"HAVE YOU STILL NO FAITH?"

Mark 4:35-41                    (ESV)

"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?"

JESUS had ministry skills unlike anything ever seen before, or since, by humankind.  HE had been teaching and ministering to the public all day and had to be tired. HE spoke to HIS disciples and said "LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE!".  Then JESUS went into the ship and took a nap to recover from the long day.  HE knew HIS ministry skills would soon be called upon again!

A storm suddenly came up and began battering the boat that JESUS and the disciples were in. This was not your ordinary windstorm.  Scripture records the waves were breaking into the boat and they were taking on water!  The disciples ran to JESUS and asked "Teacher, do you NOT CARE that we are perishing"?  JESUS got up and simply spoke to the wind and the storm was calmed.  

The wind and the sea obeyed the command of JESUS.  It should not be surprising since JESUS was there for Creation so HE knows how to control everything.  Since JESUS is GOD (John 10:30 "I and the Father are one.") all of Creation must obey HIM.  HE was exhibiting HIS Omnipotence to those on the sea that night, and they were dumbfounded!  

The thing that must not be overlooked is that the Omnipotent being is also Omniscient as well.  HE knew before they got into the boat that the storm was on their horizon.  Yet HE told them "LET US GO ACROSS TO THE OTHER SIDE".  Had they truly believed that JESUS was GOD, their fear would have been non-existent.  Where there is FAITH, fear MUST flee!  JESUS asked them "HAVE YOU STILL NO FAITH?"  

Why do I fret over things not going as planned?  Why don't I have FAITH that GOD is going to work things out for HIS good (Romans 8:28).  At the first sign of water entering my boat do I start asking JESUS if HE cares about me?  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, I pray that when the storms around me start bashing into my boat that YOU will remind me that YOU are The Creator and everything MUST obey YOUR command!  My prayer is that YOU won't have to ask me "HAVE YOU STILL NO FAITH?"

"WOE TO THOSE!"

Isaiah 5:18-21                    (ESV)

"18 "WOE TO THOSE" who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes, 

19 who say: "Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!" 

20 "WOE TO THOSE" who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 

21 "WOE TO THOSE" who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!"

The words we use can be misheard for something that is completely different than what we actually said.   The words we say can also be misunderstood to mean something we never intended for them to say.  While I was a child if someone said to me "WOE TO THOSE", I can would have taken it to mean to STOP what I was doing.   However, it seems that recent trends have evolved our thinking that instead of a STOP sign, these words words has been replaced with a YEILD sign.  But GOD has not changed!  Malachi 3:6-7 tells us "For I the LORD 'do not change'; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.  From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. RETURN TO ME, and I WILL RETURN TO YOU, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?"

"WOE TO THOSE" should not be mistaken for a YEILD sign.  "WOE TO THOSE" more than likely means there is pain or torment ahead and our course needs to change.  There are MANY who are more studied in scripture than I, but I have not been able to locate a verse in the Bible instructing us to HURRY UP and perform our tasks for the LORD at a quicker pace!   

Instead, scripture is filled with instructions for us to "BE STILL", and "WAIT ON THE LORD", and "THEREFORE BE PATIENT" and on and on!  "WOE TO THOSE" is reserved for those who say "Let him be quick, let him speed his work" and want to see everything happen now!  It seems we build everything for speed and profit.  After all, there is no line item on a balance sheet for improving someone's spiritual well-being!  We lean toward judging success based solely on material possessions.  1 Corinthians 3 says that earthly possessions are "wood, hay, and stubble" and will be burned up in the end!  

GOD is in the business of changing hearts, and some hearts HE has to work on a little longer than others.  Don't rush GOD to complete a masterpiece, just because you desire to see completion of the project.  "WOE TO THOSE" should be an alarm clock to believers that we need to heed.  Our fast-paced society needs to focus more on the things of GOD!  "WOE TO THOSE" who refuse to listen!!

(I (GOD) WILL GET GLORY!"

Exodus 14:1-4; 27-28                            (ESV)

"1 Then the LORD said to Moses,

2 "Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea.

3 For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, 'They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.'

4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and "I WILL GET GLORY" over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." And they did so........

.......27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.

28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained."

The torture of years of captivity the children of Israel experienced must have been easily forgotten?   They were barely into their journey and the LORD was speaking to Moses instructing them to turn back and encamp by the Red Sea.  THE EXODUS was multi-faceted in its purposes, but the thing that must not be overlooked is that "I (GOD) WILL GET GLORY"!  

The Israelis were thought to be wandering in the wilderness!  Pharaoh and his followers THOUGHT the Israelis were bad navigators of the terrain and were IN OVER THEIR HEADS!  The children of Israel on the other hand thought that Pharaoh was coming to do them great harm and were fearful when they saw his army approaching.  

But GOD had a plan!  "I WILL GET GLORY" was not a maybe-so or hope-so saying that GOD had shared with Moses!  The Israelites had to experience that GOD would deliver them, even in their GREATEST need!   Pharaoh and his minions had to experience that GOD was mightier than anything the world had ever seen!  This was not a fable or wives tale.  The Egyptians who suffered defeat on that day would testify that GOD DID GET GLORY!

