Monday, June 30, 2014

A Fresh Start Week 5

But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’”
      Matthew 14:27

Jesus is quickly becoming very popular.   So he sends the disciples out in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee and he stays behind to pray.  Then suddenly, a storm hits.  The wind is howling, the waves are crashing against the boat and there it is, a ghost, walking across the water!  The disciples freak out, not realizing the “ghost” was Jesus.  But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’” (Matt. 14:27).

Fear is a lack of faith.  Throughout scriptures, both Old and New Testament, we are constantly told to not be afraid.  It is a sin to fear.  And why should we be afraid?  We have the almighty, all-powerful God dwelling in us!  In 1 Samuel 18:12 we see that “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul.”  We don’t have to be afraid of the enemy, or anything else, because the enemy is afraid of us!  We need to trust that God will protect us as He said he would.

So Peter gets a little courage, steps out of the boat and begins walking on water toward Jesus.  What an example of faith without fear!  But then, Peter starts to get scared, his faith turns to fear, and he begins to sink.   Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:31)

Jesus did the impossible and he used normal people like you and me to do the impossible.  All it takes is that faith to step out of the boat!  As you continue to fast and pray, be challenged to turn your fear, doubt, and uneasiness into faith.  Our God is a God who does the impossible, but it takes faith for Him to work in and through us.  Don’t ever give anyone a reason to say, “You of little faith”!

Prayer Requests:
  • Continue praying for Pam Camacho as she battles stage 4 cancer
  • Radical Jesus Summer Camp (Six78 and HSM)
  • Scholarship money for camp – We want students to go, but there is a cost involved.  So pray that we have enough money to send all the students that need help financially to go.
  • Vision and direction for Six78 Leadership
  •  Pray for Drew Anderson as he teaches Wednesday and Jarid Fagin as he teaches this weekend in Six78
  • Pray for The Attic.  God is doing a great work in this room and we want the enemy to have no place here.
Answered Prayers:

  • Scholarship money continues to come in!

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