The Boat #80

"And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep." 
Matthew 8:23, 24 ESV

Lately my thoughts have been drawn towards suffering. No one likes to suffer, and the reasons and causes for the tremendous scope of suffering we might endure are vast. So why suffering?
I was talking with a brother in the Lord a couple days ago who is really ill, and dealing with all the suffering that goes along with serious illnesses. I remarked to my brother, "We are in the same boat..." talking about my experiences with illness and suffering .
The words I spoke set something off in my spirit that has been reverberating since then.
Jesus' disciples had followed Him onto the boat, expecting a pleasant time, not such a frightful storm! They had listened to his incredible teaching, watched Him perform miracles, but they were not prepared yet for actually being thrust into a tempest -because they followed Him! I believe that later on, after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, that this experience came to their minds. I believe that it was a metaphor that Jesus used to show His followers- all of us who have proclaimed Jesus as our King- of the storms and trouble that would come, sooner or later, with varying intensities and manifestations.
Aren't we the same ?
We are all in the same boat, trouble will come, and perhaps even now has.
This is not His last word though:
"And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm."
Matthew 8:26 ESV
Suffering-all of it- regardless of intensity and scope- is producing in us an "eternal weight of glory" that we who endure and hold fast to Jesus will soon taste.
Below is a quote from a Chinese brother, Zhang Rongliang, who has endured great suffering:
"Suffering challenges so many people in the world. Without suffering how is it possible to taste the depths of the goodness of the Lord? After tasting it how then can one be obsessed with worldly desires?"

Meadows and Minefields

"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; 
You make my lot secure. 
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 
Surely I have a delightful inheritance." 
Psalm 16:5, 6 NIV

This is not our home; we are only passing through this world sojourning through this race we call "life" towards the finish line.

Some days and seasons are like a pleasant walk through a country meadow on a spring day.
Imagine 70 degrees, and in this meadow there are fragrant flowers blanketing its entirety.
You can walk with surety, just knowing that there are no holes to fall into and twist your ankle, nor rocks to stumble over.

But there are other days and seasons that feel like we are passing through minefields.
The path is difficult and treacherous, and there is the smell of battle and cordite (an explosive) that our spirits are sensing. There may be smoke so thick that we may not be able to see other brothers-in-arms, nor our Leader, and yet we must know deep in our hearts that we are not alone.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 
John 16:33 NIV

"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Psalm 23:1-3 NIV

Beloved, through meadows and minefields let us fix our gaze on Him alone, listen only to His voice, following Him,  believing with joy the report of the Lord! We will triumph ;our real reward lies on the other side of eternity and we shall be there sooner than we may realize!
Maranatha!

Feasts, Holidays, & Testimonies

"Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were bapized into Moses in the cloud and the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness."

1 Corintians 10:1-5

Israel's Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron, is a couple days away. 
Its purpose is one of remembrance, as evidenced by the name of the annual event. I was reflecting today on the importance of remembrance as I talked with some friends. I commented on the shortness of my own memory when I amy be caught up in the throes of a hardship.  
When someone asks us about a particular event in our own lives, it is a most excellent time to give our own testimony. 
When this happens to me I am hit with an "ah ha moment" -the remembrance of just one of the so many times when God has shown up, and I find myself repenting for  worrying, complaining, or unbelief, or all of the above.

The children of Israel had their first borns spared fron the angel of death, passed through a parted Red Sea, watched as Phoroah's horses and riders were drowned as the sea crashed down on them, saw the shikinah glory on Moses' face, followed the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, enjoyed supernatural sustenance for 40 years, traveled in clothing and footware that never wore out, and when they obeyed God they triumphed over enemies...and yet they complained endlessly. That generation died in the desert, their children were those who entered the Land. Joshua and Caleb's names and actions are remembered, but the other 10 spies and their memory vanished as a result of their unbelief and disobedience, as did their families.

Communion was created especially to frequently spark our memories regarding what Jesus accomplished for us:

"And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you,; do this in remembrance of me."
Luke 22:19

Every holiday, the Feasts, communion, Shabbat, as we listen to, or tell someone else our own histories (His-stories)- testimonies, let us remember and revere what, rather, Who we are focusing on: God in all His manifold greatness and lovingkindness.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

Rev.12:11