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Thoughts Archived > Storm? Faith!


29 Jul 2012

                                   

 

July 29, 2012

     Storm?  Faith!     

Luke 8: 22 - 25

 

Luke

One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's cross over to the other side of the lake."  So they got into a boat and started out.  On the way across, Jesus lay down for a nap, and while he was sleeping, the wind began to rise.  A fierce storm developed that threatened to swamp them, and they were in real danger.

The disciples woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"

So Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging waves.  The storm stopped and all was calm!  Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?"

And they were filled with awe and amazement.  They said to one another, "Who is this man, that even the winds and the waves obey him?"  

 

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Thoughts.....

 

Good morning! This is a fine morning as regards the weather where I am.  There may be some storms, but isn't that a normal event in anyone's life?  I'm not just talking about rain, thunder, lightning.  I'm referring to the storms of life.  Let's take this reference thought by thought this morning and see where it leads.

Pretty benign statement Jesus makes.....'let's cross over to the other side of the lake'.  Are there times you decide to do something and ask others to join you?  Of course.  So Jesus and his disciples....'got into the boat and started out'.  Much like the ministry the Lord has placed upon me and you have shared.  Thank you.

Scripture then says, 'On the way across, Jesus lay down for a nap, and while he was sleeping the wind began to rise.  A fierce storm developed that threatened to swamp them, and they were in real danger.'  I don't know about you, but my life has had plenty of fierce storms that have threatened to swamp me, and my family.  We are currently in one and in real danger.  Are you?  My heart is with you, if so.  It can't be easy going through what you are going through.  I know it is not easy for me. 

I think it is interesting to note that Jesus was lying down on the job when this crisis occurred.  I wonder how much of our crises are because we do not keep Jesus awake in our life.  Surely they can't be happening because he goes to sleep, but having him alert to our needs may divert the crises, or soften the storms, when they do come.  We keep him alert first by inviting him into our life, then having a relationship with him, talking with him, and praying to him.   

Like for the disciples, storms can be pretty scary.  'The disciples woke him up, shouting, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!"  Oh, ye of little faith, huh?!  Where was their faith?  In Philippians 4:6 we are told by Paul and Timothy "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ."  I hear you.....peace doesn't change the facts of the crisis at hand, it just may make you feel better through it.  That's a start.  But we have a tendency to forget the first part of this. 

"Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done." 

I know it is hard to not worry.  Sometimes it can seem impossible.  But this is stated as a command, not a suggestion.  It is an action we must take to obtain a positive outcome.  It must become mind over matter.  If you practice it enough, it will become second nature.  Ya....I've about got it down now.  Don't ever think the life of a Pastor is easy....human is human no matter how you title it.  I'm still just a small little me in God's big world....despite, like you.....I am a child of the King of Kings.  We are all equal.  The good and the bad can hit with the same velocity and ferocity, and does. 

In the scripture above, Phil 4:6, we are to not worry.  Pray about everything.  Tell God what you need.  And thank him for all he has done.  I take this last sentence to mean that God has performed your prayer request whether it has manifested in your life or not yet.....YET.  That's faith.  It's trust.  It's belief.  I think it is the Revised Standard Version...don't hold me to that, but one of the references states....'In everything pray, with praise and thanksgiving'.  The word 'in' implies 'in the midst of'.  So right there, in the middle of your crisis, thank God.  Give him praise and thank him.  You can also thank him for all the things that have occurred in your life to that point.  Note I did not say wonderful, because everything that has happened to us would probably not all be wonderful, but it all got us to this point, teaching lesson or frosting on the cake. 

So maybe the disciples should have stood up and said, "Hey, thanks God for all the storms around us, and, based on our humanness, we appear to perhaps be about to drown, but we are grateful to you for everything you've ever done for us, and, we ask you to please save us from what appears to us to be a crisis of epic proportion, but trusting and believing with faith in you, because we are bringing this to your attention and asking your help, you WILL help us, give us peace, knowing you are here with us, and we thank you."   Surely God doesn't want to go down with a sinking ship, what testimony would that leave?!  How would he get any glory?  Pay attention!!!!!

