“Loving the Master”
Luke 5 and Matthew 8 highlight the importance of obedience and great faith.
Simon tells Jesus, “But if you say” I WILL go back out there and try again. The power in HIS WORDS reminds us that God is into the details. Every letter of HIS WORD is precise, just like the mountains, rivers, and oceans He created.
Golfers understand a simple millimeter off-center on their driver can send the ball 40 yards offline, OUT OF BOUNDS, off-track! One degree off-center is the difference between a make or a miss on their putts. Likewise, one word from our doctor can shake our faith, or a bad week in the stock market can take our 401K down to a 101K causing great anxiety to all of us. (this week has proven that)
BUT, HIS WORD says, we serve a God who supplies all our needs according to His riches and glory. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, we need to TRUST Him, even when we don’t understand. The Bible speaks of Job, who trusted even when things didn’t make sense. He’s still God over cancer, bankruptcy, divorce, and addiction. He’s our healer, provider, counselor, and deliver.
This week fans all over the world will watch with great anticipation — The MASTERS, arguably golf’s greatest event. Last year, we were blessed with tickets for the week. I remember arriving early on Friday, but every parking lot was full. I ended up paying $25 to park a mile away and was thrilled to stand for eight hours, walk 15,000 steps, battle a 20 mph wind and I treated my bride to a pimento cheese sandwich for lunch. We shopped the tent and spent far too much on merchandise and I was pleased to hear Stephanie say “This was the greatest date ever!” What a memory! We were INSIDE the GATES! We could have watched on the TV, but the CAMERA CAN’T CAPTURE All that goes on INSIDE…(talk to me about livestream v.s. inside the church walls)
Saturday, Kaleigh walked over seven miles in a boot after ankle surgery, scouring all 18 holes in this “MUST see it all” environment. Halle and her husband, Michael, went on Sunday, stayed until the last putt was made and post-tournament interviews were completed, and fought 40,000 people in traffic only to, “Sunday at the MASTERS was the ‘greatest event ever!’”
There’s something so urgent about being inside the gates of Augusta. The beauty, splendor, and aura are unmatched. It’s like a little piece of Heaven. But if you change the word “Masters” by one letter to “Master”, it transforms the meaning. The centurion soldier told Jesus, “MASTER, just say the word” and my servant will be healed. Simon, tired and defeated, obeyed saying, “MASTER, I’m tired, but if you SAY the word, I will go back out there and try again.” The result was a massive REWARD! (a record catch of fish) There is always a REWARD for doing RIGHT! Obedience is greater than sacrifice.
Our family put incredible effort into attending The MASTERS and taking every bit of it in! Maybe you are a football family— arriving early, tailgating, and paying a premium for seats. Are we putting the same effort into our relationship with our MASTER, our Healer, Provider, Counselor, and Deliverer? Do we make time to read the Word, and spend time in devotion and prayer, or do we come to church late, leave early, and sit in the back?
We love The Masters, but are we truly serving the Master? I want my faith to “amaze” the Master, and I want to believe big, for the impossible. I believe what this Word says. If our prayers aren’t intimidating to us, they’re probably insulting to Him.
Things are different inside the gates of Heaven, and I want to make sure we all get there. We need to trust Him with our fears and anxieties, with our finances, and even with our political differences, knowing that the Master is still in charge.
Let’s put our plans in His hands and trust the “Master.”