Mission, Storms, Fear and Faith

How many times have you read or heard the account of when Jesus calmed the storm?  (Mark 4:35-41)  I remember studying this in Sunday School, and being amazed at Jesus’ power.  The lesson we usually draw from the disciples’ experience deals with the two natures of Christ – the biblical teaching that Jesus is both true God and true man.  He sleeps, displaying weariness as a trait of his humanity, but he also calms the storm which shows his divine nature. 

As I was re-reading the account this morning, something jumped out at me that I didn’t grab onto before.  The account begins with these words, “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’” 

I can’t believe that I blew right past that!  Do you see the significance of this? 

This miracle takes place in the context of Jesus’ mission!  Why go over to the other side of the sea?  Why not keep teaching parables right where Jesus is?  He goes because there are people on the other side who need to hear the good news. (Take a look at chapter 5.  It begins with the exorcism of a Legion of demons from a man who was clearly lost.  That man became the first missionary Jesus sent to tell that whole region what Jesus had done for him.) 

I sometimes wonder why we don’t see the amazing things God used to do in the Bible.  Is it because, as I learned growing up, God just doesn’t work that way anymore?  Could it be that we don’t see what God is doing because we don’t follow the call to, “go over to the other side”? 

Jesus calls us to go with him in faith.  The same faith that allowed Jesus to sleep soundly in the stern of the boat, allows us to “go over” with him and see Him at work in His mission to seek and save the lost.  Perhaps we won’t see Lake Erie go from a pitched storm to glassy calm, but we will see the miracle of hearts coming to life through the power of the Resurrection. 

All too often our eyes get fixed on what we see going on in this world.  We’re on sensory overload, and we can quickly become overwhelmed.  Perhaps a closer look at our Lord going out in mission, sleeping in storm, and then rising up to calm the storm would lead us to be more overwhelmed by Him than by the world. 

It has been a big week here at church.  Monday was our Staff Retreat.  We met at the Hudson Library in where we learned from Pr. Jeff Stephens about living and leading from our strengths.  It was interesting stuff to see how God has blessed us with such a blend of strengths as we serve together as a team. 

Tuesday was Rudy Libertini’s funeral.  Thank you to all of you who brought food for the funeral luncheon.  It is such a blessing for the family to be able to come back to church after the committal to have a time of fellowship before they go their separate ways.  Please keep Bev and the whole family in your prayers. 

Tuesday was also the first day of our new ChristCare leaders training.  Bob Brantsch, Pastor and Ruth Koenig, and Jeff Moeller are all participating in this event.  While Bob, Pastor, and Ruth are leading the bulk of the training, I was excited to learn that some of our current ChristCare group leaders will also help with teaching the new leaders.  What a blessing it is to have so many people who can lead in our congregation!

Please keep Gloria Dei, our participation in Jesus’ mission, and our whole church family in your prayers!

Question to Ponder:

-          If Jesus said, “Let us go over to the other side,” to you, who would you meet?  A neighbor?  Someone you struggle to get along with?  Someone in need?  A sibling?  Pray for God to open your eyes to see who He might use you to reach with His love.

-          Verse 36 points out that Jesus left the crowd behind.  Everyone needs downtime to recharge and refuel mentally, physically, and spiritually.  How do you recharge and refuel?  All three of those areas matter, and please give thought to them all, but give a little extra time to think and pray about how you get refreshed spiritually.

-          When the disciples woke Jesus they asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  (NIV) The original text asks if Jesus cares that they are dying or being destroyed.  When have you felt like you were dying, being destroyed, or like your life was just falling apart?  Did you talk to God about it?  Did you sound like the disciples?  How did God respond to your situation?

-          In verse 40, after Jesus calmed the storm, he asked the disciples, “Why are you cowardly?  Do you not yet have faith?” (Tritten Translation)  Do you ever feel cowardly or timid when it comes to following Jesus?  Have you ever questioned whether you really have faith?  How can confessing fear and lack of faith to God actually make you brave and more faithful?  What is the power of God’s forgiveness in your life? 

-          Fear is a reality of our lives.  What makes you feel afraid?  How does the progression of the disciples fearing the storm, to fearing for their lives, to being terrified asking, “Who is this?” help us overcome our earthly fears?  Is there a proper place for fear in our relationship with God?