Great Is His Faithfulness

All throughout Scripture we are reminded of God's faithfulness, but the words of Jeremiah, as recorded in Lamentations 3:21-23, seem to put things into a personal context: "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Those words are extremely meaningful for me, and I am awed at the knowledge that not only is our Father faithful when we struggle with our own faithfulness, but even more, His mercies which keeps us from being consumed by His wrath, are new every morning. There aren't enough words to express how thankful I am to God for Him being who He is. As my dear mother would say, "Only He could be God!"

In the video below, Israel & New Breed sings one of my all-time favorites, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"



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In The Fourth Watch

While He dispersed the crowd after the miraculous feeding with five loaves and two fishes, Jesus told his disciples to get into the ship and go over to the other side of the sea. He then went up into the mountains to pray. It was about early evening or close to nightfall. The Sea of Galilee, 13 miles long, 8 miles wide, and 33 miles in circumference, low lying in the rift valley and surrounded by hills, was prone to sudden violent storms. Matthew tells us that while the ship was in the midst of the sea, the disciples experienced one of these violent storms, so much so that the ship was "tossed with waves" (14:23).

It is interesting that Jesus, knowing the ways of the sea as He must have, would have sent them across it at that time of the evening. We can conclude from the text that the storm lasted a long time and they had not made much progress, because when Jesus went unto them, walking on the stormy sea, it was in the fourth watch of the night. The Jewish night is divided into four watches. The fourth or final watch is that time just before dawn, in the darkest hours. If they went out from just before nightfall and was in the storm lasting until just before dawn, why did He wait for long? Can you relate to those disciples? Are you caught in one of life's storms, or a number of them, that seem to have no end in sight?

Despite being the experienced fishermen that they were, I would imagine that by now the men were tired and exhausted. Some of us are too. But somewhere in the dark, they saw a shadow. They thought it was a spirit, and "cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.'" (14:26-27, ESV). In the darkest part of the night, in the midst of a violent storm, they heard the reassuring voice of Jesus. Following Peter putting the voice to the test, and the subsequent actions, Matthew concluded the narrative, "And when they [Jesus and Peter] got into the boat, the wind ceased" (v.32).

There are many lessons to be taken from this story, not the least of which is the fact that no matter how dark the night, or the magnitude of our individual storms, Jesus knows exactly where to find us. Not only that, but He can put Himself in the midst of those storms, and amidst the sound of the winds and the roar of the waves, if we listen keenly enough, we too can hear His voice, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

Be encouraged; before the wind ceased, He first comforted their hearts. It just might be that He wants to do the same for you. I trust and pray that your experience will be like that of the songwriter:

"His voice makes the difference,
When He speaks He relieves my troubled mind.
It's the only voice I hear that makes the difference,
And I'll follow one day at a time."

With Him in the vessel, not only is there no need to fear, we can smile at the storm. Are you smiling?

Not An End, But A Beginning

Today is Good Friday! The origin of the term "Good" is unclear, but for Christians everywhere around the world, it really doesn't matter. They could have called this day of memorial whatever they wanted to, because regardless of whatever it was named, it could not change the momentous occasion it commemorated. Over two thousand years ago, Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, having left the splendors of heaven approximately thirty-three earth years earlier, hung on a cross between two thieves, accused of blasphemy by those to whom He had come as the visible manifestation of God, and of treason by the Romans.

How could they not have known who He was? These Chief Priests and Elders who were practitioners of The Scriptures that spoke so eloquently of Him. He was the promised Messiah as was announced in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15), but on this day, here
he was, "despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows ... He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth" (Isaiah 53:3,7, KJV). He knew this was His purpose, it having been determined by the Father from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:18-20). The blood of animals or turtledoves could not pay the price for mankind's redemption. It would take the shedding of His blood, an event that would cause God the Father to momentarily forsake Him (Matt. 27:46), to bring us back into right standing with God. Centuries earlier, Isaiah foreseeing the day, said of Him, "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed" (53:4,5, ESV).

