Tag Archives: trusting jesus

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Calming The Storm

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Read: Mark 4:35-41

Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41

He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. —Mark 4:39

While Hurricane Katrina headed toward the coast of Mississippi, a retired pastor and his wife left their home and went to a shelter. Their daughter pleaded with them to go to Atlanta where she could take care of them, but the couple couldn’t get any money to make the trip because the banks were closed. After the storm had passed, they returned to their home to get a few belongings, and were able to salvage only a few family photos floating in the water. Then, when the man was taking his father’s photo out of its frame so it could dry, $366 fell out—precisely the amount needed for two plane tickets to Atlanta. They learned they could trust Jesus for what they needed.

For the disciples, trusting Jesus in a storm was the curriculum for the day in the dramatic narrative of Mark 4:35-41. Jesus had instructed His disciples to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and then He went to sleep in the boat. When a quick and violent storm blew in, the disciples dripped as much with fear and anxiety as water from the waves. They woke Jesus, saying, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (v.38 NIV). Jesus stood up and with three words, “Peace, be still!” He muzzled the storm.

We all experience storms—persecutions, financial troubles, illnesses, disappointments, loneliness—and Jesus does not always prevent them. But He has promised never to leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). He will keep us calm in the storm. —Marvin Williams

Are you in a storm? What do you know about God’s character that could help bring calm to your heart?

In the storms of life, we can see the character of our God.

INSIGHT: Mark 4:35–5:43 records four miracles that answer the question asked in 4:41: “Who can this be . . . ?” They demonstrate Jesus’ absolute power over nature (4:35-41), the spiritual world (5:1-20), physical illnesses (5:21-34), and death (5:35-43). Each miracle shows Jesus as the Omnipotent Sovereign God. In Jewish minds the power to control the sea and the waves was exclusive to God (Job 38:8-11; Ps. 65:5-7; Isa. 51:10; Nah. 1:3-5). It’s interesting, however, that in today’s passage Mark provides an amazing contrast. Just before Jesus displayed the awesome powers of His deity by calming the sea, we are given a touching picture of His frail humanity: Jesus was so tired that even the violent tossing of the waves did not wake Him (4:38).

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Charles Stanley – When Our Faith Wavers

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James 1:1-8

The Bible warns against wavering faith. This is the attitude of someone who goes from feeling certain that God will answer a prayer to merely hoping that He might (or becoming convinced that He won’t). Of course, since we’re human, we all experience periods of doubt. But what Scripture warns against is a lifestyle of spiritual vacillation.

Wavering can have many causes. For instance, one might fail to see the Lord at work in a situation. Or he might worry that trusting Jesus in a particular predicament conflicts with human reasoning. Another believer, focusing on circumstances rather than on God, may allow feelings to overcome faith.

A person who is “driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6) may lose confidence in the Lord and find his spiritual growth stunted. Such a believer can become a “double-minded man” (v. 8) because even as he prays, he tends to jump ahead of the Lord’s timing to manipulate a situation for his own desired outcome. When a Christian pays attention to his doubts in this way, he will often make wrong decisions that prove costly. And then, after all the maneuvering, he will frequently end up dissatisfied with the results and bothered by his lack of peace. What’s even worse, his faith may diminish.

Wavering is dangerous, so believers must develop confidence in the Lord. In Mark 11:24, Jesus says, “All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” The closest we get to perfect faith while on earth is the ability to trust that what we ask in God’s will is as good as done.

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Charles Stanley – Christ’s Blood: The Necessity

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Romans 3:21-26

Romans 3 communicates the very heart of Scripture. Apart from the cross of Christ and His atoning death, no one can be declared righteous.

In other words, there is only one way to become a child of God—through the blood of the Savior (John 14:6). Good works and right living will not earn the Lord’s favor, because every person inevitably sins, and a sinner cannot enter the presence of holy God. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the world’s behalf made it possible for anyone to be cleansed of sin and have a relationship with the Creator. The only requirement is trusting Jesus as Savior.

For God to be just, He must remain true to His own principles. His holiness dictated that “the soul who sins will die” (Ezek. 18:4). The penalty for sin—namely, death—had to be paid in a way that was acceptable to God. He explained through Moses why a blood sacrifice was required: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Lev. 17:11). A life must be given for a life to be spared.

On that basis, the heavenly Father provided a perfectly sinless sacrifice for all mankind. The only way God’s justice could be satisfied and His holiness could be maintained was for Jesus Christ to take our guilt and sin upon Himself and die in our place.

When we say that there is only one way to the Father, we mean that a person must believe Jesus Christ died as a perfect sacrifice. To trust in anything else is to ignore God’s holiness and the admonition of His Word (Acts 4:12).