The Importance of Understanding the Awesome Powers of Jesus; like Rebuking the Wind and Calming the Sea!

25 Oct 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   25 October 2026   Mark 4:39.

Mark 4:39.        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.

Arise and go boldly and confidently to the Lord’s sanctuary, this bright and beautiful autumn Sunday morning my fellow believers, so you can meet and greet other believers and there praise and worship Almighty God, while encouraging each other to keep on keeping on, to keep fighting the good fight for Jesus.

And today’s song of worship is one written way back in 1874 by American songwriter Mary Anne Baker. Apparently, she was a member of the Baptist denomination, residing in Chicago, also an active worker in the temperance cause, and the author of various hymns and temperance songs. This song, ‘Master, The Tempest is Raging,’ turned out to be her most famous composition, based on the theme of ‘Christ stilling the tempest.’ Today we’re going to do a slow, soulful, heartfelt version, like that done by the Black American Gospel singer, Jessy Dixon, at the Bill and Goria Gaither Homecoming Sessions.

Singing: ‘Master, the tempest is raging, Oh, The billows are tossing high The sky is o’ershadowed with blackness Oh, No shelter, no shelter or help is nigh – Carest thou not that we perish? How canst you lie, How canst thou lie there asleep When it seems like each moment so madly is threatening, Oh A grave. a grave, a grave in the angry deep? Get up Jesus because! The winds and the waves shall obey thy will. All you got to say is, Peace, be still, Peace, be still, Peace, be still, Peace, be still.

Whether the wrath, the wrath of the storm-tossed sea, Or demons, or evil men, or whatever it be No water can swallow the ship wherein lies The Master of the ocean, the earth and sky They all shall sweetly obey thy will, If You say, Peace, peace, be still They all shall sweetly obey thy will, If You say, Peace, peace, peace, be still.

Monologue: The Lord will give you peace, He wants to give you peace, In the midnight hour, When there’s nobody else there, God will give you peace, When you feel lonely, You have someone who will give you perfect peace. He ‘ll be your friend, Yes, He will, The Lord will give you peace, If you’re looking for peace, in all of your needs, in all of your days, get down on your knees and talk to Jesus, Yes talk to Jesus. Yes, whenever the Lord says, there will be peace, there will be peace, For He knew it, Yes, He knew it, Peace, be still, Peace, be still, Peace, be still Peace, be still….’

Ah friends, what an encouraging and inspiring song! And we all know the story on which it’s based, that of Jesus and the disciples crossing over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee when a terrible storm suddenly arises, threatening to sink the boat.  Jesus was apparently unperturbed about the situation, for he slept quietly in the stern of the boat.

The disciples, however, were very agitated and woke Him up, asking, ‘Master (Teacher), carest 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 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 4:38-41)

And the answer is the man who created the wind and the sea; the Prince of Peace. So, if He desires peace then there will be peace. That’s why in the song Dixon is so sure that anytime you want peace, even when you’re alone and lonely in the darkest midnight hour, all you have to do is talk to Jesus and He’ll give you peace; perfect peace. For whenever Jesus desires to let peace reign in our lives, peace will reign!

Yes, we know for a fact that the Lord will give us peace, when we come to Him sincerely and ask for it. Bruh Paul stated it very clearly in his letter to the Philippians: ‘Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep (guard) your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:6-7)

And Bruh Paul was able to make that confident claim based on these wonderful words of Jesus: ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’ (John 14:27) You’ll notice my brethren, that Jesus’ peace is nothing like what the world calls peace. As Bruh Paul says, it’s a peace that passes all human understanding. Yes, our finite minds are too puny to comprehend it, because it comes from the infinite mind of God that’s ever so much greater than ours.

And if that verse on peace by Jesus did not grab hold of you, (smile) then listen to this one, where He further assures us: ‘These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.’ (John 16:33) Wow! Jesus did overcome the world by defeating, hell, death, the grave and the devil, through His sacrificial death and resurrection.

And Jesus is all about peace! That’s why the prophet Isaiah spoke of His is birth so long ago, saying: ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ (Is. 9:6) And while here on earth, Jesus did live up to all His many names, and still does! So, it’s no wonder that Jesus just exudes peace, (smile) and whenever we desire peace, or anything else, we just have to look to Him, for He is our Be All and End All, our Everything! Much LOVE!

…thou wilt keep him in perfect peace…whose mind is stayed on thee…because he trusteth in thee…  (Is. 26:3)

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians Believing that the LOVE of Jesus can Lift Us out of Any Negative Situation!

16 Aug 2026 Leave a comment

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

Today’s Scrip-Bit   16 August 2026   Matthew 14:31.

Matthew 14:31.        And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

Come on friends, the church bells are ringing, letting us know that it’s Sunday and we’re therefore required in the Lord’s sanctuary to praise, worship, fellowship, encourage and enjoy the company of other believers, while receiving God’s grace and mercy to enable us to go out into the new week of work with confidence and trusting faith. And this past week when I was in Toronto, I heard church bells ringing, and was I ever surprised and delighted because I hadn’t heard church bells ringing in a long while.

