7-27-2025

Good Morning All,

          Matthew 14:29; “He said, “Come.” So, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”

    With a summer heat wave well under way, much time is spent at the pool or at the lake or somewhere near water.  In this world there are two kinds of people, floaters, and sinkers.  There are those people who go into the water and can swim almost from the time that they are born.  Then there are the people like me; those of us who sink straight to the bottom.  Trust me, I know this, I’ve done it a time or two and was fortunate to have someone there to bail me out of some serious trouble.  Floating is impossible for me; sinking is really easy.

   That is part of the reason that this verse fascinates me.  Here we have Peter just getting out of the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee has an average depth of 85 feet, so some places are a little deeper and some places a little shallower.  Peter just got out of the boat.  Yeah, he sunk like a rock but he got out as Jesus called to him to do so.  Peter got out of the boat.

    How about you, when Jesus calls, do you “get out of the boat?”  Most of us are “safe Christians.”  We go to church; we put money in the collection plate.  We take our turn at teaching Sunday School or being elder or treasurer.  We take food to the potluck and buy from the kids for the fundraisers.  We are safe in our boat.  We are safe in our life.  So, what happens when Jesus calls to you, “come, get out of the boat?” How do we respond?  Often times we try and deflect it.  After all, there are people who are trained for that or paid for that or at least are better skilled at that than I am.  I can’t talk to my neighbor or with the people I work with; what will they say?

   Our problem, our fear, is the same as Peter’s was.  Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm.  We do the same thing.  We look at the world, at its opinions and we listen to those who scoff and attack our faith and we can’t even get out of the boat.  We keep our faith squirrelled away, safe, and quiet.  Yet Jesus keeps calling you to get out of the boat.

    We always need to remember that Jesus is always greater than any wave in our life and he won’t give us a task that he hasn’t already made a path through it for us.  Our only need is to trust.  We need to have faith that God will give us the power to move through our challenges.  God gives us the strength to get out of the boat; to leave the old behind and walk with him in faith into and through the struggles of this life.  We can trust God to get us out of the boat safely and securely in his arms.

Dearest Father, too often we like the safety of the boat and we miss the walk with you.  Give us the courage to follow you and to live the life that you have laid out for us.  Give us the joy that comes from trusting you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret