Tag Archives: boat

Maddening Interruptions!

Bible Study, , ,

MADDENING INTERRUPTIONS!

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, ‘Come with my by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6: 30-32).

Time out for some “me” time for the disciples. Everybody needs a little “me” time in a very busy world. Even Jesus’ disciples needed time out to catch their breath. Jesus was also a human; He understood His men’s weariness and He called them apart to get away from the crowd and relax before the next round of preaching and healing campaigns began. When there is no time to refuel spiritually as well as physically, that’s often when things begin to go wrong. How important to balance busyness and recreation to keep one’s heart and body functional!

But many who saw them leaving recognised them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. (Mark 6: 33).

Well now, weren’t they a considerate bunch! The people thronged them and clamoured for attention from morning until night. This was something they had never experienced before – help when there was no one else to help them. There was no hospital, doctor or medical science to which to turn for their ailments and their disabilities. Then a man arrived on the scene who miraculously cured everything from blindness to the sniffles. Wouldn’t you run after Him, even if you gave not thought to His needs?

What would Jesus do in a situation like this? His disciples needed rest. They needed to have a leisurely meal without being mobbed. By the time they reached the other shore, the people were already there in their thousands. He could so easily have simply turned around and sailed off somewhere else and left them all waiting there in vain.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. (Mark 6: 34)

Imagine if Jesus had dodged the crowd and gone somewhere else with His disciples! He was the Father’s representative, remember? Whatever He said and did, He did in the name of the Father. Had He left them and sailed away, He would have given them a message, loud and clear, that the Father wasn’t to be bothered with them. Was that what He was telling them about their God? This could have been one of those irritating and annoying interruptions, but it wasn’t. He didn’t let it be. He took everything in His stride.

An interruption for Jesus was a God-opportunity to reach out to spiritually starving people with the love of God. There would be time enough for Him and His disciples to rest and eat later on, but this was a “now” moment for Jesus. The people needed Him right them. If He sent them away, there might never be another opportunity to tell some of them the truth.

One of the secrets of Jesus’ serenity and confidence was His living in the “now”. Unlike the people whom the soil in His story of the sower and the seed represented, He was not split between “now” and “then”, or “here” and “there”.

That’s how most of us live. Our “now” had less significance for us than what we are waiting for in the future, or regretting in the past. Why do we insist on living in our “tomorrows” or “yesterdays” when Jesus said that tomorrow had enough trouble of its own? He moved from one moment to the next in the calm confidence that His Father loved Him and was in control. Not even a raging storm on the lake could shake His trust in the Father to take care of His well-being. When He had not boat, He simply walked on the water! When it was time to go elsewhere, He went. When the people ran after Him, He taught them. When He needed time with the Father, He went off by Himself and sought solitude so that He could fellowship with God. He knew how to balance work and rest.

What a difference it would make to our lives if we would follow Jesus’ example? Sometimes I have to stand in a queue and wait my turn to be served. How do I handle the waiting? Impatience rises and I want to jump the queue, expect to be given preferential treatment because I am white, English-speaking, educated, affluent or whatever my condition may be, or walk away and come back some other time when there are not so many people.

The Holy Spirit whispers to me, “Live in the moment.” That’s really hard to do when I want to be somewhere else, do something else because the moment for me is irritating, frustrating or just downright intolerable. How hard it is for me to be like my Master, resting quietly in the Father’s love, knowing that He is here. If I allowed Him to orchestrate my life, I could eliminate the word “stress” from my vocabulary! And live longer too.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Who Is This?

Bible Study, , , , ,

WHO IS THIS?

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 on 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).

Such a familiar story that it hardly moves us any more. Of course we know who this is – Jesus, the Son of God!

But put yourself in the shoes of these twelve men. They thought that they were learning to be disciples of the latest graduate from the Beth Talmid. However, they soon began to realise that, in following Jesus they had bitten off more than they could chew. He just was not what they expected.

