Fear or Faith? Which do you want more of?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “Fear or Faith?”
How would you react?
What started as a calm ride across the Sea of Galilee after a long day of teaching turned into a panic and fear of drowning.
Storms were always a threat on the Sea of Galilee. Experienced fisherman would know what to look for and what to do should the weather turn ugly.
But this time was different. Waves were crashing over the boat to the point those in the boat thought they were going to perish.
I would have to. I remember when a member in North Carolina took us sailing on his 30’ sailboat. Even though the waters were relatively calm, I felt like we were just a gust of wind away from tipping over and ending up capsized.
Yet in the midst of the storm on Galilee, Jesus is sleeping.
Mark 4:35-41 records it his way:
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
The contrast is stark – the fear and panic of the disciples and the peace and rest of Jesus.
I don’t know about you, but I’d like more of the peace and rest like Jesus and less of the fear and panic like the disciples.
Jesus promised in John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
So, Jesus’ heart is clear. He wants us to enjoy peace and rest and he provides what we need to have just that. Listen to yesterday’s message if you haven’t and journey through the devotions this week to learn from Jesus and the disciples in the boat how Jesus replaces fear with faith.
Apply: What are the storms of life that are brewing or raging in your life right now. What are your fears regarding them?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for giving us peace in the midst of fear. Spirit of God, work in me to more and more replace my fears with confident faith. Amen.
Church Launch: Our Part…Plant the Word!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
“It doesn’t do any good if you don’t plant it!”
The packets of seeds in my garage are just that…packets of seeds.
The seeds have power to grow and produce food to eat, but the power remains bound up if they are never planted.
The last few devotions have highlighted the power of the Word of God – power to a) ground us in faith, b) guide us through life, and c) guarantee eternal life. This is what God has packed into his Word.
But it must be planted in the hearts of people.
Otherwise, it’s just a book on the shelf.
Remember Jesus’ parable:
Mark 4:26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
A man scatters the seed. This is our part.
God has given us the “seed packets” in order to scatter the Word on the ground of people’s hearts. Once it lands on the soil of a person’s hearts, that’s where God’s Spirit and the inherent power of the Word goes to work.
The farmer then brings in the harvest when it is ready.
The Word works when it is planted. The Word blesses when it is harvested.
Consider some of the fruit the Word produces…
Colossians 1:6 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
It’s like picking beans, harvesting some melons, or pulling some carrots. The seeds work and grow. The harvest comes and we enjoy the fruit.
It’s a wonderful partnership that God has established. He’s given us the power of his Word to plant in the hearts of people. It grows. It develops. It produces fruit.
So don’t let the Word sit on your shelf. Plant it in your heart and scatter it to others.
Watch the power of the Word work and enjoy the fruit it produces.
Apply: Set aside each day time to plant a “seed” of the Word in your heart. Look for an opportunity to plant a “seed” with someone else.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the power of your Word to ground us in faith, guide us in in life and guarantee eternal life. Lead us to not leave the power on the shelf but plant it often and widely. Amen.
Church Launch: God’s Part: Words that Give a Eternal Lifetime Guarantee!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
“Lifetime guarantee!”
Marketers put these two words on their product. It catches your attention. You choose the product with the guarantee (vs. another one without a guarantee) and think, “Great, I’ll buy it once and I’ll never have to but it again.”
Until you read the fine print.
“Guarantee only applies to original owner. Does not transfer.” (So it only covers the “life time” of you or the time you own it.)
“Guarantee does not apply if product damaged or broken by usage outside the normal use intended.”
“Guarantee does not apply if casing is opened up.”
“Guarantee does not cover shipping and labor needed to repair the product.”
So is it really a “Lifetime Guarantee”? Sometimes I wonder.
With the guarantees God makes, there are no caveats. He promises. He’s always faithful to his promise.
The Word is so trustworthy and powerful and timeless that there is no need for anything else.
The Word has the power to guarantee eternal life.
Nothing else can. Our effort? Never enough. Another religion? Leaves questions and uncertainty.
Only the message of grace through faith in Jesus communicated through the Word can guarantee eternal life for us and all in whom God works faith to believe.
On one occasion, Jesus’ teaching rubbed people the wrong way and many left him. He asked his disciples if they wanted to leave too. Peter responded: (John 6:68)
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
The Apostle Paul affirmed his friend Timothy: (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Why look any farther? The Word of God has power to guarantee eternal life. Why?
- God “owns” heaven. So he is the one that can promise it and is the one who guarantees it.
- It’s backed by the perfect life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus.
A manufacturer will modify a guarantee so it sounds good, but might be very hollow. God would never do that. When he guarantees something, when he promises something, it WILL take place.
