“PEACE! BE STILL!”

 Mark 4:35-41                      (ESV)

JESUS Calms a Storm

“[35] On that day, when evening had come, HE said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” [36] And leaving the crowd, they took HIM with them in the boat, just as HE was. And other boats were with HIM. [37] And A GREAT WINDSTORM arose, and THE WAVES WERE BREAKING INTO THE BOAT, so that the boat was already filling. [38] But HE was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “TEACHER, do YOU not care that we are perishing?” [39] And HE awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “PEACE! BE STILL!” And the WIND CEASED, and there was a GREAT CALM. [40] HE said to them, “WHY ARE YOU SO AFRAID? HAVE YOU STILL NO FAITH?” [41] And THEY WERE FILLED WITH GREAT FEAR and said to one another, “WHO then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey HIM?”

In the scenario above, the disciples were taking JESUS to a place HE had instructed them to go to.  As a matter of fact, HIS instructions were “Let us go across to the other side” in Mark 4:35.  JESUS then went into “the stern, asleep on the cushion.“!!!  JESUS was GOD IN THE FLESH, yet there minds weren’t able to GRASP the TRUTH that JESUS controlled the very wind that was causing them their current distress!!!

Am I any better than the disciples??  JESUS CHRIST has promised that HE will never leave us, and yet the first time that a little wind comes into our lives we want to go running to HIM crying for deliverance?  WHY didn’t the disciples remember that they had THE CREATOR in the boat with them?  Why do I forget about “the storms” of life JESUS has already brought me through???

Maybe I need to remember what JESUS said to the wind after the disciples turned to their ONLY HOPE???   “PEACE! BE STILL!” should be our first thought when fear and doubt arise in our lives!  But our humanity is weak and we allow “the enemy” to sling his arrows at his and our CREATOR, even though he has been defeated for a LONG TIME!!!

FATHER IN HEAVEN, bring me to the point where I totally and completely TRUST in YOU!!!  Protect me from “the enemy” and realize that YOU can simply say “PEACE! BE STILL” and the winds will cease!!!

“I CHOSE YOU!”

 John 15:12-17                    (ESV)

“[12] “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [13] Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. [14] You are my friends if you do what I command you. [15] No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my FATHER I have made known to you. [16] YOU DID NOT CHOOSE ME, but “I CHOSE YOU” and APPOINTED YOU that you should GO and BEAR FRUIT and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the FATHER in MY NAME, HE may give it to you. [17] These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

The six verses of Scripture written above, coupled with Ephesians 1:4 where the Apostle Paul writes that JESUS CHOSE US BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, should give comfort to ANY CHOSEN who reads it!!!

JESUS CHOSE we who BELIEVE BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, but we have to surrender to HIM to complete HIS PLAN!!!  Can any person who has been CHOSEN reject HIM, causing HIS PLAN to be incomplete???  

Dr. John MacArthur says it with a vast amount of wisdom in the passage of a sermon he previously preached::  https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18V7QyW3Dr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Unless the HOLY SPIRIT “draws” an unbeliever, that person doesn’t have the capability to enter into HEAVEN!!  

We (CHOSEN!) are eternally indebted to HIM, simply because “I CHOSE YOU” before HE CREATED THIS WORLD!!!  Why did HE CHOOSE me??  I have no idea?!?  But HE did and I am SO grateful HE did!!!

“WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN!”

 Isaiah 41:8-11                    (ESV)

    “[8] But you, Israel, MY servant,

        Jacob, “WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN”,

        the offspring of Abraham, MY friend; 

    [9] you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

        and called from its farthest corners,

    saying to you, “You are MY servant,

        I have chosen you and NOT CAST YOU OFF”; 

    [10] fear not, for I AM with you;

        be not dismayed, for I AM your GOD;

    I WILL strengthen you, I WILL help you,

        I WILL uphold you with my righteous right hand.

    [11] Behold, ALL WHO ARE INCENSED AGAINST YOU SHALL BE PUT TO SHAME AND CONFOUNDED;

    those who strive against you

        shall be as nothing and shall perish.”

A quote from Hannah Scott in the Kendrick Brothers 2019 “OVERCOMER” movie says “I am created by God. He designed me. So I'm not a mistake. His Son died for me, just so I could be forgiven. He picked me to be His own, SO I'M CHOSEN. He redeemed me, so I am wanted. He showed me Grace, just so I could be saved. He has a future for me, because He loves me!…”

Acknowledging that a person is a CREATION of the GOD WHO CREATED everything is a HUGE STEP in admitting we are NOT in control…of anything!!!  Being a survivor of a “massive brain hemorrhage” gives me a TOTALLY different perspective than I previously had.  For almost a month I had NO CONTROL over anything, even the air I was breathing!!  

Just like the character Hannah Scott realized in the movie OVERCOMER, because GOD had yet to OPEN my EYES, I “thought” I was in control?!?  That is until they put me in the coma a few days following the brain hemorrhage.  When I was brought out of the coma seventeen days later, my EYES were OPENED and I could SEE that I WAS NOT (and STILL am not!) in control of anything!!!