First of all, He was unpredictable. Just when they thought they were with a very successful rabbi, crowds following Him, amazing teaching flowing from Him, He took off for another place and started all over again. Why didn’t He stay in one place and build His ministry where He was successful?

Then He kept falling foul of the authorities. Sometimes it was quite embarrassing – the way they attacked Him and the way He talked back to them. Fairly undressed them with His words! One thing they realised – He was smart. The religious types tried to get the better of Him but they could not get it right. He always had an answer right out of the Torah and, enraged though they became, the boffins knew in their hearts that He was right. This didn’t make for good relations with the authorities. Somehow His disciples knew that He would overstep the mark and the religious leaders would get Him.

But He didn’t seem to care. He had His own agenda and no amount of antagonism or opposition He aroused seemed to slow Him down. It was as though He was being guided from another source – not His circumstances but a Person with whom He was in intimate contact all the time.

Did He know, when He decided to go on a boat ride, that He was about to take His men into a crisis? Why put their lives in danger? He knew very well how the weather behaved on the Galilean lake – one moment bright sunshine and calm, the next a furious wind whipping up huge waves on the water. Perhaps He wasn’t aware of what was about to happen. After all, didn’t He take things as they came?

He was worn out after all the teaching and healing and clamouring crowds, desperate people all wanting attention. He also needed to take time out and where better than on the other side of the lake where He could escape the people for a little while? The boat had hardly set sail when He fell asleep on a cushion. How considerate of Peter to have a cushion in the boat just for Him!

Then the wind began to blow. Clouds gathered and blotted out the sunlight. The once sunny sky turned dark and gloomy. The calm water was whipped up into mountainous waves. The tiny craft rose and dipped like a cork on the water. The frightened men tried desperately to keep the boat facing the waves so that they would not be swamped and capsize but, in spite of their experience and their strength, these seasoned fisherman were losing the battle.

And Jesus slept through it all! How could He sleep in the midst of such a furore? The disciples were not only afraid, they were indignant. Didn’t He care about them? At least He could help them although He didn’t know anything about sailing a boat!

They shook Him awake with a sharp rebuke. “Don’t you care what happens to us?” Jesus nonchalantly stood up and spoke to the storm. Just like that! How would that help? “Be quiet!” He commanded the wind. “Be still!” He rebuked the waves. And it happened. One minute they were up on a crest and down in a trough and the next, perfect calm, clouds gone, sun out as though it had never happened.

The disciples were stunned. How did He do that? Another startling experience to add to their list of baffling questions. Who was this Man? Then He turned on them. “What is wrong with you guys? Why are you so scared? Don’t you trust me?” Was this the reason for this outing – to expose them to another aspect of their Master so that they would grow an unshakeable trust and conviction that He was, indeed, the Son of God?

One day they would have to answer His question, “Who do you say that I am?”

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

A Simple Story

Bible Study, , , ,

A SIMPLE STORY

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around Him was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it out in the lake, while the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables and in His teaching said:

‘Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty some a hundred tines.’

Then Jesus said: ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’ (Mark 4: 1-9).

One kind of seed, four kinds of soil, four responses to the seed! What could be more ordinary than that?

Jesus had the opportunity of a lifetime. There were people everywhere. The crowd was so large that He was in danger of being pushed into the water by their jostling to get the best positions. Using a boat as a pulpit, He told them a four-point story. We know it well, but did they get it? They must have stood there scratching their heads and wondering, “What on earth is He getting at?” His disciples were just as puzzled because they questioned Him afterwards about the meaning of the story. Jesus’ stories were never complicated but they packed a powerful punch.

They would have asked two questions: “What is the point of the story?” and “Who am I in the story?” That’s how Hebrew people would have responded to a parable. First of all, they had to realise that He was talking about people and their attitude to God’s word.

When He was alone, the Twelve and the others around Him asked Him about the parables. He told them, ‘The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,

‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding, otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ (Mark 4: 10-12).

