Wise Jumps of Faith

 ²⁸Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."

 ²⁹And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. - Matthew 14:28-29

We have all asked this question before an important decision. "Lord, if you are in this...would you let me know? Give me a sign?" I will be preaching in Solid Ground services next Sunday (8/23/09) and we are going to discover some principles for understanding God's leading. Thus, we will be better equipped to make wise jumps of faith.

In v.28 Peter said, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." To be fair to Peter, I do not believe he wanted to show off. He mainly just wanted to be with Jesus. Notice his request was, “command me to come to You on the water,” rather than, “command me to come on the water to You.” That translation is faithful to the Greek word order. “On the water” was simply the only way to get to Jesus quickly.

Likewise, in John 21:7 we read that after the resurrection, Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus when he realized He was standing on the shore. Again, he just wanted to be with Jesus. In Matthew 14, it probably seemed to Peter that in the storm it is safer to be on the water with Jesus than in the boat without Jesus!  We should desire to be with Jesus. And in fact, the storms of life will often drive us closer to Jesus.

Oh the power of what faith can do when God gives us a promise we can rightly claim for ourselves! By faith the power of Jesus flowed unto Peter, and He was able to walk on water just like Jesus! As Peter was held up, so we shall be held up everywhere, and in any storm, as long as we set our confidence and faith upon Him.  So, how do we get the answers to the question, "Lord, if it is you?"

Simply ask.  Ask Jesus, "If this is you"...and wait for His answer.  His answers are found in Scripture, in Godly Counsel, in experience, and most important, in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Simply ask the Lord and if it is Jesus, He will call you out of the boat to join Him. Then we must be willing to jump out and walk on the water.

You know I love ya - Don

Friday Funny - Back to School

Greenfield Central Schools (Greenfield, IN) returned to school in session this week. This is a odd time when I was growing up...First we did not return until the Tuesday after Labor Day...which made Labor Day a death holiday. Mom, Melinda, and I loved our summers together, so we called it the holiday the killed summer. My father on the other hand would sing all day the Christmas classic, "Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." I think we were getting on his nerves by then. (In later years I think even he was a little sad to see us go back to school. Although he never admited it.)

My nephew Domanic and I are a great deal alike. Of course he is a great kid and much smarter than I, but it gives me pleasure to know that our mannerisms are alike. For our Friday Funny today I thought I would relay a true story of Domanic.

Domanic is in 7th grade now, but on his first day of school for Kindergarten, we were all excited. They live in Tennessee and at the time we lived in Virginia. So, after dinner, Aunt Karen and Uncle Don (there was only two of us then) called Domanic to see how his first day went. He loved it. I asked, "what did you learn today...a new poem...wow, can you share it with me?" This is what he recited:

Little miss moffet, set on her tuffet
Even her curves and waves.

We still laugh at the thought of a curvy, wavy Miss Moffet. Hope it touches you as well. Keep laughing and maybe as I walk into heaven someday, I will get to hear dad singing, "Its the most wonderful time of the year." You know I love ya - Don

Matthew 14:22-36

Lord, help me to get out of the boat and walk out to you, the source of all blessings! AMEN! - Enjoy this great passage in Matthew and then join me out here on the water....it is pretty cool! You know I love ya - Don

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. ²³After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

²⁸"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."

²⁹"Come," he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

³²And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

³⁴When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him ³⁶and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

Thanks for a "Fiddler" blessing

This was sent to me by Anjanette Wicker last week. After all the dancing in Fiddler on the Roof, the great music, the Fantastic Orchestra, the Real-to-life Cast, and the sold out crowds...It seemed very fitting to give God thanks for a very special blessing in my (our) summer.

Dancing With God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,
I kept seeing 'dance' at the end of the word.
I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.
When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.
The movement doesn't flow with the music,
and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.
When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,
both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back
or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another..
It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.
The dance takes surrender, willingness,
and attentiveness from one person
and gentle guidance and skill from the other.
My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.
When I saw 'G': I thought of God, followed by 'u' and 'i'..
'God, 'u' and 'i' dance.'
God, you, and I dance.
As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust
that I would get guidance about my life..

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead
and to guide you through each season of your life.

Fiddler Cast: Thank you for the shirt, the magic baton, & the Violin Ornament. Thank you for all the hard work and support. Well Done!

