Water-Walker!

During this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Shane made a profound statement about water-walking (paraphrased here): Peter was walking towards Jesus, and Peter was walking with Jesus.

In the sermon we were reminded that we are dependent: dependent on God's grace, dependent on Christ's work, dependent on the Holy Spirit's presence. Pastor Shane used the analogy of a car: without fuel, the car will not function properly. To paraphrase our pastor again, the Holy Spirit fuels us for the journey through life and gives us the ability to stay focused on Christ.

One of the common indictments against the church is that we talk a lot about Jesus, but we don't open ourselves to be influenced by His Spirit in our everyday lives. We try to journey through life on our own... and we fail. To extend the car analogy, our car radios may indeed be blasting Christian music, but our spiritual gas tanks are empty. And, as time progresses, the empty gas tank becomes evident to all. We sink into doubt, despair, idolatry, and debauchery. We speak of Christ not as our intimate Lover, but as an abstract concept. We rail and strain against winds we can neither pinpoint nor control.

In other words, we revert to what we were before we met Jesus: sick individuals filled with the smell of death.

Where is life? It is in authentic prayer, received by our Lord as a fragrant offering (Revelation 5:8). It is in knowing and trusting the word of God (Proverbs 3:5-6). It is in loving Jesus and believing in Him (First John 5:12).

Jesus, Conqueror and Overcomer and Lover, my life is in You. My gaze is fixed on You. You have my full attention and complete adoration, always. In the midst of the winds and waves, I walk towards You and with You. Holy Spirit, help me to stay fixed on Christ, so that I might never revert to what I once was. I ask this in Jesus's name. Amen.