Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus Calms a Storm

Jesus’ disciples were no strangers to the sea. Many of them were fishermen. I am certain they had their share of experiences with storms  at sea. This storm must’ve been strong enough to get them concerned about their safety. “The boat was being swamped by the waves” and they thought they were perishing. In such a dangerous situation, Jesus is asleep. They decide, in their desperation, to wake him up and ask for help. Their plea is for Jesus to rescue them from the dangerous situation. It seems they had enough faith to believe that Jesus was able to get them out of trouble. Nonetheless, when Jesus is awakened, he attributes their fear to their “little faith.” Why is the faith little? It is enough to ask for help in danger, but not enought to be confident (not threatened) in the face of danger. Jesus then rebukes the winds and the sea producing calm and causing the men to marvel at his control over nature.

Jesus is the Son of David, Son of Abraham, Son of Man, Son of God who has sovereign control even over nature. He is the Lord of Creation. To follow him is to trust he is in control of all things at all times. He expects us to trust he is able to rescue us from trouble, but he also wants us to trust that he is in control of all circumstances of life without fretting.

Jesus, increase my faith to trust in you. May I learn to trust you can rescue me in my hour of trouble, but also that I may confidently trust without fear that you are in control of all circumstances while I am going through the trouble.

Psalm 31 Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

How timely and appropriate is this psalm for today, Good Friday. Jesus cited the words of verse five while he was on the cross. "Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' And having said this he breathed his last (Luke 23:46)." It is often said that the last words of a dying person are very special. These words are indeed special to all who believe in him. Christ continues to teach until his last breath.

In his hour of persecution and anguish, Christ called unto his Father. The relationship between Father and Son is very tight. He often said that he and the Father were one. As a big brother, Jesus is giving me example on how to depend on the Father in all circumstances. He wants me to have a tight relationship with my heavenly Father too, as well as with him. Persecution, prejudice, or prison should not deter me from praying to my Father. Who will I call in the last moments of my life on earth?

Christ commits his spirit into the hands of his Father. It is a prayer of surrender. When the inevitable is about to happen, Christ teaches me to pray and surrender my life. It is a prayer of trust. When all odds are stacked against me, I must turn to God and trust him to make the best out of my circumstances. Only in God's hands will I be truly secure. It is a prayer of commitment. While he had many options, Christ chose to pray to his Father, he was committed to this relationship. Christ teaches me to make the same commitment. In the last moments of life on earth, only the very important relationships in life will come to mind. Who will that be for me?

Christ lived his life depending on the Father's direction, guidance, and power. His dependence was evident in his time away from the crowds to cultivate communion with the Father through prayer. He did only what the Father told him to do. He said only the words the Father told him to say. Christ, just as he lived, he also died depending on his Father to take care of his spirit at his last breath. What do I depend on in life? What do I hold onto? Christ wants me to depend on my heavenly Father.

Father, I want to be one with you and your Son. Help me surrender, trust in, and commit to you every day, especially in the dark moments of my life. May I be dependent on you for my every move; for my every word. Amen.

Psalm 30 Joy Comes with the Morning

As a Christian, I sometimes think that life should be rosy because I have God on my side. Well, the everyday experiences in my life have taught me that this is not the case. And King David expresses in this psalm the same conviction. He was attacked by foes, lived through desperate circumstances, and many times faced even death. Whether it be due to my own fault, or the fact that I live in a sinful world, or that God is testing me, no matter the reasons, difficulties in life will come.

As important as it is to understand that difficulties are part and parcel of life, it is also very important that I understand that there is an appointed time for the difficulties to end. The night will end with the morning. When morning comes, the darkness will be dissipated. Like David expressed it, it will be the day in which my mourning will be turned into dancing, my sackcloth will be replaced with clothing of gladness, my weeping will be turned into joy.

As a believer, I have the hope to see the morning light - the end of my difficulties, my troubles, my weeping. Morning may arrive in my lifetime or not. I may live many dark nights or one gloomy night for the rest of my life. But morning will come. One day, my Lord and King will come for me. He will not only put an end to my difficulties and troubles, but he will end injustice, pain, and suffering for all who believe in him.

While the night endures, I will cry out to the Lord. I will plead for mercy. I will remember the many times I have been delivered before and give thanks unto my Deliverer. I will trust that God is with me and that morning is coming soon, very soon.

