Bible Thoughts September 24, 2000
"But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of
wind on the lake; and they were filling with water, and were in
jeopardy"(Luke 8:23).
The storm did not bother the Lord. After all, he was the creator and master of the physical universe. He could command the elements as he wished. He could control the creation as he saw fit. The disciples did not have such power and were in fear for their lives. As Luke says, they were "in jeopardy." The fear that gripped them would be a natural reaction. Yet, Jesus slept while the disciples thought they were about to perish.
The disciples knew the source of help: they awakened the Lord and stated their fears. The Lord calmed the wind and the "raging of the water." Immediately, the elements obeyed him. The power of Jesus Christ over nature is illustrated by this event.
The actions of Jesus accomplished other purposes as well. The disciples had seen for themselves the demonstration of His authority over the creation. They marvel at what He has done and are perplexed at the same time. Who could command the winds and the water? was the reaction. The answer should have been obvious: He is the Son of God.
Jesus had a question for them, "Where is your faith?" (8:25). Surely they had been with the Lord long enough to understand he was someone greater than humans. Had they not heard his messages, saw him raise the dead, heal the sick, and do many mighty works? Oh, how difficult it is sometimes to convince humans that Jesus is God's Son, that he possesses all power, and that he established his
kingdom(church) by shedding his blood to purchase those who would be citizens. Would it not seem that once a person is convinced the Bible is the Word of God, they should accept what is written therein? Yet, there are multitudes who turn their ears from the truth and there are those who drift away from the teachings of Christ and embrace human doctrines and churches.
The apostles would be fully convinced of Christ's power and authority by the resurrection from the dead. How is it with you, my friend? Do you marvel at His word, respect his commands, and follow His teachings? Or, as the Lord said, "Where is your faith?"
In South Africa you often read of people who have been killed by wild animals, especially in the early days. Without thought, you say that the wild animals are a menace, should be shot; should be done away with.
There was one instance: a group of people were fishing in this river and the one decided that the other side looked better, knowing about the crocodiles he still swam across. He was pulled down under the water and never seen again.
On a ranch in Zimbabwe a rancher was baiting for leopard, he went back that night to shoot the leopard but the leopard got him instead, he died that night in the hospital. My cousin went to shoot a buffalo that was amongst the cattle, he shot but only wounded it. The buffalo caught him unaware, he was in the hospital for five months.
All these people knew about the animals, and they knew that they where dangerous, but still they tempted them and paid the cost of it. Since the beginning man has tempted God, tested his word and the people of this world tempt him every day. But the sad part is that many times Christians do the same. Every time we do something that we know is against God we tempt him, and we cannot use the excuse that we did not know for God has given us his word, the Bible.
Why does Jesus warn us about tempting God? God is like the wild animals when you tempt him, you will get punished and as we read in Heb.10:31, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We cannot blame the wild animals for killing those who test them and we cannot blame God for punishing us if we tempt him. Be sure to take the advice of Jesus, don’t tempt God.-Vaughn Botha
Division, not unity, seems to be the rule of the world these days. People hating people always rushing around with no time to stop and help one another. Religiously we see more than hundreds of thousands of denominational churches with varying doctrines in existence and more developing every day. In this world it seems more people are separating than joining. As a society our priorities fall far from the mark.
How do we combat society’s influences and stop this divisive nature from adversely effecting the church? First we must realize the importance of unity and what is its divinely intended purpose. In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul says that the church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth.” Additionally Jesus said in John 17:23 that the purpose of unity, at least in one aspect, was to help the world come to realize the extent of God’s love. These two verses display an importance of unity amongst the brethren not only for our own interests but also for the benefit of all mankind.
Many are under the impression that unity merely consists of us all believing the same way. Paul said that not only must we believe the same way but we must also act in such a way as to not break this bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-6). Jesus said “a house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25). How effective in the spreading of the gospel can we be if we are fighting within? When we argue and fight over needless things the pillars of truth crack and its foundation crumbles.
This places upon us the responsibility and the need to maintain self control being gentle, humble and patient with one another for the sake of preserving our bonds. There are many practical ways to fight the division within. Ultimately they all relate to an attitude of love and involve maintaining the proper character traits every Christian should have.-Joe Cook