Matthew 14
July Memory Verse: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
Read: Matthew 14
Matthew 14 shows us:
And the part I’ll focus on today - Jesus walking on water and Peter following the same in faith… for a while. Peter took his eyes off Jesus to look at the wind, which probably refers to Peter noticing the big waves caused by the wind. And then he became afraid and sank.
What I take away from this text is not so much that we should keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus – of course we should – but the power that we will receive if we do. Hebrews 12 calls us to “look to Jesus”, as we shed every weight and sin which clings so closely and run our race with endurance. Jesus is our endurance! Look to Jesus, never stop looking! Simple, right? I truly do believe this in my head, but I find that I struggle to act like I believe it sometimes throughout the day, day after day. Do you have that same struggle? Do you find yourself sinking into the water of doubt, anxiety, habitual sin?
If keeping our eyes on Jesus is what will give us the power for victory over our sin and accomplish great things for Christ, then what does it look like to keep your eyes on Jesus? The Bible is filled with instruction on this, but a good primer can be found in Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Be in God’s Word, worship in song, worship in your prayers, be thankful, memorize scripture and talk it back to God throughout the day, “be constant in prayer” (Rom.12:12). If you only do this on Sunday, that may go well for you, but how about on Monday when you don’t?
What disciplines have you put into place to help you fix your focus on Jesus every day?
Who in your life do you meet with regularly to help you keep your focus on Jesus?
By: Chuck Vellios
Read: Matthew 14
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace
Matthew 14 shows us:
- A bit of what’s going on inside Herod’s head as a result of his killing of John the Baptist
- Insight into how Jesus processed the grief upon hearing of John’s death
- Jesus’ miracle of feeding a multitude with almost nothing
- Jesus miraculously healing people
And the part I’ll focus on today - Jesus walking on water and Peter following the same in faith… for a while. Peter took his eyes off Jesus to look at the wind, which probably refers to Peter noticing the big waves caused by the wind. And then he became afraid and sank.
What I take away from this text is not so much that we should keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus – of course we should – but the power that we will receive if we do. Hebrews 12 calls us to “look to Jesus”, as we shed every weight and sin which clings so closely and run our race with endurance. Jesus is our endurance! Look to Jesus, never stop looking! Simple, right? I truly do believe this in my head, but I find that I struggle to act like I believe it sometimes throughout the day, day after day. Do you have that same struggle? Do you find yourself sinking into the water of doubt, anxiety, habitual sin?
If keeping our eyes on Jesus is what will give us the power for victory over our sin and accomplish great things for Christ, then what does it look like to keep your eyes on Jesus? The Bible is filled with instruction on this, but a good primer can be found in Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Be in God’s Word, worship in song, worship in your prayers, be thankful, memorize scripture and talk it back to God throughout the day, “be constant in prayer” (Rom.12:12). If you only do this on Sunday, that may go well for you, but how about on Monday when you don’t?
What disciplines have you put into place to help you fix your focus on Jesus every day?
Who in your life do you meet with regularly to help you keep your focus on Jesus?
By: Chuck Vellios
3 Comments
Thank You Chuck!! It reminds me to not give up. You’re going to side step and stand still at times. Know how to come back from that and move forward. I love that the disciples immediately celebrated the TRUTH of who Jesus was once everybody was in the boat.
Great message! This is another one of my favorite passages in the Bible: Jesus walking on the water. It is a reminder to me to seek Jesus instead of the circumstances, especially life in a COVID-19 world. It can be tough at times. But this story reminds me to look to Jesus!
Thank you, Chuck. I especially appreciated the reminder of the power we would receive if we would just keep our eyes on Jesus! This was encouraging for me to not give up, but to persevere!