Calming The Storm

CALMING THE STORM

 

This was the title of the devotional article in ODB this morning May 26, 2015. It was written by Marvin Williams and based on the story from

(Mark 4:35-41) about Jesus calming the storm that the disciples thought that they were going to drown in it, while Jesus slept in the back of the boat. In the NLT version we read "When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves 'Silence! Be Still'. Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm". All it took was 3 words from Jesus "Silence, Be Still", and the storm was over, and the surface of the lake was calm again. I think we can all learn a good lesson from this story. First of all they were following a command of Jesus "Let's cross to the other side of the lake", and apparently the sudden storm was caused by "the Enemy" of God and His children. We know this enemy by different names in scripture, such as Satan or the Devil, and he is always trying to oppose followers of Jesus, and prevent us from doing His commands. In this case he caused the sudden storm that brought great fear to the disciples, and they woke up Jesus who was calmly asleep in the back of the boat. Immediately Jesus knew who caused the storm and simply rebuked the wind that was causing the waves that threatened the boat with just 3 words "Silence! Be still!" This is a good example of the power that God has given to His Son Jesus.

 

As followers of Jesus today we have access to this same power, provided we are being obedient to His commands. The key is "obedience" to whatever the Holy Spirit shows us what we should do or say. It is very important that we be sure it is really the Spirit speaking to us and not some "Anti-Christ" spirit from the enemy. Paul the Apostle has a good word for us on this matter of hearing from God in (1 Thess 5:16-22) he says "Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil". This is good advice for all of us who often hear prophecies from people we don't actually know very well. Just because they claim it is a word from God, it is still our responsibility to check it out with God's Word to make sure it lines up with the written Word of God. Failure to do this is often the cause of much error being introduced into the Body of Christ. That's why God had His Word written for our benefit, so let us be sure we use it!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                         27/05/15

Sin Redefined

SIN, REDEFINED

 

Sin as defined by God's Word has been purposely redefined by our humanistic secular society in the past century or two. All to make it more acceptable and less offensive to the modern or post-modern mindset! The Bible, which is our Creator God's written standard for a life style that will please Him, is very specific in defining sin. It uses several words to cover the meaning of sin, but basically they all pertain to the breaking of the 10 commandments listed in the Old Testament book of Exodus, written by Moses and recorded in (Exodus 20:1-17). This is known as the "Moral Law" of God, which Jesus came to fulfill in his life time on earth. The Jewish religious leaders at the time of Jesus had multiplied these 10 laws to 613 rules and regulations that the people were expected to keep in order to live a life that would satisfy God! This is the natural outcome of any "religion", which is always based on activities designed to earn acceptance with their particular understanding of their god, or "higher power".

 

Those of us who have become followers of Jesus, since we were "born again" by the Holy Spirit of God when we accepted Him by faith, now realize this is a gift from God. As a gift of grace, and not the result of religious good works, we receive it as a gift and thank God for it. Jesus came to reveal the Father to us, since He is Spirit and invisible. Jesus came to make Him known, and once we have accepted Jesus as Savior, we are then adopted into the Father's Forever Family, and receive the gift of eternal life! (1 John 5:11-12). Some sins like homosexuality are condemned in the Bible, and listed as an "abomination" to God. Today it is simply called an "alternative gay life style", and a woman who was once a "prostitute" is now given the title of being a "sex trade worker", and on and on the redefining goes. I'm sure that God has not changed His opinion on anything He lists as sin in His Word, just because we have redefined it. God never changes, and is the same "yesterday, today, and for ever". He refers to Himself as "Alpha and Omega", the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. (Rev 22:13). Jesus said "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End". This should convince even hardened modern day Pagans, that they cannot get God to change His stand on what He considers as sin! So let us continue to pray for people who have not yet seen their need to repent, and ask Jesus for forgiveness. May they see Jesus in our behavior and life style, and be convinced He is who He claims to be!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                revised 17/09/13

Frangrant Living

FRAGRANT LIVING

 

I was attracted by an article by Joe Stowell by this name in ODB on April 8, 2015. He based his article on (Phil 4:18), where the apostle Paul was thanking the Philippians for sending a gift of money when he was in need. This verse is part of a longer passage (Phil 4:10-19) where Paul gives thanks for their generosity toward him, and he told them it was "a sweet smelling sacrifice that was well pleasing to God". We should all be thankful for our ability to smell, just imagine the things we would miss if we couldn't smell. I'm sure we all remember the smell of home cooked bread fresh from the oven, or of lilacs or roses when in bloom, or many other fragrances that would be lost to us if we couldn't smell. But here Paul is talking about "acts of kindness" that are a sweet smelling aroma to God. Do we ever think that when we do acts of kindness to others, that we are actually filling God's throne room with sweet smelling aromas? Probably if we realized this fact we would spend more of our time doing these little acts of kindness to others more often.

 

Often we are too busy to even be aware of the needs of others around us; the Bible tells us clearly that we are to care for orphans and widows, and who doesn't know a few widows? Often they are lonely and would welcome a visit, or even a phone call. The Holy Spirit will certainly lead you to some widow who needs a visit or phone call, and all we need to do is to be obedient to His prompting. Really, "Little Acts of Kindness" are not hard to do, and if God knows we are available and willing to be used, I'm sure He will use you. If you are looking for scripture passages that tell us what our new "Life in Christ" should look like, read some out of Paul's letters to the church he had started. For example try (Phil 2:1-5; 12-18) or (Col 3:1-17), both of these letters will give you lots of good advice to follow to prove that your life has been changed since being born into God's family. Chances are that many of the people that you relate to every day in some way, could be open to learn more about Jesus and God's Word. And unless you are open to here God's voice when He wants to direct you to that certain person who has a hunger to know God, then His will cannot be done. God desires all people to come to know him intimately as His children, but this only happens through them coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, see (John 14:6) for the details of how to come to Father only through His Son Jesus Christ !!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                      09/04/15