Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 July 2021 Mark 4:40.

07 Jul 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mark 4:40.     And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 

Then it was Wednesday, and the heat wave we have had for the past few days, with temps in the thirties, seems to have suddenly disappeared, with the high today expected to be in the low twenties, with rain and cloudy skies. What a contrary summer it’s turning out to be; a few hot days backed by a few cool ones. And the rain and thunderstorms seem to be even more prevalent now than in the springtime. It’s therefore no surprise that my sinus allergies are having a right ole time with the temperature vacillation. 

But that’s climate change for you! (smile) However we must learn to weather it like we do everything else. And as with everything else, the best way to weather it is with Jesus as our guide and pilot. There’s no doubt whatsoever that with Jesus leading, we can handle anything, ride out any storm, be it literal or figurative, for He is the man who calms the winds and seas, again, both literally and figuratively. 

We find this highlighted in the Good Book, where while He and the disciples were crossing the sea of Galilee a terrible storm arose – ‘insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves’ – ‘and they were filled (filling) with water, and were in jeopardy.’ The first quote there is from Matt. 8:24, and the second from Luke 8:23. So they did seem to be in mortal danger. But where was Jesus during this crucial and critical time eh? Mark tells us: ‘And He was in the hinder part of the ship (the stern) asleep on a pillow:’ Mark 4:38a) 

Now imagine that nuh…the boat is being tossed to and fro, taking in water, in danger of sinking, and Jesus is comfortably asleep in the stern. That abnormal situation certainly perturbed the disciples, ‘and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?’ (Mark 4:38b) 

Most likely Jesus was upset that they had woken Him from a comfortable sleep, even possibly a sweet dream. ‘And he arose and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this (who can this be), that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ (Mark 4:39-41) 

Now that’s why we are so highly recommending Jesus for the position of Lord and Saviour, Guide and Pilot of our lives! He doesn’t get all anxious and afraid in storms. And if you call out to Him, when you are immersed in them, like we all are at some time or other, He will even take the time and calm those storms for you. That’s how seriously He takes His task as your storm pilot! 

Furthermore, once you engage Him as your dedicated mentor and guide, He has promised never to leave nor forsake you, to stay always by your side and help you through everything in this life, be they good or bad! He said it directly to the disciples: ‘and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20b) 

Wow! How good is that for a life mentor eh? Most wonderful, I’d say! (smile) So you see friends, it’s no half-baked tale I’m spinning you, but the story of real people, and a real God-man. ‘The Son of man,’ was Jesus’ favourite terminology when referring to Himself. But coming back to the story of the storm, it shows that though the disciples had seen Jesus do several miracles their faith was still small. 

Then, as one commentator, Evelyn Oliver/Christian Disciplines says: ‘This story has a lot of importance for us today. It is incredible to see the peace that Jesus had in this situation and the complete turmoil that the disciples were in. Jesus was at peace and not worried about the storm around them. There was no reason for the disciples to be afraid…. We know that Jesus knew what was going on from the beginning because he reprimanded the disciples for their lack of faith. They did not trust in Jesus and all he could and would do. At that moment, the disciples had more fear of the storm than trust in God.’ 

And sadly my people, that same situation still exists with us today. In too many cases, we fear the storms that come upon us more than we trust our Lord and Saviour, Guide and Mentor, Jesus. And that’s a crying shame! For if, in the good and calm times, you ask anyone of us so-called believers about trust and faith in Jesus, we would certainly serenade you with a powerful version of our strong faith. But as soon as the storm approaches, when reality hits, that strong faith seems to just disappear into thin air. 

And we are seeing that show forth very clearly in this pandemic situation. Instead of doing our part, and then standing strong in faith, knowing that this too must pass eventually, we get all worked up and anxious about stuff we have absolutely no control over. And we listen to every Tom, Dick and Harry, who are spouting so much incorrect stuff, so much disinformation, and thus feeding the devil’s fear mongering machine. 

Consequently, in a time when we need to show forth the most faith – which doesn’t mean being foolish like so many of us supposed believers, and refusing to take the few measures within our ability to stop the spread of the virus – our number one     response is fear. No wonder the virus is taking much longer to go away. 

So friends, in times like these, it’s very important for us to remember the memorable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy. ‘For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound (disciplined) mind.’ (2 Tim. 1:7) And God expects us to use those abilities in a sensible manner, which means faithfully turning to Him in the time of storm, with few doubts and little anxiety. Those are human traits that we cannot completely eradicate, but we surely can keep them to a minimum with strong faith in Christ Jesus. 

