Good weekend to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Let’s start today with a big question, are you ready? Do you find the uncertainty of the FUTURE exciting or terrifying?
We live in a world of unpredictability and for many people that motivates them to seek ways to minimize the uncertainty by trying to control as much of life as possible. But the truth is, we all have very, very little control over tomorrow or next week or next year. So, let’s rejoin Peter, John, the resurrected Jesus and 5 other disciples, for a last glimpse into what advice Jesus gives for living life with peace in a very unpredictable world.
Yesterday I left you in that shoreline breakfast scene found in John 21.
Jesus had just challenged Peter with two words which Jesus had used many times before with many different people: “Follow Me!” (John 21:19) Evidently Peter took those words literally, got up from where he was sitting near the breakfast fire, and together, resurrected Jesus and Peter began to stroll down the shoreline of Lake Galilee. We have little record of what they discussed. If it was important, the Holy Spirit would have led John to tell us. Here’s what I think IS important about these two walking together…
1. Peter was restored into reconciled relationship with the Jesus whom Peter had brashly denied, not once but three times, only hours after he had assured Jesus, he’d be willing to die for Jesus! That restoration gave Peter HOPE for living! (John 20:15-17)
May I ask… are you living in a fully restored relationship with Jesus which is giving you the confidence and hope to walk into your uncertain future?
2. Peter was commissioned by Jesus to a life of purpose… caring for, nurturing and serving those who would trust in and seek to follow Jesus, after Jesus returned back to heaven. That was not going to be easy, but Peter was excited he had a purpose and Jesus had invited Peter back on the team! (John 20:15-17)
May I ask… do you have purpose in your life? What’s your reason to get up in the morning with great anticipation that you have the potential to make a difference in our world during that day? God has that desire and design for EVERY person, that’s why God made you! Are you living your God designed purpose every day?
3. Peter had been warned by Jesus that the future was going to be sometimes difficult for Peter, especially near the end of his life. But Peter was confident he would never walk alone, God would always be with him, so Peter was willing to face a potentially frightening and painful future. (Matt. 28:18-20)
May I ask… does the future frighten you? Yes, as you and I age our bodies and maybe our minds will face health challenges, that’s part of aging! Do you trust that the God who created you knows how to sustain your life? And yes, the global economy is uncertain, but do you trust God to know your needs better than you do and are you confident God has all the resources needed to sustain your life?
What frightens you about the future, my friends? Does God understand it and does God have the power and resources to help you face whatever it is that frightens you? That is why Jesus did His miracles… to prove that He has unlimited power in EVERY situation!
As Peter and resurrected Jesus walked along, evidently Peter did what you and I often do. He looked back and found John was following them. Do you often look around to see how other people are doing in life and do you compare yourself to them? Do you make assumptions about them or their status in life?
Seeing John following them from a distance, Peter asked Jesus: “Lord, what about him?” Why do we do that my friends? Jesus and Peter were having a very significant, life future defining conversation, yet Peter got distracted comparing his future to John’s.
The response Jesus gave is important for all of us… “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow Me!” (John 21:22)
Let’s personalize that. Jesus might be saying to you and me “If I want him to be successful financially, what is that to you? If I want them to live with very good health till the day they die, what is that to you? If I want them to have children and grandchildren who love and honor them, what is that to you?”
What is it my friends that you find yourself jealous of when you look at other people? Do you see how that envy can undermine your relationship with Jesus? Do you see it can cause you to turn away from trusting God? It can lead you to try harder to control your own destiny, accomplish your agenda, reach your goals without God?
Jesus wasn’t being harsh with Peter, Jesus was inviting Peter to gain a world view, a life perspective that the relationship Jesus wanted with Peter is unique to Peter, and the same is true for you and me! The future path God sees for each of us is unique to WHO He designed us to be and WHAT God wants to accomplish IN and THROUGH each of us for HIS great glory and for the attainment of our maximum potential in life! Now ponder that for a moment. If you own that statement, it may change the rest of your life and kill the anxiety and worry about the future which haunts you!
John concludes his story in John 21 declaring that a rumor started based on what Jesus had said to Peter about John. It was a rumor that John wasn’t going to die! Now of course there would be no way anyone would know what Jesus had said to Peter about John unless… Peter must have told someone.
Perhaps Peter retold the story of that stroll with Jesus on the shoreline so he could do what I’m trying to do. . . encourage you and me to face the future WITHOUT fear, WITHOUT anxiety or worry. How? By ‘walking with Jesus’ every moment for the rest of your life!
I wonder if Jesus then might have stopped and said to Peter. “Look back in the sand, do you see our two sets of footprints as we’ve been walking together? Remember that! Now look forward, do you see the shoreline is pure and clean before us? Imagine. Peter, those same two sets of footprints continuing from this spot where we stand right now, all the way into eternity future, never ending!”
That, my friends, is how God wants you and me to see the future, walking side by side with Jesus, every day, for the rest of our earthly lives, and then continuing that stroll in heaven forever! With that perspective, what do you see out in your future that Jesus won’t understand, or Jesus can’t handle, or will simply be overwhelming to Jesus?
The key in facing our future with confidence is facing it with Jesus, fully confident in HIM! Right? That’s why it’s vital that you and I prioritize nourishing, nurturing our relationship with Jesus, and so I invite us to spend some time right now talking with Jesus about the things that cause us anxiety about the future! And let’s worship Jesus with this song my friends…
Today’s Scripture is John 21:19-23.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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