Fri 15th May
#42. Cushions
Jesus was fully God and also fully man. There were times when Jesus got hungry and also times when he was tired. Are you tired? In today's reading we are told that Jesus was asleep on a cushion, there’s nothing unusual about this but what was happening around him was far from ‘the usual’. Lets read -
Mark 4:35-41
35 That day when evening came, He [Jesus] said to His disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’
41 They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!’
Have you ever thought your life was going to end? The disciples thought they were going to drown. Jesus was tired but at peace when panic was all around him. Jesus settled things in what seemed like an out of control situation with three words “Quiet! Be still!” Miraculously the chaos of the storm was stilled instantly. No wonder we hear the disciples say “who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him”.
This is what the former Bishop of Durham (Tom Wright) says on this passage -
Make this story your story. Actually, if you sign on with Jesus for the kingdom of God, it will become your story whether you realize it, whether you like it, or not. Wind and storms will come your way. The power of evil was broken on the cross and in the empty tomb, but like people who have lost their cause and are now angry, that power has a shrill malevolence about it. Christians—the church as a whole, local churches here and there, individual Christians—can get hurt or even killed as a result.
Mark’s first readers probably knew that better than most of us. They would have identified easily with the frightened men in the boat. That’s Mark’s invitation to all of us: OK, go on, wake Jesus up, pray to Him in your fear and anger. And don’t be surprised when He turns to you, as the storm subsides in the background, and asks when you’re going to get some real faith. *1
Have a good weekend! See you on screen!
Much love
Tim
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*1 Wright, T. (2004). Mark for Everyone (p. 53). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Thurs 14th May - #41. The Day
There are some days we really look forward to. The day that football restarts! The wedding day. Payday. Holiday. Sunday. Birthday. Christmas Day. It’s different for us all, but I guess we are all looking forward to the day when lockdown of any kind is over and we are able to resume life without any restrictions of social distancing. What a day that will be!
For a follower of Jesus there is another great day that we look forward to. The day that Jesus returns. I remember first finding out about this day not long after I started following Jesus. My Pastor preached a sermon on the “Second Coming of Jesus Christ” one Sunday evening. I was captivated by the thought of Jesus coming back. I went to the Christian bookshop and bought books about the subject and spent ages reading up about it. I am still captivated by the thought that “One day He’s coming, O glorious day.”
The day of His return is variously called:
· the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 1v8
· the day of the Lord Jesus. 2 Cor 1v14
· the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1v16
· the day of Christ. Phil 2v16
· the day of the Lord. 2 Thess 2v2
· the day of God. 2 Peter 3v12
· the great Day. Jude v6
The day Jesus returns will be a great day indeed! Here are some things that will happen on that great day, and the Bible references that will keep you busy for a while!
· Jesus will appear and we will see him in His glory and splendour. Matt 25v31 / 1 Tim 6v14 / 2 Thess 1v7 / 1 Jn 3v2
· We will marvel at Him, and be lost in wonder, love and praise. 2 Thess 1v10
· He will bring with Him myriads of angels and all who have died in the Lord. 1 Thess 4v14
· If we are dead when He returns then He will raise us from the dead and give us a new body. 1 Thess 4v16
· If we are alive when He returns, then in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, he will transform our earthly body into a heavenly body. 1 Cor 15v51,52
· Then we will rise up to meet the Lord in the air for a great gathering of all the Lord’s disciples from throughout all the ages. 1 Thess 4v17
· Creation itself will be redeemed and a new heavens and a new earth will be made which will be the home of righteousness. Rom 8v21 / 2 Peter 3v13
· We will be given the crown of life, the crown of righteousness, and the crown of glory. 2 Tim 4v8 / James 1v12 / 1 Peter 5v4
· And we will be with the Lord forever and ever, world without end. 1 Thess 4v17
That is a day to look forward to. But when will it be? No-one knows. Jesus said (Matt 24v36) “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” So we have to be ready and wait patiently for this greatest day ever
Lockdown restrictions are so hard for all of us. Many of us are feeling very sad and not being able to see our family, friends and loved ones. Most of us are getting restless, impatient and miserable as the days drag on. So let the thought of The Great Day of Jesus’ Appearance, and the liberation and freedom it will bring, cheer our hearts and encourage our spirits today.
Love from Paul
There is a day
That all creation is waiting for.
A day of freedom
And liberation for the earth.
And on that day,
The Lord will come to meet His bride
And when we see Him,
In an instant we'll be changed.
The trumpet sounds
And the dead will then be raised.
By His power,
Never to perish again
Once only flesh,
Now clothed with immortality
Death has been swallowed up in victory
We will meet Him in the air
And then we will be like Him
For we will see him, as he is
Then all hurt and pain will cease
And we'll be with Him forever
And in his glory we will live
So lift your eyes
To the things as yet unseen,
That will remain now
For all eternity.
Though trouble is hard,
It's only momentary
And its's achieving
Our future glory
We will meet Him in the air
And then we will be like Him
For we will see Him, as He is
Then all hurt and pain will cease
And we'll be with Him forever
And in His glory we will live
Have a listen to the song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQuUWJ-Ch4Q
Wed 13th May - #40.Behind the scenes
Today, Jesus continues to tell us some parables about the Kingdom of God.
Let’s read God’s Word -
Mark 4:26-34
26 He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces corn— first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 As soon as the corn is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’
30 Again He said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.’
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything.
I love fly on the wall documentaries, there are a few that have grabbed me recently.
One such documentary was a year in the life of Sunderland football club *1 . In the documentary it interspersed highlights of significant matches with the team talks in the dressing room. The team talks involved the coaches giving insights to the game that the majority of those watching the game would have missed.
The parables of Jesus were like this. We are told at the end of the parables, Jesus explained everything to his own disciples.
Todays parables reminds us that something that seems insignificant (a seed) will turn into something great (a harvest and a great plant).
In our mission sometimes we can feel defeatist and think how is my witness/life going to make a difference? Hold onto this parable and keep planting those seeds. You never know what will happen to them.
Think!
Today Garden Centres will re-open. Every time someone mentions the garden or a Garden Centre remind yourself of these parables and what can happen to the seed.
much love
Tim
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*1 Sunderland till I die - Netflix
Tues 12th May - #39. Some days!
Some days are difficult. You are “out-of-sorts”, “down-in-the-dumps”, grumpy and miserable. You feel mentally tired, physically weary, emotionally washed-out, and your spirit is in a “bad place”. You can’t be bothered to do anything and you hate yourself for feeling like this. God seems far away. Sin seems attractive. You don’t love your enemies, you have little patience with your loved ones, and the cat annoys you. You ask Alexa to play “happy songs” and she misunderstands and plays “snappy songs”; and actually that’s just how you feel: snappy. And you are frustrated trying to work out what the new lockdown regulations mean.
The Bible calls these days “Evil days” (Ephesians 6v13). These are days when everything seems to go wrong, you feel wrong, and the Devil and his demons are on the attack with flaming arrows and dastardly tactics to draw us away from the One whom our soul really does love.
So on days like these we need to go to Deuteronomy 33v25 and read “and your strength will equal your days.” A precious promise that God has given us. There are two ways to take this promise. It could mean that you will have God’s strength for as many days as you live. Which is true. But it could also mean that God will give you enough strength to equal the troubles and trials of that day. So, a day of much trouble will bring you a day of much strength from God; even though it doesn’t feel like it as you go through that day(s). This is in fact the Old Testament equivalent of 2 Corinthians 12v9 where God promises “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
When you have an “evil day” (and we all do) don’t pretend, but rather acknowledge it, tell someone about it, and cry out to the Lord throughout the day for strength and grace. And “strength will rise as you wait upon the Lord.” And as for tomorrow, well our Master said, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6v34).
HE GIVES US MORE GRACE WHEN THE BURDENS GROW GREATER,
he sends us more strength when the labours increase;
to greater affliction he adds his great mercy,
to multiplied trials, his multiplied peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
when our strength has failed with the day but half done,
when we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
our Father’s full giving has scarcely begun.
His love has no limit, his grace has no measure,
his power has no boundary known among men;
for out of his infinite riches in Jesus
he gives us, and gives us, and gives yet again!
ANNIE J FLINT 1866-1932
love from Paul
To listen to the hymn click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IELikY0XUx8
To hear Ravi Zacharias talk about Annie Johnson Flint click here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJKcseXI5H0
Mon 11th May - #38. Seen and not heard?
‘The trouble with children today is that they are too vocal and the children seem to be dictating their parents’. Have you heard people say that? Maybe you think this? A phrase that comes to mind is “children should be seen and not heard”!
Jesus’ Kingdom in the present age is heard and not seen (yet). In this morning’s passage we will see how this applies to us.
Mark 4:21-25
21 He said to them, ‘Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.’
24 ‘Consider carefully what you hear,’ he continued. ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you— and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’
The measure to which we accept Jesus’ word now will be the measure for which we receive the benefits of his Kingdom for eternity. “And even more” - God will measure to us graciously and abundantly even beyond our measure of hearing.*1
Jesus’ parable here must have sounded a little strange (like it probably does to us). But the point for the disciples and us is how do we respond to Jesus’ teaching today? Do we believe what he says even the bits that are hard to take and understand?
I am looking forward to a new creation - to be with the Lord and to see all the wrongs put right. However, the journey to this point will sometimes be hard to understand and we will have questions so let Jesus be our teacher, guide, instructor but ultimately our Lord and Saviour.
Today we finish with the last verse of a hymn
I cannot tell how all the lands shall worship,
when at his bidding every storm is stilled,
or who can say how great the jubilation
when all our hearts with love for him are filled.
But this I know, the skies will sound his praises,
ten thousand thousand human voices sing,
and earth to heaven, and heaven to earth, will answer,
‘At last the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is King!’*2
Tim
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*1 Explore notes - Mark
*2 William Y Fullerton 1857-1932