Father, hold me while I walk in the dark night of trouble. Grant me endurance as I await the morning. Amen.

Psalm 22 Faithful God

My first years in college were one of the darkest times in my life. I was away from home for the first time. You'd think that was something to rejoice over, but not for me. I really liked the comforts of home, my church, my friends, and being close to my girlfriend. I didn't even like the college town where I now had to live. My family didn't have much, so I did not have spending money, not even enough to eat at times. My faith in those days was under attack by most of my family at large. No one believed that I was serious about following Jesus and many taunted and ridiculed me every time they had a chance. I felt lonely, rejected, downcast, and at times without hope. Yes, it was very depressing. My prayers in those days were very much like Psalm 22 - where are you God? Why have you abandoned me?

As you read the psalm, you realize that one of the things David constantly does is to remember the past when God had come through for his people and even for himself personally. What better way to build faith and confidence in those dark hours of life than to remember God's track record of his faithfulness? There are plenty of sources to remind me of God's faithfulness. First, I have the Bible. In it I find the stories of God's relationship with Israel, from the Exodus from Egypt to the liberation from Babylon and Persia. Story after story points to the faithfulness of God and tells me: "If God did it for them, he can do it for me." It reinforces my trust in God as I see him at work.

Also, I have a great source of God's faithfulness in my own personal past experience with God. I have plenty of stories to recall of how God came through for me to provide, heal, comfort, strengthen, etc. My own past experiences are worth my reflection and meditation in times when the sun does not seem to come out at all. These stories also have the power to infuse trust in my God.

Finally, there are so many good testimonies from the lives of my brothers and sisters that can serve to inspire my faith, reinvigorate my confidence, and lift up my soul. That's why fellowship with my brethren is so very important. My faith is built upon hearing God's word and God's past acts. It builds my faith to believe that God is faithful and he will do it again. If not in this lifetime, he will vindicate me in the life to come. This builds my hope, comforts my soul, and strengthens my spirit to continue this journey. Even Christ while on the cross, quoted this psalm: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But he did not quote it in despair. He quoted it in hope, knowing that God the Father would vindicate him at the resurrection. He quoted it mindful of his Father's faithfulness.


Father, in my darkest hours, help me remember your faithfulness throughout time. May the Scriptures ring in my head as a reminder of your power and love. May your faithfulness to me in the past come to mind as well. May I recall your faithfulness to my brethren. Comfort me, strengthen me, and revive my trust in you because you are faithful. Amen.

Psalm 21 Almighty God

One of the most basic things we learn about God is that he is all powerful. His strength is capable of anything. There is nothing he cannot do. On the other hand, we know that as human beings we are limited and frail. There is only so much we can do with our might and strength. Actually, our might and strength, as limited as it may be, is a derived power from God himself. He has chosen to grant us power and strength to achieve and create and overcome, but it will never be like his.

One of the greatest sins I can commit is to think that the limited power that I have comes from myself and it blinds me from seeing Almighty God as the source. I end up exalting myself above God which is idolatry. When my soul is steep in sin, it cannot enjoy life. I cannot be fully human as God created me to be because I have neglected my Creator. Peace, security, love and joy escape me when I trust my own strength and forget the Almighty God. But when I trust in the Almighty God, he promises to bless. Blessed is to be happy, full of peace, security, love, and joy. These things are only possible with God.

How can I feel secure in my own strength when I don't have the power to control what goes on in the world, never mind in the universe? Only God has that power and I find great comfort to trust in him. It is like trusting in yourself going into a fight against a gang when you only weight 100 lbs. and have no self-defense skills. But to trust in God is like going into a fight with your dad who is well built and holds a few black belts in different styles of the martial arts. O what peace and comfort it brings to trust in an Almighty God!

Unfortunately, time and again, my selfishness and pride arise to set itself up against God forgetting my place and failing to acknowledge his. We think that the greatest evil we can practice is to kill another human being or rob a bank. But the greatest evil we are capable of begins with setting ourselves in the place of God; to think of ourselves as so very capable and strong without need of his help. The truth is that we are totally dependent on God and the sooner I can acknowledge that and live it out, the sooner I'll enjoy his blessings. It is best to join David and proclaim:

13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!

