Peter stepped from the ship to the sea...

"Why did you doubt me?" - Matthew 14:31

Jesus called Peter to join him on the water.  Peter steps out on the water, takes a few steps, and begins to sink.  He freaked out.  Peter kept his eyes glued to Jesus and trusted him enough to step out on the water.  But then he had second thoughts and started to go down.  He yelled "Save me Lord!"

Jesus asked "why did you doubt me?"  Jesus had proved himself over and over again to Peter, but Peter still let his circumstances (wind and waves) to distract him.

Hmmm, this is just a story.  It has nothing to do with my life.  NOT!  What has Jesus done for me?  He has been faithful.  I should know by now that I can trust his heart.  

I can keep my eyes glued to his and take the scary step out onto the waves.  I can even take a few steps, but if I look around me at the wind and waves and lose his gaze, I'm going down.  

I love how Jesus immediately reached out a grabbed him.  Then he asks the question, "Why did you doubt me?"  Can you imagine what Peter said next?  i bet it went a little like "well, i, uh, I, errr, uhh, waves, mmmm, I, You, uh...."  I bet Jesus simply hugged him at this point.  I think Jesus is slightly humored by our stupidity sometimes.  (I'm sure it's frustrating, but a little funny too)

How I wish I had been there.  Of course I would have been one of the other guys hanging on the boat for dear life.

Summary - through the scary parts in life keep your gaze locked with his.  If you do falter simply call out to him and he will IMMEDIATELY reach out and help you.  

Disturb us, O Lord

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.

Sir Frances Drake - 1577

I feel like this is the state that we are in today.  Our dreams are coming true.  Our prayers are being answered because we are praying safe.  Dare we ask God to do the impossible?  

What is my dream?  Is my dream to be married, have some kids, and live a long life?  Well, yes.  Will it come true?  Probably.  

DREAM BIGGER!!!

What should my dream be?  To make a difference in the world?  Um, yes.  It seems like a canned response but it's what my dream should be.  My dream is to live like Christ.  To exhibit the kingdom.  To love like He loved.  

My dream should not be about position or material gain/comfort.  My dream should be an unatainable goal.  Dream big.

What would it look like if every Jesus follower took on this substantial dream?  Christ's love would come pouring out of us.  It is contageous.  Jesus always had people (read: sinners and tax collectors) following him around.  There was something about Him that was captivating.  He did not judge.  He did not rebuke them.  He loved them.

Can love really change the world?  Yes!  How do I start?  By loving.  Love is epidemic.  

My dream is to love as Christ loved.