The Best Dish on the Table

"Mary...sat at Jesus feet, and heard His word." (Luke 10:34)

It must have been Martha's house that her sister Mary and their Brother Lazarus lived in.  So Martha must have felt some responsibility for the meal being served to this special guest named Jesus.

Feeling responsible, she must have "put the big pot in the little one," as folks sometimes say.  With flour perhaps up to her elbows she realized her sister Mary was not helping with the preparation and asked Jesus, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" (Luke 10:40)

Sometimes we, like Martha, get so busy serving the Lord that we fail to spend time with the Lord.  Martha was not a bad person. But for the moment she had her priorities confused.  Serve Him? Yes. But before we serve Him as Martha did, we must spend time at His feet in worship, as Mary did.  The best dish on the table is fellowship with the Savior.

Hear what our Lord has to say and serve Him from the overflow.  Both Christ and you will get more out of it. 

What Manner of Man?

"And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, 'What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?'" (Mark 4:41)

In the storm on the Sea of Galilee the disciples cried out to Jesus and He stilled the storm. He has rebuked them for their fear and lack of faith. 

They had two questions that night.  The first was addressed to Jesus: "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" Now, in their second question they are asking each other, "What manner of man is this?"  ( Mark 4:41)

If they had been observing His miracles and listening to His sermons they would have known without question that He was the "God-Man."   Only God could do the things He had done. His miracles had authenticated and verified Him as deity. His sleeping on board the ship, becoming tired at times and needing to rest, of being hungry and thirsty would have verified His manhood.

Indeed, what manner of man is this? When you and I leave church on Sunday morning the conversation we have with other attendees should not be about the preacher or the music or the church budget or some denominational presentation.  The conversations should be about our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

They were in the very presence of the Son of God, the God of the universe who would be the perfect sacrifice for their sins and the sins of all mankind. Have you trusted Him for eternal life?

There is nothing to be gained by waiting. 

Listen when God Speaks

"And He said unto them, 'Why are ye so fearful (full of fear)? How is it that ye have no faith?'" (Mark 4:40)

This was the third time Jesus spoke that night.   

First, before the storm, He spoke to the disciples saying, "Let us pass over to the other side." (Mark 4:35) He had spoken to them before that evening saying "Follow me."  He had spoken to them through His miracles.  They had seen Him cast out demons, heal Peter's mother-in-law, heal the diseased, cleanse a leprous man, heal a palsied man, heal a withered hand, all recorded in Mark's Gospel before the storm in chapter four. He had spoken to them through His preaching.   Mark 2:2 says, "He preached the Word unto them." Perhaps once He had used Nahum 1:3 as His text, "The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet." Perhaps the parting of the waters of the Red Sea on that fearful night when Israel came out of Egypt had been the subject of a sermon.

The second time He spoke that night He spoke to the storm.  "Peace, be still." (Mark 4:39) The storm obeyed His voice.

The third time He spoke that night He spoke to His disciples after the storm.  When God speaks to your storm and the storm obeys His command and ceases, pause and let Him speak to you. He still has something to say to us even when the storm has passed.  We should listen when He speaks. 

What About the Others?

 Mark records that there were also with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee that night other little ships. (Mark 4:36)    We don't know how many little ships there were. Perhaps three or four or it could have been a dozen. Nor, do we know how many people were on board each of the ships. They were all sailing on the same sea.

When the storm came there is no indication that it was isolated to the little ship Christ was in.  All the boats and all the people on board the other boats were equally affected by the storm.

When Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace, be still," the wind ceased and there was a great calm. (Mark 4:39)  Those in the other little ships were equally affected by the great calm. In a very real sense, this was a community of fellow strugglers.  When Jesus stilled the storm for His closest disciples, He did not exclude those in the surrounding little ships.

I am very thankful that when Jesus went to Calvary and died for the sins of the world, He included me in the community of sinners struggling with sin. Christ invites you to come to Him and experience the calm He can give.  Call on Him and trust Him today.

When the Storms Come

His disciples were simply following Jesus. As one of them said one time, "We have left all and followed thee." (Luke 18:28)  So, here they are, heeding His invitation to get in a boat with Him and cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. (Mark 4:35)

It was then, while they were doing His will, that the storm came.  The storm did not come upon men who were disobedient to the Lord. These were men who loved Jesus, followed Him and on this night were close to Him.  Jesus and His followers were sharing a boat.  And now they were sharing a storm.

Becoming a Christian and living the Christian life is not a guarantee that storms won't come.  In fact, often just the opposite is true.  The testimony of the martyrs, those persecuted and killed as they followed the Lord and did His will, is that they aroused the anger of Satan and his followers by living the Christian life thus bringing the hatred of the devil down on them. There are numerous storms that are part of life such as storms of bad health, financial reverses, misunderstandings, divorce and the list of possible storms goes on.

Mark 4:35-41 teaches us that the safest place you can be when storms come is in the boat with Jesus. 

Jesus Cares about You

"Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (Mark 4:38)

It was evening. The Disciples were on a boat with Jesus at His invitation. A great storm came and they were sinking. They awakened Jesus, who was asleep on a pillow in the back part of the boat, and asked Him the question that many people since that evening have asked Him, "Carest thou not that we perish?"

Sometimes it seems that He is staying aloof from us even in the worst of storms that threaten our survival.

Many years ago Frank E. Graff was going through some of the very things you are facing when he wrote the song, "Does Jesus Care." Look at a verse and the chorus:

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained 

too deeply for mirth or song,

As the burdens press, and the cares distress, 

And the way grows weary and long?

Chorus:

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares, 

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, 

I know my Savior cares.

Beloved, Jesus cares. Just as Jesus stilled the storm and His disciples arrived safe on shore, He can still your storm.

Perfect Peace

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusts in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

In a chorus that we sang many years ago were the words. "I have the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart" and that would be repeated.  Then the next verse said, "I have the peace that passes understanding down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart..." It was a fun chorus and very true. Philippians 4:7 says "And the peace that passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

The key to perfect peace is pointed out in many places in the Bible. It is summed up in Isaiah 26:3 shown above. Keep your mind, heart, life and your very being firmly fixed on Jesus.  In the bad times as well as the good times stay focused on Him. And even if your faith falters, He still keeps His promise to never leave you nor forsake you. That's not just peace: that's perfect peace.