When we learn and honor God’s boundaries in our lives, we begin to see that His boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places for us.
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God’s Boundary Lines & His Territory for Us (Part II)Read More »
On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4:35-39
Peace, Be Still… Mark 4:35-39https://knowhisways.com/?p=13315
Posted by Know His Ways on Friday, March 27, 2020
Jesus told His disciples that it was time for them to go to the other side. Where was the other side!? The other side was the country of Gadarenes. This is the place that Jesus came to heal the so called, “Gardarene Demoniac”. Jesus had a plan and a mission and the enemy had a plan and mission as well!
While Jesus and the disciples were on the boat, a great windstorm arose to the point that the boat was filling with water. The disciples panicked, and all their thoughts about ministering on the other side went out the door! All they could think about was their survival and that they were about to perish. On the other hand, Jesus remained calm to the point that He could actually remain sleep!
Similarly, this is the time that many are fearful and uncertain about their lives, and it is easy to give in to the spirit of fear and panic. Jesus’ disciples were not aware that a good and powerful work was awaiting them on the other side, so all they could focus on were the circumstances that they were in. I believe there is also great work for us on the other side. We cannot be focused on the circumstances around us and allow them to dictate the level of peace and clarity we have in this hour.
For years, the Lord has given us burden to pray and reach our families, friends, coworkers, society, and the nations. Now, He is preparing us for the harvest! We need to remain alert and available if we are going to cease the moment and make the most of every opportunity!
The disciples accused Jesus of not caring! Because Jesus was silent and calm, they assumed that He didn’t care. The reality was that He did care, but His care was about God’s purpose in His life and accomplishing the mission that the Lord had given Him. He cared about those who were down and out and were under the bondage of sin, religion, and the devil. At the same time, He was not concerned about the windstorm because He knew the call of God on His life and that His mission on the earth was not finished. Therefore, He did not give in to fear and did not retreat. It would have been easy to tell His disciples to try to go back where they came from and try again after everything is calm, but He did not allow the enemy to dictate How His plans were going to go.
Jesus calmed the storm by commanding the sea to return to peace and stillness. And at this command, a calmness took over. In this hour, let’s not agree with fear and retreating from God’s purpose. Remain alert, pray with authority, and command the evil to flee. Speak peace and calmness over yourself, your family, and your neighborhood. Be ready for what is on the good works on other side of this and allow God to take charge of this hour in history!
Image by Lothar Dieterich from Pixabay
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10
Definition of “Still” (According to Strong’s Concordance): to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake.
The Lord is calling each of us to be still before Him. Being still is not necessarily about lack of movement, but it is about abandoning our plans. It is refraining from trying to make something happen. It is about letting go of our agenda and resting before the Lord.
Interestingly, in the above verse, being still and knowing the Lord are connected to each other. That means if we want to know God, we need to be willing to be still before Him. We cannot be focused on our plans and agenda, and at the same time, allow the Lord to lead and guide our lives. In addition, We cannot have two masters. Either we are in charge and are calling all the shots, or God is on the throne and He rules over all our affairs.
In this hour, there is much unrest and uncertainty in the world. There is pressure to try to figure things out. On the other hand, it seems as if humanity is on hold. Everyone is watching and waiting to see how things are going to turn out in the next couple of weeks. People are waiting to see when they can get back to their normal lives.
During this past week, I noticed that a sense of restlessness and helplessness can creep in. We are so used to controlling our lives and day-to-day activities, that it is hard not to be in charge. We enjoy planning our lives months in advance and look forward to events or vacations. However, we can’t do them at this point! Some of us have taken days off from work to spend time with family and friends who are graduating, having a baby, or getting married, but everything has come to a halt. Now we have to change our expectations and stay put!
This is a reminder of how little control we have over our lives, and just because God in His mercy has allowed us to plan our weeks and months ahead of time, it does not mean that we are entitled to it. Instead of being in charge of our activities, we need to remember God’s promises for us. Our peace comes from knowing and remembering who God is for us. Those truths will settle our spirits.
The above scripture is a great reminder that we have the opportunity to the know the Lord better when we remain still before Him. We may feel awkward about being still, but the more we practice it, the easier it gets. As Americans, we are not good at being still, but we can ask the Lord to help us. As we let go of our hopes, disappointments, and expectations, we will get to know the Lord better for who He really is. The fruit of knowing Him is that He will be lifted and exalted by His people, so they world can get to know Him! Lord teach us to be still, so we can know you better!
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10: 38-42
Here is a 5 minute video on what the Lord put on my heart about the above passage and the times that we are in right now.
Martha, Martha…Luke 10:38-42
Posted by Know His Ways on Friday, March 20, 2020
We live a world that is very busy and active. We are easily distracted with various noises around us, and many of us have a tendency to operate like Martha in the above passage.
Jesus saw Martha being distracted with all the activities. She was worried about being the perfect hostess and making sure everything was just right. However, Jesus knew that His time was limited with His loved ones, and He didn’t want her to miss on valuable time with Him while He was with them.
We can also be worried about many things. We like to have the reputation of having it all together. We want to impress people with how we decorate, cook, and host a gathering. With sites such as Pinterest, event planning and parties have gone to another level. Perfect professional party, shower, and celebration is the goal of many women who are not professional decorators. They are seeking Martha Steward caliber hospitality! The problem is that all those details are very time consuming and they steal our time from sitting still. We are so distracted that we don’t enjoy our family, and we don’t let Jesus touch our hearts. We care more about being impressive than being impressed with His presence in our lives!
Jesus praised Mary for choosing the good part, and that the Lord was not going to take that away from her. That statement from Jesus is profound because it tells us sitting with the Lord and communing with Him is something that the Lord desires and He would not take away the opportunity from us to do it. However, because we are rushed and busy, we allow the enemy to steal the time away from us by agreeing to the fact that we should be doing something else rather than sitting at the Lord’s feet.
The recent pandemic, has brought to a halt many activities in people’s lives. Many people have become house-bound and they are either not working or work with limited hours from home. Furthermore, there are no sporting events to watch on TV and the kids are not doing sports. What a perfect time to be a Mary in this season! Instead of worrying about getting back to the busyness of life, let’s use this time to recharge our batteries, spend time in the presence of the Lord, and listen to His voice and direction.
