Lord of the Storm

Lord of the Storm

SCRIPTURE:

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4:35-41

OBSERVATION:

After a long session of teaching, the Lord tells his disciples to go over to the other side of the Lake of Galilee, leaving the crowd behind. Exhausted after His long discourse, the Lord quickly falls asleep. Although the trip across by boat would have taken only about less than 2 hours, the Lake was quickly beset by a furious storm. Due to the surrounding topography, torrents of wind rushing down the mountain passes occasionally would stir up a furious storm with raging waves at very short notice, threatening the small boats on the lake. With waves swamping the boat, the disciples were in great fear for their lives, and quickly woke Jesus and cried to Him for help. “Teacher, don’t you care that we are drowning?” (Mark 4:38) “Lord, save us, we are perishing.” (Matthew 8:25)  

But the Lord simply stood up and rebuked the wind and the waves “Quiet! Be still!”, or more literally “Shut up! Be muzzled!” as if asking a dog to be quiet. Turning to His disciples, the Lord then chastised them for being afraid and faithless. The disciples were absolutely terrified, asking each other “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him?”

APPLICATION:

Even the wind and the waves obeyed Him!  Through this incident, the Lord showed His disciples His absolute divinity, His completely authority not only over demons and diseases but also over nature itself. He showed them beyond all doubt that He is truly God. Just as in the time of Moses when God showed His awesome power over nature in the plagues that befell Egypt, He now showed His awesome power over nature through His Son Jesus Christ.

For us today, the storms are a symbol of great troubles that may fall upon our lives at various intervals. These storms may come in the form of economic troubles or natural disaster, family problems or sickness and disease. Whatever the storm, whatever the troubles, the Lord calls us to not be afraid, but to have faith in Him, to trust in Him and believe that He will deliver us. No matter what happens, God is in control, and we must hold on to that, and believe in Him who called us to be His own.

It is interesting that Mark also records that there were other boats on the lake of Galilee. The people in those boats were also saved at the same time when Jesus saved His disciples. There is a lesson here for us that when we are following the Lord and seeing His deliverance and reality in our lives, there will be others in our vicinity who will be impacted and may even be saved. Therefore it is so important for us to be on the watch for others whom we come across as we live life so that we may also point them towards the Lord who saves us!

PRAYER:

We worship You and bless You and praise You, precious Lord Jesus, Lord even of the storm. May we fix our eyes on You and put our full trust in You no matter what storms life may bring us. Deliver us and those around us we pray, even as we continue to follow You, our precious Lord and Savior. In Jesus name, Amen.

Disciple or Onlooker?

SCRIPTURE:

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. Mark 4:33-34

OBSERVATION:

One of the most beautiful things about the teachings of Jesus was that He used parables, stories and illustrations from everyday life. And Mark writes that Jesus spoke to them as much as they could understand. Observing the daily goings on about Him, Jesus used simple, common things that the people were familiar with to speak forth great spiritual truths to the common people, who were thrilled at hearing Him speak and gathered around Him in great crowds. To farmers, He would speak of sowing seed in the field. To widows, He would speak of searching for a lost coin. To fishermen, He would speak of sorting out good and bad fish.

Beautiful though His words were, what the Lord said did not make a big impact on most of the people in the crowd. Majority of them would have come to be entertained, to feed their curiosity, to come and see what this new teacher was all about. The Lord did not explain many deep things to them.

In contrast, the Lord’s attitude was very different with His own disciples, with whom He explained everything, in deep detail.

APPLICATION:

What is the difference between a disciple and an onlooker? An onlooker may come to church to tickle his ears, to enjoy some good music, but otherwise goes back and lives life how he pleases without serious thought to the calling of the Lord. A disciple, on the other hand, is someone committed to the Lord, who is interested to live life the way that pleases Him, and abstain from ways that do not please Him. The early Christians, were called followers of the Way. They were committed to follow the Way of Christ and follow His teachings as much as they could. There was no such thing as a Sunday Christian happy to keep his supposed “ticket to Heaven”, and do the bare minimum to give some semblance of his faith.