There are times when I may be experiencing a Red Sea moment in my life.  The Egyptians of modern day trials may have me cornered between certain capture and the Red Sea.  Like Moses and the children of Israel, I may have to "appear" to be trapped in the wilderness with no hope of making to my Promised Land.  But GOD reminds me that "I (GOD) WILL GET GLORY" and all I need to do is let HIM do HIS work.  To the world it may appear I am "trapped" in my troubles, but I need to remember that when "morning appears" my GOD is still on HIS throne and "I (GOD) WILL GET GLORY"!

"BE YE NOT TROUBLED!!"

Mark 13:3-8                      (KJV)

"3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?  

5 And JESUS answering them began to say, TAKE HEED LEST ANY MAN DECEIVE YOU:

6 For many shall come in MY name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, "BE YE NOT TROUBLED": for such things MUST needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows."

Many times I sit down to study GOD's Word in a rush to get my day started, thinking GOD is obligated to reveal HIS truths to me because I took three to five minutes to share my "wish list" with HIM!  These four disciples were inquiring of JESUS what to expect in the future and how they should react to what was coming.  One thing that stands out to me is they took time to ask JESUS "privately" and then they listened for an answer.  They didn't do like I have been known to do....ask and expect to receive on the run!  They waited to hear from JESUS like a child waiting on a bedtime story!

And JESUS did not disappoint!  HE began by saying "Take HEED lest any man deceive you".  JESUS wanted HIS disciples, the ones HE had hand-picked, to realize they needed to be aware the enemy (the great deceiver) would be trying to trick them into believing "any lie" to frustrate their walk in the TRUTH!   The enemy is still up to his schemes and deceiving.  He wants to be focused on "any lie" he can so we will not be focused on the TRUTH!  We must "take heed" not to be caught in a pace that we are deceived!  

When we are focused on the evil that exists in the world, we can't focus on how good GOD is and how much HE has done for us.  The enemy is quite deceptive, or beguiling (Genesis 3:1), and he will do anything to draw attention away from GOD and HIS goodness.  In verse seven JESUS tells us the key to living a strong life for HIM.  "BE YE NOT TROUBLED" is not a suggestion or something to fall back on.  It is a command!  According to JESUS the times will continue to be perilous in the future, but we should "BE YE NOT TROUBLED"!  

It is interesting to me that JESUS did not tell HIS disciples that everything will be smooth and rosy.  No, JESUS told them that nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. In other words, the dissenting parties (kingdom against kingdom) doesn't mean that the dissension will be limited to "nation against nation"!  Yes, perilous times are headed our way (2 Timothy 3:1).   But be assured, "BE YE NOT TROUBLED" was meant for us also.  The enemy has ALREADY been defeated!   We are just waiting for the VICTOR to be declared!

"IN THE END!"

2 Corinthians 11:1-15                         (NASB)
"1 I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool. Do bear with me and let me say what is on my heart. 2 I am anxious for you with the deep concern of GOD Himself—anxious that your love should be for CHRIST alone, just as a pure maiden saves her love for one man only, for the one who will be her husband. 3 But I am frightened, fearing that in some way you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to our Lord, just as Eve was deceived by satan in the Garden of Eden. 4 You seem so gullible: you believe whatever anyone tells you even if he is preaching about another JESUS than the one we preach, or a different spirit than the Holy Spirit you received, or shows you a different way to be saved. You swallow it all. 5 Yet I don’t feel that these marvelous “messengers from God,” as they call themselves, are any better than I am. 6 If I am a poor speaker, at least I know what I am talking about, as I think you realize by now, for we have proved it again and again. 7 Did I do wrong and cheapen myself and make you look down on me because I preached God’s Good News to you without charging you anything? 8-9 Instead I “robbed” other churches by taking what they sent me and using it up while I was with you so that I could serve you without cost. And when that was gone and I was getting hungry, I still didn’t ask you for anything, for the Christians from Macedonia brought me another gift. I have never yet asked you for one cent, and I never will. 10 I promise this with every ounce of truth I possess—that I will tell everyone in Greece about it! 11 Why? Because I DON'T LOVE YOU? GOD KNOWS I DO. 12 But I will do it to cut out the ground from under the feet of those who boast that they are doing GOD’s work in just the same way we are.13 GOD never sent those men at all; they are “phonies” who have fooled you into thinking they are CHRIST’s apostles. 14 Yet I am not surprised! Satan can change himself into an angel of light, 15 so it is no wonder his servants can do it too, and seem like godly ministers. "IN THE END" they will get every bit of punishment their wicked deeds deserve."



There is little debate that the "great deceiver" has tricked many to believe the lies he has spread since the Garden of Eden.  We should not believe that we can run or hide from the enemy or his schemes.  In the passage of scripture above the Apostle Paul says that Eve was deceived by the enemy in the Garden of Eden.  In 2 Corinthians 11:14 Paul says that even "Satan can change himself into an angel of light".