Jacob was a grandson of Abraham, who was a “friend of GOD”!  But that did NOT mean that Jacob/Israel was CHOSEN.  When ALMIGHTY GOD called him by name in Isaiah 41:18 and said that he was “WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN”, he had to have known then?!?  The “assurances” in the verses that followed were VERY REVEALING about what GOD was going to do for HIS CHOSEN.  “WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN” has to be a GRAND and GLORIOUS experience!!!  When YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW!!!

“KNOWN BY GOD!”

 1 Corinthians 8:3                    (ESV)

“BUT IF ANYONE LOVES GOD, HE IS “KNOWN BY GOD”.”

This morning as I was wishing people on a social media platform a Happy Birthday, I saw a post from a friend who was recently diagnosed with a health “challenge” that they have to deal with for the next little bit.  The CHANGE that GOD brought about in my life since the Brain Hemorrhage immediately came to mind. Never would I have even IMAGINED that I would be SO NEAR death with absolutely NO CONTROL over even my own breathing!!!

Unless, AND UNTIL, you have a relationship with THE HEAVENLY FATHER, your EYES won’t be able to SEE HIS handiwork in motion!  For when you can SEE HIS complete WORK, YOU WILL LOVE HIM and you WILL BE “KNOWN BY GOD”!!

“SIT TOGETHER!”

 

Wolves in sheep’s clothing???

 

“HE CHOSE US!”

 Ephesians 1:4-5                     (ESV)

“Even as “HE CHOSE US” in HIM before THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD that we should be HOLY and BLAMELESS before HIM.  In love HE predestined us for adoption to HIMSELF as sons through JESUS CHRIST, ACCORDING TO THE PURPOSE OF HIS WILL,”

John 15:16                    (ESV)

“YOU DID NOT CHOOSE ME, but I CHOSE YOU  AND APPOINTED YOU that YOU SHOULD GO and bear fruit and that YOUR FRUIT SHOULD ABIDE, so that WHATEVER YOU ASK the FATHER in MY NAME, HE MAY GIVE IT TO YOU.”

Others could be tired of me writing about being CHOSEN, but when you have always been near the “proverbial” bottom of the barrel, even I have to be reminded just how BLESSED I am!!!  

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT is CONSIDERABLY “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20) patiently waits for us to SPIRITUALLY mature so that we can receive what HE HAS PLANNED for???

Not that I deserve ANYTHING from HIM, but “HE CHOSE US” in HIM before THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD to perform HIS WORK on HIS timetable!!!

“BE STILL!”

 Psalm 46:10                    (ESV)

    “[10] “BE STILL”, and know that I AM GOD.

        I will be exalted among the nations,

        I will be exalted in the earth!””

It is so easy to get up in the morning and slide directly into the cares of “this world”.  Today I “needed” to get my vehicle serviced, so I was at the mechanic’s shop early this morning   While waiting for the work to be completed on my vehicle, my mind was attempting to be in the STILL MODE, akin to when I am doing my BIBLE STUDY most mornings.  After the service work was completed, I proceeded to drive around looking for something to do?  But I kept going back to missing my STILL MODE, to cuddling with my HEAVENLY FATHER!!!

Since my time communing with HIM is so important to me and my wellbeing, HOW do I allow “other things” to break the communication link with my LIFE (John 14:6)?  In my mortal mind, I am convinced that I am TOO BUSY to “BE STILL”!  

Furthermore, for me to just “BE STILL” ISN’T enough!!  I have to LET GO of ALL the cares and concerns of “this world”!!!  Over seventeen years ago GOD placed me into a coma to accomplish HIS PURPOSE!  Am I at the POINT to where I can discern WHEN HE is trying to speak to me, and WHAT HE is trying to say???  

HE REMOVED EVERYTHING from my thoughts and my mind in 2007!  There have been a “few” times when I wonder why HE left me here??  But then I remember that HE will have an ETERNITY to display HIMSELF to those of us who have been CHOSEN FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (Ephesians 1:4) and HE won’t have to fight to get me to “BE STILL” anymore!!!

“THE RABBLE THAT WAS AMONG THEM!”

Numbers 11:1-4                    (ESV)

The People Complain

“[1] And THE PEOPLE COMPLAINED in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, HIS anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. [2] Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, AND THE FIRE DIED DOWN. [3] So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the FIRE OF THE LORD burned among them.

[4] Now “THE RABBLE THAT WAS AMONG THEM” had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!”

The TIMING of how and when THE LORD will work can be EXTREMELY difficult to comprehend or understand!!!  It was the month I turned twenty-two years old when I met the most beautiful woman I had ever met!  Approximately 555 days later we became husband and wife!  It now seems as though we were always together.  Forty two years ago (in a couple of weeks) we “tied the knot”, demonstrating that when GOD is waited on, the outcome is definitely something that is WORTH waiting for!!

