Get out of the boat,,,,,,,

Greetings!!

Many years ago a Pastor preached a sermon on faith called, "Get out of the boat".  That sermon stuck with me and has taught me many valuable lessons about faith and always keeping my eye on Jesus.  When we keep our eye on Jesus and do not let the turbulent times of the world distract us, we can do anything,, including walking on water.

There are a lot of good scriptures in the bible regarding having faith, including this one.  Please read with me Matthew 14: 22-33.  This is from the New King James Version.

²² Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. ²³ And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. ²⁴ But the boat was now in the middle of the sea,^[a] tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
²⁵ Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
²⁸ And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw that the wind was boisterous,^[b] he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
³¹ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
³³ Then those who were in the boat came and^[c] worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

Take a good look at that scripture.  Peter had faith to get out of the boat and walk to Jesus.  He was walking on water.  But he let the turbulent waves distract him from Jesus and he began to sink.  In life today, we can get through those turbulent times in our lives that want to distract us and make us take our eyes off of Jesus if we just ignore them and keep focused on the Lord.

Jesus tells us, he will never leave us nor forsake us if we just call on Him.  He also says, Fear Not, for I am with you!!  We are told multiple times in the bible, Do Not Fear!!  So why do we??  Satan attacks us and constantly tries to put doubt in our minds, but do not listen to him, for he is the king of lies!!  Since the beginning Satan has always used doubt and lies as an attack to get us away from God.  The next time he attacks you and throws turbulent waves to distract your eyes from the Lord, focus on Jesus, say his holy name over and over and Satan will have to flee!!

I know, a lot of things are easier said than done.  It takes work, concentration and faith to keep Satan at bay when he attacks.  But it is not impossible!!  If he does manage to knock you down, pray while you are there, then get back up on your feet and move forward, trusting more and more in the Lord.  To build faith we need to be in fellowship with other faith believing people.  We need to support each other and encourage each other in their faith walk.  One a brother or sister in Christ has a weak moment we should not criticize but should support, encourage and lift him or her up in prayer.

It is my prayer that you grow stronger every day in your faith walk.  Trust in the Lord always, knowing that this time on earth is but a short one and you will have treasures in heaven for your obedience and faith.

Until next time,,,,,,,blessings!