We will sing and praise your power.

Father, you are God Almighty, Creator of heavens and earth, Creator of my life. Teach me your ways that I may exalt you for your strength and power because there is no one like you. May I trust in your strength today and forevermore. Amen.

Psalm 20 Trust in God Alone

At a very young age, my mother taught me not only to fear God, but to trust him. She was an excellent model of devotion to God for me. I remember during my times of sickness growing up that my mom would give me my medicine and while she was giving me a spoonful of some yucky syrup, she would say: "In the name of God." She then would follow up saying: "Medicine is great, but we should trust our God."

Today, we enjoy many advances in technology, medicine, weapons, and communications. Our trust should not be in those things, but in God. In the times of David, people looked up to chariots and horses as the latest and greatest in warfare. The might of an army was measured by how many men, chariots, and horses they had. David explains that those things collapse and fall. There is nothing in this world that we can rely on forever. At some point it will be destroyed or replaced with something else.

Those who trust God rise and stand upright! They are able to stand firm throughout this life and the life to come. No matter the circumstances of life, they stand firm because God is their helper and strength. Because God listens to the prayers of his people. Because God fights for his people. Because God sustains the weak and the helpless.

Where is my trust? Is it in my job? Is it in money? Is it in my house? Is it in my family? Is it in retirement? Is it in my health? Is it in education? What is it that I think makes me powerful and secure in this world? Whatever it is, it will not last. I can have it today and lose it tomorrow. God wants me to trust him alone for all things in life. Everything else is just a blessing; a tool that can be used for good works. But my heart should not be confident in any of them. My heart should be confident in God alone for he will be with me forever and no one can take that away from me in this life or the life to come.

Father, teach me to trust in you alone. Help me to give up my trust and confidence in the stuff of this life and bank all my confidence in your promises. Amen.

Psalm 12 God's Word Can Be Trusted

There is a biblical story in 1Kings19 about Elijah. After having a great victory over the prophets of Baal, Elijah is pursued by Jezebel, a very wicked woman. He flees to the wilderness and wants to die. His complaint before God is that he is the only one left to serve the Lord surrounded by the wicked of his generation. But spoke to Elijah and made him see that he was not alone; there were many more faithful ones like him that he did not know about. God encouraged him to gain strength and continue the battle of faith without giving up.

Psalm 12 speaks of a generation that is wicked and oppressing to the righteous. The psalmist, King David, feels like all the righteous ones have vanished and he is all alone left to deal with their evil lies and deceits. But the Lord promises to guard the faithful in this generation and he offers safety for the future. David is encouraged by God's Word. To him, the Word of God is pure - free from dross, impurities like refined silver (not once, but seven times refined). God's Word can be trusted!

The generation that we are living today is also a generation similar to David's time. Evil, injustice, pain, and suffering prevail. God promises to guard our hearts in the midst of a generation like this and he promises a better future of eternal life. I must trust God's Word. His promises are true. He will not allow me to be swallowed up by an unfaithful generation. He will guard my heart from being choked by it. I am not alone in the battle of faith. There are many others battling as well and trusting the promises of our God.

Father, fill my heart with faith to trust in your promises for today. Fill me also with hope as I trust in your promises for my future. Guard my heart from this generation. I await with eagerness my liberation. Amen.

Joshua 11 Conquests in Northern Canaan

Joshua now moves to the north to subdue the remaining city-states in the promised land. Jabin, the king of Hazor calls in all the kings in the surrounding territories to join forces against Israel. They were a great horde, in number like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. Military power in those days was determined by the number of warriors, the number of horses, and the number of chariots. The Canaanites had a great advantage over Israel on all three. But the Israelites were instructed not to fear!

Moses, wrote in the Law: "When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." (Deut.20:1) Israel was instructed not to amass horses, chariots, or soldiers throughout its history for one simple reason. God wanted them to trust him and not their resources. In Psalm 20:7 we are reminded: "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." (Psalm 20:7) 

The establishment of God's kingdom upon the earth is the battle of faith that I must wage in this world. It is a personal battle for the establishment of God's kingdom in my heart as well as a corporate battle for the establishment of God's kingdom in our communities. Many are the enemies of the kingdom and many are the resources available to them, but I am to trust in the Lord. I am not to fear their might against me because God has promised to fight for me and I am to depend on him. Am I really depending on God for this conquest? Or am I seeking comfort and strength in other things?