Now, for those of us who are sincerely endeavouring to keep Jesus first place in our lives, let’s go home declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting the whole world know of our most wonderful position in Christ Jesus. As one strong voice. ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And just in case you don’t remember, or your faith flounders some, (smile) if we endure to the end, that future will be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…how many times do I have to say it eh…Jesus is the answer…Jesus is the answer…Jesus is the answer to EVERYTHING…                                                                                            

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8           

Today’s Scrip-Bit 16 October 2020 Mark 4:40.

16 Oct 2020 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mark 4:40.     ​And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is that ye have no faith?

And after yesterday’s constant drizzle and cold dreary weather, who wouldn’t be glad to see a dry morning with plenty of bright sunshine amidst clear blue skies eh? Yeh friends, it was just one of those days that shouted out: ‘Today is a rainy day, just right for lazing around. So stay inside; don’t go out unless it’s absolutely necessary!’ And that’s exactly what I did: I stayed inside and had a lazy, rainy day at home. Although the duchess might beg to differ, because that’s the kind of day she feels I usually have anyway. (smile) 

But it’s Friday, amidst an abundance of sunshine in a short work week, so let’s hear what the ordinary workingman has to say today nuh. And as always, he declares (awright!) with some vim and vigour: ‘TGIF! Thank God is Friday oui and the weekend is here! But brother, I must be getting old yes, because I’m never usually so tired, especially after a short work week like this one. It’s possibly all the turkey and stuffing and hops that I had over the Thanksgiving holiday last weekend. 

Yeh, it was a quiet Thanksgiving with only the immediate family because of the ban on big and unprotected gatherings that just give the Covid-19 more steam. And although the lockdown was tightened in some places, the virus numbers still haven’t dropped appreciably, because people still not taking the bloody thing seriously. And to make matters worse, yuh know whatever goes on in the U.S. we always copy some up here. So with all the foolishness that going on down there, is obvious some of it happening up here too. 

Yuh know the ole saying, ‘monkey see, monkey do.’ Well that is we up here in Canada. We like to say how we so different from the States, but it’s not as true as we claim nuh, because whatever they espouse down there, we seem to espouse up here too, just on a smaller scale. And things heating up down there with this election business, so expect it to heat up, up here too. 

Ah Lord eh? What is the world coming to eh? Why li’l common sense and godliness can’t prevail eh? Everybody just seem to gone crazy all at once! And yuh know what happens when the inmates ruling the asylum… Steups! All I could hope for is that me and mine stay safe in we li’l corner yes, and keep on thanking God for Fridays and weekends yes!’ 

Ah mih people, these are indeed unprecedented times, and we are all searching for answers, but are we searching in the right places? Now that’s a contentious question, if there ever was one. (smile) Why you ask? Because there are too many differing opinions on our problems, people are too divided over the whys and the wherefores, and therefore no real improvement is possible. One side says this; the other says that; and the middle ground add their two cents worth. Meanwhile the negative problems keep steadily taking their toll. 

Even in the church, the bride of Christ, there is no unity on the subject, so some ignore the dire warnings and continue as normal, while others take a middle ground, and the rest shut down completely. I guess unity in the church is just wishful thinking on my part, since even in the best of times, Christ’s bride is divided and disjoined just like the outside world. But what’s supposed to set us apart from the world eh? Basic faith in Christ and His ability to handle all our problems. 

And that brings to mind the occasion when He and the disciples were crossing the sea of Galilee and a great storm arose that threatened their lives. So all the disciples were scared out of their wits. But where was Jesus eh? Comfortably asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat. And the disciples in great fear ran and woke Him up, saying, ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this (who can this be), that even the wind and the sea obey him.’ (Mark 4:38-41) 

Oh my brethren, we are going through terribly stormy times right now, and unfortunately, too many of us are behaving just like the disciples behaved back then. We’re scared and confused, our faith and trust in Almighty God has sunk to a rather low level because of the widespread suffering and collapse of our society. But God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, so we need to have faith, to stand strong against whatever storms of life come against us. That means we have to consistently read the Good Book and pray always, for we can only stand strong when the Lord’s Word is planted in our hearts and we are continually communicating with Him. 

So let’s do that right now nuh, through our Friday Chant; let’s bare our hearts and souls to Him. All together now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. Yuh know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and the racial strife causing. We not accustomed to that kind of life Lord, and it really telling on us. And we know we can’t handle it on our own, that we desperately need your help. 

Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets. So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the sure and wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. 

And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, so that we can avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to also bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways. It’s also a good opportunity to introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion because of the way we, your faithful believers, handle the situation. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

Saying the prayer is all well and good my people, but now we have to action it and actually behave like the faithful believers we claim to be. Otherwise, our prayers are useless. Much LOVE!

…but be ye doers of the word…not hearers only…deceiving your own selves… (James 1:23) 

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