Love In Christ
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus! (Phillipians 4:19) That means He will
equip us with all the tools necessary to get the job done. Our participation is required to work with God using the tools He gives
us. I have heard some people say they wish God would take care of all their problems. They want Him to do it all for them. At the
first sign of challenge they cry, “why doesn’t God Love me?” [Have you ever seen a child who tries to get their way all the time,
and expects everyone to do everything for them?] Hmm . . .
Look at Jesus’ disciples while they were with Him. They are such wonderful examples of Christian character being born, tried
and grown to maturity. In the 8th chapter of Matthew, the disciples were faced with a “simple” command. When Jesus saw the
crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. (Mathew 8:18) He trusted in His Father’s protection and
hoped His disciples would do the same. Jesus had faith they could do it. It is not surprising that He went to sleep. Naturally, the
boat was designed to cross the sea, he had 4 professional sailor-fishermen [Peter, Andrew, James and John] to pilot the boat
and a support “crew” of 8 others. They should have been accustomed to storms and experienced in situations that arose from
sea travel. So what happened? The disciples’ faith was in their natural abilities not in Jesus’ compassion for them. 38 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?”
(Mark 4:35) The storm they encountered was like nothing they had seen because it came on account of the Word. (see Mark 4:
15) After Jesus corrected the problem He immediately brought correction to the “seamen.” 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? (Mark 4:39-40) At this point we all cringe at the harsh words, but what would have happened had Jesus not corrected
them? The next storm would most likely have killed them.
From the point they received the correction, their character grew and they were better disciples. Even though other challenges
faced them, no storm like that overtook them again!
We too are given commands from Jesus . . .The Word. We are to be totally in love with God and to love one another. Jesus said
to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew22:37-39 It is the Great
Commandment.
Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8); and, No temptation has overtaken you except
such as is common to man; (Corinthians10:13a), we just might expect to see storms come our way, in an attempt to “drown” our
love walk. Will we trust in our own devises to the point of sinking, or will we trust in the Lord? But God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able
to bear it. (Corinthians10:13b) As we turn to Him for help, expect correction. Remember, no matter how hard it may seem,
correction from the Rock [Jesus] is better than crashing on the rocks! Once we apply the correction, we will get to the other side.
If we will retain God’s instruction and rely on it more than our natural abilities to cope, our God-authored character will be refined.
We will be victorious in life and not victims of it.
Love In Christ,
Gregory & Linda Emler
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus! (Phillipians 4:19) That means He will
equip us with all the tools necessary to get the job done. Our participation is required to work with God using the tools He gives
us. I have heard some people say they wish God would take care of all their problems. They want Him to do it all for them. At the
first sign of challenge they cry, “why doesn’t God Love me?” [Have you ever seen a child who tries to get their way all the time,
and expects everyone to do everything for them?] Hmm . . .
Look at Jesus’ disciples while they were with Him. They are such wonderful examples of Christian character being born, tried
and grown to maturity. In the 8th chapter of Matthew, the disciples were faced with a “simple” command. When Jesus saw the
crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. (Mathew 8:18) He trusted in His Father’s protection and
hoped His disciples would do the same. Jesus had faith they could do it. It is not surprising that He went to sleep. Naturally, the
boat was designed to cross the sea, he had 4 professional sailor-fishermen [Peter, Andrew, James and John] to pilot the boat
and a support “crew” of 8 others. They should have been accustomed to storms and experienced in situations that arose from
sea travel. So what happened? The disciples’ faith was in their natural abilities not in Jesus’ compassion for them. 38 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?”
(Mark 4:35) The storm they encountered was like nothing they had seen because it came on account of the Word. (see Mark 4:
15) After Jesus corrected the problem He immediately brought correction to the “seamen.” 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? (Mark 4:39-40) At this point we all cringe at the harsh words, but what would have happened had Jesus not corrected
them? The next storm would most likely have killed them.
From the point they received the correction, their character grew and they were better disciples. Even though other challenges
faced them, no storm like that overtook them again!
We too are given commands from Jesus . . .The Word. We are to be totally in love with God and to love one another. Jesus said
to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew22:37-39 It is the Great
Commandment.
Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8); and, No temptation has overtaken you except
such as is common to man; (Corinthians10:13a), we just might expect to see storms come our way, in an attempt to “drown” our
love walk. Will we trust in our own devises to the point of sinking, or will we trust in the Lord? But God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able
to bear it. (Corinthians10:13b) As we turn to Him for help, expect correction. Remember, no matter how hard it may seem,
correction from the Rock [Jesus] is better than crashing on the rocks! Once we apply the correction, we will get to the other side.
If we will retain God’s instruction and rely on it more than our natural abilities to cope, our God-authored character will be refined.
We will be victorious in life and not victims of it.
Love In Christ,
Gregory & Linda Emler
