Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 39-41

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 14:29, 31
Jesus: Indeed, come.
Peter stepped out of the boat onto the water and began walking toward Jesus. But when he remembered how strong the wind was, his courage caught in his throat and he began to sink.
Peter: Master, save me!
Immediately Jesus reached for Peter and caught him.
Jesus: O you of little faith. Why did you doubt and dance back and forth between following Me and heeding fear?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

This is the rest of one of my favorite stories in the New Testament. Jesus walking on the water. The disciples think He is a ghost or some apparition, then Peter calls out to Him, and the Master confirms it is really Him in the flesh. But then Peter does something few of us would have the courage to do. He’s still not quite sure, so He makes a request of this dim figure in the mist. “If it’s really you, tell me to join you out there.”

There’s something most of us don’t understand about the culture of that day that makes those words really important. And Jesus next words equally important. You see, these men in the boat were becoming disciples. In Jesus day, that carried certain characteristics. Everyone understood wht it meant to be a disciple. Jesus wasn’t the only person with disciples, every rabbi with any smarts had disciples.

A disciple gave up what he had to follow his rabbi. He lived with him, and watched him carefully. He ate what he ate, drank what he drank, slept where he slept, wore what he wore. He studied what the rabbi studies. He became like his rabbi in every way possible. The mark of a good rabbi was the mimicry of his disciples. How much like the rabbi were his disciples?

We sometimes decry Peter for his lack of faith and taking his eyes off Jesus. We preach sermons about his looking at the storm around him and failing to keep his eyes on the prize. We talk bad about Peter’s faith sometimes. But if you really stop and think about it, there were at least twelve disciples in the boat. All of them saw Jesus out there. All of them heard the conversation. The boat wasn’t that big that they could avoid what was going on. All of them heard Peter’s request and Jesus’ reply.

All twelve of the disciples had an opportunity to step out of the boat that night and do something no one else had done. All of them had an invitation to come out and see what it was like to walk on the surface of the sea. But only one really acted like a disciple that night. Only Peter decided he would be like his Master and stepped out of the boat. He longed to be like Jesus so much he dared to put his foot over the side and onto the stormy sea.

Peter was rewarded for his action. He began to walk to Jesus…on the water. The Bible doesn’t tell us how far he walked. We don’t know if it was two feet, ten feet, or a hundred feet, but we know it was far enough that everyone in that boat knew Peter walked on top of the Sea of Galilee. They also watched him long enough to see him take his eyes off of Jesus and look at the storm around him. When he did, he began to sink.

Two things happened then, Peter cried out, “Master, save me.” And immediately Jesus reached out His hand and rescued him. Peter knew who could help him and cried out to Him. He knew he was in over his head and needed help fast. There was only One who could rescue him and Peter sought that One, Jesus. And Jesus did.

We can learn a lot from this story. Jesus talks to them when He gets into the boat about their faith, and so we must exercise our faith in Him. But we do that by remembering this story. If we are to be a true disciple of Jesus, we must do what He did. We need to be willing to step out of our comfort zone into the unknown inexplicable areas of life sometimes when He tells us to come. Recognize that when we do, if we keep our eyes on Him we do not need to sink under the waves. We can do miraculous things through His power in us. We just need to remember Who to focus on, not the circumstances around us.

We don’t need to worry about the storms around us. Jesus is here. If we belong to Him, we have nothing to fear. He tells us that over and over, but we just don’t seem to get it sometimes. We fret over unimportant things and wonder why our faith falters. He says lift up your eyes and look at Him. It will be okay. He will rescue you from the storm.

When the storms do seem to swallow you up, remember you have One who can rescue you from what seems like an ocean of problems, distress, frustration, or fear. When we call on Him, He is ready to reach out His hand and pull us free from the things that keep us from our peace. His legacy is peace. He may not take us out of the storm, but He gives us the assurance of His presence and His peace.

I pray that I will be like Peter and step out of the boat when Jesus calls.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
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