Category Archives: Bible Stories

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August 29, 2018

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Fear & Doubt, Miracles, Patience & Perseverance, Sharing Our Faith, Temptation & Sin

STORMS (Mark 5:1-18 – Part 1)

But if I am casting our demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. [Matthew 12:28 (NLT)]

lake lpouise - canadaMark and Luke tell of Jesus and the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes where they encountered a demon-possessed man. He’d been banished to live in the tombs and was so violent and strong that even shackles couldn’t restrain him. The demoniac would cut himself with sharp stones and his shrieks could be heard night and day. When Jesus restored the man, He sent the demons into a herd of swine that plunged down the steep hillside and drowned in the lake.

Just before arriving in the Gerasenes, Jesus and the disciples had departed Capernaum in clear weather to sail across the Sea of Galilee. We know Jesus wanted to get away from the crowd, but why sail to the Gerasenes? Jesus never seemed to do anything by chance and going five miles across the lake to a predominately Gentile region (one where pigs grazed) seems an odd choice for Jewish rabbi. But this is the rabbi who told of the Good Shepherd—the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to save the one lost sheep. Perhaps this trip across the lake to the Gerasenes was a shepherd’s journey to save one of his flock. When Jesus set foot in that boat in Capernaum, I think He knew exactly where He was going, what He would find there, and what He would do about it.

It seems that Jesus deliberately set out for a confrontation with the enemy and Satan did his best to deter Him. Was that squall just another unexpected violent Galilean storm or were those twenty foot waves Satan’s attempt to prevent Jesus from getting to shore and saving the lost soul waiting there? Our good shepherd will go to great lengths to save His children and not even a hurricane can stop Him! Calming the storm revealed Jesus’s divinity and His power over nature but I think it also revealed His power over the spiritual realm. The confrontation between good and evil started in a storm on the lake, long before Jesus set foot on land and sent those demons into the swine.

As Jesus was departing, the healed man begged to go with Him. Jesus, however, told him to go home to his family and tell everyone all that the Lord had done for him. That nameless once demon-possessed man became the first Gentile missionary. Throughout the Decapolis, an alliance of ten cities southeast of the Sea of Galilee, he proclaimed “the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.” [Mark 5:20] Just as he did 2,000 years ago, the enemy loves to send storms our way to discourage us from doing God’s work. Satan, however, is no match for Jesus. Our Lord wouldn’t let a storm deter Him and neither should we!

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? … No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in al creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:31,39 (NLT)]

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August 27, 2018

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Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Sharing Our Faith, Spiritual Gifts

PARTNERS

Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. [Philippians 1:4-6 (NLT)]

snowy egret - glossy ibisSeveral years ago, my husband came upon a wonderful opportunity to buy a business in another state. He also knew a talented young man capable of running it there. Rather than simply buying the business and hiring the fellow as CEO, my husband loaned him money so that he could buy a share in the business. A firm believer in having what he calls, “skin in the game,” my husband found that partners in a business care about its success far more than any employee ever will. When he and his partner retired, they sold the business to the employees through an ESOP program—now everyone working there is a partner and has “skin in the game.”

Just as there’s a difference between being an employee and a partner, there is a difference between being a member of an organization and being a partner in it. In our northern community, we have 52 members in our home owners’ association. By virtue of moving here and paying their association fees, a resident is a member yet many have little commitment to the welfare of the community and the only time they’re heard from is if they have a complaint. The partners in our community, however, are the ones who attend the meetings, respond to surveys, serve on committees, volunteer on work days, pick up loose trash or broken branches, and show concern for their neighbors. Caring about more than their property, they have invested in their community.

We find a difference between membership and partnership in our churches, as well. Members are names on a roster; partners have a place in the church community. Members are passive but partners are active. Members take and use but partners invest and share. Members complain and criticize but partners build, encourage, and work to correct problems. Members walk away in difficult times but partners stay and try to improve the situation. Members attend church but partners are the church. Reflecting this subtle difference, when people join our old mountain church, rather than becoming members, they now become partners. As partners, they have a vested interest in the success of the church and the welfare of its members.

