June 12:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS SECLUSION.
"Come away...to a secluded place and rest a while."--Mark 6:31

Sometimes your soul needs to catch up with your mind and body.  I had a strong sense that God was asking me to take some time off and concentrate on my PhD dissertation.  But I was the senior pastor of a church and things were going well, and there was so much to do...yet God seemed to insist.  God knew I needed time away from my ministry to be instructed and refreshed.  However, requesting leave without pay; to finish my doctoral studies, was one of the hardest things I've ever done, because it went against my personality and my sense of mission.

As the disciples wrap up their mission to the Galilean region, they come to Jesus and joyfully report to Him, "all that they had done and taught" (verse 30).  I can imagine how excited they were to recount their experiences.  This is the only time in Mark (with the exception of 3:14 in certain manuscripts) that the disciples are called apostles (one who is sent).  They had been sent on a mission (see Mark 6:7-13) and they had plenty of  testimonies to share with Jesus.  In response, they receive an imperative from Jesus, which in the Greek original reads: "Come you yourselves privately to a desolate place and rest a little" (Mark 6:30). *  This is a command from Jesus that we all need to heed.  The mandate of Jesus was to rest in divinely-ordained seclusion, in solitude in an uninhabited place, in contrast to the many people coming and going when they were ministering (verse 31).  You don't need to be a professional minister to observe this command.  During times of seclusion and solitude, God provides true rest, spiritual nourishment, guidance, revelation, instruction, and much more.  Jesus often instructed His disciples privately (for example, see Mark 9:28; 13:3), and He does the same with us.  In a culture that celebrates busyness, results, and achievements, let's remember that sometimes less is really more.  Overextending ourselves, even in ministry, leaves us depleted of energy and insight.  God wants private time with us, to remind us of His love.  During times of retreat, He reveals to us the magnitude of His grace, the sufficiency of His sacrifice, and His assurance for the future.

My Response:_________________________________________________________
* J.D. Douglas, The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament, 4th rev.ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1993).

June 11:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS CONTROL.
"Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him."--Mark 4:41

The Sea of Galilee is prone to sudden storms, because it is surrounded by mountains and is approximately 685 feet below sea level.  At times, the cool air from the Mediterranean Sea comes down through the mountain passes with fierce force and clashes violently with the hot air of the enclosed lake.  I will never forget being on a boat on the same lake where Jesus calmed the storm.  We saw fishing nets, we sang together, but most of all I imagined Jesus calming the angry waters while the helpless disciples wondered: "Who is this?"

Having addressed the wind and the water, that were by now completely calm, Jesus addressed the disciples: "Why are you afraid?" (Mark 4:40).  Well, isn't it obvious?  They were afraid because they thought they were perishing; they couldn't control the storm, no matter  how hard they tried.  We become afraid for the same reasons: we can't stop the phone calls, the medical results, the bad news.  We just can't do it!  When Jesus stilled the wind and the sea, the disciples were in awe: "They became very much afraid and said to one another, 'Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?' " (verse 41).  Really, Who is this?  The question "Who is this?" is repeated many times in the first half of Mark's Gospel.  The authoritative Messiah is being revealed.  This story is the beginning of a crescendo of the power of Jesus.  First, His power over nature; next, His control over evil and demons (5:1-20), and the following two stories display His power over disease and death (verses 21-43).  But the most striking realization in this Gospel is that Jesus, the powerful Son of God, who controls the wind and the sea, was to be the Servant, submitting His life as a ransom for many (see Mark 10:45).  Jesus, the authoritative Messiah, would become the Suffering Servant, and would lay down His power and conquer evil through suffering.  The Gospel of Mark is dedicated to understanding this profound juxtaposition: the authoritative Son of God is also the Suffering Son of Man.  Jesus is sovereign, and through the cross He gained the crown.  Let's submit ourselves to His control.

My Response:_________________________________________________________

June 10:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS WATCHFULNESS.
"Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?"--Mark 4:40

My grandparents lived in a small village, and as a child I loved visiting them.  There was a large hospital with a swimming pool next to it, and I used to spend most of my days there because it was such a treat for me.  But that section of the country was prone to sudden summer storms that could be quite violent.  So, as soon as I would see that the clouds were getting dark, I would start running towards my grandparents' place, which was a couple of miles from the hospital.  And I was always certain that my mom would be waiting for me.