“What are you saying, Jesus? You can’t really mean that!” Did He mean that He told them believe? But why? Didn’t He want them to believe in Him and be saved? What was the point of coming to earth to reveal the Father and to take them to the Father if He told stories for the opposite reason? It just doesn’t make sense.

Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6 – God’s commission to Isaiah during his vision of God’s glory in the temple. He was to go and preach to the people until they were blind and deaf to His word (Isa. 6: 9-10). What was Jesus saying? God’s word has a powerful effect on people. It will either harden or soften their hearts depending on what they choose. If they have no interest in responding to His word, every time they hear it, their refusal to respond with make them less able to understand and believe.

In a sense, Jesus was teaching the people in parables to confirm what was already in their hearts. His disciples were open to learning the truth. Was that the reason why Jesus chose men from ordinary walks of life instead of from the recognised streams of learning – because they were open to the truth rather than already moulded into the ways of their teachers?

In a crowd like that there would have been people who were hungry for God as well as people who had no sense of need – who were satisfied with the status quo and who had not desire to change. Those were the ones whom His stories hardened into callous indifference or even outright opposition and resistance.

Of course, the Pharisees and religious leaders were everywhere. They hounded Him wherever He went, looking for opportunities to accuse Him. They had murder on their agenda although they would not admit it. He had to go because He disturbed their stranglehold on the people and exposed their ungodly hearts. Every time He told a story, they were stripped naked and they hated Him for it.

Why did Jesus speak in parables? To make soft hearts softer and hard hearts even harder. It had to be because each person must, in the end, be his own judge. That’s what happens, and we don’t like it. When we open our mouths, we reveal out hearts. When we resist the word of God, we reveal the condition of our hearts. Jesus was being absolutely fair – giving each person an opportunity to hear and respond to His word because, in the end it will be His word that will be our judge.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my new book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (copyright 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Opportunistic Faith

Bible Study, , ,

OPPORTUNISTIC FAITH 

“The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with His disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

“Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.” John 6:22-24 (NIV).

Strange! How did Jesus get back to Capernaum when there was only one boat and He was not in it when the disciples returned from their impromptu picnic?

They had obviously spent the night in the vicinity so that they could be on site when Jesus reappeared the next morning. They knew He must be there because He stayed on the mountain when the disciples set off across the lake. But He had mysteriously disappeared. They waited in vain for Him. Eventually they returned to Capernaum, using the available boats moored nearby.

“When they found Him on the other side of the lake, they asked Him, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ ” John 6:25 (NIV).

Did He give them the slip in the night and walk back to Capernaum? It would have been a long overnight walk and He certainly would have been too tired to be up early and about His business again. They were curious to know how He had returned without a boat, but He didn’t answer them. He was not obliged to satisfy their curiosity. His response went straight to the point.

“Jesus answered, ‘Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs performed but because you ate the bread and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.’ “ John 6:26, 27 (NIV).

These people were opportunists, and Jesus saw right through them. He ripped the cover off the most heinous of all motives for following Him, self-interest.

The book of Job, the most ancient of all the Old Testament writings, explores this “factory fault” in the make-up of all fallen human beings. Behind the scenes and unknown to Job, God boasted to the devil of Job’s righteousness. ‘Only because you mollycoddle him!’ the devil shot back. ‘Touch the possessions you have lavished on him and he’ll turn on you,’ he challenged. ‘Okay,’ the Lord replied, ‘You can take away everything he has but you can’t touch him.’

Satan let rip on Job and mercilessly stripped him of everything, including his children. In the midst of his devastation, he responded with humble submission to the will of God. ‘What about his health?’ the devil hissed. Again God agreed to let him afflict his body but not to take his life. ‘Then we’ll see what happens,’ He confidently declared.

Job was bewildered by this sudden turn of events but, in spite of his grief and confusion, he was still determined to trust God. Not even anger and accusation could bring him to “curse God and die” as his wife suggested. The process to understanding was painful, but Job passed the test. He was not as concerned about his loss as he was about God’s silence. He felt that God was angry with him and he could not understand why.

