Lessons learned from Peter walking on water

“Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. 
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” 
And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” 
So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 
Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

- Matthew 14:25-33 (New King James Version)

It takes some guts for someone to get out of boat in the midst of a heavy storm and walk on water based on the suggestion of a single man. Peter showed bold faith by stepping out to the water and beginning the walk towards Jesus…

It should be noted that Peter only began to sink when he had lost sight of Jesus. He began to focus on the waves press about him, and as a result, his faith wavered, and he began to sink.

This story came to mind earlier today as I finally broke down and began to reach out for something to hold on to I continued to sink further and further into frustration and exhaustion…frustration from continuously having to fight the same problems in my life over and over and over again, and exhaustion from the simple cause of finding it hard to continue on fighting…

As I sat there and thought about it, I realized something. I realized that I was losing sight of what needed to be my one focus. Like Peter, I began to focus on the waves crashing around me, and as a result, I began to sink. Rapidly in fact. In response to this realization, I did the only thing I knew was right. I reached out. I prayed the same words that Peter once cried out when he was sinking. “Lord save me! (verse 30)”

Having reached that critical point where I realized that I was focusing on all the wrong things, I refocused my thoughts and concerns to one thing and one thing alone: worshiping/praising my Savior. Bringing myself to a point where there were no distractions and it was only me and God.

It was certainly a touching time for me…and there was some things that God brought to my attention that I definitely need to work on…but from that moment on, my day began to take a much more positive turn. With my mind settled at least for the time being, I could think and act with a clear head. It had a dramatic impact on my day.

I also think of Joshua 1:9:

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

I realized that I just need to keep walking, keeping my thoughts and attention focused to only thing: Him.

The Bible asks for us to “seek first the kingdom of righteousness"…

Seek the solution…father than focusing on the circumstances. Focus on the destination, rather than the obstacles than can deter you from getting there…

Coffee and conversation stimulates the mind

Seriously. There’s definitely something about those two things that really get the mind going.

That’s why I love coffee shops. It gives you the best of both worlds in place.

I’ve been wondering why Christians in general have such a huge attraction to coffee shops…I don’t think it’s directly related to the stimulation of the mind; more along the lines of us not having too many other places to hangout, being morally responsible and all. Many times, I have found that my best writing and thinking tends to occur while typing away on free internet at a coffee shop. I’m not exactly sure why, but I don’t really mind. I think it has something to do with the atmosphere. With the jazz music, and soft buzz of conversation around me, I helps ease my mind and allows me to think more freely.

Sorry for the seemingly mindless rant, I’ll continue on with the actual intentions of this blog post.

So a friend of mine remarked the other day about a particular verse that seems to popping up around us in the recent weeks.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”   Romans 12:1-2 (New King James Version)

So I began to think about this verse and it’s implications. While it’s not mentioned in the New King James Version of the text, the New International Version mentions “worship” rather than “reasonable service”. In case you haven’t following some of my previous writings, I’ve been doing a study on worship, and this verse frequently appears in that respect.

The verse brings a few things to the mind, the first of which is our tendency to reserve our bodies for our own purposes and service. This is clearly unbibilical, and is destructive to the relationship that our Father has established with us.

The second thought, involves that of the mind (so we ended up full circle with the start of this post anyway, talking about the mind). As being “born again” in Christ, our minds to be renewed and fashioned in a manner that is pleasing and acceptable to God’s will.

What thoughts are we holding back from God? What are the things that dwell within our minds that He have attempted to hide from God?

Let us “be transformed by the renewing of [our minds]”…

David put it best:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;
        Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
        And lead me in the way everlasting.”   Psalm 139:23-24 (New King James Version)

Let our hearts, minds, and bodies be submissive to His perfect will.

PS: It has now been doubly reinforced in my mind. Coffee shops stimulate the brain…

Some advice

The results of yesterday’s election has much of the Christian Conservative community in distress…

I admit to being worried as well of our future, but some words from a friend of mine reminded me of a few verses:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
      And lean not on your own understanding; 
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
      And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”                Romans 13:1-7

Let’s all take heed of God’s word…

Worship

I spoke today at the BCM on worship.

