Has Jesus Ever Told You to Get Into the Boat?

Holy Land Picture of the Day

Hills above the Sea of Galilee Today's picture is a panoramic view from the hills above the Sea of Galilee. It reminds us of the account of Jesus' activities in Matthew 15: 29-30; "Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them" “Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.” (Matt. 14:22). There are several types of Scriptures in the Bible. There are the ‘awesome’ verses, the ‘unbelievable’ verses and there are the ‘life-changing’ verses.  I had just gotten my orders that Uncle Sam was going to send me on a visit to an exotic place called Korea.  Out of thirteen newly graduated Air Traffic Controllers, eleven went to such dangerous places as Miami, Southern California and a couple to Washington.  The other was assigned to Germany and I got the short stick – Korea. At this point in my life I was what one might call a Laodicean Christian.  Religion was more of a convenience than a way of life.  At the time I thought my mother had ‘slipped me a Mickey’ when she arranged a meeting for me to spend some time with her pastor.  I must admit on arriving I was more than a nervous wreck.  He was a pastor that others called a pastors pastor. I can say with no reserve he was the most Godly man I had ever had the privilege of spending time with.   As I was preparing to leave he gave me a tract that he had written titled “Contrary Winds”. I carried in my wallet throughout my Korean experience and until it literally disintegrated in my wallet twenty or more years later.  A tract that I still share many times with people that were going through wilderness experiences. It began with a question, “Do you think Jesus ever had a bad day?”  The story of one of those days is found in Matthew 14 when he learned that His cousin, John the Baptist, had been murdered by Herod to satisfy Herod’s lust for his step daughter.  Jesus loved John with a special kind of love.  He said there was no greater man ever born than John the Baptist.  He did as you or I would have done if we lost a very special friend, He withdrew to the mountain to be alone and mourn for His friend but the mobs would have no part of it and came to Him.  Matthew wrote, “He had compassion for them”.  That is the way Jesus Christ was and the essential ingredient He wants His children to have.  Verse 14 tells us after Jesus healed the sick and evening had set in,  his disciples came to him and told him the people were hungry and there was not a Burger King or Mc Donald in sight.  There are some pastors who believe Jesus already had a plan in place for feeding the 5000 and families and his comment “You feed them” was merely window talk.  But Pastor Stoll made a strong point that is not what Jesus had in mind for them or for us. He asked me a question that I have pondered many times since that day.  Pastor Stoll asked, “Do you think the disciples had the power to feed the multitude of people?”.  What do you think?  If God said to you this morning go and feed your neighbor, even though you have no idea how to cook, do you think God’s power in your hands is sufficient?  (Cont.) Blessings,  Gramps