One of the discussions centred around the story of Peter walking on water as described in Mat 14:28-31:
“And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
During our conversation, it dawned on me how this story is a great metaphor for the Christian walk.
When Peter says, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water,” Peter is responding to the working of Christ. A miracle. When God starts to draw you in to Him, this is a miracle. And we respond to this by following Him – stepping outside of our comfort zone and into a new faith. We don’t have all the answers and this can be visually depicted as walking out on a raging and stormy sea.
“So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” Do you remember when you first came to Christ? How you were ready to conquer the world for Him. This is represented by the “ludicrous” actions of Peter as he stepped out of the boat.
I remember quite well as the wife of the Pastor of the Church I was baptised in downplayed the zeal of the group of people I was baptised with. “They’re all just new Christians – reality will soon set in!”
She said this in such a negative undertone that I remember it to this day – 12 years later. The voice of a sinking person. I say “sinking” deliberately because of what happens next with Peter.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink….” This is what happens when we take our eyes of Jesus. Instead of his eyes on Jesus, Peter looks around and takes stock of the reality he is in, freaks out and then starts to sink.
How true this is for all of us? After getting over the euphoria of the birth of our salvation and being ready to conquer the world, “reality” sets in as we pay attention to the storms in our life.
Our work, marriages, responsibilities, failures and sin all take our gaze away from the One we initially fixed our eyes on. And the result is that we begin to sink. We experience defeat. And we start freakin out as to where we are and how we got there.
And at this point, the story turns. I strongly believe that God lets us carry on in our failures with the sole purpose of teaching us to rely on Him. Peter cries out, “Lord, save me.”
When you get to that point in your life where God strips away from you the realisation that you can never walk on water on your own, the most sane reaction is to call on the One who inspired you to take on this journey in the first place. Your Saviour.
And this is what I love – Jesus’ response. “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him.” Notice the lack of hesitation on the part of Jesus? He immediately saves Peter from sinking.
This is the nature of our King – ever faithful & always able. He knew full well the predicament facing Peter – just as He knows the predicament facing our own lives. He knows that He needs to step in. We just need to call out to Him.
In typical Jesus style, He uses this whole example to teach a valuable life lesson. You see, Jesus doesn’t seem to believe in redundancy. He will always use any life experience to stretch and grow us. It seems that the sanctification of our souls is a high and mighty priority in the mind of Christ.
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” These were His words to Peter as He snagged him from sinking. Though 2000 years have passed, I bet Jesus is still saying these words to you and I.
If only my soul and spirit could grasp this, I too can walk on water. However in my case case, the water represents sanctification.
As I sink on a daily basis, my hope is that I whole heartedly call out to Him…
One of my favourite passages of Scripture is the “road to Emmaus.” The gist of it goes something like this.
As the Jews were dispersing from Jerusalem following Passover Week, two blokes were walking to Emmaus – 7 miles away. All of a sudden some stranger tags along them and engages them in the most amazing dialogue anyone could fathom.
Passover week in Jerusalem began with thousands of people celebrating Christ’s entrance riding on a lowly donkey. Completely fulfilling Scripture, the King of the Universe rides on an "ass" as He enters His beloved city.
After close to a week of confronting the religious nut jobs, He is betrayed by one of his own and handed over to be illegally tried and sentenced to death.
Instead of celebrating His entrance into the city, much of the same mob now shout, “crucify Him!” He is beaten to a pulp, beard torn off and body parts hanging out of Him – beaten beyond human appearance.
Then He was made to carry a cross to His eventual place of execution – nailed through the hands and feet, lifted up and basically suffocated to death thanks to one of the most savage forms of capital punishments known to man – crucifixion.
Upon His death, dead people rose and walked the streets – in full view of the massive amount of tourists in town during Passover week. The curtain in the Temple was torn in two – exposing the most Holy of Holy parts of the Temple. The sky went dark and the earth shook with a mighty earthquake.