So Jesus woke up.  We learn, 'Jesus rebuked the wind and the raging waves.  The storm stopped and all was calm!'  If we are to emulate him....be like Jesus and do as he has done....and does continue to do, due, in part, to our lack of faith, I'd say that in the midst of every crisis, we, too, are to rebuke the storms.  We can look at this also as Holy Spirit (wind) and Satan (raging waves) fighting.  And that is a lot of what occurs around us and within us.  If we have accepted Holy Spirit into our lives, he will fight Satan.  Many times we experience a battle we are to stay out of and just observe with God's peace.  (Who is that Peanuts character with dust around him always?)  Trusting thee with faith sincere.  The battle will play out between Holy Spirit and Satan with us in the midst, but 'IN EVERYTHING pray with praise and thanksgiving'.  Don't say, 'Easy for you to say, Pastor.  I'm in the thick of it right now.  I get it....what you are going through.  I get that times are tough, awful, scary, downright impossible from all HUMAN appearances.  But I HAVE to believe that GOD IS in your midst, and in my midst, and that somehow...he must know, because I sure don't, and I'm guessing, if you are still upset, you do not know either....God WILL calm the storms we are all going through and we WILL have a profound testimony bearing glory to him for all he has done for us. 

'Then he asked them, "Where is your faith?" 

Wow.  Yup....like I was saying.....we MUST believe.  In Ephesians 6:16 we learn that faith is our shield.  Specifically it states:  'In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.'  As a matter of fact, let me just give you the whole paragraph, so you see fully how this message is in context.  Ephesians 6:10-18 reads from Paul: 

'A final word:  Be strong with the Lord's mighty power.  Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. 

Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.  Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.  For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared.  IN every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.  Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere.' 

So Jesus is admonishing the disciples.  Like 'why haven't you learned this already' or 'why aren't you practicing what I've taught you?'  They still didn't get that they could own the same power and use it to benefit themselves.  The world thinks themselves martyrs.  Wrong.  Jesus already died FOR us.  He already suffered FOR us.  We do not have to go down that road.  WE don't have to walk EXACTLY as he did.  WE are supposed to own his power by the Holy Spirit....the gifts of God for the people of God....and use it.  Not selfishly, but proactively.  Big difference. 

EVEN AFTER ALL that they had learned thus far, they still didn't get what Jesus was telling them.  The final paragraph tells us 'And they were filled with awe and amazement.  They said to one another, "Who is this man, that even the winds and waves obey him?"  Get it, folks.  God, Jesus, Holy Spirit have been trying to tell us have faith!  Believe!  Mustard seeds are not very big.  'If you have faith as big as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'move' and it will.' 

Please do not think I am yelling at you or trying to drive home a point in a lording fashion.  I am guilty of being human.  Of not understanding the HOW of 'how is this going to happen, be fixed, go away, made right?'.  I am as human as you are.  Many is the time, like now, that I cannot see the forest for the trees.  That I have cried out to my Lord, "Where are you?!".   I do not have an answer as to how I am going to keep the roof over my head and my family's.  How I am going to pay for medical bills utilities, non-food essentials and lifes situations.  But you know what?  God does.  God knows how it is all going to be 'okay'.  And not just 'okay', but turn out GREAT, WONDERFUL.  It will happen thus, so that God gets the glory, and I will have a powerful testimony to share when the dust settles.  And the same will happen for you.....I believe for me and I believe for you.  I hope you are believing for me and praying for me, as I pray for you.  All of you who have tuned in today and those who surround you.  And many others in the world. 

Don't let the storms of life threaten to swamp you anymore.  Have faith....and act IN it.  Will the winds and the waves obey, as you pray and rebuke?  They should.  Just remember to give God the glory.  Let's join together today with a new understanding of our power....our faith.....our shield.  Let's wreak havoc on Satan's plans.  Let's listen closely to the choirs of angels as they sing 'Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.' 

                    

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Let Us Pray

 

