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You are Not a Pro Yet

October 2, 2024


Hey Clawson Family!


Song:




Scripture:


Matthew 10:5-8 New Living Translation


5 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, 6 but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. 7 Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.[a] 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received!


Matthew 14:29-32 NLT


29 “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong[d] wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.


31 Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”


32 When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

Matthew 17:14-20 New Living Translation


14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”


17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.


19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”


20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[a]”


Matthew 28:18-20 New Living Translation


18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”


Devotional:


Step 3 in learning how to fly when skydiving is doing 24 jumps independently with an instructor. The instructor watches, corrects, and coaches you. Jesus does the same type of thing with the disciples. He is about to send them out to fly independently, and he is giving them some corrections. In Skydiving, when you get to this point, especially after your first couple of jumps by yourself, there is this temptation to think you know everything and to be overconfident about your flying skills.


I will never forget the most embarrassing moment that I had skydiving! I had started learning to fly, getting some maneuvering down in the air, I did some 360s, some tracking, and I was getting a little bit confident and cocky.


On jump 8, when I left the plane, I was completely out of control. I never got stable in my fall. At 10,000 feet, I began to spin out of control, and I could not figure out why I was spinning or how to stop! Finally, at 7,000 ft, my instructor told me to go ahead and pull my parachute. I did not pass jump 8. I failed and had to retake it.


It wasn't till I got to the ground that I figured out why I got out of control. I didn’t know; my instructor had to show me. When I jumped out of the plane, I never looked up at the plane. I was looking down the whole time, which caused my body to go downward instead of arching like it should. This caused me to spin out of control. If I had not had my instructor watching me, I would not have known what the mistake was that I made, or how to fix it.  


Back to Jesus and the disciples: Jesus taught them the fundamentals and shared with them who He is and the good news. He also showed them what it looked like to heal many people and cast out demons on multiple occasions. In Matthew chapter 10:1, it says Jesus gave the disciples the authority to heal people and cast out demons, and then in verse 5, Jesus sends the disciples out to fly.


The disciples now begin to fly on their own, with Jesus still overseeing them on Earth. They begin to see God use them to do amazing things. They begin healing people, casting out demons, and preaching that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.


But just like me with skydiving, during their 24 jumps, they make mistakes and need some instruction from Jesus. Matthew 14, we will call this Peter's jump 14. It is this incredible story of Jesus and then Peter walking on the water. There is a storm going on around the disciples as they are in this boat. Jesus comes walking on the water to them. Peter says to Jesus Lord if it is you, can I come walking to you.


The crazy part is that Peter was not scared to get out of the boat; the fear gripped and paralyzed him when he was already doing the impossible and walking on the water. He had already gotten in the plane, jumped out, and was flying on his own, and Jesus still had to give him instructions and remind him to walk by faith and trust Him.


The reason that I think this point is so crucial for us to hear and be reminded of is because sometimes, when God begins to use us, there is this temptation to get cocky and confident in ourselves like we are the ones doing something. We can easily allow a little pride to set in. This training reminds us that God has given us oversight through pastors, leaders, mentors, His word, and the holy spirit to keep us in check. We have to continue to train, and we need to listen.


Journal: 


Write in your journal, one way you can be more open and responsive to God’s correction in your life.



Training:


Lord, 


I open my heart to Your correction. Forgive me for ignoring Your discipline in my life. Thank You for loving me enough to guide me to truth and steer me away from sin and error. I will seek to obey Your commandments. 


In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 


Is there something the Lord is correcting you about today? Don’t harden your heart. Accept His words of correction and reap the peace and wholeness that comes from obedience


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