Fiddler Orchestra: Thank you for the Star Trek TNG season 1 & 2, for all the love, and for being awesome players. Well Done!

As the shirt says..."You know I love ya!" - Don

Friday Funny - Young Preacher

A young preacher was contacted by the local funeral director to hold a grave-side committal service at a small local cemetery for someone with no family or friends. The preacher started early but quickly got himself lost, making several wrong turns.

He arrived a half-hour late, the hearse was nowhere in sight, and the workmen were eating lunch.

The pastor went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place. Taking out his book, he read the service. As he was returning to his car, he overheard one of the workmen say: "Do you think we should tell him it's a septic tank?

Keep laughing! Happy Friday to you! - Don

The Attitude/Mood of God

I was at the Dr.'s office yesterday and there was a Time magazine on the table. It contained an article on "The Moods of God." I am not going to give you the link because it was not worth the read. (If you are that interested, google Time Magazine. It was in the last issue of July. Just remember it is total fiction.) The writer's presupposition is that we have multiple religions because God has mood swings. The God that I serve is more powerful, mighty, and consistent than to be controlled by "moods." The article made it sound as if we could watch God's mood ring and figure it all out...Good grief, people actually believe this.

The one identifying characteristic of the life wholly devoted to Jesus Christ is the attitude of a servant. Jesus was God! Think about that – Jesus was God. He needed nothing. He lacked nothing. He, God the Father and the Holy Spirit lived in perfect harmony and oneness. Jesus had nothing to gain and everything to lose by coming to the earth to redeem humanity from our sin. So what did Jesus do? Paul tells us that Jesus “emptied Himself.” In the New Living Translation we read, “Jesus made himself nothing.” Nothing. He who was everything, became nothing for you and me! Better news has never been heard! Jesus became nothing, so that we could receive everything He came to offer—life, eternal life, in all its abundance!

The Apostle Paul tells us to have this same attitude. When someone offends us, we are called to return love. When someone infringes on our rights, we are called to return love. When we have given everything we have to give—we call on God to give us the power to give more. The attitude of Jesus was humble servanthood. This is the opposite of everything our culture and Time Magazine tells us to be. We’re told to look out for #1 (meaning us) and Jesus says, “I am #1 and you must be willing to give up everything for me. Not only that, but every other person is to be treated as better than we are! The world says the one with the most toys wins! Jesus says, “The one who serves the most people wins!”

The true dividing line between Jesus Christ and the world is an attitude of humble service. Wherever we go as Christians we go as ambassadors for Jesus Christ, which means we go humbly, as servants. If we are to equip others to receive the transformation Jesus offers, the best possible tool for accomplishing that goal is an attitude of humble, submission to the will of God, and to serving others to His glory. In a world where everyone is looking for their rights. Jesus says, “Give up your rights and follow me.”

I am thankful for God's revealed truth in the Scriptures...You know I love ya - Don

A Creative God looks inward!

"But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

I am coming off of a long weekend. It has been a good weekend, with a great deal of hard work and intensity. We have had three major performances of Fiddler on the Roof with the R.W. Theater group and a great typical morning worship services with Solid Ground. It has been fun. I am very blessed...as I look around I see that God has surrounded me with good people with some extreme talent.

I am also not worthy of such a life. It is very humbling to look around and see so many people willing to follow, work hard, and dedicate themselves for a single goal. The community event is different in that we primarily focus our talent on a program of entertainment. At church, our primary goal is to declare God's worth in our lives by worshiping Him. The reality is that even in our community setting, as Christ followers, we are striving to express ourselves in unity, love, affection and in a creative spirit. Thus, we are created in God's image..."creative."

The above scripture text comes to mind for me because I am not worthy to stand in front of such people and direct. Yet, God continues to bless and allow me the privilege and honor to teach, direct, conduct, and lead. I am humbled by such a blessing.

My prayer today, "Lord, may I never take advantage of the true nature of a humble heart that only comes from you. You are a great God filled with joy, creativity, power and grace. You make all things new and bring life to all that you make. I ask you to bring your desires in all that I do so that the world around me will see and know that you are God. I leave it in your hands and declare my faith, in Jesus Name, Amen."


Thank you for reading and listening in on my thoughts today. Please know that God is interested your heart as well. God does not look at the outward appearances or the height of a person. God looks at the heart and character of a person. My prayer is for you too. You know I love you - Don