I remember church bells being such an integral part of church going. They would ring every Sunday morning, inviting you to come to church. Oftentimes too it was a wakeup call, after a late night out on Saturday. But for whatever reason, the practice was abandoned. I don’t even remember when that happened, possibly during a period when I stopped going to church. (smile) But with or without bells ringing an invitation or a wakeup call, we’re still required to attend church regularly and on this Sunday morning we’re going to open the celebrations with a wonderful hymn we all know, simply titled, ‘LOVE LIFTED ME.’

It was written in 1912 by Irish immigrant to the U.S James Rowe (1865-1933). He was a railroad worker for ten years in New York before becoming an inspector for the Hudson River Humane Society. The lyrics draw from the gospel stories of Jesus and His disciples at sea. Rowe imagines sinking in water to sinking in sin and that Jesus can lift us out of despair to salvation. And is that ever a wonderful notion to consider! So, let’s offer up our sweet sacrifices of praise in a soulful, heartfelt, mid-tempo version that truly reflects our sentiments.

Singing: ‘I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, Very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more; But the Master of the sea heard my despairing cry, From the waters lifted me, now safe am I. (Refrain: LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me. LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me.) All my heart to Him I give, ever to Him I’ll cling, In his blessed presence live, ever his praises sing. LOVE so mighty and so true merits my soul’s best songs; Faithful LOVING service, too, to Him belongs.

[Refrain] Souls in danger, look above, Jesus completely saves; He will lift you by His LOVE out of the angry waves; He’s the master of the sea, billows His will obey; He your Savior wants to be, be saved today. [Refrain: LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me. LOVE lifted me! LOVE lifted me! When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me…. Yes, When nothing else could help, LOVE lifted me….’ Oh, that was beautiful my brethren! And as so often happens, we had heaven singing along with us, because it’s such a sweet, truthful hymn about their Crown Prince! (smile)

Now, although most of us know the stories behind the song, it’s always helpful to review them for whatever information and inspiration they might provide. The first incident occurred after Jesus fed the five thousand men, beside women and children with five loaves of bread and two small fishes, and they collected twelve baskets of leftovers afterwards. Then right after the feeding, Jesus compelled the disciples to get into a boat and sail to the other side, while He sent the crowd away, then went up into a mountain by Himself to pray, where evening found Him up there alone. (Matt. 14:14-23)

However, the boat with the disciples was then in the middle of the sea in a frightening storm. The Bible recounts: ‘And in the fourth watch of the night (between 3 and 6 a.m.) Jesus went unto them walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit (ghost); and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer (take courage); it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come.

And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous (violent), he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’ (Matt. 14:25-31)

Ah mih people, that’s the same question Jesus asks many of us today, when we allow fear to overcome our Christ-inspired faith and courage. Now Peter had the parts to at least come down and begin walking on the water, but in the midst of it, He unwisely refocused His attention from Jesus to the violent wind blowing around Him. But we are also guilty of the same thing; taking our eyes off of Jesus and focusing them on our circumstances, when we quickly lose all sense of courage and faith. It’s therefore essential to never take our eyes off Jesus when confronted with any disadvantageous situations, because then we’re likely to go under.

But, as with Peter, it’s necessary to cry out to Jesus for help in negative situations, so that His LOVE can lift us up. And when it was all over, the disciples worshipped Jesus saying, ‘Of a truth thou art the Son of God.’ (Matt. 14:33) And though it seems sort of late for them to be doing that, I’m sure Jesus understood their fragility, just like He understands ours today.

And the second story is another incident where Jesus and the disciples are crossing the sea and a raging tempest blows up, with the waves washing over the sides of the boat filling it with water. Meanwhile Jesus is asleep on a pillow in the stern of the boat, and the disciples wake him, 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 (Jesus) 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 4:38-41)

That man was only the One who created the wind and the sea, so they obviously obeyed Him. And I like how the scholars put it about the disciples’ fear, saying that ‘it must have been a mixture of reverential awe and real fright – it would be chillingly eerie to witness the instantaneous dissipation of a violent storm.’ And so it would be, but we still need to remember that it’s Jesus we’re dealing with, to whom nothing is impossible. And as one commentary puts it: ‘Rowe’s hymn masterfully incorporates both stories, using sinking or being swamped into the sea as an illustration for “sinking deep in sin…sinking to rise no more.” Jesus, “Master of the sea,” hears our pleas for help, reaches out to us in LOVE, and lifts us up into the well-being of grace.’

And that is exactly what He does! But we must have the faith and the courage to call out to Him for help, when we find ourselves in negative situations. Remember, it’s all for our benefit! Much LOVE!

…it’s no shame…to cry out to Jesus for help…any time at all…under whatever circumstances…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien