I recently spent some time talking to folks from our congregations about an event in the life of Jesus and His disciples. After a full day of healing and ministering, Jesus got in a boat to head to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Now the Sea of Galilee is not a sea but a lake. It is located over 600 feet below sea level. The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake in the world. It is in places over 150 feet deep, and mountains surround it. Therefore it is not unusual for a storm to bear down on the lake and with little to no warning. The gospels tell us that this was no ordinary storm. The disciples were afraid they thought they were going to die. They went and told Jesus who was sleeping, master don’t you care if we drown? Jesus got up and rebuked the storm, “peace be still.” His response to the disciples is that rather than having a storm problem, they had a faith problem. After Jesus calmed the storm, the gospel records that the disciples were filled with fear. No longer were they filled with terror because of the storm, but a fearful realization that one more powerful than the hurricane was on the boat with them.
Often we believe the storm is the battlefield where we face our enemy. The battlefield is the other side of the lake. It is in the storm that we can have an encounter with the Lord. There will be no transformation on the battlefield if there is no transformation on the boat. My prayer is that we each one will have an encounter with Jesus in the midst of our storms.
Like the disciples, we are traveling in uncharted waters today. One thing we know for sure the future ahead of us will be nothing like the past behind us. We are living in a time of change. The first order of business in rapidly changing times is to decide what we will not change! We must not compromise the gospel message. As I look back over my life, I have experienced a lot of changes. Today we are a mission outpost. We must learn and understand the language and the culture of the places where we have been called to serve. We all love to gather and worship, but this can not be the end, we praise the Lord and are grateful for His grace and presence in our lives, and He compels us to go into our world with the gospel.
All around us are people who need the Lord. I am praying this week I will be sensitive to everyone I meet and that I can share God’s love with them. Having met Him in a few storms, I can say the Lord is the Peace speaker! He speaks peace to me today that I may take His peace into my world.
This post was written by Dr Ron Blake. You can find his original post here: wesleyshorse.com/a-lesson-learned-on-a-boat-with-jesus/
Often we believe the storm is the battlefield where we face our enemy. The battlefield is the other side of the lake. It is in the storm that we can have an encounter with the Lord. There will be no transformation on the battlefield if there is no transformation on the boat. My prayer is that we each one will have an encounter with Jesus in the midst of our storms.
Like the disciples, we are traveling in uncharted waters today. One thing we know for sure the future ahead of us will be nothing like the past behind us. We are living in a time of change. The first order of business in rapidly changing times is to decide what we will not change! We must not compromise the gospel message. As I look back over my life, I have experienced a lot of changes. Today we are a mission outpost. We must learn and understand the language and the culture of the places where we have been called to serve. We all love to gather and worship, but this can not be the end, we praise the Lord and are grateful for His grace and presence in our lives, and He compels us to go into our world with the gospel.
All around us are people who need the Lord. I am praying this week I will be sensitive to everyone I meet and that I can share God’s love with them. Having met Him in a few storms, I can say the Lord is the Peace speaker! He speaks peace to me today that I may take His peace into my world.
This post was written by Dr Ron Blake. You can find his original post here: wesleyshorse.com/a-lesson-learned-on-a-boat-with-jesus/
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