The church being a partnership is Biblical. There may have been only twelve Apostles and seven elders in the first church but they all were partners in Christ. Luke tells us the believers dedicated themselves to learning about Jesus and their responsibilities as His followers. They worshipped and fellowshipped with one another, shared their resources, and prayed, ate, and celebrated the Lord’s Supper together. People were partners with one another in their common belief and mission and churches partnered with one another by welcoming Christian travelers into their homes, sending relief to those in need, planting new churches, and sharing doctrine, teachers, and resources.

We continue to share a common belief and mission in today’s church but church attendance is only the beginning of achieving that mission. By partnering with the pastor, church staff, and the rest of the congregation, we can bring our unique abilities and gifts together to work toward a common vision and goal: to be God’s hands, mouth and feet.

Member or partner—which one are you?

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. [Galatians 3:26-28 (NLT)]

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August 24, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Promises, Knowing Him, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

SENIOR MOMENTS

plumaria - frangiapaniBut that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. [Deuteronomy 8:11 (NLT)]

But the people soon forgot about the Lord their God, so he handed them over to Sisera, the commander of Hazor’s army, and also to the Philistines and to the king of Moab, who fought against them. [1 Samuel 12:9 (NT)]

“Are you looking for something?” asked Earl in Brian Crane’s Pickles comic strip. When his wife, Opal, replied, “My glasses,” he suggested looking in her purse. “No,” she said, “I can’t find it. That’s why I’m looking for my glasses, so I can find my purse. I’m hoping that’s where I left my car keys.” Looking down at his grandson, Earl explained, “That’s why it’s a good thing women Gramma’s age don’t have babies.”

Being around Opal’s age, and having had more than my share of “senior moments,” I understand perfectly. Forgetting the Lord, however, is not like misplacing keys, forgetting where the car is parked, or failing to remember the grocery list. It’s way more than absentmindedness, an appointment slipping one’s mind, or drawing a blank at someone’s name.

Forgetting the Lord is a conscious choice to turn our backs to Him and overlook His presence in all things. It is failing to remember His past mercies and how much He loves each and every one of us. It is disregarding His commands and ignoring our responsibilities both to Him and to our fellow man. When we forget God, we rebel, grow impatient, act rashly or imprudently, or begin to think we are self-sufficient and all-powerful. As the Israelites discovered, forgetting God can have serious, even tragic, consequences. Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses warned them not to forget the Lord and yet, from Joshua through Malachi, we continually read of their unfaithfulness, God’s anger, and the consequences of their deliberate amnesia.

As happened with the Israelites, it’s easy to let challenges overwhelm us, wealth and power deceive us, busyness distract us, temptation mislead us, disappointment frustrate us, grief blind us, impatience goad us, and complaint to harden us. Before we know it, we’ve forgotten the Lord. Moses’s many warnings to the Israelites apply to us today. God accepts senior moments—but He will never tolerate our forgetting Him. God never forgot the Israelites and He will never forget us. Why do we find it so easy to forget Him?

God is mindful of man, and it grieves Him that man is not mindful of Him. [Charles Spurgeon]

Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the Lord, made you, and I will not forget you. [Isaiah 44:21 (NLT)]

Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. [Psalm 103:2 (NLT)]

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August 23, 2018

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Grace & Love, Peace of God, Trusting God

THE GOOD SHEPHERD

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. [John 10:14-16 (NLT)]

lambIn Ezekiel 34, the Lord commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel—not the caretakers of sheep but the prophets, priests, and leaders who were supposed to protect their people in the same way a shepherd does his sheep. He accused them of not searching for lost sheep and abandoning their flock to be attacked by wild animals.

