Rocking the Boat

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" Mark 4:39-40

As I was waking up this morning and praying in my head I thought of an old idiom that says, "Don't rock the boat." This means to avoid causing trouble or disrupting a calm situation. This is precisely what we do when we accept Jesus, when we have the Holy Spirit moving in our lives, our lives begin to move! That movement is sometimes uncomfortable, unsettling, or even frightening; look at what happened to the disciples in the storm. They had seen Jesus performing miracles, they left their possessions and became followers, and their life was not a bed of roses. This is because when we become awakened through Christ the facade of calm in our lives is disrupted. We gain sight of what the world truly is for the first time, and the darkness revolts toward us. When we go through storms it is always an opportunity to grow in faith that each storm will pass and that the raging winds themselves are a loving proof of our salvation and the enemy's perdition. Don't forget what Jesus was doing in the storm--sleeping!

AMEN

There is a way out...

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7

I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.

Isaiah 42:16

Life is like a maze; no matter which way you turn, there is a way out, so long as you don't give up and stay put at a dead end. We can always turn around and try another way, or even head back near the start to get our bearings again. Those dead ends can sometimes look good when you've been weaving around for a long time. They usually have a bench to rest on, and even a pretty little statue to look at, but that is not our destination. Jesus is waiting for us at the end, and what we can't forget is that He's with us all throughout our journey as well. He will give you rest when you need it, and He will show you the way to life everlasting.

AMEN

Don't let a temporary pest scar you

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Letting evil affect us is like scratching at a bug bite. The enemy will sneak in when we are unaware. Just like a spider under the covers while we sleep, or a mosquito numbing our skin so we don't feel what's being done, so are the ways of the enemy. When we are attacked by the evil one, he does leave a mark, just as a bug leaves an itch where we were bitten. How we react to the irritation is important. The goal of the devil is to kill, steal, and destroy (often our joy, which must repulse him). Are we going to spend days looking at the bite, getting angry about what's already done, itch it until it bleeds and leaves a scar, or ask God for His salve, His cure? I chose to accept salvation from the LORD and walk in love each day.

AMEN