Chronometer (Mark 4.35-41)

Good morning all,

The word of the day is “chronometer.”  Today’s story is one of the first that I remember grasping pretty well.  I was a young Christian and learning about the stories and parables of Jesus.  When I came across this story I was pretty fascinated.  I actually thought to myself, could the story even be true?  As I continued on with my relationship with Jesus, I realized that there is pretty much nothing that he would not be able to handle.  In today’s story proves just that.

“He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” ~Mark 4:39

My question is: where do you put your faith when you face difficult challenges and situations?  I’m the kind of person that likes to take things on myself and not ask for any assistance.  But, as we learned in today’s story, sometimes there is stuff that is out of your control.  At which point, all you can really do is look to Jesus.  Just like the people in the boat, who could not rely on the regular technology of the day – the chronometer – so must we put other things aside and realize that our true strength and answers come from Jesus.

Praying for you,

Mo

Thalassic (Mark 4:35-41)

Good morning all,

The word of the day is “thalassic.”  Jesus had a ton of authority.  But the funny thing is, even though the disciples were with him every single day, they still do not completely get it.  In fact, and our passage today we see that the disciples did not trust Jesus fully.  And, I guess we can’t really blame them.  If you are in a pretty crazy storm, I think that any of us might feel the same way.

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” ~Mark 4:35-41

My question is: how much do you trust Jesus in each area of your life?  Sometimes we give lip service to the reality, which is we do not necessarily believe in God’s power or have as much trust or faith as we would like to think.  I don’t blame the guys in the boat with Jesus necessarily for having little or no faith. It seems like they had a pretty tough day.  But, I think that this story is an illustration of how Jesus is definitely Lord over all things, whether on land, or in thalassic matters, which is itself on the sea.  My prayer is that you trust God a little bit more today than you did yesterday.  This process is long, and sometimes arduous, as the disciples found out the hard way.  You could do it though.

Praying for you,

MO