Jesus Walks on Water: Matthew 14:22-33

 Greetings!

Have you ever heard the fascinating story of Jesus walking on water? It's one of the most intriguing miracles in the Bible. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus appeared to his disciples, struggling to keep their boat afloat during a stormy, turbulent night on the Sea of Galilee. Still, the disciples saw Jesus' walking on the water towards them amid all the chaos. 

Wow! What a sight to behold! It sounds like a good ghost story; keep reading to see if it is one.

Jesus defies nature and walks on water, causing the disciples to react with fear and confusion. Surprised, they exclaim, "It's a ghost!" But Jesus quickly restates their concern with a reassuring message: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Jesus reassured them and invited Peter to come out and join him on the water. Peter stepped out of the boat and walked towards Jesus, but when he saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. Jesus caught him and said, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 

Why do you think Jesus asks Peter about doubting? What did Peter doubt? Have you ever doubted God's voice in your life?

In the Christian tradition, walking on water is seen as a miracle, representing Jesus' divine power over nature. However, the story's Symbolism goes deeper than just demonstrating Jesus' supernatural abilities. Word of God reveals powerful and memorable narratives to empower and enrich our Christian faith, teaching us valuable lessons about trusting God.

 

In walking on water, Jesus also demonstrates his trust in God and willingness to believe in impossible situations to accomplish His will. A deeper inquiry into the water reveals the chaos and uncertainty of the world in an attempt to overcome various storms in life, such as financial difficulties, health issues, relationship problems, career challenges, and more. Jesus provides the impetus that if we believe in impossible, seemingly out-of-this-world situations, we too can overcome these storms and bring order back to our lives. 

Furthermore, the story provides a metaphor for the pilgrimage of faith. As Peter begins to sink when he takes his eyes off Jesus, we, too, can lose sight of our faith. But by keeping our sight of Jesus and trusting his voice, we can embrace the strength required to endure the storms of life.

Overall, the Symbolism of Jesus walking on water is an eternal reminder of the importance of faith, courage, and trust in God, especially when facing challenges that would swallow us up.

Remember that God's voice is always beckoning us to come closer to him in our relationships with him and others. 

It's true that where we are in our relationship with God can significantly impact our ability to stay focused on the voice of Jesus. Even when the winds around us are strong and seem like they will consume us, having a solid connection with God can help us stay anchored and focused on His guidance. We must nurture our relationship with Him through prayer, reading scripture, and seeking His will.

Becoming A Water Walker,

Minister Sylvia Joyner

 

You Are Valuable: The Parable of the Lost Coin Luke 15:8-10

 8 "Or what woman, having ten silver [a]coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (NKJV).

Greetings,

Jesus often taught using stories as parables. 

The directional focus of the story is to help change the hearer's heart and mind through transformative storytelling. For instance, like us, Eve desired to do God's work, but she listened to an unauthorized authority in her misplaced desires. Too often, we hear and submit ourselves to others who have no power in our lives. To move from the problem of indecision and disobedience, we must listen and act on what God is saying to us about us. It is just that simple: choose whom you will serve this day.

The parable of the missing coin is the second of three stories, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost boy Jesus used to help His audience understand that lost people are valuable to God. However, His message also teaches that an individual cannot have a nonaligned relationship with God. 

                                   Essentially, you are either lost or found. 

                                   There is no middle ground with God.

Powerful thought is that the parable teaches that just as this woman diligently searched for her one lost coin, God diligently seeks to find lost people, even if only one is lost. Jesus shows that there is a spiritual meaning to the word lost. It represents the spiritual condition of being separated from God and disconnected from the source through which it was formerly a part of. 

The cultural aspect teaches that a married woman wore what is referred to as a drachma (Luke 15:8), a valuable coin often worn in a ten-piece garland by married women. 

Have you ever lost something? In the process, tear the house up, looking for it? The diligent searching for the lost item is its sentimental value or a gift given to you for a special occasion, or perhaps it reminded you of a time when you were young. Whatever the reason for searching, it had value to you.

Luke 15:8c-"…Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?" Another aspect of this parable is that Luke 15:8c calls attention to her actions in looking for the lost coin. She takes thoughtful consideration in using the tools at hand, namely her broom, to sweep the house carefully for the lost coin. 

