JESUS WALKS ON WATER
Matthew 14: Herod had John the Baptist imprisoned because John told him that it was unlawful for him to have his brother’s wife. He really wanted to kill him but feared the people because they considered John to be a prophet. At Herod’s birthday party the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and because she impressed him so much he made a vow to her that she could have anything she wanted. She chose to have John beheaded and his head delivered to her mother. Herod reluctantly fulfilled her request, but only because he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of his guests. John’s disciples took his body away and buried it.
When Jesus heard of the event He withdrew to a solitary place and the crowds followed Him. He began to preach to them and as it was getting late in the day His disciples told Him to send the crowd home so they could eat. Jesus’ reply: “They do not need to o away. You give them something to eat.” But they explained they had only five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took the bread and fish, asked His Father to bless the food and supernaturally fed five thousand men plus their families. When they were fully satisfied the disciples gathered up twelve baskets of food.
Jesus told them to get into the boat and go to the other side and when they did He went up on a mountain side and began to pray. When the boat was a considerable distance from land a storm came upon them. All of a sudden Peter noticed Jesus walking on the water towards them. Peter said to Him that he would like to join Him on the water and Jesus told him to come to Him. Peter stepped out of the boat and was walking to Jesus until his faith began to weaken and he began to sink. He cried out for the Lord to save him, which He did, but not before admonishing him for his lack of faith: “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When Jesus climbed into the boat the disciples were truly amazed and exclaimed, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ When the boat landed many people came and Jesus continued to preach and heal them.
Again we witness so many supernatural powers of God at work. The one thing that impresses me the most is what faith can accomplish. When Peter obeyed Jesus without question he was able to walk on water because of his faith at that moment, but when he realized what was happening he began to waiver in his faith and it began to fail him at that point. I’m not saying it’s easy to accomplish but we need to have unquestioning faith, Jesus says, ‘believe’ and when we do we are saved, Jesus says to ‘ask and it shall be given to you.’ Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? Do you want to be saved? Believe it or not there are a multitude of people who could care less about their spiritual state. Mt heart cries for them, but not nearly as much for those who live in spiritual ignorance; people who are so strong in their unshakeable belief that the religious order to which they belong is the answer. But, alas, my dear friends it isn’t that simple. Or is it? It really is simple if you read the Word that God provided for us and as an example I will quote John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Friends, there is nothing more that I or any one else could add to that verse. Simply believe and you are saved. As Bugs Bunny used to say, “that’s all there is folks.”
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