I guarantee it.
Apply: Look at the next product you see that has a “Lifetime Guarantee.” Then read the fine print…what are the caveats that would limit or negate that guarantee? How is God’s guarantee to you much more certain?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your truth and faithfulness. When you promise, I fully believe you will follow through. Thank you for the “eternal life guarantee” you have given to me in your Word! AMEN.
Church Launch: God’s Part…Word that has Power!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
Mark 4:27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
“I don’t know how. It did it all by itself.”
This sounds like an excuse I may have made as a kid when something I did broke something and I didn’t want to own up to it. I claimed ignorance and claimed I was not the prime mover behind the broken item.
Jesus is not a young man giving an excuse why something broke, he is teaching the reality of the power of the Word of God.
We can’t scientifically or psychologically dissect the sentences, words and letters of the Word of God and discern the power contained in them. We can’t look at the effect the Word has on the hearts and lives of individuals and claim we have some ability to aid the Word to do its work.
It would be as ridiculous as saying of a seed, “I broke it apart and pulled the little shoot out of the seed so it could grow.”
It does it all by itself. So does the Word.
So what does it do?
First, it GROUNDS us in faith.
Romans 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Can you diagram and dissect how the Word worked its way into your heart to lead you to believe the truth that Jesus is your Savior and all the Words of God are true? Probably not. Sure you might be aware of parents who shared God’s Word with you, a family member, or friend, but it’s difficult to identify how God changed your natural inclination to reject Jesus to now believe in him. But he did. The Word did. The truths of faith found in the Word have worked to GROUND you in your faith.
Second it GUIDES us through life.
There’s a useful power in the Word that is second to none. When God works conviction that Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” all the words God gives become useful for every aspect of life. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
How many times have we looked back in life after finding truth in God’s Word and thinking, “Wow, I wasted a lot of time trying to do life my way.” It’s time to let the power of the Word go to work to be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Tomorrow, one more important thing the Word of God does.
Apply: Some of the best practical wisdom of the Bible for life is found in the book of Proverbs. Centuries old, yet relevant today. Read through Chapter 23 of Proverbs today. What one proverb is worth memorizing and implementing in your life today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for packing the power of faith and power of life guidance in the pages of your Bible. Compel me to spend more time in the Word of God so the Word can do what it does all by itself inside of me. AMEN.
Church Launch: God’s Part…the Power of the Word
Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
“There is power in the spoken word. There is longevity in the written word.
When the founders of this country wanted to come up with the things that would hold our country together, they didn’t just say it to each other, they wrote it down so it could have longevity and hold us together in the constitution. …
When God wanted humanity to understand his heart and his love towards them, he didn’t just say it, he inspired men to write it down so it could have longevity.
The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHi6WXg1C-U Time mark: 4:00-5:20)
These words were shared on Sunday, June 20, by Michael Todd, lead pastor at Transformation Church in Tulsa, OK who was a guest speaker at Life.Church in Oklahoma City, pastored by Craig Groeshel. He was speaking on the matter of relationships/marriage. In setting the foundation for building relationships God’s way, he made this statement about the power and longevity of the Word of God, spoken, AND written. (Yes, I enjoy listening to other pastors/preachers [not always WELS] to be fed, encouraged, stay connected to what is being shared in messages around the country and also to hone my craft as well!)
The point isn’t the source of this quote, but the content struck me for a couple of reasons.
- God’s love for us is so great that HE took the time to have written and preserve HIS truth for me.
- God’s Word of truth is timeless and has power to impact every person of every generation in every part of the world, including me.
This week in our message we focused on Jesus’ parable in Mark 4:26-29. The seed Jesus uses in the parable is the Word of God. What it does is amazing!
Mark 4:26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
God provided his word to us in both spoken and written form. It is inherently powerful. We don’t know how it works, but it affects change. Contained between the covers of the book or in the app on your phone is the power of God ready to go to work on your heart and mine. He wrote it down so that the same powerful words that sprouted and took root in the hearts of the Apostles to cause them to believe and drove them to share Jesus with the world are the same powerful words that sprout and grow in our hearts to lead us to believe and lead us to share the message of Jesus to others.
Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”
I haven’t study biology to understand all the components of a seed, but yesterday as I ate a purple carrot out of the garden (yes, they have purple varieties), I paused to marvel that a tiny carrot seed has produced this great tasting carrot.
The power is in the seed. Jesus knew this and reminds us the power is in his Word!
Tomorrow: What does the Word have power to do?
Apply: Simply take your Bible. Page through it. As you do, pray this:
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for thinking enough of me to write down your words of truth, preserving them and presenting them to me. Like a seed, let your word sprout, take root, and grow in my heart and life. AMEN.