In Luke 15:9-10, And her finding the lost coin, she implores her friends to rejoice with her. Through her diligent search, the lost coin is no longer missing and celebrated with rejoicing as when "one sinner who repents" sums up the transformative result of being restored to a right relationship with God and His love for lost individuals. 

An important lesson to remember: the scriptures reveal God's transformative examples of restoring individuals to a place of light rather than remaining in darkness.

Again, spiritual emphasis, our responsibility as believers of the gospel is to share the gospel with those who are lost so they can be restored or brought back into the right relationship with God. 

John 1:3 reveals this thought; we were created to fulfill the purpose by which God's handwork has furnished. Stanford adds that God's work is spiritual and demands spiritual people to do the job (Stanford, p. 69).

A Valuable Servant,

Minister Sylvia Joyner

Footnotes:

Luke 15:8 Gr. drachma, a valuable coin often worn in a ten-piece garland by married women.

Miles J. Stanford, 69.

New King James Version (NKJV)

Solid Relationships...Leadership....Effective Team Ministry (PT. 1)

 Greetings,

Relationships are important to God as evidenced by God (the Father), Jesus, (the Son) and Holy Spirit. According to the scriptures, each function according to the role and responsibility established by God the God Head. MacMillan (2001) notes that solid relationships are one of the characteristics of effective team performance (MacMillan, 2001, chapter eight).

Temple reminds that the goal of teams in ministry is to make disciples and that without goals and a valid mission becomes a social club (Temple, 2019, part 2).

In consideration of MacMillan and Temple's discussion, this writer's value statement promoting the value of solid relationships among team members believes that an effective team ministry requires an intentional development of team members submitted to working together in commitment to each other, communication that is positive and respectable, and collaborative relationships not solely as individuals, but through a team effort objectively geared toward a common philosophy of winning souls for the Kingdom as mandated by God for the Church in Matthew 28:18-20. This value statement is in effect the ministry team’s way of staying focused on what is important to the team and what is not important to the team. 

Some key essentials undergirding this writer’s value statement is that building the ministry team is:

·         Intentional and effective in what the team believes.

·         Teams achieve greater goals as team members rather than as individuals.

·         A Team is on body with diverse talents and skills.

·         Teams have specifically geared skills that help enrich and build the team united in

·         its scope.

·         Team building is positively grounded in one body, with one common philosophy (Temple, 2019, part 1).

The question asks can teams be effective without solid relationships? This writer says no because, as the name states, it is team ministry, not solo ministry. Lowe and Lowe (2018) research discovered patterns of mutual submission are witnessed through ecological systems, growing not in isolation but rather thrive in "interconnectedness" (p. 37) and communal models of "interrelationships" (p. 37), results-producing assigned "nutrients and resources" (p. 37) benefiting the whole system (Lowe & Lowe, 2018, p. 37).  For example, the parable Mark 4:26-29 illustrates the teaching by Jesus that each person plays an active role in the growth of the Kingdom; however, through the collaborative efforts of a man working with God that produces a harvest (Lowe & Lowe, 2018, pp. 42-44).

Secondly, are teams limited by the level of genuineness and depth of relationships, or the lack thereof, among team members? Yes, teams restrict their potential to create healthy relationships when cultivating healthy relationships is not the team's value. For instance, Temple (2019) stresses that teams that lack relationships among groups produce weak areas in the team's building. Moreover, cultivating healthy relationships should be the objective all Christians seek equally in their individual and working relationships. Understandably, working with others is not an easy task, but with God's help and willingness to forge forward, success is achieved.

Bountiful Blessings,

Minister Sylvia Joyner 🎕

References

MacMillan, P. (2001). The performance factor. Unlocking the secrets of teamwork. Broadman &

Holman.

Temple, T. (2019). Building the ministry team part 1. [Video]. https://libertyuniversity.

Temple, T. (2019). Building the ministry team part 2. [Video]. https://libertyuniversity

Lowe, S. D., & Lowe, M. E. (2018). Ecologies of faith in a digital age: Spiritual growth through online education. IVP Academic.