Greetings Foothills family!

I had the privilege of playing a year of basketball for the varsity team in college.  I took up basketball later than most guys did, so I wasn’t as adept at the game as most of my teammates were.  My role was that backup center.  When it was my time to play, my job was to play stout defense, and grab rebounds.

I also remember there were numerous times when my coach was in my ear about playing harder or rebounding with more intensity.  It was difficult to take sometimes, until I realized that the coach did that with the players he felt were either very good, or had potential to be very good (I was definitely in the latter group).  Once I made that realization, I “looked forward to” the coach being in my ear. I knew that it meant he believed in me.

In Matthew 14, we find the story of the disciples in a boat encountering Jesus on the Sea of Galilee. To their amazement, they find Jesus walking on the water.  Simon sees Jesus and asks Jesus to call Peter out to walk on the water.  This is a significant inquiry.  Remember, to be a disciple of a rabbi meant that you were learning to do what the rabbi can do, know what the rabbi knows, and be what the rabbi is.  Simon was taking this seriously!  He sees his rabbi Jesus walking on water, and he believes he can do the same.  And Jesus rewards his faith! Simon walks on water for a bit before the wind causes fear to short circuit his faith.  As he is sinking, Simon cries out to Jesus to save him.

What happens next is very interesting.  Jesus says to Simon, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”  Notice, Jesus didn’t say anything to the 11 disciples who remained in the boat.  If he did say something to them, it would have to have been, “You 11 of no faith!”  Yes, Jesus is “in Simon’s ear” about his doubt, but this isn’t much different than a coach being in the ear of a player on their team that they believe in.  In his words to Simon, Jesus is acknowledging that Simon did show faith.  What might be looked at as a scolding also contains praise.  This is significant because it is Simon who Jesus later calls upon to lead the 12 disciples in spreading the gospel to the world.

This Sabbath, we will be blessed with a message of hope from Paul Hoch on the life of Simon Peter entitled, “Solid As A Rock!” As you prepare for this message this week, I want to remind you of Hebrews 12:6 which says, “The Lord disciplines the ones He loves…”  If you find yourself focusing on the discipline part of that text, I encourage you to also remember His love for you and His belief in you as you surrender to the Spirit!  

Don’t forget, God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!

Pastor Chris