Devotion
Keep Our Eyes on Christ
Chipo Biti
Fear and doubt are two of the major things that will interfere with our relationship with God if we give them the room to do so. In this scenario, in Matthew 14:22-33, Jesus had just show the disciples that he was able to walk on water. This should have shown them that he was capable of doing pretty much anything. Walk on water? Take a second to really think about what that means. Sometimes, our minds tend to normalize these miraculous feats. Think of the lake. Picture the disciples in the boat when suddenly, they spotted their leader walking on water as if he were walking on the ground. That sight is enough to send your heart right into your throat.
One can understand why they were scared. The disciples had never seen such a sight before. I'm pretty sure if you were to see someone walk on water, you'd be pretty freaked out too.
Peter boldly spoke out and asked Jesus to call him out onto the waters. Jesus did and Peter got out of the boat. For a while, he walked on water too. He was walking on water the same way Jesus was walking on water! His eyes where focused on Jesus in the midst of this supernatural feat.
Things started to go wrong when he lost sight of Jesus and started to focus on the wind. Fear filled his heart and his faith left. When fear interferes with faith, it makes it hard for us to take a leap and follow the will of God. We end up focusing on the wrong things. Fear makes way for doubt. Once doubt makes a home in our hearts, it becomes very hard for us to chase it out.
Prayer
We need faith in order to be saved. We need faith in order to fulfil the call of God upon our lives. When we keep our eyes focused on Jesus - who is the author and the finisher of our faith - the journey becomes possible.
Night Prayer
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Inspiration
We despise the thought of a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. The outside is easy to clean; it's the caked-up residue on the inside that's so difficult to remove. Jesus compares the scribes and Pharisees with dishes that have been wiped clean on the outside while dirty inside. The Pharisees took exceptional care of their outward appearance and neglected their inward spirits. We are guilty of allowing our hearts to be left filthy as well. We look and act as we should while our souls are full of darkness. We must continue to converse with the Holy Spirit daily and trust His guidance to cleanse our sinful nature.
Prayer
Dear God, Please forgive our sinful nature. We yearn for cleansing from within, so we are genuine witnesses to Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
