Through The Storm

 

And, approaching, they rouse Him, saying, "Lord!  Save us! We are perishing!"  And He is saying to them, "Why are you timid, scant of faith?"  Then, being roused, He rebukes the winds and the sea, and there came a great calm.  Now the men marvel, saying, "What manner of man is this, that the winds as well as the sea are obeying Him?" 

Matthews Account 8: 25-27, Concordant New Testament 

It was definitely a difficult time in my life.  My mother had just passed and I was openly wondering if God even was hearing me.  My prayers for some time had been that the Lord would relieve her pain and heal her, but now it seemed as if God was ignoring those requests, or was He?  As my good friend led the memorial service that day, he began to speak of the moment the disciples of Jesus began to fear for their lives in the midst of a storm on the sea of Galilee.  Where was Jesus during this terrifying time?  In the back of the boat asleep.  Imagine the thoughts going through the minds of His disciples, here they were in the middle of the storm and their teacher was sleeping through it all!  Why wasn't He helping them?   So, they did what anyone would have done, they rushed to wake up Jesus.  As His disciples stood before Him in fear and trembling, Jesus inquired of them, "Why are you timid?" {Matthews Account 8:26}.  Jesus truly wondered what His followers were afraid of in the middle of this storm.  Was He not the savior of all mankind?  The living Son of God?  Despite this, the disciples feared for their safety.  And so, Jesus calmed the wind and the waves {Matthews Account 8:26}.  Astonished, His followers wondered amongst themselves, What manner of man is this, that the wind and the seas are obeying Him?" {Matthews Account 8:27}.  Who indeed.  What made this passage appropriate was that I was enduring a situation in my own life where I felt as if Jesus was asleep in the back of that boat.  Little did I know that He wasn't sleeping at all, but I was enduring that storm in Him.  Too many times, traditional church theology teaches us that when times are tough, we should pray to God for His help and guidance.  We're taught that we learn more from the mountains of our lives than we do from the valleys.  But is God limited to the situations we endure?  I would say no.  For when we truly know God, we understand who He is and the depth of our relationship in Him.  Jesus has spoken that we live in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Knowing this, what storm do we ever face that our Father is not an intimate part of?  

Wherefore also, lest I should be lifted up by the transcendence of the revelations, there was given to me a splinter in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, that he may be buffeting me, lest I may be lifted up.  For this I entreat the Lord thrice, that it should withdraw from me.  And He has protested to me, "Sufficient for you is My grace, for My power in infirmity is being perfected."  With the greatest relish, then, will I rather be glorying in my infirmities, that the power of Christ should be tabernacling over me.  Wherefore I delight in infirmities, in outrages, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, whenever I may be weak, then I am powerful. 

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 12: 7-10, Concordant New Testament 

The apostle Paul was in torment.  He was going through a difficult time in his life, and so he prayed that the Lord would remove it from him.  Three times we're told Paul entreated God to remove this torment from him {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 12:8}.  What was the Lords response to Paul?  "Sufficient for you is My grace" {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 12:9}.  Paul understood that he did not have a distant relationship with the Lord, but that Christ was an intimate part of his life.  We're told that there is nothing which will ever take us away from the love of the Father {Paul to the Romans 8:39}.  Knowing this, what situation will we ever face that God is not an intimate part of?  Church teachings based on our separation from God will have us believe that the difficult times we will endure are somehow due to Gods anger or disapproval with us.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We know that the one true nature of God is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  We know and understand that it is the desire of the Lord that ALL be saved through Christ Jesus {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  Jesus has never been asleep in the back of that boat.  When we encounter difficult situations, we do so through our life in Him. 

~Scott~ 

The Different Faces Of God

 Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, is the same One for the eons also. 

To the Hebrews 13: 8, Concordant New Testament 

I was reminded once again this week of the varying beliefs among the followers of Jesus within this religious system we call Christianity.  While in conversation with one of my fellow gym goers, I once again learned of the biblical promises of punishment and banishment.  Now, I'm not a stranger to these institutional teachings of the mainstream church.  Growing up, it was all that I knew about God.  What I knew about Him was what I learned from going to church each Sunday.  I learned that Christ Jesus gave Himself for my sins, but I also learned that it was those same sins which were keeping me from a relationship with the Father.  How does that work?  From a young age, I learned that all I could ever hope to do was to "Be like" Jesus.  If I was somehow like Jesus, then my ticket to heaven was punched and I was good to go.  Yet something happened on the way there.  Like the man Saul on that road to Damascus, I was suddenly faced with one of the most important decisions of my spiritual life.  The decision to realize the truth of Christ, or to continue in my beliefs of the man-made religious system.  It was the apostle Paul, who when he came face to face with Jesus, finally became aware of the Christ he had spent his life persecuting.  It was the Father Whom, as Paul proclaims, proceeded "To unveil His Son in me" {Paul to the Galatians 1:16}.  That is, Christ in this man who had spent so much time and effort persecuting Jesus.  Had Jesus somehow changed from the Savior Saul once envisioned?  No, for Jesus has always been the same today as He ever was {To the Hebrews 13:8}.  God is the same as He's always been {Malachi 3:6}.  No, it is not Jesus who changed, but Paul's own realization of who He was.  As for myself, the decision which I was faced with was to recognize the truth of Christ in me, or continue in the teaching of the church system which denied that truth.  In the end, it is the revelation of the Father who brought me into this knowing.  

"Religion has actually convinced people that there is an invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day.  And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do.  And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time!  But he loves you.  He loves you, and he needs money.  He always needs money.  He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow he just can't handle money" 

~George Carlin~ 

Have you ever noticed just how many different translations of scripture that exist out there?  We have translations for every language, age group and belief system imaginable.  Are we foolish enough to believe that all of these translations of the word have not watered down the words and intent of the scriptures?  A good friend of mine often uses the word "Lens" when talking about the different translations and beliefs within Christianity, and he's right.  All too often , we will view Jesus and Christianity through the lens of what we ourselves believe.  Knowing this, my own views of Jesus and the Father might not mesh with those of my fellow gym friend.  I do not believe in the separation of man and God.  This is simply a result of the lie spoken by the deceiver in the garden {Genesis 3:1-8}.  Satan led Adam and Eve to believe that were they to partake of the fruit which God commanded them not to, that they would "Be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5}.  The issue with this is that Adam and Eve were ALREADY like God.  It was the Father who created them is His own likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  It is the God who breathed into them the breath of life, creating a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  God has always been a intimate part of who it is that we are.  It is not the Lord who has changed, but our own understanding of who He truly is.  

~Scott~