To the serious disciple who is willing to be committed to Him, the Lord reveals more and more as he seeks to please Him. I was once an onlooker till God showed me the error of my ways. May the precious Lord help all of us become true disciples and stay true disciples in following Him. 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, help us be disciples we pray, with hearts yearning to follow You. Show us the error of our ways, and reveal to us the path to be true. In Jesus name, Amen. 

From the smallest of seeds

SCRIPTURE:

Jesus asked, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story shall I use to illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed! Though this is one of the smallest of seeds, yet it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can build their nests and be sheltered.” Mark 4:30-32 (TLB)

OBSERVATION:

The parable of the Mustard seed has long been a favorite illustration in the church through the centuries. It looks at the tiniest of seeds growing to become one of the largest of garden plants. This illustration gives us the picture of exponential growth, a rate of growth so great it is far beyond the imagination.

When we think of the Kingdom of God, there are at least three levels we can see it in action.

First, is the Kingdom of God in the individual. Without Christ, the life is dark. There is no hope. But when one first seeks Jesus, a single ray of light enters the soul. As the soul finds joy and beholds the light, the light starts to grow and grow, shining brighter and brighter until it fills the whole soul and emanates out into a rich life blessing others and spreading that light.

Second, is the Kingdom of God in the church. After Jesus rose and ascended back to Heaven, the church largely consisted of only about 120 followers of Christ led by 12 Apostles. However, from Pentecost, the church has grown and spread exponentially all over the world with those calling themselves Christian numbering more than 2 billion. Of course not everyone who calls themselves Christian is truly Christian, but starting from just 120, there must be at least hundreds of millions of true Christians over the ages, a great exponential growth indeed!  

Third, is the literal Kingdom of God, where Jesus will really be the King when He comes back again and reigns the whole world from Jerusalem in Israel during the Millennial Reign. His reign has started off in individuals all over the earth, and the churches that they worship in, but ultimately His reign will encompass the whole world where every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord.

APPLICATION:

Firstly, remember the energy and potential of the mustard seed within us. The Holy Spirit is the great power within us, with unlimited potential. However, how much we are able to grow and serve God depends on how much we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and let Him change us and mold us. Be aware of the great energy moving within us, and pray for God to help us work with Him to lead us and help us grow.

Secondly, thank God that we are part of His kingdom in the church, and seek to be part of that exponential growth, which is our mission and vision, to spread the gospel and make disciples from every nation, tribe and people.

Thirdly, remember that Jesus Christ is coming back again, and establishing His kingdom upon the whole world. Blessed and holy are those who have part of that first resurrection, who will join Him in establishing His kingdom on earth! Let us watch how we live now, in light of looking forward to His glorious kingdom.

PRAYER:

Heavenly Father, precious Lord Jesus, we thank You for the beauty of the mustard seed, that grew so large from a seed so small. Open our eyes and minds to recognize the mustard seed within us in Your Holy Spirit, which is able to help us grow and bring us to live purposeful lives greater than we could ever hope for or imagine. Help us be also part of Your kingdom expansion in the church, and in the marketplace. In all things, help us always remember Your kingdom is coming, and to look forward to Your glorious reign over all the earth! We bless You and praise You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen. 

ANAKAINOSIS, THE RENEWING

SCRIPTURE:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 (NIV)

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you. Romans 12:2 (TLB)

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:2 (The Message)

OBSERVATION:

The Greek Word used for Renewing, “Anakainosis”, significantly refers to the adjustment of one’s moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God, which is designed to have a transforming effect upon one’s life. Basically, Paul gives us two different ways of outlook in this verse. The first is thinking and looking the way the world does. The second is thinking and looking at things the way God does.

The world focuses on what is temporal. Immediate pleasures, material gain, the honor of one’s self in the eyes of others. God’s way instead calls us to look long term, to the life beyond this one. God’s vision sees this life as only temporary, and calls us to a life of abstinence from sinful ways, but a goal of holiness in God’s ways, no matter how unpopular it may be. The ultimate goal in the Christian’s life is to know what God’s will is and to follow His will.

APPLICATION:

First of all, we must recognize and remember that the ways and values of the world are not the same as God’s values. Our hearts are deceitful, and will try to excuse and fit worldly values into the church. That is why the health and wealth prosperity gospel has become so popular today. But the tone of Scripture as a whole never emphasizes this, instead calling Christians to persevere in suffering, to focus on the Lord instead of self, to seek God’s righteousness as utmost priority rather than worldly riches which though not wrong in itself, can prove a dangerous stumbling block.