The human side of Jesus anguished at the thought of His crucifixion, but He willingly
yielded to the will of the Father (Luke 22:42). Everything about that day was for you and I. It was our griefs that He bore, and our sorrows that He carried. It was our transgressions for which He was wounded, our iniquities for which He was crushed. Our chastisement was upon Him, but out of all of that came our peace with God, and by His stripes, thank God, we have been made whole. Christ 's death on that Roman cross was not the end; rather it triumphantly proclaimed our beginning.

As we reflect on this day, and in a time when the Cross and all that it represents is much despised, may you join with the old hymn writer and sing:

"In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see, for 'twas on that old cross
Jesus suffered and died, to pardon and sanctify me.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown."

Never Would Have Made It

The first time I came across this video, it blessed me tremendously. There are not enough words to describe the feelings that came over me as Canton Jones sung Marvin Sapp's "Never Would Have Made It". I can so relate to this testimony, for without Him I never would have made it this far.

I sure hope it blesses you as much as it has blessed me.



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Experiencing Joy

Most of us have at least one person we enjoy being around. Whether we see them every day or only occasionally, the times we anticipate seeing them in person can be absolutely delightful. Our desire for relatedness, stoked by our desire to know and be known, influences the connections we make with others and often time give birth to these meaningful relationships. Maybe even now you're sitting across from, or thinking about, such a person, and if you are, you're probably smiling as well. I know, I've been there.

I thought of this as I reflected on what David was likely feeling when he wrote of God, "in thy presence is fulness of joy" (Psalm 16:11, KJV). Though Peter used this Psalm in reference to Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection (see Acts 2:25-28, KJV), for those of us who know the feeling, we can agree with the Psalmist that there's a "fulness of joy" that we experience whenever we're in the presence of the Lord. This is especially so during times of individual or corporate worship. The word 'joy' in the text could also have been translated 'exceeding gladness'. Not just mere gladness, but exceeding gladness - a state of being characterized by emotions such as tears and/or laughter. Being in God's presence is our ultimate place of refuge from the hustle and bustle of our day to day living. It is the place where we can take our doubts, our fears, our anxieties, and our burdens, and leave with not only His peace, but also His joy.

Though all humanity is in His presence, God invites the believer into a more personal realm of intimacy, and it's this realm that I believe David was talking about. The beauty in all this is that we can enter into it from anywhere. Being stuck in traffic, being in a lineup, sitting at our desks, it really doesn't matter. There is no need for the child of God to walk around joyless. Just thinking about Him, who He is, what He had done for us, and the hope we have in Him, through Christ Jesus, should provoke unspeakable joy (2 Peter 1:8, KJV). If we're able to get to that point in our thoughts, can you imagine what it would be like to enter more intimately into His presence?

"In thy presence is fulness of joy." Have you experienced that with Him lately?

"Oh Yes, He Cares"

On Jesus' instructions, the disciples had sent the crowd away and had set out to go over to the other side of the lake into the country of the Gadarenes (Mark 5:1). At some point in the journey, Jesus, being tired after ministering, fell asleep, head on a pillow, in the back of the boat. Everything seemed fine as they left out, but then the narrative tells us that after a while, "there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full" (Mark 4:37, KJV). The word translated "storm" could also have been translated "squall", which Webster defines as "a sudden violent wind often with rain or snow." Despite some of the disciples being seasoned fishermen, they seemed overwhelmed by what had overtaken them. So much so that Mark wrote, "and they awake him (Jesus), and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?" (v. 38).

The disciples' words reflect the feelings of some of us when we are overtaken by life's storms and circumstances. When it seems that the phrase "God doesn't give us more than we can bear" seem more of a cruel joke than it is our reality. "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" rings true from the depths of our soul as we face our respective challenges, but let us not despair because Jesus did not sleep through the disciples' despair, but "he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (v.39). Those of us who profess Jesus as Lord should be encouraged that he responds to the cries of the sincere, and not only does he respond, but he has all power and authority to rebuke every adverse wind in our lives, and speak peace to our troubled hearts and minds.

Though they woke Jesus in a moment of despair, the disciples recognized that he was the only one that could do something about the situation. Once he had calmed the storm, he looked at them and asked, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" (v.40).

As you face the squalls in your life, how do you respond? What would he say to you? I trust and pray that whenever we find ourselves asking if God really cares, we can sing triumphantly with the hymn writer:

"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 Saviour cares"

"(Casting) all your care upon him, for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7, KJV).