Because Joshua and the Israelites trusted in the Lord, they were able to subdue the Canaanites greater fighting power. They burned their chariots. They hamstrung (it seems to be a procedure by which they cut some tendons rendering them unfit for warfare) their horses. Even the Anakim were cut off from the land. These were the giants that instilled so much fear in the hearts of the 10 spies. Nothing is impossible with God. If God is for me, who can come against me?

Lord, fill my heart with trust in you. Don't allow me to put my trust in the things of this world, not even to fight the battle of faith. Search me and show me my dependencies. Try me and transform me to trust in you alone.

Joshua 7:1-9 Israel Defeated at Ai

The conquest of the promised land, the establishment of God's kingdom upon the earth is a holy war. Literally, it is a war between the God of Israel and the gods of the nations established in the promised land. The culture of the day viewed conflict between nations as a religious contest between their gods. This is very evident in the conflict with Pharaoh as Moses leads Israel out of its slavery in Egypt. Though difficult for us to understand, the reality of holy war made its way into the New Testament as one of the main images of the Christian conflict against sin, Satan, and the world.

If I am to make progress in my holy war, I must "keep the faith" and never "break faith." One of the rules of holy war is that the booty acquired from the enemy becomes "devoted" to the deity you are fighting for. To keep something devoted to deity was considered to "break faith," in other words, it was a disobedience for which it was necessary to pay with one's life at times. The establishment of God's kingdom requires my full trust in my God. I must keep the faith at all times. I must trust that he has a plan and knows what he is doing even when I don't understand.

Success in holy war is not dependent upon my abilities. It is dependent on my faith in God. Overconfidence in my abilities is an insult to my God. Many times my defeats are just a discipline of the Lord for my life so I may trust him and not myself. Ai was nothing compared to Jericho, yet they defeated Israel. In this conquest, strength is not in the numbers, but in the faith. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.

Joshua's prayer clearly shows that Israel's victory brings glory to God's name because God is the one who fights for Israel. But God has demonstrated time and again that he will not fight for those who are overconfident in their trust in themselves. I bring glory to God's name when I fight depending on his power and might and not on my own abilities. God is most glorified when I battle in his name using all his resources at my disposal in obedience to his plan and strategy.

God Almighty, grant me the faith to trust in you alone in all my battles against sin and the enemy. Fill me with your Spirit and teach me to use your whole armor. Shun in me overconfidence and self-reliance.

Matthew 8:23-27 Jesus Calms a Storm

Life is like catching a boat into the sea. Some get in and set a course to a desired destination. Others get in but simply float aimlessly around carried by the waves of the sea. No matter what kind of boat we've boarded, we are all in "the same boat" when it comes to the storms of life. Some of those storms will bring waves that will swamp our vessels and threaten our lives.

What kinds of storms are we talking about? It can be anything that "rocks your boat." Storms come in different shapes and forms. It can be the loss of a loved one; the loss of a job; the loss of health. It can be an abusive parent; a runaway teenager; a sick rapist. It can be an oppressive boss; an oppressive neighborhood; an oppressive government. 

How can I survive the storms of life? Some think that the boat is the most important thing. The bigger, the better. The more advanced in technology, the merrier. But we must not forget the Titanic. Others think that personal training and skills are going to get you out of trouble. But we must not forget the many capable people who have lost their lives trying to fight a storm. It is not the boat or my personal skills.

What is the most important thing to survive a storm? If anything makes a boat special is who is in the boat. If I am to survive the storms of life, I must follow Jesus into the boat of his choosing. I can't expect him to follow me into a boat of my choosing; it is the other way around. Once there, I must trust him with my whole life. At times, my faith fails and it seems like God is asleep and does not care for me. The truth is that Jesus is in the boat and has not left me.

Jesus is not a mere man. He is God in the flesh. He came from the heavens to the earth with powers to command them at will. He calls me to follow him. He calls me to trust him. Is Jesus in my boat? I don't want to "miss the boat." Lord, enable me to follow you and trust you in the midst of the storms of my life.