He was buried. His followers freaked out for their own lives and dispersed. And everyone was in a state of shock. Wasn’t this man supposed to be the Messiah? The One sent to liberate them? Reaching to a new height of influence – only to be brutally snuffed out by crucifixion.
Three days passed and rumours started to float that Jesus had risen from the dead. Freaky tales started by women who had witnessed an empty tomb.
Hearts skipped a beat and people started leaving Jerusalem to go home to their normal lives wondering, “what on earth has just happened?”
And it’s at this point we encounter the story of the “road to Emmaus” – recorded in Luke 24:13-24:
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
So we have two blokes walking to their home towns when suddenly, a stranger appears. They freak out at this guy because He doesn’t seem to register about the events which just happened.
And then Jesus responds with what can only be described as God’s sense of humour, “what things?” I mean c’mon. He has just been murdered and suffered a death you and I can only imagine and He responds with “what things?”
So Cleopas and his friend tell Him about all the things that just happened. Can you imagining how Jesus felt as He listened to what they said. I mean, it was He that just went through all these things. It was He who suffered and died at the hands of professional executioners. It was He who felt the wrath of God hammered into Him. It was He who, while dead in the flesh, went to some demonic prison and declared victory. It was He who brought Himself back to life. And it was He who said, “what things?”
I am so going to high five Jesus when I see Him for saying that! And then in typical Jesus style, He flips the conversation on it’s head by His response:
“And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Luke 24:25-26
And it’s at this stage where I wish I was one of the two men. You see, during this 7 mile walk, Jesus must said the most amazing things:
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27
7 miles of jaw dropping bliss. 7 miles of eye opening wonder. 7 miles of intense teaching from the author of the Scriptures you have based your life on. 7 miles of enlightenment which burned you up inside as you hear every penny drop as if it were a cannon exploding into your ears.
7 miles of conversation with the God of the universe. The very one who holds your life’s breath in the tip of his finger print. Walking and talking right beside you.
What strikes me is where He taught them from – Moses and the Prophets. All Old Testament! Pure and Divine commentary on that “old” part of the Scriptures many “modern Christians” couldn’t care about.
Here’s my rant, the next time I hear some Christian say, “yeah but that’s in the OT,” I think I’m gonna deck him. When Paul says that “all scripture is God breathed” etc, he wasn’t even referring to the NT because it wasn’t even in place when he said that.
I don’t belittle the NT at all. It tells the story of my King and the ramifications of His appearing in this ball of ours. Awesome stuff. But my gripe is with those that discard the OT as irrelevant.
When Jesus spoke to Cleopas and his buddy, He referenced OT writings about all the things “concerning Himself.” Wouldn’t you just have loved to be in earshot of this conversation?
Imagine the gems of insight you would glean as all the pieces of the puzzle are put in place by the author of the Book itself?
7 miles of life. 7 miles of conversation that made the hearts of the recipients burn. When was the last time you had a conversation with someone where you heart burned? Probably never – but then again, you probably never had the conversation with your Creator like these guys did.
And the story goes on. It’s beyond this post. Way too much to even begin to talk about. But that’s the nature of my King. He will grab your heart and your mind and He will expose you to the brilliance of His existence. And maybe, just maybe, your heart will burn also…(emphasis is mine on the issues which captivate me.)
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them.
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem.
And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
May I have my 7 miles with Jesus – this is my life’s greatest wish.
One song I can definitely relate to these days is Flyleaf’s, “I’m So Sick”. I’m not ignorant to the daily struggles I have as I live out my life.
Sure I have victories and many successes. At the same time, I get this nagging feeling that I am kept from my full potential by my own failures and the assault on my life from the enemy of my soul.
As a result of this, I frequently see myself as a sick person. I know what’s right and I want to go that way, but I am kept back by what seems as an invisible force. And when I try to tackle this on my own, I fail all the time.