God has really been laying this stuff on my heart. I am honored and blessed to finally share with it you.

Click here to download a printable PDF with the notes

(This requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or any other PDF reading application)

Edit: fixed an issue with the download link where it was wasn't working

Hey you: Vote

Yes, you.

Reading this blog.

Vote. Vote today. Vote now.

Do it.

(If you've voted already, then kudos)

If you don't vote, don't let me hear you complaining.

Vote.

Philosophy on Worship

I have shirt that I wear often that says “Worship” on it in Hebrew. I got it at a Jason Morant concert I attended recently (great artist BTW). Before this past Monday, I used to put that shirt on in the morning and not give much thought to the words that were on it.

Worship. What does that word mean?

No. It isn’t just singing and playing with instruments.

Worship is a lifestyle. Worship is devotion.

I went to see Phil Wickham and Steve Fee in Shreveport last Monday (I wore that shirt to the concert). It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. When I closed my eyes, all I could see what this humbled, broken Man, nailed to the cross, with the weight of the world’s sins on His fragile shoulders. It was incredible. It was worship. I’m not talking about just singing…

I’m talking about being overwhelmed in the presence of God.

Worship isn’t just something that we do every Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (or whatever days you go to church/ministry activities)…it’s something we are to live and breathe each and every day of our lives.

Worship can be seen as whatever we dedicate our lives to (devotion).

God commands us to worship (devote our lives to) Him and nothing else.

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture, 
And the sheep of His hand.” Psalm 95:1-7a

The point of worship being something beyond singing songs and attending church really hit home for me when I was running the words for BCM Worship (Revolution as we call it). I had a conversation with a good friend of mine only a few days prior about not being able to “worship” while I’m sitting there pushing the arrow key to go to the next slide.

But as I was sitting there, doing that exact thing (pushing  buttons), it occurred to me that I was enhancing someone’s worship experience, and was contributing to the cause just as much as the worship leader or the guy who was speaking. Yeah. Just by pushing buttons on a slideshow program, I was worshipping God.

Wait, what? That’s pretty crazy.

Worship is something that we can do beyond singing and playing instruments and getting in front of a bunch of people and delivering messages from God. It’s showing your true devotion to the one true God by actions, words, and thoughts that glorify Him. What do you glorify in your life? Is it God?

Remember, worship is devotion. Worship is surrender. Worship doesn’t begin with Sunday morning, it begins and ends with everyday, every moment of our lives should be considered a potential to worship our God.

iWorship…

I’ll be writing more about this topic as I continue to explore it…

To Whom it May Concern: You’re right

It’s extremely hard to admit to anyone when we’ve screwed up. We hate owning up to our responsibility because it wounds our pride. I was so consumed in my self-righteous pride that I nearly missed a key lesson that God was trying to teach me.

A few days ago I wrote a short blog about minding your own business, using 1 Thes. 4:11 as the crux of what I was trying to say. But a friend of mine (for whom I have the utmost respect) confronted me about my need to eat my own advice.

“Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts.” ~1 Thessalonians 4:11 (Message)

I decided to involve myself in this person’s personal business. To this person: you’re right. I should’ve minded my own business. Clearly, God was trying to tell me something through this verse, and I kind of passed the verse along to others rather than taking a look at it myself, like I should have.

This is a public apology to you and to all my readers. For the sake of my friend’s privacy, I won’t reveal their name, but I hope they read this and feel confident in the fact that I will be going out of my way to make sure I eat my own advice, even if it needs to be forcefully shoved down my throat.

I apologize for being a hypocrite, and for not heeding my own advice. I hope this is a suitable apology, if not, contact me and allow me to apologize in person.

"Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” ~Ephesians 4:29

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
         Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
         And lead me in the way everlasting.” ~Psalm 139:23-24