The disciples encountered a severe storm, with a "fierce gale of wind," and they couldn't control their boat (Mark 4:37).  These experienced fishermen were running out of options; they were sure that they were perishing.  Jesus was sleeping in the stern, on the pillow usually found under the cozswain's seat.  There is no doubt that the disciples were terrified of the storm, and that's why they woke Him up.  Mark tells us that aside from their fear, they were struggling with something else, which is revealed in their rebuke of Jesus: "They woke Him up. and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' " (verse 38).  They were doubting Jesus' personal interest in them, questioning His vigilance and watchfulness over them.  Does it matter to you that we are dying?  That we have no way out?  Do you care?  How often this question arises in our minds when we face difficulties that we don't understand.  But Jesus is always watchful of His children in the storm.  After stilling the tempest, Jesus addressed them: "Why are you afraid?  Do you still have no faith?" (verse 40).  After all you have witnessed of my power and love, do you still doubt if I care?  Do you still wonder if I will act on your behalf?  In a storm, we must be absolutely certain of God's care for us, otherwise, what do we have left?  An author suggested adding the word "personally" to 1 Peter 5:7 in order to internalize this truth: "Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He personally cares for you."  He personally cares, never doubt it.  And yes! He cared so much, that He died in our place!

My Response:______________________________________________________________

June 9:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS CALMNESS
The wind died down and it became perfectly calm.--Mark 4:39

In 1986 archaeologists found a fishing boat that is believed to date back to the first century A.D.  It is now displayed at the Yigal Allon Center at Kibbutz Ginosar and is known as the "Jesus boat."  I had the privilege of visiting this site, and it was quite an experience.  This fishing boat is twenty-seven feet long, seven and a half feet wide, and approximately four feet deep.  Definitely not a very big boat.  With thirteen people (Jesus and His twelve disciples), it would have been quite overcrowded in calm waters.  But in the storm, it was sinking.

Picture the chaotic scene: fierce winds, waves crashing, the little boat filling up with water.  Everyone is fighting for survival, except for One, who is sleeping!  In the first century, the sea and other deep bodies of water were considered places where evil and demons resided.  Therefore, for the disciples, this was not just a fierce storm; it had strong connotations of evil.  This was a wicked storm, in the most graphic sense of the word.  Mark is the only Gospel writer to tell us that there were "other boats" (Mark 4:36) going through this storm, along with the boat of Jesus and His disciples.  Has this ever happened to you?  You get hit by an unexpected storm so fierce that you know it has come from the devil himself, and you are under attack?  I have.  In early Christian art, sometimes the church is depicted as a boat with Jesus in the storm.  This visualization helped early Christians under persecution to remember the presence of Jesus with them while going through trials and tribulations.  The miracle of the stilling of the sea reminded them of the greater reality of salvation brought about through the saving death and resurrection of Jesus.  There are many situations in life that threaten our minds and souls, yet Jesus is with us in the boat.  "He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Hush, be still.'  And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm" (Mark 4:39).  Whether you are in a storm of guilt, shame, persecution, despair, or fear of the future, remember that Jesus has the power to still the storm.  His calmness is real and readily available!  Jesus, calm our anxious minds!

My Response:___________________________________________________________

June 8:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS POWER.
Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.--Matthew 8:26

I don't like wind; I particularly don't like storms!  I woke up in the middle of the night, in our brand-new home, to an eighty-mile-an-hour wind.  After frantic calls to the authorities, I was informed that these were the Santa Ana winds; a "strong episode," they said.  Strong?  This is a hurricane!--I thought.  It turned out that we had just bought our home in a wind tunnel area.  Completely terrified, I invited my husband to pray together.  As soon as I finished praying, he fell asleep!  Asleep?!  Not me; I stayed awake!  When he woke in the morning, he cheerfully announced, "See!  You have the gift of prayer--but I have the gift of faith!"

"And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep" (Matthew 8:24).  Asleep!  How is that possible?  Matthew calls this storm a seismos megas; a mega shaking, like an earthquake in the lake (verse 24).  The disciples run out of options, realizing that they are powerless over this particular storm.  Then the fishermen turn for help to the Carpenter.  They are so desperate that their cry, in Matthew's Greek language, is represented by three single words, that sound something like: "Lord!  Save!  Perishing!" (verse 25).  Have you noticed that our most desperate and heartfelt prayers are usually just one word?  "Help!"  "Please!"  "Really?"  "Why?"  "Thanks!"  They came to Jesus, and their cries woke Him up.  "He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?'  Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea and it became perfectly (megale) calm." (verse 26).  From mega storm to mega peace.  Why were they afraid?  Well...they were powerless over the mega storm.  Just like us.  A sudden, unexpected storm...we do everything we can but it's not working.  Our boat (our family, our job, our marriage, etc) is being overrun by waves.  Then we remember that Jesus is in the boat, and we can rest, as he rested in the mega storm.  Do you know why?  Because we are "power-less," but Jesus is "power-full.."  He is our Savior, Lord, and Deliverer.  He's our mega God!