Today, many people continue to be deceived by the lie that the enemy can be good, if we just give him and his followers a chance.  But my Bible tells me there is "no other name" (Acts 4:11-12) men can call upon to be saved than the name of JESUS CHRIST. They WILL try and imitate JESUS CHRIST and proclaim they are just in their cause, but they are being used by their leader to deceive you too.

The enemy will try and trick as many as he can into believing that he is just as good as "the prophet".  But scripture is plain that JESUS is the only way for mankind to enter Heaven!  In the interest of tolerance there will be a great number of people who say "to each his own"!  Like the Apostle Paul, I love you all, but I will not let deception go unchallenged! The lie will continue to be spread by many.  But "IN THE END" ALL will know that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD!

"CONSIDER IT!!"

Deuteronomy 4:39-40                          (KJV)
"39 Know therefore this day, and "CONSIDER IT" in thine heart, that the LORD he is GOD in HEAVEN ABOVE, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.



When thinking about one's prayer life and why some people never seem to take the time to call upon The LORD, it occurred to me that most of us may not be HUMBLE enough, or realize just how MAGNIFICENT GOD really is.  Maybe we simply do not TAKE THE TIME to recognize the vast difference between GODLY, HEAVENLY things and the temporal earthly things?  We really don't recognize how VAST and WILLING GOD is to help us and what HIS plan may be for our lives.

My wife, two children and I were honored to be selected about 15 years ago to meet with the man who would soon be elected as President of the United States of America.  We got to have our photo taken with him on his campaign airplane and have about a 15 minute conversation with him.  Obviously his schedule was very busy and we could not spend as much time with him as we would have liked to, but those 15 minutes was something I will never forget.

When you "CONSIDER IT", the President of the United States is extremely limited compared to my GOD in HEAVEN ABOVE!  GOD literally spoke (beginning in Genesis 1:3) the worlds and all that is in (Acts 17:24) them into existence.  If we were to slow our lives down enough to "CONSIDER IT" maybe we would recognize that ALMIGHTY GOD is the ONE who is in control of all.  Instead, the world continues moving at a faster and faster pace,  into a chaotic, seemingly OUT-OF-CONTROL tempo where we fail to acknowledge GOD for WHO HE really is!

The enemy can deceive and hide the TRUTH as much as he can but when all comes to and end GOD will be exalted!  In the final chapter of the Old Testament, scripture records that there WILL come a day when "all the proud" will be burned up and turned to stubble!  There will be plenty of time to "CONSIDER IT" on that day!  It would serve us well to make certain we "CONSIDER IT" now so we are not burned up with them!

"CONTROL"

Exodus 14:4                   (ESV)
"And I (GOD) will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." AND THEY DID SO."

GOD has been dealing with me recently about the word "CONTROL"!  When my brain hemorrhaged in 2007 I was about as out of "CONTROL" as one can be.  I was unable to walk as my legs wouldn't hold me upright.  I was able to speak, and pronounce my words well enough to be understood.  But the words that came out of my mouth were as out of order as you can imagine. I WAS COMPLETELY OUT OF "CONTROL" as I could not do or say what I wanted to.   It was as if someone else was determining where I was going and what I was saying.

That feeling should be similar to the way we feel when the Spirit of GOD is in "CONTROL" of our lives!  GOD should be able to guide what we do and what we say.  We should be so in HIS "CONTROL" that our language and actions are unmistakably divine!  GOD exhibits HIS "CONTROL" over even the heathen in this world.  In Exodus 14:4 GOD hardened Pharaoh's heart to get Pharaoh to pursue the Israelis.  Do you think that Pharaoh would have pursued the Israelis had he thought he and his army would be slaughtered in the Red Sea?  Pharaoh was so under the "CONTROL" of GOD ALMIGHTY that he led his army to a watery grave!

The Living Bible Translation of Exodus 14:4 says "I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will chase after you. I (GOD) have planned this to gain "great honor and glory" over Pharaoh and all his armies, and the Egyptians shall know that I AM the LORD.”  The thing in this verse I want to emphasize is GOD planned this to gain "great honor and glory" over HIS enemies.  We should live our lives to gain GOD glory in everything we do.  The Israelites thought they were going to be overtaken by the enemy, but had other plans!

When GOD exhibits HIS "CONTROL" over our lives, HE doesn't follow a plan that makes sense to man.   GOD operates at HIS own pleasure!  In Exodus 14:4 HE drowned Pharaoh and his army to gain "great honor and glory"!  In Ephesians 1:11-12 scripture records "In HIM we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of HIM who works all things ACCORDING TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS WILL, so that we who were the first to hope in CHRIST might be to the praise of HIS GLORY."  Our purpose on this earth is to give "great honor and glory" to the ONE who in "CONTROL" of the entire world.  The enemy will only be silenced when GOD's timing declares it to be so.   HE IS IN "CONTROL"!!!