Surely the people were familiar with Ezekiel’s words when they heard Jesus tell the parable we know as “The Lost Sheep” or “The Good Shepherd.” Told both in Luke 15 and Matthew 18, the shepherd leaves his ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness so he can search for a lost one. Although its point is to illustrate God’s overwhelming concern for saving His people and to explain Jesus’s conduct in associating with sinners, the shepherd’s behavior in abandoning ninety-nine sheep seems irresponsible. Who’s going to keep them from going astray, drowning in a pond of water (that wet wool is heavy), or being devoured by hungry wolves? Won’t the shepherd return with the one stray sheep only to find a dozen or more missing or dead? That’s hardly cause for celebration! Did that shepherd abandon his flock like the shepherds in Ezekiel’s prophecy?

If this was a true story, before heading off into the wilderness, the good shepherd would have entrusted his flock to another shepherd. Biblical scholars, however, remind us that Jesus’s parables weren’t meant to portray real-life situations any more than were Aesop’s fables. We know a tortoise won’t challenge a hare to a race, geese don’t lay golden eggs, and a fox can’t talk to a crow. Yet, in spite of their inconsistencies, both Jesus’s and Aesop’s stories make their points.

Nevertheless, Jesus always seemed to be very concise in His choice of words and I wonder if he deliberately omitted a second shepherd or caretaker for a reason. Perhaps there is only one shepherd because there is only one God. He is not about to share us with another god so the shepherd won’t entrust the care of his beloved flock to anyone else. God is omnipresent, unlimited by time or space, and can be in all places at the same time. When the good shepherd rashly goes into the wilderness for the one lost sheep, he hasn’t abandoned the other ninety-nine. Ever-present, while he’s off saving the stray, he also is there tending the rest of the flock.

The Pharisees never questioned Jesus about those abandoned sheep. Like their predecessors, they’d abandoned their flock and failed to seek the lost; Jesus’s parable made it clear that a new shepherd was in town. Perhaps the parable also helped prepare the disciples for a time when they would feel abandoned. Jesus soon would be leaving them but, like the good shepherd, He would return. His disciples, like the sheep left behind, would remain safe in His care. I’m no longer troubled by those abandoned sheep because I know God will never desert us. Indeed, the Lord is our shepherd and we will not be afraid. Whether or not we are aware of His presence, He is close beside us.

I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. [Psalm 16:8 (NLT)]

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. [John 17:11-12a (NLT)]

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August 21, 2018

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Miracles, Peace of God, Prayer, Trusting God, Worry

STILLING THE WATERS

Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. [Psalm 107:26-18 (NLT)]

sunset - Naples FLMark, Matthew, and Luke all tell the story of Jesus calming the sea. He and the disciples had started to sail the five miles across the Sea of Galilee when a fierce storm struck. Tired from a day of preaching, Jesus remained asleep in the stern while the storm raged. As the waves broke and the boat began to fill with water, the disciples were sure they would perish. After they woke Jesus by shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” He rebuked the wind and the storm ended.

Since we’ve probably heard more than one sermon on this story, we know that the presence of Jesus in our boat is no guarantee of a storm-free life and that, even when it seems like God is asleep on the job, He has the situation firmly in hand. But think about the storm and imagine the sounds that night: the howling of the wind, waves smacking the sides of the boat, rain pounding down, sails furiously flapping, the crack of thunder, and men shouting to one another as they tried to lower the sails, bail and row. With all that noise and the boat pitching and heaving as the waves tossed it about, even the soundest sleeper would have difficulty sleeping. Jesus, however, was undisturbed by the commotion and remained asleep. Although the storm couldn’t wake Him, the disciples’ call to Him did! Whether we are shouting over the sound of thunder or whispering to Him beside a loved one’s hospital bed, this story tells us God will hear our call.

