Matthew 14:31
   One of the easiest things to miss in this verse is, to me, the greatest blessing. Peter still had to walk on the water on the way back to the ship. The winds and waves did not change when Jesus caught him. He did not somehow become oblivious to them. Many might say that it required no faith at all to walk on the water with Christ back to the ship. I would say, you had better try walking on water before jumping to that conclusion. Indeed, the lesson that Peter had to learn here is that it took faith to depend upon Christ whether Christ was holding his hand or not. It was still the power of Christ alone that got him out, and back in again.
   The other thing to notice here is that Jesus did not let Peter sink. Though he questioned Peter’s lack of faith, he immediately helped him in his time of need. This is a lesson for us. We sometimes think that those who are weak in their faith should be left behind. Instead, as Christ shows us, we should nurture them and bring them along the way of faith.

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 29:1-31:21

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:17  “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your leading. You don’t blast us. You nurture us. You care for us. You give to us. You treat us like children, not servants. Though we for our part should remember we are Your servants, we can be thankful that You treat us so well. Father, You are amazing! You make everything that is good what it is. You cause the sun to rise, the moon to shine, and the rivers to flow. Thank You for the joy You have put into our hearts through Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man making a lot of decisions right now.

Journal Entry 13242

Matthew 14:30
   Though we can easily miss it, this verse teaches modern Christians two very important lessons. First, we see the situation that Peter finds himself in. How many of us would even find ourselves in such dire straights? Would we be attempting something that dangerous? Would we find ourselves in a situation with faith in Christ was the only path, and all other paths could possibly lead to death? Indeed, would we risk our neck for a leap of faith? So, the lesson here is that, though headstrong and impulsive, Peter does not come out of the boat without Christ’s approval. In other words, Jesus was not opposed to this kind of action. He did not stand in the way of Peter’s attempt to trust his power completely, even though he knew that Peter would falter. How many of us would even try to begin with?
   The second lesson is much like the first and follows it. Peter, when he left the boat, did not know what would happen. He did not yet know that he would falter. Yet, he stepped out. He believed that he was ready. He felt certain he could make it to Christ’s side. But, he didn’t, as we see here. Many in our day might say he didn’t have enough faith. In fact, many might say that you should have a certain measure of faith before you attempt too much for God. Apparently, Jesus doesn’t agree with them. He knew Peter would fall, and yet he allowed him to come out of the boat. We have this idea that we cannot do anything for God unless we have mammoth faith. But, how will we learn faith, if we never even try to believe, or feel comfortable with stepping out of the boat?

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 25:1-28:27

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:17  “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the lessons you teach us in Your Word. It is so good to have a book that is so relevant and applicable to our daily lives. We see in it real examples of real people who were no more great or amazing than we are, and yet we see their faith. Oh Father, may we trust You as we say we do! Our faith is based on Who You are, so it has a strong foundation. You are the most dependable person there is. Thank You for Your faithfulness to us! You are amazing in Your patience with us and Your love towards us. You are so holy and just, and yet You make us holy and just through Your Son. How wonderful! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man who just had a job interview. Pray for man and his wife who are recovering from emotional distress. Pray for two young girls going through a difficult time. Pray for a woman and her daughter who are both very ill.

Journal Entry #13241

Matthew 14:29
   This is one of those glorious moments in the life of the believer when we see the fruit of our faith. It does not always happen, nor does it happen often, yet it is a great encouragement to us. In spite of the fact that Peter wavered and had to call out for help, he could always look back to this day and be encouraged because he could see what was possible if he would only trust Christ.

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 21:1-24:27

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:17  “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to trust You, because You are trustworthy. We can never thank You for all of Your blessings, but we will keep our mouths filled with Your praise. You are holy, just, pure, loving, gracious, merciful, patient, and kind. We could never overestimate Your greatness. Thank You for all that You do for us. Even if You never did anything for us, You would still be great, but it is such a blessing that You are so good to us. Thank You for Your love! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man two men with health issues. Pray for a woman going to the doctor today.

Journal Entry #13240

Matthew 14:28
   Explaining why Peter did what he did would be nigh impossible. In many instances, Peter did or said something, just for the sake of doing it. He was quite impulsive, and his actions did not always make much sense. However, as we can see here, he was the leader, and had, though little, the most faith of all the disciples. His impulsive answer to Christ is bold enough that it wins him a chance to illustrate his faith, though he did falter. Though many might say it is better to stay in the boat, at least Peter was the only one to ever walk on water beside the Lord himself.

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 18:1-20:37

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for making our lives so much better through Your mercy and grace. You could take a far less interested view of us. You could stop working on our behalf. You could quit spending so much time with us. Yet You do all these things, and more. Thank You! We can depend upon You in spite of every storm. We can look to You no matter what may come our way. You are worthy of our trust, and of all our praise! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a man having trouble with his shoulder. Pray for a man with cancer. Pray for a man having treatments for lung cancer.

