No Fear of Turmoil–that’s what peace (i.e. the Hebrew word shalom) with God gives us.  No matter what life churns up our way, we can still be in the center of God’s peace.

Mark 4:35 That day when evening came, [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?”

Jesus was sleeping while a furious storm raged.  He knew there was no fear of turmoil.  Jesus’ disciples would have known there was no fear of turmoil as well, had they truly realized who was in the boat with them.

These disciples, professional fishermen, had likely experienced choppy seas before.  Their familiarity with circumstances such as these only served to increase their distress because they knew sometimes, rough seas do not bode well for the outcome of fishermen.  They panic, wake up Jesus to make inquiry and indeed, their question seems incredibly rude.  “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Interestingly, it’s a failure of faith because they failed to know Jesus on two counts: first as Lord over nature, and second as the most loving and merciful human being to walk the face of the planet because He’s God and God is merciful.  The way they asked the question in Greek would have expected the answer, “Yes, of course I care.”  It would have required different wording to expect the answer, “You’re right.  I don’t.”  It’s a nuance lost in English.

If the disciples weren’t being intentionally insulting, what was going on?  They were relying upon what they saw instead of Who they knew.  Had they seen Jesus as God Incarnate, they would have known that their boat was the safest place to be…because in the boat, they were with God Himself.  Their second failure of faith was a refusal to believe that God is merciful beyond measure.

What should we take away from a passage like this or the one pictured below?  We should know that no matter what our circumstances show, the safest place to be is in the boat with Jesus.  Circumstances can lie to us, but even if our entire culture IS falling apart and we’re careening toward the end of days, we need to believe that God will be merciful to disciples of Jesus because it’s His character to do so.  Peace with a merciful God leads to our having No Fear of Turmoil.

An Ever-Present Help in Trouble: That’s God’s role in our lives.  We’ve been assured that we’ll have all kinds of troubles in this world–and indeed, we do!  But we are reminded that He’s got it covered.  Christians have nothing to fear.  Not even of death.

Are you in trouble?  Are you afraid of the future?  Are you worried about the world around you?  Are you concerned that your life and welfare are in the balance?  You can rest even in the storm because God is An Ever-Present Help in Trouble.

The Time Will Come when there will be a clear dividing line in American culture between those who love God and those who hate Him; between those who love the truth and those who hate it; between those who seek honesty and those who’d prefer to hear lies, lies, sweet little lies; and between the sheep and the goats.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Matthew 25:31-33

Do you know what happens in the rest of that story (Matthew 25: 34-46)?  Judgment.  By that time, choosing a side will be impossible.  Your decision will be final with no turning back.

We’re still in the Venn-diagram phase with some who have already chosen where they stand and a pool of people who are spiritually undecided in the middle.  I hope they’re listening and reading right now because the time will come when we’ll be out of time.  Jesus will return–this time as Judge!

Today we have a clear choice: To come to the Truth and listen to His wisdom, or gather teachers around us to tell us what we want to hear.

What choice will you make?

God judged evil on the Cross.  The verdict has already been issued.  The Verdict? Light has Come.  In His coming, death has been defeated.  Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, died to make that happen.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

Yes, Jesus came as the Way and the Truth and the Life, but evil wants nothing to do with the truth, even if it is the only way to genuine life.  Every piece of worldly evidence tells us that.

Evil always embraces evil.  No amount of Light will convince some.  They scoff.  They ridicule.  They mock.  And they lie, probably more than they realize.  The biggest lie of all is not believing the Judge; not believing the verdict; and not believing in Jesus, the Light of men.  Men have not understood it and have done so intentionally.  There will be sentencing of the lawless and evil ones since no one has another way of getting around the verdict.

Christians believe that God is a God of mercy, but also a God of justice.  For Him to love justice is for Him to hate evil.  So God judged it.  But His mercy calls out to those who haven’t entered the sentencing phase (which always follows the verdict).  Since that day is yet to come,  God extends mercy patiently, waiting for us to see the Light and agree with the verdict that Jesus’ death was God’s judgment against human evil.

Will we come into that Light as repentant sinners, or will we continue to fight the Judge until sentencing begins?  It is a question each of us will answer.

I struggle with the way our culture is going.  Gain the World; Forfeit Your Soul.  It sums up America as I observe it.  Everywhere I look, it seems there are people out to gain power, prestige, prominence, and control for themselves.  We see it in politics, the popular media, at crime scenes, and in the city streets.

Instead of running to help someone who is hurting (or staying out of the way of those who are trying to help), we have become a generation of people who crowd into the too-close-for-comfort-zones with our smart phones to capture the video clip, upload it really fast, and then dream it goes viral.  O to be famous for 15 minutes…

What is especially troubling is how often this is done at the expense of a person’s conscience and any sense of moral concern for others!  Wouldn’t it be better to ensure the timely arrival of valued help by calling 911 instead of filming for YouTube or posting your status to Facebook?

If Jesus were to return in the moment of a crisis, would He really give a rip about someone’s video clip or Facebook status?  Gain the World; Forfeit Your Soul.

When we encounter troubles and we wonder where God is, Scripture reminds us that God says His grace is sufficient.  Sometimes His grace means He covers over the problem.  Sometimes His grace means we don’t feel the pain as acutely.  Sometimes His grace means that His hope sustains us for another day.  Sometimes His grace overflows so powerfully we become ashamed at our little problems and feel totally unworthy of His outpouring of mercy.

