciple of Christ. Peter was one of the twelve.

Sometimes we do things not realizing what they are. Sometimes we do things wanting to do the opposite. I’m sure Peter did not want to deny Jesus but He did. I’m sure he felt terrible. Many times it is our actions that deceive us. We do the things we say we’d never do and the thing we thought we’d never do. I think Paul says it best in Romans 7:15, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”

We all make mistakes, we’ve all screwed up in our lives, I know I have pretty bad in my 24 years of living. There is conviction which is from God, that leads us to repentance, and there is self-condemnation or condemnation from others that leads us to regret. One is the right way the other is not so great. God can change a repentant heart, because we are giving our sin up to follow Him. We are confessing it and receiving His forgiveness, When we spend or waste time regretting the past or the things we’ve done we're not proud of, we tend to pull away from God. We are harboring things that we cannot change, if we have repented and asked God to remove the sin and change our hearts, there is no use in holding on to it. A lot of times we have to forgive ourselves for the things we have done. We talk a lot about forgiveness, sometimes the person we need to forgive is, us. If we spend all the time regretting the past we we will miss the present, we will not be able to move on and grow in Christ.

John 21:7

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.

Peter could not wait to see Jesus. The scripture say that Peter threw himself into the sea to go see Jesus. THere was a Savior on shore and Peter wasted no time in going to see Him.

What stand out to me in this scripture is Peter’s excitement to see Jesus. Now if Peter was still regretting what he had done, there is a possibly that he would not have been able to approach Him.

Now none of this is to say that it is okay to sin because we serve a gracious God. But if we really decide to live for and like Christ, we will get to a point where we don’t want to sin. We have all done things that we are not proud of, but even in that we have the opportunity to repent and not miss a chance to connect with your heavenly father.

John 21:15-17

15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep

God still wants to use you, it doesn’t matter what your past look like. When we make the decision to truly serve Him, meaning, living, loving, and look like Him we become a vessel for His work. When we repent God throws our sins into the sea of forgetfulness. Our past plays a role in who we are, but our past mistakes do not dictate the person we become, God makes that choice. He’s already made it actually, He knows who we are and what we will become. . We are not our mistakes, we are children of the one true living God. Peter goes on to become one of the key apostles, and builder of the church.

Matthew 16:18-19

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Peter tells the testimony of Jesus Christ, and pays for it. He is thrown into prison for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Peter goes out and does exactly what He has been called and chosen to do. There was a time when Peter denied Jesus in order to save His own life. This same man who died a martyr.

It matters not what we did but what we are doing now. There is time to repent and get it right. There is no time to regret our mistakes.

Reflection

1. Do you live your life in regret?
2. Are you able to forgive yourself for your mistake?
3. Have you confessed and repented?

Prayer Time

Allow you answers to the above questions guide your prayer. If you feel God is speaking to you right now lay your heart out to Him. If there are things you need to repent for , confess those thing to God and turn your heart to Him.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening. MAke sure you share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 109!