MEMORISE:
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
READ: Mark 4:35-41
35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
MESSAGE
The life of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth shows us that we can have peace amidst the storms of life. In today’s Bible reading, He demonstrated that He is indeed the Prince of Peace, as written of Him, in Isaiah 9:6. While traveling in a boat with His disciples, having just finished a long session of preaching and counseling for only God knows how many hours, there arose a great storm bellowing against the boat in which they were. The disciples were sore afraid that they would die at sea, because it seemed as if their boat would capsize. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ was fast asleep in the inner chamber of the boat. It is amazing that He could sleep even in the midst of a storm! The disciples woke Him up, accusing Him of being unmindful of their predicament. Jesus was surprised that His disciples could ever imagine that the boat carrying the Author of life would capsize! Howbeit, He arose and rebuked the wind behind the raging storm, and there was a great calm.
The series of events that occurred in the story shows us that the devil and his cohorts can launch an attack against us after a successful outreach programmes. Nevertheless, the good news is that God will always take charge and curtail such attacks. We also need to recognize from this story that the devil has no respect for the personality of the anointed. He can attack anybody, even when he knows that failure is inevitable, or how do we explain his attempt to capsize the boat of the one who created him? We must therefore be careful not to rest on our oars as we fight the good fight of faith. Nevertheless, in spite of the devil’s antics, we must not be afraid, because the Stiller of Storms is with us. You will be very wise to always have Jesus in the boat of your life, for He will always rise to any challenge you are confronted with when He is the captain of your life’s boat. A person’s true character is revealed when he or she is confronted with difficult situations. The raging storm revealed that the disciples did not really know Jesus as they ought to know Him. If they did, they would not have accused Him of not being concerned with their plight. As a matter of fact, their show of surprise at Him stilling the storm shows that they had little understanding of Him being God among men. In light of their example, we must never assume that we have fully known the Lord until we see Him in glory (1 Corinthians 13:12). We must continually desire and pray to know Him the more, just like Paul did all the days of his life (Philippians 3:10). The more of Him we know, the more of His peace we will have in our hearts. I pray that His peace will continually fill your heart, even in the midst of the storms of life, in Jesus’ Name.
KEY POINT:
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (Proverb 17:22).
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Nehemiah 12-13 Hosea 10
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 7: MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name
Refrain
On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
When darkness hides His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
Refrain
His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay
Refrain
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne
Refrain
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