My Response:___________________________________________________________

June 7:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS HOLD.
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."--John 10:28, NIV

On June 7, 2016, a woman and her thirteen-year-old daughter were shopping at a dollar store when a man tried to abduct the girl.  As the man was dragging the girl toward the exit her mother did everything she could to save her.  Finally, the woman threw herself on top of the child, and the abductor was not able to drag them both.  Having let go of the girl, he headed for the exit.  He was apprehended in the parking lot by a police deputy.  The whole frightening incident was caught on the surveillance camera.

The image of this mother, doing whatever it took to fight off the kidnapper, is the visualization I get when I read today's text.  Jesus says with confidence: "no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28, NIV).  This sentence is repeated by Jesus twice in two verses.  Having confronted those who didn't believe in Him (verses 24, 25), Jesus explains how secure His sheep really are in His hand, and the Father's hand: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one' " (verses 27-30).  Whoever believes and follows Jesus is eternally secure, just as a sheep is secure in the good Shepherd's hands; just as a child can rest in the arms of a loving Parent.  This brings such profound peace to my mind and dissipates my anxiety about the future, the end of the world, eternal life, et cetera.  You can rest in the most capable hands in the universe.  Even if God's adversary tries to snatch us out of His hand, Jesus and the Father will not let it happen, for they are greater than any power that might threaten God's children.  Jesus offers us certainty.  In the words of Leon Morris: "No one will snatch them from Christ.  It is one of the precious things about Christian faith that our continuance in eternal life depends not on our feeble hold on Christ, but on his firm grip on us." *

My Response:___________________________________________________________
* Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev, ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: 1995, Eerdmans), 463.

June 6:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS MIRACLE.
"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'You sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?"--Mark 2:9

Stress management was one of the first classes I took in my organizational behavior studies.  I found it fascinating and I had to implement the knowledge right away because my car wouldn't start on the day of my final, and I had to borrow another vehicle.  After my final exam, another student asked me to assist with his presentation.  He connected a little device to my finger and was able to show the whole class how my body was responding to my stress level that day.  I became convinced about how closely connected our physical and emotional health are.

Even though the four men brought the paralytic to be healed, the first words of Jesus were, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5).  This was the man's greatest need, so Jesus dealt with it first.  We all need to know that we are at peace with God and that we are forgiven; there is no deeper realization for a human being.  The scribes started questioning Jesus in their minds because they doubted His authority to forgive sins.  The forgiveness of sin was, and is, always the greatest miracle.  But it  happens on the inside, and therefore they doubted it (verses 6, 7).  Jesus asked them "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven', or say, 'Get up...and walk'?" (verse 9).  And before receiving a response, He went on: " 'But so that you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'--He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, pick up your pallet and go home' " (verses 10, 11).  In other words, "Yes!  Just get up!  I can forgive sins and I can heal you"  Both forgiveness and healing are impossible things for mankind to perform, but both are possible for God.  He is the Healer of mind, body, and soul.  And the man got up, picked up his pallet, and went (verse 12).  Are you in desperate need today?  Do you need forgiveness?  Are you in need of getting up from your mat of depression or inadequate feelings?  Are you paralyzed by guilt or shame?  His miracle starts in our soul.  He offers forgiveness and peace.  Our confidence is in the blood of Jesus (see Hebrews 10:19-22).  So...Get up!  Pick up!  Go!

My Response:___________________________________________________________

June 5:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS CARE.
"I am the good Shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me...and I lay down My life for the sheep."--John 10:14, 15


