“Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.” – Matthew 14:28-29 (ESV)

Have I ever told you about Mike?  Mike goes to out church, and he is on fire for Jesus.  I mean absolutely 100% sold out for Christ and not shy about it.  He reaches out to guys in jail, homeless folks, people society would just as soon not have to deal with.  And he does it with great boldness for God.  If you ever have to ask Mike how he feels about the Lord, you weren’t in the same room with him. 

Or we’re not talking about the same Mike.

When I asked Mike what inspires him to be so bold, he shared with me the storms in life that Jesus brought him through.  And he quoted from Jeremiah:

If I say, “I will not mention him,
   or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
   shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
   and I cannot. – Jeremiah 20:9 (ESV)

Then he reminded me of Luke 7:47, which says that those who are forgiven much, love much (and vice versa). 

I sometime wonder exactly what prompted Peter to come up with the idea of asking Jesus to call him out onto the water.  While that is the subject of another blog piece to come, I do know this much – it required boldness on Peter’s part.  Try to imagine being Peter, sitting on that rocking boat, the waters swelling and churning all around him, the winds screaming, all his friends fearing for their safety.  What boldness it must take to think one could possibly walk on water.  The audacity! 

And yet… he did just that.  Peter sought the Lord, and Christ beckoned him.  And Peter walked atop the choppy seas. 

Well… briefly.  Alas that, too, is for a future blog. 

For today, I simply want to encourage all of us to be bold in doing God’s will.  Love boldly.  Serve boldly.  Pray boldly.  Seek boldly.  Share boldly.  Believe boldly.  Don’t let the world tell you “no.”  Don’t let circumstances (or your perceptions thereof) dictate your every move.  Don’t let doubts sway you.  Simply be led by the Holy Spirit and go where He leads, do what He instructs.  Boldly.

We are called to follow Christ, to do His will.  And that requires boldness.  How is the Lord leading you to be bold for His Kingdom today?