Matthew 8:26
But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then
He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
Jesus and His disciples were crossing the sea when a great tempest arose so that the boat was covered with waves. His disciples came to Him and cried out, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!"Then we read, "But He was asleep."
How many times have we felt like the disciples? A great storm comes into our lives and our first thought is, "help, I'm drowning!" Do we feel, like was the case of the disciples, "but Jesus was asleep?" We are sure He couldn't possibly be aware of the storm consuming our lives, or He would have kept it from coming. We know the Word of God tells us
"All things work together for good to those who love God,
to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28
But this time is different. There is absolutely nothing good that could ever come from this storm.
It was Jesus who told the disciples to go to the other side, "Follow Me" He told them. Yet when the winds came and the waves threatened to take them over, Jesus was asleep. We, too, can feel this way. We do all we know to live a Christ centered life. We pray for guidance and study His Word. Nevertheless, like a violent storm on the seas of Galilee our whole world comes crashing in.
It is times like this, if we listen closely, we will hear our Savior say, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Could it be the storm has come into our lives to take us to another level in our faith? Once Jesus has calmed the seas, will we see our walk with Our Savior is closer then before the crashing waves?
Then they cry out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.
Psalm 107:28-29
Let's take Him at His Word and in times of distress cry out, Lord save me! And watch as He wakes from His sleep, and working all things together for good, He calms our raging storm.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
STAND
Matthew 5:10-12
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Jesus had gone up on the mountain to teach the multitudes.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:3-7
It was clear to all who listened that because of their obedience they would find favor with God.
Then everything changed. It was no longer about rewards as a result of their obedience, but the greatest reward was for being persecuted for His sake. Such great rewards that they could rejoice and be exceedingly glad!
Could it be we show our greatest faith when we are persecuted for Christ? Being persecuted isn't something we do, but something done to us. Persecution comes in so many different ways. It is those who are martyred for their faith, willing to be put to death for their beliefs that we consider persecuted. But what about when we are excluded because of our beliefs, falsely accused because another is trying to dishonor our name, and thus all we stand for in our Christian faith. When they say all kinds of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake; it is then Jesus told the multitudes, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward." Jesus sees it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And He also sees our response.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteous sake
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven
When we stand for Christ regardless of the cost, could it be Christ stands in applause for our commitment to Him? Great is your reward. This is His promise to us.
Stand. May this be our promise to Him.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven
for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Jesus had gone up on the mountain to teach the multitudes.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be filled. Matthew 5:3-7
It was clear to all who listened that because of their obedience they would find favor with God.
Then everything changed. It was no longer about rewards as a result of their obedience, but the greatest reward was for being persecuted for His sake. Such great rewards that they could rejoice and be exceedingly glad!
Could it be we show our greatest faith when we are persecuted for Christ? Being persecuted isn't something we do, but something done to us. Persecution comes in so many different ways. It is those who are martyred for their faith, willing to be put to death for their beliefs that we consider persecuted. But what about when we are excluded because of our beliefs, falsely accused because another is trying to dishonor our name, and thus all we stand for in our Christian faith. When they say all kinds of evil against you falsely for Christ's sake; it is then Jesus told the multitudes, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward." Jesus sees it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. And He also sees our response.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteous sake
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven
When we stand for Christ regardless of the cost, could it be Christ stands in applause for our commitment to Him? Great is your reward. This is His promise to us.
Stand. May this be our promise to Him.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)