Out of the boat

This is one of the devotions that was intended to be shared on a recent short-term mission trip...a devotion which I finally relocated after I was back home from the trip.

Out of the Boat

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way^[b] from the land,^[c] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night^[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

²⁸ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹ He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind,^[e] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³ And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Questions to discuss:

·         Who do you most identify with in this story?

·         Boats were familiar and comfortable to Peter. At least most of the time. Was the boat a comfortable place in this story?

·         Has Jesus called you out of your comfort zone? Share about that.

·         Pray for each other about the call of Jesus to you to “get out of the boat” and come to Him on the water.

You give them something to eat

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵ Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” ¹⁷ They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸ And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹ And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Questions to discuss

Jesus keeps stretching the disciples as he calls them to new faith adventures.

·         What are some of the challenging elements in the story above?

·         How would you have felt if you had been one of the disciples there that day?

·         At what point do you think the loaves and fish were multiplied? In the hand of Jesus? In the hands of the disciples? Other?

·         How has Jesus called you to take the little you have and distribute it?

·         Have you seen Jesus multiply the “loaves and fish” you have placed in His hands? What are the loaves and fish in your life?

·         Pray for one another that Jesus would bless and multiply what we place in His hands.