Skip to main content

Jesus is in your boat

Yo again. Time to change direction. I was reading Mk 4:35-41 today and something caught my eye that gives me great comfort. It is the story of Jesus in the boat when the storm hits. Mark's description tells us it is a really serious storm, a hurricane with great wind and waves that were swamping the boat. While this is going on and the disciples are totally freaking out, Jesus is asleep in a cushion in the stern! It is the disciple's question that they ask of Jesus that gets me. They wake him up and ask, 'teacher, don't you care if we drown?' Do we not often ask a similar question when the going gets tough, 'Jesus, don't you care?' I certainly do when the going gets tough and I have unanswered prayer or struggle in my life.

Well Jesus response is wonderful. He does not say anything but he acts in their interests taking control, commanding the wind and the waves. So the answer is, Jesus does care.

The story goes on with Jesus challenging their lack of faith, asking why they were afraid. We can easily criticise the disciples here; yet, for me, the disciples are behaving in a normal way. I have been in a hurricane as a boy in Niue and let me tell you it is scary to roofs, trees and more flying across the sky. I was scared. Yet Jesus saw this fear as opposed to faith. He encourages them to totally trust him. He may be asleep in the boat, but he is with us.

So, how is it with you. Are you in a boat in the middle of a hurricane. Well be assured, don't be afraid, Jesus is with you; and he cares; so much so, that he will act on your behalf.

Shalom
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Reasons Why A.J. Miller is NOT Jesus!

Note: Forgive me for the long blog, but this one really got me going! Last Sunday night on TV One's Sunday aired the report A.J. The Messiah. The program was the story of A.J. Miller in Queensland in Australia, who, unlike most of us, genuinely believes that he is Jesus. Miller appears at one level to be a normal Aussie bloke, in his early thirties, longish brown hair, unshaven, good looking, articulate and charismatic. Yet, unlike anyone I know but in the manner of other Messiah-claimants, he says without inhibition, "I am actually Jesus." He claims to remember vividly his former life and death including his experience of crucifixion. The memories supposedly began when he was 2 years old and realised later that he was Jesus around 33. In the program he writes on a white-board, "I am Jesus. Deal with it"—to applause from his congregation. He has disciples, some of whom claim to have been with him 2000 years ago including Mary Magdalene who is his "soul-ma
272 comments
Read more

Tribute to Stuart Lange

For anyone who is interested, I have attached my tribute to Rev Stuart Lange here. He is a legend! It was fun to roast him.... A Tribute to Stuart Lange, No Longer Vice Principal Community of Laidlaw… But still church history lecturer… so not a good bye, but my way of Saying Thanks to you for your years as VP Community… Stuart Lange, not Langey; or Longey; or not langgggg.. but Lange! Or, as I like to put it, S.lang… Slang… for good reason. Stuart Lange, history prof, a man who truly embodies his subject; the quintessential historical prof… Slightly eccentric, crooked smile, hooked and bent nose… you know he has a crook elbow too, took the dog for a walk, hit the chain, smashed the elbow… Of course the dog was unharmed… No Surprise, a lover of animals, each year looking after the animals at the Massey Christmas drive through, donkeys, lamas… etc… Then there is his Einsteinlich hair… kind of a wild man of Southland look… in fact… Stuart Lange A face a cartoonist would die for! The ne
491 comments
Read more

Evangelical Presbyterians’ Statement On Same Sex Marriage

I am involved in a group called Presbyterian Affirm. It is an evangelical group within the NZ Presbyterian Church which seeks to promote the gospel and the renewal of churches. A group of us under the leadership of Stuart Lange have worked to put together a statement on same-sex marriage. Our hope is that the government will not pass the legislation, believing that the legislation is not necessary and strays from God’s ideals for humanity. Here is the recently released statement. I would appreciate your thoughts on it. PRESBYTERIAN GROUP OPPOSES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL Presbyterian AFFIRM, a widely-supported conservative network within the Presbyterian denomination, is speaking out against the Bill which would allow same-sex couples to marry, declaring its views in a “Statement on Marriage” (see below). Presbyterian AFFIRM believes that “marriage is a unique human institution and treasure” which has “always been about the pairing of a man and a woman”, and that re-definin
386 comments
Read more