Journal Entry #13239

Matthew 14:26
   The Jews were, just as many other peoples in history, somewhat superstitious. The would avoid sneaking up on each other at night so as to avoid making their fellows think that a demon was about. They were very wary about what they might see at night.
   Thus, rather than thinking of Christ at all at this time, they, being exhausted and distracted, thought they were seeing a ghost. How else could the walking on water be explained? And so, faithlessness will lead us to many wrong conclusions. We must try not to be too hard on the disciples. Likely as not, had we been there, we would have been scared too.

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 9:1-12:16

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this day. We often take for granted all of the opportunities we have to serve You. We think of our time as ours, and forget that it belongs to You. Yet spending time serving You is a great blessing to our lives. You are worthy of our service as well as our praise. Thank You for Your many blessings! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a family that just lost a loved one. Pray for a man having bypass surgery performed. Pray for a woman who is going to the doctor for her heart.

Journal Entry #13237

Matthew 14:25
   This particular miracle of Christ has always stuck out to our modern minds. Indeed, many even today use the idiom ‘he can walk on water’ to refer to someone that can do something remarkably well. This miracle impresses us greatly. Yet, it was quite unexpected, and not a common practice of Christ. We might have the idea that one who had the option to walk on the water would do so whenever he had the opportunity, but this was not at all the case.
   Indeed, the disciples did not expect this at all, which shows us that Jesus had not done such a thing before. We also have no record that he ever did it again. Thus, just as the disciples, we must not miss the lesson of the miracle for the grandeur of it. Jesus trusted the Father completely. He walked out to the disciples on the water to show them that he was in control of the situation, no matter what storm might come along. Thus, since Almighty God is in control, storms should cause no more fear than a calm sea might.

Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 6:1-8:18

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your presence in our troubled seas. We are so thankful for Your role in our lives. The Lord Jesus makes us feel so reassured. The Spirit comforts our hearts in the middle of the worst conflicts. You always know how to help us get along better than we ever though possible. You are amazing and loving. How can we ever praise You enough? You are worthy of every breath. You are glorified above all. You are wonderful! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a team of missionaries who just returned from France. Pray for a young family who just found out they are pregnant. Pray for a man having several procedures done to help his body accept a new liver.

Journal Entry #13236

Matthew 14:23
   Prayer was very important in Jesus’ life here on earth. He takes the opportunity to pray after this amazing miracle. It seems that Jesus may have done this for several reasons. One of these may have been that he wanted to focus upon the task at hand, the goal of his coming. He surely wanted to talk to the Father about the events of the day and the future of his disciples.
   He spent a lot of time in prayer that night. Even if he did not get started praying until 11 pm, and likely he started long before that, he would have prayed at least four hours straight. Matthew tells us he finished around the fourth watch, so at least 3 am. Assuming he started much earlier and finished later, he may have spent as much as eight or nine hours in prayer.

Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 27:1-29:30

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:15 “Whosoever hateth his brother is a muderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.“

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are so impressed with ourselves sometimes. We think we are so close to You, and know You so well. Help us to learn from Christ. He knows You, and we should follow his example. You are so wonderful, and so You are worth spending time with. If we know You, we may very well ned to talk to You about things at length. Father, the great thing about You is that You listen to us when we come to You with he right attitude. Our words mean something to You. You care for us. Oh, thank You for being the way You are! You are extremely holy, but You are also so merciful! Thank You for Jesus Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman who has swollen legs. Pray for a man who is in a secular psychiatric facility. Pray for a man with kidney stones.

Journal Entry #13234

Matthew 14:22
   This verse is full of unexpected things. All of the Jews, the disciples included, failed to understand the goal of the first advent of Christ. They thought, especially after this miracle, that Jesus was surely the Messiah, and that he would be breaking the yoke of the Romans and setting up his kingdom. Thus, the focus was upon force. The Jews were ready and ripe for vengeance upon their enemies.
   Jesus, on the other hand, knew what he had come for. He had a time of getting the disciples to get into the boat, and then had the task of calming and dismissing the multitudes. Only his authority and their respect for it accomplished this. If he had not acted very decisively here, things would have gone much differently.

Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 24:1-26:32

Scripture Memory: 1 John 3:15 “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for another day to sing Your praises. You are so wonderful to know. It is impossible to underestimate the impact You have upon our lives. Thank You for Your mercy and grace and love. You are so kind and good to us. Thank You! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Prayer Requests: Pray for a couple of women who are not feeling well. Pray for a man who will be seeing the doctor today about his prostate cancer.

Journal Entry #13233