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:___________________________________________________________
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:___________________________________________________________
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