What should we do in this storm?

What should we do now?

As a church of God and his believers this is the number one thing that is on peoples minds and hearts during this time of crisis in our world.

What should we do now? What are our next steps? How do we protect our family? What are we gonna do about our business or bills?

Let’s see an example of Jesus and his disciples on time of crisis.

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lets go to Mark 14. The beautiful story of Jesus sleeping during the storm.

The Bible says that the storm came “all of a sudden.” Just like in our lives, storms never send us a text message to let us know that they’re coming. They just show up unannounced and interrupt our lives.

The disciples feel with panic thinking that they’re going to die and their boat is going to be ripped apart.

Then they see Jesus who is asleep in the back of the boat.

This is the only time in scripture that Jesus is mentioned as asleep. Therefore it is significant why he fell asleep during this time.

At first, we think that Jesus is apathetic toward their situation, that he doesn’t care got his people.

But with his example of resting in the mist of the storm, he is actually teaching a greater lesson.

You see in the beginning of the chapter before the storm even happens, Jesus tells his disciples: “Let’s go to the other side”

If the disciples would’ve just remembered what Jesus had said to them in the beginning, his promise of getting them through to the other side. If they would’ve just trusted in Jesus’s plan, they would not have been angry at seeing Jesus fast asleep in the boat.

They would’ve remembered his promise and trusted him to get them through.

They should have stop trying to save themselves and make everything happen and just rested with Jesus.

You see Jesus was giving us an example of what to do in the mist and the storms of life.

We shouldn’t panic, we shouldn’t be afraid, but we should trust and rest in the promises of God.

And that’s what Jesus is telling us to do during this time. He’s telling us to rest and him and hold onto his promise and not fear.

Jesus’ Final Pep Talk

Right before Jesus went to the garden of Gessemone, he gave his disciples a pep talk to encourage them right before His death.

I think about a pep talk in a locker room right before a team’s big game or even the Super Bowl.

A good pep talk encourages and lifts up. This one seemed pretty depressing at first.

Jesus has a weird way to encourage his star team.

John 14, 15 and 16 basically talks about how much trouble and hardship is going to come into their lives right after Jesus abandons them.

Jesus tells them that not only is He going to leave them, but they’re going to be killed, scattered, eventually face torture and even death because it following THE WAY.

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In the sense of a coach giving a an encouraging peptalk, Jesus might as well have been the worst coach ever on the surface.

When we dig a little deeper, we find out that Jesus wasn’t going to abandon his disciples but leave them with the greatest gift of all time.

Woven throughout these last words of Jesus before he gave up his life on the cross, was a message of an encourager that would eventually come to bring wisdom to God’s people, bring insight, and be our greatest advocate.

Of course Jesus was talking it about the Holy Spirit.

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And the same spirit that over 2000 years ago was promised by Jesus and since the beginning of time has been present in the creation of humankind- is now preset within us.

The Holy Spirit brings us something that the world can never give us- peace that passes all understanding.

The same piece can get us through any hardship, any trial, any loss or any force of nature.

So in these crazy times, we can have God’s peace to sustain us and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

How are you allowing the peace of God to guard your heart and mind during this time of crisis?

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Today’s readings:

“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 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.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14:25-27‬ ‭

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Philippians 4:-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A Seat at the Table

Have you ever been asked to come to a party of a really important person and you know that you didn’t deserve it?

Let’s say that you do come to the party. Most likely, you will just stay in the back of the room and just be grateful that you are there in the first place.

Let’s say that during the party, the really important person- the host- wanted to have you come on the stage in front of everyone and talk about all your accomplishments.

How would you feel?

You would probably feel pretty embarrassed, humbled and grateful.

Mephibosheth- son of Jonathon in 2 Samuel 9, felt a little like that.

Okay, let me give you some context.

David was anointed king as a teenager, but he had to wait his turn in line with King Saul- a man who was first chosen by God, but then his pride and vanity drove the Lord’s anointing from his life.

So David had to wait, not one year, not 5 years, not 10 years, but 15 years of running for his life and hiding in caves from King Saul.

Then David FINALLY becomes king and we think the first thing that he is going to do is kill ALL of the remaining members of Saul’s family, but he doesn’t. He extends grace- purposely trying to find anyone that he could blessed with the influence that God had given to him.

The only member of Saul’s family that is still alive is poor crippled Mephibosheth.

Someone calls him to come to the palace and see the King. I get Mephi was scared to death knowing that he was the last one in his whole line that has survived the old kingly line.

When Mephi came to the King, he bowed low before him in humility, saying “I am a dead dog.”

David embraced him, sat him at the King’s table and let Mephi live in the king’s household the rest of his live. David also let him have all the land previously owned by his grandfather.

The is the unmerited type of kind of Grace that Paul talked about in Ephesians 2. Where we were “dead” in our transgressions and now we are seated forever at the King’s table by no merit or works of our own doing.

Wow! How great is the grace of God that He has lavished upon us. That while we were crippled in our sin- we were invited at the table of grace- seated with Christ in heavenly places and given our inheritance.

Todays reading: 2 Samuel 9:2

The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”

Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”

4 “Where is he?” the king asked.

Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”

5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.

6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.

David said, “Mephibosheth!”

“At your service,” he replied.

7 “Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”

8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family.

10 You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)

11 Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s[a] table like one of the king’s sons.

12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth.

13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.

Ephesians 2: 10

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,

7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.