Mark 4: 36-41

Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They became much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"

When Jesus was on the water with His disciples, keep in mind that other boats were with Him on the water. Who knows who the people were on these other boats. Some were probably those who believed in Him and some just along for the ride for whatever reason. When this storm arose they were all at Jesus' mercy. But what was Jesus doing? He was sleeping peacefully. Yes Jesus needed sleep. So many came to Him with all kinds of need and Jesus always gave of Himself. He needed to rest too. But was He sleeping because He didn't care about the storm or the people? Of course not. It is because He knows. His knowledge and power made Him aware that they would all be more than fine and sadly even though these men had been with Him all this time, they still lacked faith. Aren't we often like this?

Despite God's sovereign hand in our lives, aren't we quick to doubt at the first sign of trouble? Do we really think that the very God who created the universe and everything within it cannot handle the details our lives? After all this time of walking with Him (I've been walking with the Lord for 13 yrs now) do we still find ourselves asking "Who is this that even the wind and waves obey Him?" Hasn't He proven Himself to us enough times. Don't we know that He will never fail us? His track record is unmatched and perfect. He is able to quiet the storms and bring "a great calm." He is able to bring us to it and carry us through it. He fights for us and when He is with us, there is no doubt that you will come through victorious. It is a matter of how we perceive things and our level of faith. The disciples had much to learn. Often, so do we. But He is loving and more than patient with us. Thank God for that :)

Another Jesus, Another Spirit, Another Gospel

Jesus asked Peter the most important question that ever been asked in the universe. He asked, "Who do you say I am?" Many religions and groups claim they know and believe In Jesus but that doesn't mean they are referring to the same Jesus of the bible. For Example:

• Mormons believe Jesus was the spirit brother of Lucifer. That is not the Jesus of the Bible.
• Jehovah Witnesses believe Jesus was Michael the Archangel. That is not in the Bible!
• Muslims believe Jesus was just a prophet. That is definitely not what the Bible teaches.
• Bahai teaches Jesus was simply a messenger.

Notice how none of these Cults and Religions teach what the Bible says, that Jesus is God in human flesh. The devil always attacks the Person and Work of Christ so their are a lot of counterfeits out their. One way to have discernment and to know the real from the counterfeit is simply to know the real very well. This is how you discern between a fake dollar bill and a real one, by knowing how the real dollar bill is you can easily detect the counterfeit. That is why I believe every Christian should be an expert in Christology. We are not only commanded by God to Share our Faith but also to Defend it and it's because we the Church haven't done our Job in defending the faith that now we see great uprising in the Cults. WHERE ARE THE APOLOGISTS!?!?

2 Corinthians 11:4-"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him]."

Abundance

Psalm 36:8 : They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

God never gives us the bare minimum when we trust in Him does He? Whatever we need,
he gives us what we need and more.  His grace is abundant, his mercy is abundant, whatever
we ask.  Listening to Dwight Knight talk yesterday, about all the things that went on at Calvary, it reminded me, there was so much more that went on than just meets the eye.  Not only were our sins taken away, but we were then given privilege to so many things, in abundance.

Bad Language

I know that many of us might have used an ounce of bad language in our lives. I know I have and that's why I wanted to clear up on why I was wrong when I or anyone has said bad things in their lives.

Ephesians 5:4

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Colossians 3:8

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Proverbs 13:3

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Colossians 4:6

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

These are just some verses to think about if you have a problem with bad language use.

In the Light

I heard this song today, a song that I have not listened to in a while, but sums up my feelings now.

Hey guys

So I started reading The Book of Revelation and it's pretty intense. I read some footnotes on it too and its really interesting. I hope i can come soon.

He holds everything together

My friend Mithun posted this and I thought it was so cool, I wanted to share it.


"For all you guys who are pre-meds, medical students and into the sciences like myself this is a very interesting discovery
Protein Laminin (above)
-A glycoprotein found in connective tissue that is responsible for holding together all humans and animals.

Is it surprising that such a significant protein would look like the cross of Jesus Christ. Pretty amazing and i just wanted to share it with all you guys though you probably already even know. Goes to show the sanctity of life and how elaborately we are all made with a distinct and intentional design by one all powerful creator.

Colossians 1: 16-17
"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him ALL THINGS HOLD TOGETHER"

Something tells me Paul wasn't just being metaphorical when he was inspired to write that"

Patience

"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:24

Have you ever had this feeling or wonder if God will show up during sunday worship? Have you ever hope He will show up?
I sometimes wonder if God will reveal himself during communion. It's so overwhelming, exciting. But I'm afraid to hope, afraid it's not what i expected and all these question of doubt starts to piled up in my mind. I rather see him first than hope. How tragic yet these verse remind me we wait with patience.
God is untamed and glorious. We will never know how He reveal himself but we hope! and we will wait for it with patience :-).

Only God

Someone once said "Everyone has a God-size void that only God can fill."

We were created to glorify only God, to be satisfied by only God, to be fulfilled in only God. Let me go further as to say we were created to be loved and have a relationship with Jesus. These days people throw "God" around as a generic term and "God" can be anything from Krishna to Sai Baba so let me say Jesus Christ aka God.

When we find ourselves away from Jesus and the things that burden His heart we realize the other things we find ourselves invested in somehow still leave us feeling empty or dissatisfied. Why? Because only Jesus can help us find that contentment we so desperately wish we had, that peace we so longingly desire, that love we so genuinely were created for.

Allow Jesus to be your everything. Give Him your time and your effort. We can't afford otherwise. Without Him, we don't have anything. He thinks you're worth it and you know He is definitely worth it.

Jeremiah 31:3 Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee

Broken Pride

Pride - the subtle yet deadly killer as I would like to call it . . .

I'm not prideful! (Me standing before God, in an utterly gruesome conversation)

I stood before God, determined that I was right for the past couple of months. I stood before God with the mentality that what I had implanted in my head was the right way, and that nothing else would do. Some call it a weird sense of conviction, but quite honestly, this wasn't conviction. When strongly convicted of something, you hold on to it right, but you have a defense for it. But even in your defense, you still opt to hear others out, even though you strongly believe what you may. That's the part that strictly differentiates conviction from pride. Conviction allows for the bearing of others in love, the hearing out others in love, and even the care for others in love. Pride offers the exact opposite. Pride stands on the defense always.Pride constantly has a defensive heart. Pride defends itself on why it is right constantly, but doesn't quite care to hear what others have to say about it, because it must prove it's right in order to constantly prove others wrong.

There are many facets to pride, but I am not narrowing in on the kind of pride that says I am better looking then you, or I can do this better then you, rather I am talking about the other face of pride that most don't see at first glance. The pride that creeps into your heart when you don't agree with something, which then grows stronger when others agree with you on your disagreement. The pride that seeps in when you feel wronged and won't stand until the other person is well aware and wallows in that understanding. The pride that slickly dives into your heart through smart comments of being hurt or past experiences. Pride slowly creeps in and takes root in a small corner of the heart and festers there, waiting to be fed, waiting to be called upon. Once it plants itself, the moment another brings up the idea of being wronged, or the disagreement ahead of you you quickly take the defensive approach. You become the victim. You allow yourself to sit through the constant words, the constant thoughts, the constant ideas of being right, and of nothing else but you being right. Pride grows thicker and so does that defensive heart. The defensive heart grows to compromise caring for another, grows to neglect the love that might be there, and strictly focuses on that idea of being right. Pride.

Due to the fact that the defensive heart is now defending, and neglecting aspects of care, love, and joy, it starts to grow cold. It becomes bitter because it is wronged, and as the victim you must obviously be right. The heart which is now bitter, and not properly being tended too, now becomes numb leaving conversations with God to look more like this:

"I don't care God. This person should understand. I am right here, and this situation needs to be fixed but I'm not fixing it."
"God, my family should understand my heart, I don't care if they don't, I am right here and you need to provide the way."
"God, I don't care if no one understands me, it's not like they truly care anyway, You know that I am right and that this is how it has to be."

Bitter. Angry. Cold. Apathetic. Pride.

Slowly but surely, after months of fighting this battle, the sweet whisper in the wind speaks so softly over this heart. Days of apathy grew into days of feeling and knowing this wasn't right. Days of anger and bitterness turned into days of yearning for the sweet presence of joy. Days of pride turned into days of brokenness.

"God, I can't do this anymore, please help me!"

The last cry I cried, while sitting in my bed reflecting on the months behind me. I picked up the word right next to me, and felt led to turn to 2 Corinthians 3.

I read, and read, and read .... my eyes scrolling through each word even more intently then the last.....

"You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men."

..... my heart, can I say that right now? ......

"clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart."

...... can I really say I am an epistle of Christ at this moment? ......

"we have such trust through Christ toward God"

..... t r u s t ?.......

"not that we are sufficient of ourselves ...... who has made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit."

..... I am not sufficient in helping myself ......

"......the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. ....... because of the glory that excels ...... for if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious ..... "

...... glory, glory, glory, - the displayed excellence of God ......

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."

....... a mirror, what is my reflection right now? ..... I am to be transformed from glory to glory .... I am to be transformed into the excellence of God .... but what is my reflection right now? ......

The mirror shattered right in front of me. The reflection I was bearing was one I could not bear to see. The moment that mirror shattered, the walls around my heart started breaking down. Tears began falling down my face in humility before an excellent God, whose desire is for me to be transformed into His excellence. Sitting on that bed, surrounded by tears, humbled by His desire in me and His promise through His word, I could no longer hold on to what I thought was right and no longer cared about the ability of me being justified for being wronged, my desire - to look in that mirror and see the glory of God reflected.

Pride, it takes time and effort to build up, but the power of God and His word, breaks it down instantaneously.

Now that is a little piece of my story .....

Questions

Jeremiah 29:13

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart

Life has a lot of questions doesn't it? When you seem to find the answer to one, lo and behold another arises. As if our own personal questions wasn't enough to overrun our minds, we bear the questions of others as well. Questions that put us in a corner, make us frustrated, poke and prod us in every which way...

I'm sure this week has brought a question to your table that you can't conjure up an answer to. A question that may be slowing you down, a question that has pushed you to give up, a question that has made you numb.

Bring it to him, call him out on his promise, he already has your heart, start searching for his...

and see his glory here

Heat Wave

So this whole week has been kind of stressful especially because of all the school work that our teachers are giving us right before we leave for finals and then summer vacation. But it seems that ever day when I came home, God showed me something new. Today, He taught me something using the words of another kid in school who was not even talking about God or "Christianity" or anything of the sort.

So this morning at around 3rd period (around 9:00-10:00 AM), I'm sitting in my Chem. class and the girl sitting behind me starts complaining about how it was "hot as hell" and how she wanted a half-day like the New Jersey kids. Meanwhile I'm sitting there thinking, "Wow she has no idea what she's talking about." It wasn't even the hottest part of the day yet, the morning just started. So I'm thinking about how hot it's gonna be and it somehow reminded me of Peter when he said,

For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps (1 Peter 2:21)

The author of Acts also wrote,

So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name (5:41)

We are to count it all as joy when we suffer things for Christ's name sake.

So after this thought came to mind I thought about the missionaries and all of those people out there that are being persecuted. Could I go through all of that? Would I have enough faith and trust in God. Do I have enough faith in Him now?

Now when you come back to heat, pshh that's nothing. I have to be ready to suffer for my King.

Always be ready.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”

You Got A Friend In Me

I was really challenged by the message that our sisters shared yesterday. I was telling Bets and Lees after, that the hardest part now is taking it home and applying it in our everyday situations. 

Here are the two initial points that they had mentioned about friendship:

. A friendship is as a precious stone. It must be guarded, and protected. Proverbs 17:17 says a friend loveth at all times.

. In order for us to cherish our friendships we have to understand the value of it. 

I encourage that we all spend some time if we have it tonight, or sometime this week to just reflect on what God spoke to us this week. Flip through your notes, think about your current friendships.

Reflect on your friendship with God. 

Why do you need Him?

What are some ways you can improve in talking to Him?

Reflect on your other friendships.

Why do you need them? 

Why do they need you?

Are there areas for improvement? What can you do about it?

Remember, change is a conscious effort put into action. And actions are what support the words behind them.  

Lets do this!