How do we renew our minds, to adjust our vision and thinking to be like God’s? First of all, is to meditate on God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures. His Words are life, and we need to be disciplined and reading the Scriptures, and in doing so, we must cast off “Spectacles” or “Lens” of various kinds which veer us away from the truth. Read the Bible a book at a time, to try and understand the whole theme and message of the book. Jumping from text to text without looking deeper into the context is likely to lead us to error.

Secondly, we need to spend time in prayer and seeking God’s presence. The more we spend time with God, the more we understand His way of thinking and His vision. Throughout the day, even as we do our daily work, we need to keep the awareness of His presence with us, and listen for His Spirit’s quiet leading.

PRAYER

O Heavenly Father, precious Lord Jesus, we desire to have Your mind, Your way of thinking even as we live life on earth. Teach us Lord, to adjust our perceptions, our vision, our ways of thinking away from the ways of the world and instead focus on knowing and learning what pleases You. Open up Your Word to us, and help us cast off man-made pre-conceptions even as we read Your Word. Illumine our hearts and minds to know Your Word truthfully, and to read even in faith, to believe Your Scripture as it is.

We bless You and love You precious Lord. In Jesus name, Amen. 

First a leaf, then a head, then the ripening

SCRIPTURE:

“Here is another story illustrating what the Kingdom of God is like: “A farmer sowed his field and went away, and as the days went by, the seeds grew and grew without his help. For the soil made the seeds grow. First a leaf blade pushed through, and later the heads of wheat formed, and finally the grain ripened, and then the farmer came at once with his sickle and harvested it.” Mark 4:26-29

OBSERVATION:

In this parable, the Lord illustrates the kingdom of God as a farmer sowing seed in a field and letting it grow by itself, coming back immediately to harvest once the grain is ripened. The farmer is like the servant of God who preaches the Word of God as we learned from the previous parable of the seeds. Thereafter, the seeds grow on their own because of the soil. Again, we are reminded of the importance of the soil, particularly soil that is not hard (stubborn), not shallow (weak in face of persecution), and has not allowed weeds to grow (distractions).

Then we also see that the transformation is a process. First a lead blade pushes through, then heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. Elsewhere in Scripture, Paul emphasized that it is God that makes a Christian grow, not the workers. Still, there is also a role for the Christian to respond to that transformation process. In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord likened Israel to clay that would not run in the potter’s hands and thus failed to become the beautiful vessel intended. We too are like that clay, and we need to work with God to allow Him to change us.

APPLICATION:

Christian growth is a process, and we should not expect big changes overnight. Instead, we should be patient in seeking God and changing according to His timing and His leading. Our part is to trust Him, and try to respond to Him to let Him lead us and mould us into who He wants us to be. Humility and trust is key here, and with that attitude, our hearts will form good soil for growing good fruit for the Master.

PRAYER:

We praise You and worship You, Father in Heaven, precious Lord Jesus. Help us grow O Lord, bit by bit, inch by inch, into the creation You mean us to be. Help us be humble and teachable and respond to Your discipline, even as You lead us and guide us. May Your name be praised forever precious Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.

Light shining brighter

SCRIPTURE:

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Mark 4:21-25

OBSERVATION:

One of the most beautiful things about the Lord’s parables is how He just takes everyday common things and draws out incredible truths about the kingdom of God.

In the parable of the lamp, He gives us two parallels concerning the use of a lamp. In the first, the lamp is put under a bowl or a bed. Obviously, the light is hidden and is hardly useful for the purpose it was made. In the second parallel, the lamp is put on its stand, shining bright and strong to give light to everyone around.

The Lord then proclaims beautifully “for whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” It is poetic language but basically says that the light will expose what was hidden.

Now, remember that the Lord spoke this parable right after the parable of the Seeds. And the seed among weeds in particular has a strong connection to the light under the bowl or a bed. The seed which is the Word of God is the light but the weeds are things that creep in and cover and block the light stifling it so that it cannot shine for those around.

The Lord is telling us not to let anything block the light but to let it shine brightly and openly and be useful to all around. In the Sermon of the Mount, the Lord said that we, His disciples, are the light of the world.

