Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from the group Phillips, Craig, and Dean singing … He’ll Do Whatever It Takes … poignantly singing of how Christ is there to lift us up from our selves … IF … we’re willing to trust in Him.
=============
Highlight Verse[s]: Matthew 14:30-31 [NLT] … 30 But when he [Peter] saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. … 31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
… And do we know that Jesus is always there, reaching out for us in the storm?
==============
Highlight Passage [context]: Matthew 14:22-33 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus reaches out to save Peter, sinking in the storm after walking on water with Jesus.
=============
Reference Passage : … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… In trusting in God, in all situations, we must beware of our own feelings and selfish fears.
Reference Passage : … Isaiah 41:10 [NLT] … 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with My victorious right hand.
… But do we have faith that our Lord will do just that?!
Reference Passage : … Luke 9:23 [NLT] … 23 Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. …”
… We have to be willing to give up our own way to humbly and faithfully follow Jesus.
Reference Passage : … Revelation 3:20 [NLT] … 20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. … “
… Jesus so desires to have fellowship with us; … but we’ve got to open the door by faith to Let Him into our lives.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Julie Schwab, used a few life situations which distract us from our trust/faith in God to illustrate how we can wane in our faith as the circumstances of life engulf us. The ODB author wrote: Sometimes life gets busy—classes are hard, work is exhausting, the bathroom needs to be cleaned, and a coffee date is on the day’s schedule. It gets to the point where I force myself to read the Bible for a few minutes a day and tell myself I’ll spend more time with God next week. But it doesn’t take long before I’m distracted, drowning in the day’s tasks, and forget to ask God for help of any kind.
The highlight passage from Matthew 14 where Jesus came walking on the water to His Disciples in a horrible storm. … Peter was rescued from the waves as he went out to walk on the water with Jesus. But he sank because of his weakened faith, which illustrates our faithlessness at times doesn’t it? Jesus, as in the linked song sing, is willing to do whatever it takes to bring us to Himself; but as the truth of Rev. 3:20 reveals, we’ve got to have the faith to open the door of our hearts to let Him in when we hear Him knocking, … especially in the storms of life.
Peter, in the highlight story, was able to have the faith to get out of the boat when Jesus called Him to Himself, but his faith waned when he saw were he was in the storm; and he sank into the waves. if we can have the faith to let Jesus come into our lives during our storms, or to step out of our boat into the storms of life, KNOWING that Jesus is always there for us to lift us up (see Isaiah 41:10), then He will do just that for us, … even saving us when sink beneath the waves of our storms.
=============
My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for always being there for us in the storms of life.
=============
My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … O Lord, forgive my weakened faith. Lift me up, Lord! … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment