New beginnings/getting through life's struggles: A well known evangelist of a few year ago wrote a book entitled "How to get through your struggles"; it was about giving money to the Lord,s work and if you gave you could expect something back and since about everything can be fixed with money that would help you through your struggles. And wouldn't you know it' this particular evangelist made it easy to give to his ministry; sort of a prosperity doctrine. Don't get me wrong...I like to prosper too, nothing wrong with prosperity. However I think the evangelist was prospering the most. But this entry today is about struggles, life's struggles. The disciples of Jesus in Matthew ch. 14 were struggling; the Bible says they were toiling in rowing. They were out on a really rough sea, the wind was against them, the boat was without doubt filling up with water too. Some of them were likely bailing as fast as they could and they were far from land.
Have you ever been in a situation like that. I can remember as a boy, having grown up on an island, times when the boat we were in(it was probably a dory)was going nowhere even though we were toiling in rowing but we were never far from the shore, however it was a relief when we got in close to the beach and relative safety. Life is like that sometimes; unsafe...unpredictable, plain old hard work, bills pile up, sickness comes, children get unruly maybe, worse still marriages fail and families break up and life is one struggle after another. Jesus' disciples were
in that storm and it was hard...there was a huge storm last night that stretched half way across North America and we are sitting home as a result instead of winging our way to the vacation spot we are supposed to be at. The storms of life can be pretty big sometimes and can really upset our plans as well. But out of seemingly nowhere comes Jesus walking on the water and gets in the boat with us and immediately the storm ceases to exist and we find ourselves high and dry ....safe on dry land on the other side of the storm. He did it for the 12....why not for you? Look to Him and be saved. There's a song that simply says "give up! give it over to Jesus, (repeat two more times) and He'll make a way for you.....I believe it

New beginnings//Peter…If I can take certain liberties as far as favorite disciples are concerned, I would tell you that Peter is probably the one I have always liked best…not to say that I don’t admire all of them in a special way. But Peter has always been so, well, human I guess, if you know what I mean; he is so much like the guy I see in the mirror. Impulsive? Yes. Opens mouth, inserts foot…I think you get my drift. Ready to defend Jesus at all times, or so he thinks. Cuts a mans ear off while intending to cut off his head; he would have been in big trouble for that, if they could have proven it, but Jesus eliminated all the evidence because He reached down and picked up the ear and put it back on the man’s head…only God can do that. Jesus spent a lot of time getting Peter out of trouble; He really must have loved him. It was only a few hours later that Peter denied his Lord ,not once but three times.
Ah!, Peter; I’ve failed God so many times I can’t count them all, I guess I can’t remember them all but then neither can He, Hallelujah! Peter walked on the water but then his faith slipped a little bit and he began to sink…Jesus rescued him; he cuts off the ear…Jesus rescues him again
One time after Jesus had been preaching to a crowd of thousands (this was back in the days before mega churches and television); they had been with Him listening to every Word for three days, He said , I don’t want to send these people away without something to eat. So to make a long story short’ He performed another miracle like He did when He fed the five thousand men plus women and children, only this time it was four thousand plus, it was after this that He asked His disciples a question…”Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “One of the prophets” that was the easy answer…but then Jesus asked another question…”But who do you say that I am?” Now is the reality check, now it is personal, now is the question every man, woman and child will have to answer in all sincerity and in all honesty if we are ever going to make it to heaven and Peter is the man who gives the answer…”You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Look at Jesus reply from Matthew 16:17,18 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it”.
What Jesus was calling “this rock” was the confession that Peter made and that was “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said “Peter, you are blessed”…it wasn’t Peter’s revelation but God used Peter to proclaim this profession. Peter became one of the greatest preachers who ever lived. Look what he says in his first letter to the Christians who were dispersed in various regions…1 Peter 1: 18,19”For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. “
This was Peter’s confession..what is your’s?

The disciples were afraid and cried out in fear when they saw Jesus coming towards them walking on the water. You need not be afraid when God pours out His Spirit. When God comes to you in a miracle you need not fear. Sometimes people miss the visitation of the Spirit because they fear the manifestation of His Presence. One out of 12 people stepped out in faith that early, early morning in the midst of a raging storm...Peter alone said "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you". That's probably a pretty good percentage, really 1 out of 12 who want to be part of a miracle. How about it today, church as usual or get out of the boat? I ,personally want to see a manifestation, a Divine visitation and in order to receive it I may just have to get out of the boat in the midst of a storm. I might slip under the waves for a moment or two, but with Jesus nearby, it will be safer than staying in the boat.
It was at their darkest hour that Jesus came walking on the water. Now He wasn't just out for His early morning stroll. He was there because they were His own and they needed Him...it wasn't just some sort of lucky break...they were at their lowest ebb, they were toiling in rowing and getting nowhere fast. The wind was against them, it was what mariner's call a head wind.
Sometimes our Christian walk may seem like that, toiling, working, praying for a loved one and there doesn't seem to be any answer, no changes, just a head wind. Then all of a sudden, Jesus comes walking on the water...only at first it doesn't look like Him, it's as if He were a ghost. You might even think that you are losing it...your friends may think you are losing it, some might even make fun of you or misunderstand you. The other 11 disciples probably thought that Peter was going off the deep end (no pun intended) after all he was always jumping into the water; perhaps they even thought they had a fanatic on their hands. Impulsive...yes, but he did it! And even though Jesus chided him a bit for losing faith for that moment, I think He was feeling good about the fact that Peter had the faith to step out of that boat; he did have the good sense to call out to Jesus in his hour of need. We need not chase every new doctrine that comes our way; every new so-called revelation. Just because so and so who happens to write a book and who happens to be well known comes out with some new idea about God ...we had better check with God before jumping ship. Make sure it is Jesus. But when we know that it is the Lord then we can ask Him to bid us come to Him, It is I he says, don't be afraid. It is a whole lot safer to be out on the water walking with Jesus than to be in the boat without Him. Peter had such a desire to be with Jesus, such a passion for Him, he was willing to step out of the boat, to leave his comfort zone and go to Jesus no matter what the circumstances were and for a few moments, he walked on the water, for a few minutes he walked above his circumstances. For a few minutes he walked on water. For a few minutes he was part of a miracle ...not many can say that.