It was an unexpected gift from God.  I was preparing the outlines for a television series when I reached out to pick up a book I needed.  As I opened it, something fell out of the book--sermon notes; however, these were not mine, but my dad's.  I was speechless as tears welled up in my eyes, because this was my father's homily that he had preached when I was commissioned to the ministry long ago.  The topic was the Good Shepherd, what He has done for us, and His care for His sheep.  He then talked about what it means to be called to shepherd God's people.  My father has since passed, and I feel so blessed to have found this gift.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Ezekiel prophesied that God would send His Shepherd, a descendant of David, to care for His Sheep.  God had entrusted His sheep to religious leaders who had not done their job, and God denounced Israel shepherds, exposing their transgressions in no uncertain terms.  "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves!...You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.  Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost"  Ezekiel 34:2-4.  God was not happy with the way in which His sheep had been treated: scattered, abandoned, and oppressed; this was not what God had in mind!  From there on, He would care for His own sheep: "I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.  As a shepherd cares for his herd...I will care for My sheep and will deliver them...I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David [David's descendant], and he will feed them...himself and be their shepherd" (Ezekiel 34:11, 12, 23).  Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.  He laid down His life and lovingly cares for His sheep.  If you have been lost, hungry, sick, and oppressed, remember that you now have a Good Shepherd, who is ready to give you peace and to restore your soul (see Psalm 23:3).

My Response:__________________________________________________________

June 4:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS REST.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."--Matthew 11:28

I posted a picture on my Facebook page and that's when I realized how soul-tired most of the people in my generation really are!  It was a photo of an overworked and exhausted young woman who had fallen asleep at her desk, her head resting on top of a pile of unfinished paperwork.  Many people commented, relating to this weary person.  The caption under the picture encouraged those who were heavy-laden to come to Jesus to receive real rest (Matthew 11:28-30).


The invitation of Jesus, "Come...all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28), is as relevant today as when Matthew wrote it down in the first century.  Our hearts are worn out in the struggles of life; Jesus knows about this and offers us a remedy.  For many years, I have been intrigued by the apparently deliberate juxtaposition found in Matthew 11:28-12:14.  First Jesus offers His own rest (Matthew 11:28-30), then proclaims Himself the Lord of the Sabbath, the day of rest, in the next narrative (Matthew 12:8).  The invitation of Jesus to rest in Him is unique to Matthew, and it immediately preceded the only two episodes in this Gospel that occur on the Sabbath.  This intriguing juxtaposition became the topic of my PhD dissertation. *  I found very exciting insights during the eight years that I spent in these verses.  One of them is that there are 137 occurrences of this particular root word for rest in the Greek Old Testament (LXX), and that in the first five books of the Bible, the term predominantly relates to a sabbatical rest to the Lord.  Matthew's audience heard Jesus' message loud and clear: "Come to Me, all you who are weary...and I will give you the real sabbatical rest."  Those who heed His invitation now enter into the Sabbath rest in the fullest sense, because they rest in Him.  Thus, we find the full meaning of the weekly Sabbath rest celebration in the identity and mission of  Jesus.  We were never meant to be overwhelmed by anxiety and fear; we were designed for peace.  When we accept the invitation of Jesus, we find real rest for our souls.  Jesus, calm our anxious hearts!

My Response:_________________________________________________________
* See my book for sharing version of my findings: Elizabeth Talbot, I Will Give You Rest (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2015).

June 3:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS RENEWAL.
He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!"  He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.--Matthew 12:13

The day that I had the emergency meniscectomy on my right knee, I didn't realize that it would take a while before I could walk again.  The doctors were not able to extract the meniscus arthroscopically; the incision was large, and I was in need of physical therapy to regain the use of my leg.  I remember distinctively how my right leg became very thin compared with the other.  It took two months for me to regain enough muscle to be able to stand on the injured leg.  Maybe this is why I noticed that the report of Jesus' healing of a man's withered hand (Matthew 12:13) is followed by a description of the extent of the healing: "and it was restored to normal [healthy], like the other" (verse 13).

The Pharisees who had challenged Jesus in the grain fields (Matthew 12:1-8) followed Him into the synagogue (12:9-14).  There Jesus encountered a man with a withered hand (verse 10).  "And they questioned Jesus asking, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'--so that they might accuse Him."  (verse 10).  With the exception of the plucking of grain, all the other Sabbath controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees in the Gospels relate to healings and the result of the healings (see Matthew 12:9-14; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-6; 9).  From the very beginning of the world, the Sabbath was supposed to point to, and celebrate, the work of Jesus in creating, redeeming, and restoring the human race.  Jesus chose the Sabbath day for many of His healing miracles to highlight the redeeming freedom and rest in Him, portrayed in this special day.  Jesus responded in the rabbinical style of lesser to greater arguments (qal wahomer).  followed by a pronouncement: any man would help  their sheep if it fell on the Sabbath, "How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep!  So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12).  Jesus went on to restore the man's hand, to the extent that it was healthy like the other.  The Sabbath reminds us of the core of the redemption plan: rest and renewal are available for each one of us through the salvific work of Jesus.

My Response:____________________________________________________________