Mark 4:39-41 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, ”Silence! Be Still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” They asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
My disciples walked with me daily. They heard my teachings, saw my miracles. Yet, they really did not know me. When I calmed the waves and subdued the storm, they were frightened. They did not know what to think. They did not really know who I am. So it is today. Many claim to know me, yet when they see my works, when they really hear my Words, they do not recognize who I am. Many claim to trust me. Yet, even my Disciples did not fully trust me. Why would they be afraid in the storm? Why would they believe that I would allow a boat that I also was on to sink? Why would they believe I would let us all drown? Yet, they had all of those fears, so they woke me up to rebuke me for sleeping during the storm. If you have faith, if you truly trust me, if you believe I AM – you, too, will be able to sleep through the storms in your world today, just as I peacefully slept in that storm-tossed boat. Yes, things are very dark. Yes, evil is not only advancing rapidly, it is so bold it does not even hide anymore. Yes, it is a frightening world. Yet, here I am. Do you believe? Who do you say I am? Do you have trust? Do you really understand that what happens in this world is secondary? That your time, your existence, everything about your life here is temporary? Do you trust that I am in control, no matter how things may appear? Do you know that I created all, I am over all, and I can command anything to happen?
Mark 5:2, 6-8 When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from a cemetery to meet him…. When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. With a shriek, he screamed, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had already said to the spirit “Come out of the man, you evil spirit.”
Do you see? The evil spirit inside this man recognized me instantly. The evil spirit bowed down before me. The evil spirit instantly recognized me and acknowledged my power over him. Yet, my own Disciples were unsure of who I am. Who do you say I am? What does your life say about that belief? Is it real? Do your actions, your thoughts, your emotions – does your life bear testimony to what you claim to believe? Do you place all of your value on what happens to you during this lifetime? Do you cherish only those things of your temporal world? Or do you believe that you were created by me, loved unconditionally by me, cherished by me, that I created you to spend eternity with me? If so, are you living in such a way as to show that to the world? Your world is suffering. Your world is crumbling. Your way of life has already been altered and will never be what it was. I am the only hope. I am the only Truth that remains. I am the only reason for all that matters. If you truly believe that, what are you doing to show that to the lost world around you? If you know – deep down in the depths of your soul and spirit – truly know that I am the Way, the Truth and the Life – that no one lives outside of me – that eternal life is in faith in me – if you truly know that to be Truth – then your job is to spread that knowledge far and wide while there is still time. Is your faith in me that of my fickle Disciples, or do you know me to be the God of the Universe with the all of the conviction of that evil spirit that instantly bowed before me when I appeared? Do you confess only with your mouth or does your truth come from the depths of your soul and spirit? Saving as many of your fellow men as possible is, really, all that matters at this point. Will you be a beacon of True Light?
Amanuensis 