Matthew 14

Sunday night our pastor enouraged the church to read through the New Testament in 90 days, so Monday morning I went to YouVersion.com and added a 60 Day New Testament reading plan to my morning reading.  If you have not been to their website or added their app to your smartphone, I highly recommend it.  They have a multitude of plans based on time, topic, book, or passage to choose from and can help you in your daily spiritual walk.  Plus, it's free to use, so if you haven't looked at it yet, you might give it a try sometime.  (the 60 day plan is 4 chapters a day)

Today's reading had me in Matthew 14, sharing the story of Jesus walking on the water.  In light of all that is happening in the world, I was struck that Jesus purposely sent the disciples out, knowing full well they would get caught in the storm.  I hear people question how a loving God could allow horrible things to happen, especially when a tragedy like Newtown occurs.  Worse to me, though, are those who say that if we follow God we can expect prosperity and blessing, usually in the terms of monetary gain, material possessions, or health.  God promises that everything that happens to us is for our good, but He alone determines what is good for us.  We don't -- look at how selfish our desires for "good" would be.  This story flies directly in the face of that kind of thinking.  Jesus INTENTIONALLY sent the disciples out to face a terrible storm.  No doubt to the seasoned fishermen storms at sea were a normal thing to deal with, but what of those who hadn't made their living at sea.  Can you imagine what they were thinking/feeling?  When you add that the experienced sailors were desperate, you know this was a terrible storm.  And following Jesus' instructions was what put them there.  This was no minor inconvenience, this was a life-threatening event, devestating in nature.  And Jesus made them go out, knowing they were going to face it, and He made them go out while He stayed on shore.

But look at what they got to see -- Jesus walking on the water!  They were never truly alone, even when He wasn't in the boat with them He was still there.  When they couldn't see Him, He was still there.  When Peter stepped out of the boat and began to walk toward Him, the storm crashed and he took his eyes off Jesus, yet as he sank, Jesus was right there to pick him back up and carry Him to the boat.  What does this mean for us?

Following God isn't easy.  It was never meant to be.  Following Jesus immediately puts us at odds with the ways of the world, makes us enemies of Satan, the world, the forces of darkness.  Why should we even expect to make it through life without storms?  We should be more concerned if we don't face them.  We are going to face situations in our lives that we feel will destroy us, and often simply because we follow Christ.  Being a Christ follower had never meant we would have an easy life, BUT it does mean that Christ is with us every step of the way, even when we are so consumed with the events around us that we take our eyes off of Him, He is still there, ready for us to cry out to Him, ready to lift us up, even when we fall.

Are you in the middle of a life-threatening crisis, something that you think will destroy you, the crashing waves threatening to crush you beneath them?  Take your eyes off the storm and look around, because you will see Jesus walking on the waves.  You will see Him in ways you never could had you not gone through the storm.  No matter how severe the storm, how hard the trial, they are merely opportunities for you to see God do something greater and mightier than you ever could have without the storm.  So, in a storm?  Look around.  Jesus is there, and as soon as you see Him everything will change.  Perhaps you will step out into the storm to meet Him, perhaps you will sink a little more before you feel His hand, He might even instantly calm the storm and being peace.  Whatever He does, whatever you end up going through, the chance to draw that much closer to Him, to see Him at work in great and mighty ways in your life makes it all worth while.  A storm is nothing more than a chance to see God at work, a chance for Him to change your life.  Going through a storm is never fun, but it only lasts for a short while.  Witnessing God doing the miraculous?  That will last in your heart forever.

Man, O Man

Tomorrow ends one class and starts another.  I used to be so good in school -- what happened?  I guess waiting 15 years between classes can have that affect on a guy.  Anyway, philosophy is done, now on to biology.  Seems a little backwards.  Shouldn't you learn how everything goes together before you try to take it all apart?  That's how it goes, though, sometimes.  Meanwhile, today we have a celebration of life for a family to remember a loved one who has passed.  Funerals are often introspective times, and I'm no exception.  As we look at someone whose life on earth is done, it's natural to look at your own and ask, "When my life is done, what will people say of me -- what will my legacy be that I leave?"  Other than typing this, though, I don't really feel that today.  Today is more about moving forward, seeing what is coming next, preparing for the challenges ahead.  Our future is about as uncertain as it can be, yet at the same time, it has never changed.  We all will have our chance to be the one remembered someday.  It's what we do between now and then that matters.

So, how do you plan on changing the world today?  Tomorrow?  That's the question we should all be asking ourselves.  We can't assume someone else will change it for us, so we must be doing what is necessary to see the change happen.  I think that's the problem with our current President's platform.  He ran on change, then expects everyone else to do the work.  He's not the only one.  Probably everyone who voted for him did the same thing.  And those who didn't, well, they probably are sitting back and waiting for things to get bad so they can say, "told you so," then try to get their guy elected next.  No one wants to accept the blame, just the credit if something good happens.  That's no way to live a fulfilled life, though, much less run a country.  We're all so busy trying to get everything for ourselves that we've forgotten how important community is.  No, it's more than that.  We've forgotten what it means to actually be in a community, what our responsibilities actually are as a member of that community.  Wasn't too long ago when an American thought of themselves as part of a big community.  Now, we've spent so much time trumpetting our differences that we've actually alienated ourselves from the people next door.  It's time we get back to what really matters, to the core issues, to caring for our neighbors -- I mean really caring for our neighbors -- and rather than celebrating our differences, how about celebrating what makes us the same.  I know people are going to say we do that already, but we don't.  If we did, would there be so much anger, vitriol, hate being directed by everyone at everyone?  I don't think so.

So, if you're expecting our next President to save us, you're hopelessly out of luck, doesn't matter who he is.  If you think you can fix your life on your own, again, you're out of luck.  And, seriously, if you think the community will save you, think again.  Community has about as much chance as empty religion.  There is one Relationship that will do it, but it means giving up everything to gain even more.  You'd think by now we'd be willing to give it all up.  After all, we've done such a great job on our own up til now, haven't we.

So, I may be the only one...

...who reads this, but sometimes we all need places to jot down the things that come to our minds.  Maybe they wouldn't make sense to anyone else, maybe they would.  Who knows.  I'm not writing for anyone to understand but me.  Sometimes we just need to speak.