My final take-away from this story is not to underestimate the power of Jesus, something I think the disciples did. When they spotted the first black clouds on the horizon, they didn’t wake Jesus and ask Him to send the storm elsewhere. They tried to sail through the storm on their own power. It wasn’t until they feared they were at death’s door that they finally called to Him. Did the men wake Him because they thought He could still the storm or because they needed His help bailing and rowing? In spite of the miracles they’d seen Jesus do, their shock and terror when He stopped the wind and calmed the sea instantly (something that normally took 24 to 48 hours after a storm’s end) makes me think they expected a helping hand rather than a supernatural solution.

I wonder how often we, like the disciples, underestimate God’s power to handle the crises in our lives and wait until we’re desperate before calling to Him. While we may not get a miracle, His power is enough to get us through any storm. Even if He doesn’t calm the waters, He will bring us safely into harbor.

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. [Psalm 107:29-31 (NLT)]

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August 10, 2018

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Word: The Bible, Sharing Our Faith, Wisdom & Guidance

CLOSED MINDS

Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. [2 Timothy 2:23-25 (NLT)]

killer whaleWhen discussing whales, the 3rd grade science teacher insisted that because of the whale’s small throat it was physically impossible for one to swallow a human. Disagreeing, the little girl told her that Jonah had been swallowed by a whale. When the teacher insisted it was just a silly story, the girl said that when she got to heaven she would ask Jonah. ”Well,” replied the teacher scornfully, “What if Jonah isn’t there? What if he went to hell?” The little girl politely answered, “Then I guess you can ask him!”

Last year, we took a bus tour of the Canadian Rockies and, at times, our tour guide and bus driver must have felt like they were herding cats. Although there were less than forty in our group, I compared us to the two million Israelites of Exodus and them to Moses and Aaron who led those “stiff-necked” people for forty years. When people weren’t ready on time, asked already answered questions, complained about the food, whined about accommodations, didn’t follow directions, wanted special treatment and misplaced their possessions, I appreciated the frustrations the brothers must have had leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. Overhearing my comment, a fellow traveler took me aside. After advising me that he didn’t want to disparage my faith, he added, “But really—two million people? Forty years? How can you possibly believe that? How could they all be fed?” My response was easy: “God provided manna!” Rather than continue the conversation, I smiled and walked away. This man didn’t want to talk miracles or God’s provision and, in spite of his words to the contrary, like the teacher in the joke, he really did want to disparage my faith.

As for that whale, according to several sources, including the Smithsonian, while most species of whales (like the killer whale pictured) couldn’t swallow a human, the exception is the sperm whale. Capable of swallowing a whole giant squid, it could easily swallow a man. In actuality, however, both the girl and the teacher were wrong. The Hebrew Bible says neither whale nor fish but rather dag gadôl  which means a great sea creature. The Greek translation was kêtei megalô, meaning a mega-sized ketos or huge sea serpent. The ketos was a sort of dog-headed sea dragon and several references to it are found in both art and non-Biblical literature from 700 BC through 500 AD. Whether the leviathan mentioned in Job, Psalms, and Isaiah is the same creature as that in Jonah and whether it was fish, reptile, whale, or some extinct form of sea monster, we really don’t know. Just because we don’t know, however, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Would the teacher have been interested in this answer? I think not. Like the man who spoke to me, her mind was already made up.

There always will be non-believers who are more interested in proving we’re wrong than hearing our answers. Wanting to display their cleverness and our naiveté, they ask questions like, “Why aren’t there dinosaurs in the Bible? How did Noah get those animals in the ark? How did the penguins get to the ark from Antarctica?” and, “If God is so all-powerful, why did it take Him six whole days to create the world?” The Bible is filled with a slew of fantastic and extraordinary accounts that defy easy explanation and I’m not sure it’s worth getting into a debate about such things. In most cases, even if we answered these types of questions to the skeptics’ complete satisfaction, it wouldn’t make a difference to them. All we can do is decline to accept their challenge with a simple and gracious answer. Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust from their feet as they left any town that refused to welcome them. Sometimes, we must do the same thing.

Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. [Ephesians 4:18 (NLT)]

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. [1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)]

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