The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Mark:4:35-41

kjv@Mark:4:35 @ And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

kjv@Mark:4:36 @ And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

kjv@Mark:4:37 @ And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

kjv@Mark:4:38 @ And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

kjv@Mark:4:39 @ And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

kjv@Mark:4:40 @ And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

kjv@Mark:4:41 @ And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Today's notes:

Context:

Before - Kingdom mustard seed
After - Legion, for we are many

Key Concepts:

sl[kjv@Job:38-41]

What is God's righteousness observed doing?:

moving Jesus from place to place to spread the message
rebuking a storm that was endangering His disciples
rebuking the men for their lack of faith

What does this tell us about God's righteousness?:

With movement comes challenge for the disciples and new experience; therefore growth. It is easy to get too settled, become too familiar and acquainted, just as it is for these many town folk. By Jesus moving, people all over are forced to adjust and account for, to consider and react.
Storms do what storms do and yet they are certainly held within physical bounds. That the parameters of those bounds are set are wide enough to threaten us perhaps even destroy us suggests that there may be righteous intent behind these wider bounds. The storm is a threat only because they are on a boat in the sea. The hurricane is only a threat because we are settled in on the shore. The earthquake because we have shoddily built comparatively upon the fault. The tornado because we farm in the plain and build above ground. Many dangers are dangers because we have put ourselves there. The lesson may be a lesson of risk and consequence, of what we ambitiously see best framed against what simply and often amorally occurs, else what occurs for much larger scale purposes. The lesson may well be that there is no such thing as safe ground outside of Christ and even that for us has it's challenges.
These salty well seasoned fisherman see what they know to be true; the boat nearly full of water, their efforts to save the boat overwhelmed by the storm. What God sees is the chosen redeemer obediently sailing to the other side of the sea to perform all righteousness. Which of these intense probabilities is going to be allowed to play out? Would HE do this just for any men foolish enough to be on the water at this time; violating HIS own natural law? Would HE do this for the men transporting Messiah, superseding natural law for the spiritual deliverance of billions? These are the types of decisions righteousness as creator must well contemplate.

How is man reacting?:

fearing exceedingly after the occurrence.

Notes:

Even when Jesus had a place to rest His head, He had not much rest.

What happened to the smaller boats during this tempest?

If the wind and sea were obeying Jesus by calming, were they disobeying Him by rising up? Remember that it is the men's word's framing this argument, the sea cannot exceed it's bounds. Some would point to satanic activity and yet the sea still could not exceed it's bounds (nor could Satan). If allowed such an explanation creates a slippery slope as to what Satan can and cannot do and what his impact upon us may or may not be. This option is not required to make the more likely case that the men were where confronted with a storm that many a sailor fears and knows too well could happen upon them at anytime; that because of the eternal importance of a specific passenger they recovered and safely passed through to the other side. The rebuke then becomes the superseding of righteousness over the natural elements given by direct command Father to Son.

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

There is an odd comparison between a fear that fears death and a fear that fears living in obedience do it's maker. The realization that even the natural elements obey God when we yet have difficulty leads us to question what it is that makes that so; it is as facing fear itself.
Satan is often given more leverage toward the impossible by us than we even give God. That goes to say more about our fear than either's more rational abilities. Odder yet, we think to give Satan these much exaggerated abilities and to diminish God's then the blame for allowing it so. That goes to say more about our sin consciousness.

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Mark:4:35-41
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Mark:4:35-41 rwp@Mark:4:35-41 mhcc@Mark:4:35-41
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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