It has been one
of the ten best days of June - and it is my brother-in-law's birthday.
"When morning gilds the sky , my heart awakening cries, 'may Jesus Christ
be praised.'" The Lord blessed us with a sweet and winsome Wednesday
evening in His House yesterday. I had my regular visit to my doctor
yesterday. I had a very good report. Thank you, Jesus. Thank
you all in upholding me in prayer faithfully and fervently all these
years. I am deeply grateful. I went to visit a dear servant of Jesus
yesterday. She has been battling with some precarious health concerns.
The Lord has blessed her with a very brave heart. Despite her
health problems she has been actively involved in the children's ministry in
the church and her ministry of healthcare at the hospital. She and her
husband have also been involved with ministering to foreign students at the
local university, providing a home away from home for them. She and her
husband and the family are trusting the Lord of our journey all the way.
I
stopped at Sam's Club yesterday, where I ran into couples whom I have
known over the last several years. One lady is a Church organist
and her husband is a IT specialist. They shared about their 11 year old
grandson. He is the apple of their eye. We praised the for His
wonders and marvels in our lives. The other couple I met at the Store was
part of the ministry team at the church I served for several years. They
both are the ordained ministers. They have been a blessing in my
life. They shared that they celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary
this year. The wife had a but with cancer 25 years ago.
The Lord has kept her strong in the grip of His grace all these years.
Their children have all grown up and they are blessed with grandchildren.
All are well placed in life. They are all spread out all over
the continent. One of the wonders and joys of their lives is a
little girl whom they adopted, who is 4 years old now. They talked about
her with broad smiles and joy. The husband is 75 year sold. May
Jesus increase their breed all over the earth.
I
passionately love the Summer season, and I long that summer would never
end. Summer, with all its sweet glamour, also brings storms and
thunders. We read about a perfect storm as it has been recorded in the
Mark 4. The disciples were in
the midst of deadly storm. The Good News is that Jesus the Lord
was in the storm with them. I think the most amazing part of
the miraculous story is the disciple’s reaction to Jesus. When
Jesus asked them why they were afraid, it is the Greek word meaning fearful in
the moderate sense. But when Jesus calmed the storm, the Bible says, “They were
terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey
him!’” (Mark 4:41). The Greek literally says “they feared with great
fear.” They had thought they afraid before when they were afraid of the
storm, but they were terrified of Jesus. Their fear of the storm was
nothing compared with the fear they had when they realized who it really was
who was with them in the boat. It is one thing to be in the boat with
someone you believe was sent from God to be a great teacher and spiritual leader.
It is quite another thing to be confined in a small space with One whom you
suddenly realize is the Lord of the universe. Your knees give way and you
begin to tremble. You find it difficult to breathe. Your insides
are shaking and you cannot stop.
It is interesting that this is the second time in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus rebuked something and said, “Be still.” The first time was in the first chapter where Mark said, “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!’ ‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. Come out of him!’” (Mark 1:23-25). The people responded in a similar way to the disciples, saying, “What is this? . . . He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him” (Mark 1:26-27). Throughout Mark’s gospel the disciples, as well as others, kept coming to new understandings of who Jesus is, and always in the context of some crisis.
This is true for us as well. We keep meeting Jesus in new ways as we meet him in new crises. We don’t really understand who he is or the power he has until we see him in action. This is what Peter meant when he said, “Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though
It is interesting that this is the second time in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus rebuked something and said, “Be still.” The first time was in the first chapter where Mark said, “Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!’ ‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. Come out of him!’” (Mark 1:23-25). The people responded in a similar way to the disciples, saying, “What is this? . . . He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him” (Mark 1:26-27). Throughout Mark’s gospel the disciples, as well as others, kept coming to new understandings of who Jesus is, and always in the context of some crisis.
This is true for us as well. We keep meeting Jesus in new ways as we meet him in new crises. We don’t really understand who he is or the power he has until we see him in action. This is what Peter meant when he said, “Though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though
refined by fire — may
be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ
is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
It was terrible to be blind, but the blind man could not see who Jesus was until he was healed. The deaf man could not hear Jesus until his ears were opened. The affliction of the lame man brought Jesus to his side and he was able to leap and dance so that he loved the Master and wanted to follow him. Sin had ruined Mary until Jesus delivered her and she was able to understand who he was. Doubting Thomas was devastated by the events that led to the death of Jesus. Everything seemed futile and depressing after that, but Thomas experienced Jesus in a whole new way when he saw him after the resurrection and placed his finger in Jesus’ hands and side. He fell down crying, “My Lord and my God!” It is in those crisis moments that we really understand who Jesus is. If you place your complete faith and trust in Jesus, you will have a greater understanding of him, a deeper relationship with him, and a new love for him when the storm is over. You will see his power over darkness and the depth of his love for you. Jesus is telling us to live by faith, not by fear.
In his book" The Unnecessary Pastor", Eugene Peterson writes: “My two sons are both rock climbers, and I have listened to them plan their ascents [up a mountain]. They spend as much or more time planning their climbs as in the actual climbing. They meticulously plot their route and then, as they climb, put in what they call ‘protection’— pitons hammered into small crevices in the rock face, with attached ropes that will arrest a quick descent to death. Rock climbers who fail to put in protection have short climbing careers. Our pitons or ‘protection’ come as we remember and hold on to those times when we have experienced God’s faithfulness in our lives. Every answered prayer, every victory, every storm that has been calmed by his presence is a piton which keeps us from falling, losing hope, or worse yet, losing our faith. Every piton in our life is an example of God’s faithfulness to us. . . . As we ascend in the kingdom of God, we also realize that each experience, each victory is only a piton — a stepping stone toward our ultimate goal of finishing the race and receiving the crown of glory.”
In Christ,
It was terrible to be blind, but the blind man could not see who Jesus was until he was healed. The deaf man could not hear Jesus until his ears were opened. The affliction of the lame man brought Jesus to his side and he was able to leap and dance so that he loved the Master and wanted to follow him. Sin had ruined Mary until Jesus delivered her and she was able to understand who he was. Doubting Thomas was devastated by the events that led to the death of Jesus. Everything seemed futile and depressing after that, but Thomas experienced Jesus in a whole new way when he saw him after the resurrection and placed his finger in Jesus’ hands and side. He fell down crying, “My Lord and my God!” It is in those crisis moments that we really understand who Jesus is. If you place your complete faith and trust in Jesus, you will have a greater understanding of him, a deeper relationship with him, and a new love for him when the storm is over. You will see his power over darkness and the depth of his love for you. Jesus is telling us to live by faith, not by fear.
In his book" The Unnecessary Pastor", Eugene Peterson writes: “My two sons are both rock climbers, and I have listened to them plan their ascents [up a mountain]. They spend as much or more time planning their climbs as in the actual climbing. They meticulously plot their route and then, as they climb, put in what they call ‘protection’— pitons hammered into small crevices in the rock face, with attached ropes that will arrest a quick descent to death. Rock climbers who fail to put in protection have short climbing careers. Our pitons or ‘protection’ come as we remember and hold on to those times when we have experienced God’s faithfulness in our lives. Every answered prayer, every victory, every storm that has been calmed by his presence is a piton which keeps us from falling, losing hope, or worse yet, losing our faith. Every piton in our life is an example of God’s faithfulness to us. . . . As we ascend in the kingdom of God, we also realize that each experience, each victory is only a piton — a stepping stone toward our ultimate goal of finishing the race and receiving the crown of glory.”
In Christ,
Brown
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