MAY 14 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#15 “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31)

 MAY 14  THE JESUS QUESTIONS  JQ#15 “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”  (Matthew 14:31)

LIVING FOR JESUS  Daily Prayer    

JESUS, You Lord are the Giver of Life and my Praise is to thank You for this wonderful life that You have provided for us as we pass through this valley of the shadow of death. Lord help me to always know that it is only “shadows” that are cast when I let the world come between me and Your Holy Light and when I move into Your Presence and let Your Love illuminate my life then the “shadows of doubt” are dispelled and my fears caused by the “shadows” all cease and I enter into Your Peace and Your Rest. Thank You Lord for Your Sacrifice of Yourself for my sins that I might be bathed in Your Righteousness so that I may have fellowship with the Father.     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

Jesus has used a boat and a storm twice now to teach us about “Faith in God” — JQ#7 “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26) and now Jesus again turns our thoughts to “Faith in God” as He asks JQ#15 “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) The common “spiritual” elements to go along with the physical elements “boat & storms” are “faith & fear” and Jesus Teaches us that it is a “fear” caused by the lack of “faith” which grows from the seeds of doubt sowed by the storms of this earthly world. 

{{Part 2 Jesus and Peter walk on the water}}  

In Part 1 a comparison was made between the first time the disciples encountered storm troubles while out in a boat and this second time the disciples found themselves again in a boat in a storm on the sea. The first event occurred after the disciples had witnessed a series of miracles that in essence proved that Jesus IS the Son of God for only God’s Power could have accomplished the miracles that Jesus had performed. The disciples had witnessed the miracles and then followed Jesus into the boat and the storm came when Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. The second Lesson on  “Faith & Storms” was different in a major way because just before going out to sea the second time, the disciples themselves were actively involved in doing kingdom work and though it was still the Power of God that accomplished the miracle, the disciples themselves were used as a vessel through which God had accomplished His Work in the lives of the “multitudes”. This second event is also markedly different in that when Jesus had “compassion on the multitudes” that He “commanded” His disciples “you give them something…”(Matthew 14:16) which in essence was the “passing of the mantle” to His disciples to address the needs of the multitudes. Then as they moved from the miracle of feeding “five thousand, besides women and children” that “Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him”. We can look at the first event at sea and those miracles that the disciples witnessed Jesus doing in the Power of God as a “Teaching” experience and this second event has the focus shifted so that it is a “Learning” experience and a “Test” to see what the disciples have learned about kingdom work and the “Power of God” used to address the “needs” of the multitudes. Of great importance to note with the second event is that Jesus is foreshadowing the fact that He is making His “disciples get into the boat” with the intended purpose that through His disciples that the kingdom work will continue through them as Jesus commands each of His followers to follow His example and then to go out on our own “in the Name and Power of Jesus” and do kingdom work that God intends each of us to do. When Jesus commanded His disciples to get into the boat and “go before Him” there is no doubt that we are called as “disciples” to “learn” that God desires to work His Power through us and then we are to “Go before Him”. To me this says that Jesus wants us to “introduce” Him to others but Jesus promises that He will show up when He is needed and the “timing” is such that God will receive the glory. If Jesus commands us to “go before Him” then it means that He is going to meet up with us again! The second great Lesson from the second encounter is that Peter demonstrated that God is “transferring” His power to those that are willing to do His Work and step out of the boat on “Faith”!!! We see that as Peter listened to Jesus when Jesus had commanded  Peter to “Come” that Peter was able to walk on water just like Jesus was doing and it was only when Peter saw himself as part of the world did he start sinking. As long as Peter was “in the Spirit” following the command of Jesus and had total “Faith in the Power of God” Peter possessed the “Power of God” to walk on water! We as disciples must get beyond our limited “physical power” and tap into the limitless “Spiritual Power” that God has already demonstrated that He is willing to share with those who are willing to “Go” and do kingdom work. God will NEVER ask us to do anything that He hasn’t already provided us with the ability and “Power” to do. Each Lesson is designed to equip us with a little more experience in “how” God has chosen to accomplish “His Desires” for His “chosen ones”! As soon as Jesus calls us individually to “Follow Him” we should understand that from that point  when we respond to His command to “Come [to Jesus]” that we become by “Faith in Jesus His chosen ones”!!!   As His disciples, Jesus for all eternity will be continually “Teaching” us how to “Go” and once we have “Faith” enough to “get into the boat and go before Him to the other side”  we can have Supreme Confidence that He will protect us from the storms if we are following Jesus and doing kingdom work! Can you purchase a better retirement plan or invest your time in a more profitable endeavor than having the Power of God provided for you for all eternity? Or I must ask you the same question I asked myself —  “Are you having trouble accepting yourself as “God’s chosen ones”? If we are to “Be like Jesus” then we must be willing to accept being called “God’s chosen” for who but Jesus is “The Chosen One” and has He not commanded us to “Come Follow Me”?