Walking by faith isn’t easy, especially if it means walking on water! In this week’s Bible story, Jesus had just finished feeding more than five thousand people. As the crowd began to leave, Jesus instructed his disciples to go on ahead to the other side of the lake. The disciples followed Jesus’ instructions. The Bible says that Jesus went up on a mountain to pray. Evening came, and soon the disciples found themselves fighting a mighty headwind. By morning, they were far from land, but then something totally surprising happened—the disciples saw the figure of a man coming toward them, walking on the lake. “It’s a ghost!” someone exclaimed. Then Jesus made himself known: “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s really you,” Peter said, “let me walk out to you on the lake.” Jesus invited Peter to come. Peter took a few steps onto the surface of the water, but when he looked at the wind and waves, he began to sink. He called out to Jesus, “Save me!” Jesus reached out and grabbed him and said, “You of weak faith! Why did you doubt?” It is easy to read Jesus’ words as a stern rebuke. Perhaps they were, but maybe not. Now let’s reread Jesus’ words and imagine those words being given with a smile and a wink. Even a little faith is better than none.
Is it really the amount of faith we have or what we put our faith in that makes the difference? People put their faith in lots of things every day. We place our faith in how much money we have in the bank. We place our faith in how our interpersonal relationships are going. We place our faith in vehicles to get us from point A to point B each day. There’s nothing wrong with putting faith in these things, but sometimes we fail to examine where we are placing our faith. Peter was challenged to examine where he put his faith. In that moment, he chose to place his faith in Jesus. Because he did, it allowed him to do the impossible: to walk on water. We may not see large-scale miracles occur often, but in a little way every day, we can see how our faith in Jesus can protect us. Like the disciples, we can hear Jesus say, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Since the Arizona thermometers were over 110 degrees all week, our children need a little respite from the heat! Our Sunday school lesson offers up ice boat races, ocean slime, gummy bear popsicles, and water games.
Is it really the amount of faith we have or what we put our faith in that makes the difference? People put their faith in lots of things every day. We place our faith in how much money we have in the bank. We place our faith in how our interpersonal relationships are going. We place our faith in vehicles to get us from point A to point B each day. There’s nothing wrong with putting faith in these things, but sometimes we fail to examine where we are placing our faith. Peter was challenged to examine where he put his faith. In that moment, he chose to place his faith in Jesus. Because he did, it allowed him to do the impossible: to walk on water. We may not see large-scale miracles occur often, but in a little way every day, we can see how our faith in Jesus can protect us. Like the disciples, we can hear Jesus say, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Since the Arizona thermometers were over 110 degrees all week, our children need a little respite from the heat! Our Sunday school lesson offers up ice boat races, ocean slime, gummy bear popsicles, and water games.
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