Paul alluded to this in his famous passage in Romans:
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Rom 7:15-24
I take great comfort in this passage. If Paul went through this also, who am I to think that I wouldn’t. It’s like I have a war waging inside of me and I get defeated many, many times.
Like Paul, I “do not understand my own actions”. The very things that keep me a prisoner I delight in when it comes to my carnal nature. But it’s these thing that I hate.
Therefore I come to the conclusion that “sin” has a home in me. And that’s a sobering reality. And what’s even more sobering is that the lines between “doing what I want to do and not doing what I want to do” are so damn blurred these days.
This must be the “waging of war” inside of me and my rational response is that “I’m so damn sick!” This is a massive part of me and, if you were honest with yourself, you too.
This point is being driven home to me time and time again these days. Almost to the point where God wants to shatter me in my reliance of “self” – He is moving me to realise that “I am a wretched man.” And as much as that sucks, I know that I need to know this.
And with that background, I present to you the song that I so resonate with these days. Flyleaf’s, “I’m so sick”.
I will break into your thoughts
With what’s written on my heart
I will break
Break
I’m so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so sick. I’m so sick.
If you want more of this
We can push out, sell out, die out
So you’ll shut up (shut up)
And stay sleeping
With my screaming in your itching ears
I’m so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so sick. I’m so sick.
Hear it, I’m screaming it. You’re heeding to it now
Hear it, I’m screaming it. You tremble at this sound
You sink into my clothes. This invasion makes me feel
Worthless, hopeless, sick
I’m so sick, infected with
Where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so, I’m so sick
I’m so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I’m so (I’m so)
I’m so sick (I’m so sick)
I’m so (I’m so)
I’m so sick (I’m so sick)
I came across a great video by Christian artists Caleb & Sol depicting the Gospel in an awesome way. Focussing on the story of Barabbas – the murdering insurrectionist, the video does a great job in showing how we are set free in Christ due to grace and grace alone.
Barabbas, even though he deserved to die was set free as Jesus took his place on the cross. What a wonderful picture of grace offered to us in Jesus. Even though we are fallen and broken people and deserve to die, through Jesus, we also can be set free.
To say that I’ve been flat out with work lately would be to understate the situation. Fourteen hour days have become the norm for me lately.
As part of my job, today I had to drive 4 hours to a regional hospital for a 1 hour meeting and then drive back.
But the drive gave me the opportunity to listen to a tonne of Ravi Zacharia’s preaching on my iPod. I must have gone through about 8 of his sermons and have developed a great admiration of how this man thinks.
He became a Christian at the age of seventeen after a failed suicide attempt and has developed into one Christianity’s brightest sparks – especially in the area of philosophy and apologetics.
He routinely speaks on the coherency of the Christian world-view,claiming that Christianity is capable of withstanding the toughest philosophical attacks. And this is what I admire about this man – he systematically cuts down every argument stacked up against Christianity.
Someone may ask a question and he simply launches into a response. By the time he finishes, you just sit back and think, “Wow! The thought process this guy has is amazing!”
Have a look at the following video as a typical example of what I’m talking about…
And this is just a mild response. A few posts ago, I talked about the debate ABC Nightline recently had regarding the existence of Satan and a friend pointed out the Ravi should have been present to take on Deepak Chopra. Now I make no excuse for despising the world view Chopra has – he glorifies “self” above anything and everything.
Personally I thought Mark Driscoll handled him quite well. But he didn’t nail Chopra on some of his claims. Chopra has now released a new book called, “The 3rd Jesus” – a complete mish mash of Hindu/Buddhist and Christian teaching to make Jesus more acceptable in this “self” elevated world.
And Ravi has responded to this book – completely exposing the fallacies of Chopra’s claims as well as exposing the limitations of Chopra’s own understanding of the faith’s he embraces. I encourage you to listen to Ravi’s critique below.
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If you want to dig deeper into your faith and if you want proof the the faith we embrace can withstand secular assaults upon it, then I strongly encourage you to check out more of Ravi’s materials.