The Lord continues, “If anyone has ears, let him hear….” and “Consider clearly what you hear” Hear what? Hear the Word of God! Remember the seed?

Then He goes on “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more.” From hearing, the Lord suddenly talks about using. Remember He’s talking about the seed, the light. The Word of God that we hear, we are to apply, and the more we apply (put into practice), more Word and Revelation will be given to us.

And in conclusion, the Lord declares “Whoever has will be given more, whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Whoever has what? It is whoever has the Word of God and applies it. The more we apply, the more of God’s word  and revelation we get, the more we grow, the more we shine brightly. Whoever does not apply the Word of God, even the little that we receive is taken away. Remember the birds (Satan) that snatch the word away in the case of the seed thrown on the path?

APPLICATION:-

Whatever light and truth the Lord has revealed to us, we have a responsibility to apply it in our lives. The more we follow God’s Word, the more He reveals to us, and the more we find Him real in our lives. In contrast, if we just listen and let it slide without doing anything, we forget quickly and the lessons are lost. This has a powerful lesson for our growth. We need to desire to hear God’s Word with deeper passion. The more we learn, the more we need to exercise it, and God delights in showing us even more! May we shine our lights brighter and brighter, growing from glory to glory to be like our precious Lord Jesus!

PRAYER:-

We thank You Lord, for the light of Your revelation that You have given us. Help us not to just listen but to apply what we learn and do more and more what pleases You. Help us shine our lights brightly for Your glory. Even as we grow in You and learn and serve You more, anoint us and enable us to learn even more. Your Word is so precious, Lord. We thank You and love You. In Jesus name, Amen.

The secrets of God’s kingdom

SCRIPTURE:

When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. He answered: I have explained the secret about God’s kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. The reason is, ”These people will look and look, but never see. They will listen and listen, but never understand. If they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.” Mark 4:10-13

OBSERVATION:

After Jesus illustrated the parable of the Sower, His disciples were puzzled and asked Him what the parable meant? The Lord then made a most interesting comment, stating that He would explain the secret of God’s kingdom to them (His disciples), but only use parables (stories) for others. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Jesus proclaimed that this was so that these others would be ever seeing but never perceiving and ever listening but never understanding for if they did, they would turn to God and find forgiveness from Him.

The key thing for us to remember here is that we must turn to God so that He will forgive us. That ultimately is the key message of repentance throughout the Scripture, to turn from our own way of doing things, and turning to God to do things His way. When we come as we are, He forgives us by the blood of Jesus, and makes us right with Him. Thereafter, we are to continue in fellowship with Him, seeking to follow His ways, not turning back to old ways again.

Another thing to realize is that we need Jesus to open the understanding and perception of the Scriptures to us. He does this through the Holy Spirit whom He has given us. As James said, if anyone lacks wisdom, He should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault. Therefore, when we don’t understand a Scripture, we should pray to God to help us understand. We may not receive complete understanding all at once, but He enlightens part by part according to His wisdom.

Consider those who are not Jesus’ disciples. They will look and not see, listen but not understand. This was so true of the leaders of the Jews at the time, the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. They had the Law and the Prophets, which spoke clearly of Jesus, but they could not understand God’s plan. Only when we are serious about following Jesus will He reveal precious truths to us. Are we true disciples, sincere in learning from Jesus and following Him?

APPLICATION:

Make sure we are turned to God, willing to set our lives before Him, so that He will forgive us. Look to Jesus for wisdom to understand the Scriptures, which show us the way to eternal life. We are either Jesus’ disciples or we are not. There are no halfway Christians, who profess to believe yet are not true disciples. In fact, the early believers never called themselves “Christians”, they were followers of the “Way”. We have to make a decision either to live life God’s way or our own way.

PRAYER:

We praise You and worship You, Abba Father in Heaven, precious Lord Jesus. We thank You for Your beautiful parables, lovely stories which bring out precious truth of the Kingdom to us. Open our minds we pray, that we may understand and appreciate and live life in the way that pleases You. Give us wisdom to apply these great truths. Help us desire and endeavor to be genuine in our walk with You. Help us look to You and let Your presence and Words abide in us more and more. We praise You and love you, Lord Jesus. In Jesus name, Amen.