In the focal passage of Scripture above are the Israelites and their accompanying “guests”.  Yes, the people who were with them are described as people who were “rabbles”, or as one dictionary suggests “A tumultuous crowd of vulgar, noisy people; a mob; a confused, disorderly throng”.  “The Israelites” weren’t the ones who were “rabble rousers”, it was the influencers used by “the enemy” to accomplish anything other than what GOD had in store for HIS CHOSEN!  

We need to CONSTANTLY observe those who are attempting to lead us without an influence of the HOLY SPIRIT!  “THE RABBLE THAT WAS AMONG THEM” influenced the Israelites to follow their own desires instead of the PATH GOD had CHOSEN for them to travel. We MUST be careful NOT to become influenced by “THE RABBLE THAT WAS AMONG THEM” and KEEP OUR EYES on THE PLAN GOD has for us!!!  

By the way, my wife was DEFINITELY worth the wait!!!

“JESUS PRAYS!”

 Luke 22:39-46 (ESV)

“JESUS PRAYS” on the Mount of Olives

“[39] And HE (JESUS) came out and went, AS WAS HIS CUSTOM, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed HIM. [40] And when HE came to the place, HE said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” [41] And HE withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, [42] saying, “Father, if YOU are willing, remove this cup from ME. Nevertheless, not MY WILL, but YOURS, be done.” [43] And there appeared to HIM an angel from heaven, strengthening HIM. [44] And being in agony HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY; and HIS sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. [45] And when HE rose from prayer, HE came to the disciples and FOUND THEM SLEEPING for sorrow, [46] and HE said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Watching a video of a man being questioned by law enforcement regarding his involvement in this January 06, 2020 events at the United States Capitol this morning caused me to pause and consider everything surrounding this event. Where did these “events” originate from, and what was the driving force behind them?  

Humanity as a whole typically doesn’t bother SEEING where trials and tribulations originate from? JESUS IS GOD IN THE FLESH! In the Scriptures above, HE prayed SO fervently that HIS sweat became like great drops of blood! Yet, when HE returned to HIS disciples HE found them sleeping!  

Why were HIS most treasured servants found sleeping when JESUS was about to die an UNIMAGINABLE death? Since JESUS was GOD, why was HE spending time praying to HIS FATHER when HE KNEW what was coming? Could it be for our benefit? Maybe we needed to have an example of great tribulation and HOW we could OVERCOME “the enemy”???  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, forgive me for “being asleep” and not grasping that ALL of the trials and tribulations HAVE to go through YOUR APPROVAL! As YOUR WORD says in Romans 8:28, “And we KNOW that for those who love GOD ALL THINGS work together for good, for those who are CALLED according to HIS purpose.” Cause me to exemplify that because “JESUS PRAYS” for me (Romans 8:34), even though my enemies might appear to be insurmountable, I can live victoriously!!!

It’s not too late…….YET!!!

 Upon reaching the JUDGEMENT SEAT, there won’t be a solitary person rejecting THE LORD!!!  But it will be TOO LATE to acknowledge HIM by then!!!  You MUST surrender before you get to the JUDGEMENT SEAT, or be willing to pay the price?!?

“LOVE!”

 1 Corinthians 13

THE WAY OF “LOVE”

“[1] If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, BUT HAVE NOT “LOVE”, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, BUT HAVE NOT “LOVE”, I am nothing. [3] If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, BUT HAVE NOT “LOVE”, I gain nothing.

[4] “LOVE” is patient and kind; “LOVE” DOES NOT envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] “LOVE” bears all things, BELIEVES all things, HOPES all things, ENDURES all things.

[8] “LOVE” never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

[13] So now FAITH, HOPE, and “LOVE” abide, these three; but the greatest of these is “LOVE”.”

The subject the Apostle Paul is writing in the thirteenth chapter of his first letter to the Church of Corinth was NOT always with him.  Kindly remember Acts 9:1-2 where is is written “But Saul (later changed to Paul), still breathing THREATS and MURDER against the disciples of the LORD, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to THE WAY, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”  So it needs to be remembered that Saul/Paul had to be TRANSFORMED by the HOLY SPIRIT before he could write the letter that these verses were taken from!  

“LOVE” can be a VERY MISUNDERSTOOD word!  Being used in the context of 1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that JESUS gave up HIS HEAVENLY abode to sojourn in “this world” for thirty-three years, then suffered unimaginable torment, but OVERCAME death, hell and the grave because I had NO HOPE to join HIM in Heaven, OUTSIDE OF HIS GRACE!!!

As much as I ”LOVE” my wife, my feelings for her CANNOT be compared to the “LOVE” JESUS CHRIST has for me!  Knowing that I would fail HIM so often, HE STILL came down here and suffered for me!  My wife would have had serious concerns if I had displayed the unfaithfulness to her that I have demonstrated to JESUS?!?

“I stand amazed in the presence Of JESUS the Nazarene, And wonder how HE could love me, A sinner condemned, unclean” is the first verse of a hymn written over 100 years ago.  But the chorus of the song says it best, “How marvelous! How wonderful!  And my song shall ever be: How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior’s “LOVE” for me.”!!!