35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
41They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
In the passage above, Jesus demonstrated absolute trust in God by sleeping (soundly) through the storm on Lake Galilee. The disciples mistook Jesus' trust for apathy(absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement). Strangely, their fear is not mentioned until Jesus had quieted the storm. Here, faith is courage based on trust in God's care no matter the situation/circumstances. The disciples were extremely puzzled with who this man really was.. This suggests their awe stemmed from the realization that their Teacher did what only God would be able to do - command the winds and the waves.
Similar to the previous post about David having been armed with the power of God was able to defeat the Giant Goliath. David had the total trust and confidence in God that God would deliver him. David had faith.
The disciples did show a certain "lack of faith" in God when they had felt helpless and turned to their Teacher for direction. Of course, in circumstances like the boat on the verge of capsizing, it would be trying to pause and have quiet confidence in God. A normal instinctive reaction would be to alert people around you and try to salvage the situation. However, these are the moments we need God our Lord the most.
If one has faith as small as a mustardseed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for the person. This is the highest form of faith that one could have; that even in cruel and hard times, he/she can still place his/her faith in God. The Disciples were unable to do so as they reacted the way a normal person would have. But we as believers, must trust God. It will be hard, with thoughts like "Sure a not, He will save us?"
Just like the Lord's Prayer,
9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
the Lord's Prayer. In it He models all the elements of proper prayer in an appropriate sequence. He presented the elements such as praise and adoration, leaving room for God's sovereign will to override ours; appeal for kingdom priorities to be manifest on the earth; personal petition and pleas for forgiveness contingent on our practice of forgiving others; and prayer for strength to avoid the tempter and his snares.
Lets pray that God will increase our capacity of FAITH in Him. Lets trust the Lord with our dear lives!
The Philistines were at war with Saul. Their greatest champion Goliath taunted the Israelites for their cowardice. No Hebrew had the courage to take on Goliath. Jesse's older sons were in the battle lines and Jesse sent David to the field with provisions. David heard of the defiant words of Goliath and was ready to defend the name of the Lord by challenging the giant to combat. With the weapon of a shepherd but armed with the power of God, he killed Goliath and the Philistines scattered in defeat.
36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
45 David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."
David overcame a giant 9 feet tall. It was as if a battle between an ant and a human. I can hardly imagine myself in David's shoes.. Would I have this kind of courage EVEN THOUGH I know that God was with me? Would I dare to risk my life EVEN THOUGH I know that God was beside me? David definitely had the highest form of faith, trust and confidence in God. Honestly, if I were to face this kind of situation, I'm not too sure if I would go EVEN THOUGH I knew God is beside me.
This passage is a telling reminder that with God we can overcome anything. With God, David overcame and defeated Goliath, causing the Philistines to leave in disgrace. However, for most of us, we let go of this chance to even overcome giants in our life with God simply because we did not have to faith, trust, confidence in God that He would do so. Take heart from this testimony from David; he, overcame all odds stacked against him to take on the challenge of facing Goliath and defeated him triumphantly without the use of a sword/spear or the clothings of tunic, armor and helmet, but just simply armed with the power of God.
Today, lets learn to tap upon God's power. But, to do so, we must first have quiet confidence in God. Faith, trust to know that He will deliver you. Lets follow the excellent example of David, who had no qualms at all about taking on Giant Goliath, simply because he knew in his heart, God will empower and be with him. So if you are facing any "giants" and challenges in your life, slow down take time and pray about it. Settle your hearts at ease to know that God will deliver you. Remember, no problem is too large for our Lord.
Matt 22:39 "And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'"
"It is really so hard for me to love the people around me. At times, I feel very burdened and obliged as a Christian to "show love" to people I dislike. It's as if the Devil is constantly shooting arrows back at me for my actions against my neighbors, the people around me. The problem is that I'm only able to love people in my circle of friends; Which means, they must fill certain criteria before I bill them as 'friend'." Have you been in this kind of situation?
The above thoughts have happened to me before, and it is so true. We, naturally as humans, find it hard toLOVEour neighbors. We can only Love them when they are our friends. However, today, can we get rid of this kind of mentality? The world out there is all about first impressions. Imagine if we do not express Love through our actions to the world, we have lost the battle. Can we, no matter who it is, as instruments of peace and love, express it to the world? The world has no LOVE. They only find love in materialistic things that are temporal. Lets be the sources of love; and be everlasting and constant.
Lets start today by doing simple but strong actions filled with LOVE.
Romans 15:2 "Each of us should please his neighbour for his good, to build him up."
We can't Force people into the Kingdom of God but we can lead people in by touching them with actions of love and concern. Lets sow the seeds for the future, but make sure we exhibit LOVE to everyone around us without prejudice, for everyone is God's Child, just that they have been blinded by the things of this world. There is certainly a reason for where God has placed you. Most likely he wants to use you to touch his children who are unaware but around you. Today, LOVE your NEIGHBOUR.
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