God, I am so excited to understand how much you love me, and that you want my life to be one that will provide me with a great life-giving, life-filled testimony to bring you glory!  I am so grateful that you love me so much.  Jesus, I am grateful to you for dying for me, as awful as that sounds.  Because doing so allows me to be forgiven of my sins, if I but ask....and I do....right now....please forgive me of my sins.  And I know in asking, you will grant me forgiveness.  My sins include those steps I may have taken that were not on your plan for my journey...maybe I wasn't listening, or I couldn't hear you for the chaos around me.  I may have taken a wrong turn or made a decision that wasn't the best.  I seem to have a habit....if there is a left fork in the road and a right fork in the road, I seem to take the wrong fork in the road.  Then, knowing this, I take the alternate fork and get really messed up.  Isn't that how you must be seeing life from up in heaven?  All of us down here scurrying around on the wrong roads?  Forgive me, please.  But I am sincerely grateful you are there to dig my sorry.....self.....out from my maneuverings.  And even when I believe I am following your path, somehow the world becomes cruel....that would be Satan....and he pulls the rug out from under me, so I lose my footing.  Golly, he is a pain.  And then there are those in the world that tell me I shouldn't do something that you and I have definitely agreed upon that is best for me to do.  And that is really hard.  It's alienating for sure.  Because people in the world, even if they say they know you, may not have a relationship with you. And even if they understand you for their life, they aren't going to necessarily hear from you about my life and our relationship.  And that, when you speak, I listen....most of the time....when I can hear you.  And I do everything I can to do what you direct me to do.  It may not be the worlds way and often is not.  But it is YOUR way.  And to me, that's all that matters.  It matters because it is the path to eternal life.  And I want to live forever with you and for you.  I look forward to being with all in my family who have gone on before me....keeping my bed warm in the mansion you have built for us.  Today I learned...again I am reminded....I need to 'own the power'.  That I am to have on my shield of faith every moment of every day.  That I am to act on and IN my faith to rebuke Satan and all he tries to do.  That I am to emulate you and do as you have done and continue to do.  Me enacting, takes some of the burden off of you, but also emboldens me, as Holy Spirit dwells.  I have only to draw from within to reach Holy Spirit to proclaim boldly against Satan and his assigns and their shenanigans.  Holy Spirit and I have disipated tornadoes.  We have calmed thunder storms.  Healed the sick.  Surely a matter such as needing money to keep the roof over my family's and my head, utilities getting paid, having food and non-food essentials and money for lifes situations should be easy.  So far not, but I'm not seeing what you are right now.  I have also not fully enacted that power with Holy Spirit, but will as soon as I am done preaching.   Nor am I seeing what crises other's are going through.  But I will be praying for myself, and them.  I will be rebuking Satan and his assigns away from my life and theirs.  And right now, I ask you God to please provide me with money to pay for the roof over my family's and my head, the utility bills, for food and non-food essentials and for lifes situations like medical bills.  I have faith that you will do this for me and my family, God.  And I have faith you are going to give me all the money you say I am going to receive to meet all my future needs, and for the goals that you and I have discussed, including the ministries you've placed in my heart.  I don't know how, but you do.  And you will guide and direct me, as you see fit, to take the appropriate steps on the journey.  I look forward to you, God, my Ancient of Days, always being in my life.  I bow down to you, thanking you, praising you, and giving all of that IN the midst, as well as for the gifts.  I pray earnestly for all those Christians reaching out in pain, sorrow, suffering, financial crisis, illness, job loss, grief, joy, happiness, fulfillment, that you will be with them right now....embrace them, Father God.  Meet their needs please.  Create miracles in their lives.  Fill them to overflowing as they've never experienced before.  Lift them to new heights,  bringing you glory, so their testimony will bring others flying to your arms.  In you, Lord, we are one.  Help us all to reach out to those who do not know you, sharing who you are, that you are, and how wonderful you are.  In Jesus' name I pray, to heavenly Father God, by and with the power of the Holy Spirit giving praise and thanksgiving.  I love you.  Amen.   Oh, and God, thank you for allowing me to use a computer as the pulpit....the avenue....to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for 4 years now.  Happy Anniversary to us both!  I love you bunches....thanks again.  AMEN!                      

 

Lord,LordJesJeJeJJjEJJJ     JJThe LORD is king!  Let the nations tremble!  T***

 

More love.... 

  Benediction....Blessing

 

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

 

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'.

 

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation. 

It is not how we worship, but that we worship....the Trinity!   

 

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If you feel that the Church of the Holy Spirit has inspired or helped you, we'd like you to prayerfully consider tithing regularly to us or gifting us, so that we can further the work and carry out the will of the Father as proclaimed in Matthew 28:19-20 NLT

 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

 

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  Our Current Cause

 

It is time to reach into the community and the world around you to see wherein lies the greatest need.  As you choose to focus on these areas, do so with a servant's heart.  Whether the need is for children, adults, or animals, or any cause in between that will help those in need, ask God how you can best serve his needs, what path you must take, and how long you should persevere.  Sometimes we are to be in the lives of others merely as stepping stones.  Sometimes we are to touch those lives forever.  Whatever journey you are called to take, whatever team you will be a member, know this:  God is with you always...even til the end of time.  He loves you, is grateful for you, and will help you along life's way, especially if you are helping others along theirs, persevering with a servant's heart. 

Now and always, the Church of the Holy Spirit needs your support.  I pray you will find it in your heart to give today.

  

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and God's....and may God richly bless you! 

BesidesBesid   

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In the meantime, we hope you will trust us to direct them to where the need is the greatest.

 

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    One last thing....

 

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rhythms of Grace'

 

"Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

 

  Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

 

And the people said,

"Amen."

 

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided. 

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  Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

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