How tragic that we so often, with the whole Bible at our disposal and the Holy Spirit within us to interpret it, have fallen for the devil’s lie that salvation is all about us and that God is here to serve us. When things go wrong, many of God’s people turn on Him and demand an explanation.

This attitude undermines the very foundation of what God did for us in Christ. His love was the motive, not our need or even our worth yet often our attitude exposes our hearts. We think that God owes it to us. “Why me, God? What have I done to deserve this?” Job’s heart was right and he passed the test, even though he knew nothing of the reason for it.

Can God have the same confidence in you, that “though He slay you, yet will you trust in Him? “Or are you in it for what you can get out of it?

Speak To Your Storm!

Bible Study, , , ,

SPEAK TO YOUR STORM!

“One day He and His disciples got in a boat. ‘Let’s cross the lake,’ He said. And off they went. It was smooth sailing, and He fell asleep. A terrific storm came up suddenly on the lake. Water poured in, and they were about to capsize. They woke Jesus: ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’ Getting to His feet, He told the wind, ‘Silence!’ and waves, ‘Quiet down!’ They did it. The lake became smooth as glass.

“Then He said to His disciples, ‘Why can’t you trust me?’ They were in absolute awe, staggered and stammering, “Who is this, anyway? He calls out to the winds and sea, and they do what He tells them!” Luke 8:22-25 (The Message).

So many interpretations to this story! Some think that this was a demonically inspired storm sent to drown Jesus and His men because they were on a mission to set a demon-possessed man free. Perhaps! But why not a perfectly natural phenomenon that happened all the time because of the geography of the region? Could it be that this storm was regulated and perfectly timed by the Father to expose what was in the hearts of the disciples?

So many lessons in this story! The way we understand it depends on perspective.

From the disciples’ perspective, they were in terrible danger. Jesus was asleep and out of the picture and, if He didn’t wake up, they were finished. They screamed out in terror, not really believing that He could do anything, but needing Him to be aware of what was going on anyway. They were victims of the circumstances and they were powerless to change them. Fear drove out all their confidence in Jesus and paralysed their sane thinking. They had not yet learned to use the power of the Word to save the day.

 

Jesus, on the other hand, was perfectly at rest, fast asleep, storm or no storm! He had been given a commission to go to the other side of the lake. There was someone there who needed Him and the storm was no deterrent. No doubt He was acting in obedience to the Father. Whatever stood in His way would be brushed aside as of no consequence.

Unlike His disciples, Jesus was never controlled by circumstances. If circumstances were the controlling factor, His life would have been a roller coaster ride and who knows where it would have ended? He was in intimate contact with His Father and took His instructions from Him. Like Peter, when Jesus invited him to walk on the water, Jesus walked on the Word of God. His perspective was always the kingdom of God, God’s rule, God’s instructions and God’s way.

Jesus also used circumstances to reveal His Father’s power and glory. Whatever obstacles stood in the way of restoring wholeness in any situation, Jesus spoke, the obstacle was removed and those present caught another glimpse of the true nature of the Father.

The death of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, was one such incident. Jesus was not fazed when He received the news of Lazarus’ illness. “When He heard this, Jesus said, ‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.'” John 11:4 (NIV).

God’s Word is powerful, not matter from whose mouth it is spoken. The disciples eventually learned this lesson. The book of Acts is full of incidents where the power of the spoken Word of God changed situations for them. Disease, demons and even death fled when they spoke to them, just as Jesus had done when He was with them in the flesh.

How sad that so many of us believers don’t really believe this. We rehearse our woes and even pray them to God instead of confidently speaking out what God has spoken. Jesus’ rebuke is equally true of many of us, ‘Why don’t you trust me?’ Jesus is Lord over all things, even wind and weather.

Speak to your storm! It must obey.