But sometimes, the pain hurts too deeply, the troubles are far beyond our ability to cope, the sadness is too profound, and the distress cannot be corrected by any man.  Sometimes God knows the benefit of our suffering is worth His not stepping in and solving it.  At these times, God wants for His glory to shine in the midst of our suffering.  When we’re tempted to give up because His grace seems far off from our present grief, Scripture reminds us that His grace is sufficient.  Maybe not lavish, over the top, wow-factor type grace…but enough to see you through.  What seems on the surface to be not quite enough somehow ends up growing and stretching and multiplying in our faith until it becomes a display of God’s amazing grace.

Where are you today?  Do you know His grace is sufficient?

Among the most effective strategies in fighting the spiritual battle is to take up the Weapon of Prayer.

Consider this odd exchange between the crowd, the teachers of the law, a man and his suffering son, Jesus and His disciples:

Mark 9:14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

Many people discount the power of prayer and ridicule the spiritual realm of demons and spirits as a sad figment of an overactive imagination.  But to downplay the spiritual battle as nothing more than fantasy is to put oneself at danger from the very thing one ridicules.  Jesus took the spiritual realm seriously and so should we.

While most of us aren’t called to perform exorcisms or rebuke spirits, it is noteworthy that Jesus’ prayer wasn’t recorded for us to read but was clearly prayed.  The power of God was unleashed in the prayer of Jesus to His Father and we know that because the spirit was driven out and it can only come out by prayer.

The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by spiritual enemies of discouragement, doubt, anger, thoughts of self-hatred, suicide, or despair, take up the Weapon of Prayer.

Do you want to read the rest of the Armor of God series? Click the following links:

The sword of the Spirit is the Weapon of the Word.  In the spiritual battle, it’s the only offensive weapon available to us.  And that’s a good thing since we fight an invisible enemy.

In the movie Monsters, INC. Randall is Boo’s monster who can become invisible and change his appearance like a chameleon to be rendered difficult to see against a backdrop.  When the hero Sully was trying to fight against him to save Boo, the evil Randall’s invisibility made him hard to fight.  Sully may have been bigger and stronger, but deprived of his sight, this gave him no edge.  Likewise, in horror movies, the invisible enemy is always the scariest.  You can’t fight what you can’t see.  At least in the movies.

In the spiritual battle, we can indeed fight what we do not see.  We use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.  The simple reason is this: words have invisible power.  Better yet, the Word of God never fails to be victorious because it is the invisible power…of God.

So when insults come your way; when you’re weary of standing firm; when the illness is taking its toll; when doubts crowd your mind or when discouragement sneaks upon you and pounces, strike the enemy with the Word of God.  Stand firm upon His promises.  Scripture has spiritual power to fight an invisible enemy.

Once upon a time, I did a short stint as a telemarketer for a philanthropic organization.  I suppose I ought to be embarrassed admitting having done the job that so many of us hate on the receiving end.  But I was going on a mission trip and I wanted to pay my own way.  Lacking my own funding, I told God I would not look down on any legitimate job He provided.  And so I did it.  Fortunately God provided a different job after about 4 weeks.  I wasn’t sure how much more of telemarketing I could take.

It was an instructive experience for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was having ample opportunity to realize that fighting the spiritual battle frequently results in blows to the head.

Discouragement!  Doubt!  Rejection!  Resentment!

These beat up our minds and the shockwaves get carried throughout our entire bodies.  One day when I got home from work, I realized that discouragement from rejection enters through the mind and gets firmly lodged in our flesh.  No amount of washing will wash it away.  I learned a profound truth about the spiritual battle from that job.  Spiritual battles cannot be fought with earthly weapons.

Just as a person riding a bicycle or motorcycle wears a helmet to protect against head injury, the spiritual warrior needs a good helmet of salvation.  In the full armor of God, we’re covered head-to-toe with the powerful protective weapons of God.  The helmet of salvation protects the mind.  When discouragement comes because of the world and its troubles, the mind is protected with knowledge that salvation has been accomplished.  Doubt?  How can we doubt when God gave us His Son Jesus to save us?  Will He not give us what we need?  Rejection?  God has not rejected us.  He has elected us to have salvation in Jesus Christ!  Resentment at life’s circumstances and questioning God’s goodness will be washed away by His love for us.

To keep ourselves from injury in the head games of the evil one, put on that helmet of salvation.  In doing so, you will have the complete set of God’s protective armor to carry you through the spiritual battle.  From head to toe, you will be standing firm in the truth God’s love for us and the salvation He provides in Jesus Christ.

When you’re feeling attacked by negative thoughts, when everything seems to be imploding around you, when it feels like stinging words or hurtful actions come at your heart out of nowhere, it’s time to raise your shield of faith.

Raising a shield of faith as part of your readiness for the spiritual battle is a matter of believing the battle is already won.  Fiery arrows of  negative thoughts? Stopped by the knowledge that you are not judged by a God who hates you but One who loves you.  Everything imploding? Stopped by the knowledge that a house of faith, built on the solid rock will withstand any storm!  Stinging words or hurtful actions of other human beings?  Stopped by the knowledge that God will right every wrong, wipe every tear, heal every wound, and restore every heart of those who belong to Him by faith.

God’s full armor will protect you.  You put it on by faith and actively take that shield into your ready stance as you face a troubled world.  Be strong.  You’re well equipped for any battle you face when you have faith in God who fights for you.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.