Year 2 Day 117

Pray (AC-ts)

Read — Proverbs 1.1-7

Message Scott Woodburn

“First posted Year 1 Day 37 - 27 April"
The book of Proverbs is usually a book that most of us spend little reading. We all know Proverbs 3.5-6 but ask us about King Lemuel or Agur the son of Jakeh and we are left scratching our heads. Hopefully you don't avoid the book. It is more than just a verse about a straight path. Indeed as it begins, Solomon makes it clear what his goal for Proverbs is. He wants us to know wisdom and instruction (v1). To understand words of insight (v3). To receive instruction in wisdom filled living (v4). To help the simple and the young to make wise decisions (v5) and to help the wise to grow in their learning (v6). That all sounds great. Who doesn't need a healthy does of wisdom in their lives? Fools might despise wisdom and instruction (v7b) but certainly not us. Where can we sign up? Another quite well known verse from Proverbs tells us. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (v7a). The fear of the Lord? Indeed. Knowing and trusting the Lord, fearing Him, is the wisest move any of us could make. Yet we don't fear Him the way a servant fears his master. We call this a servile fear. A servant fears the judgement and punishment of his master. Instead the Christian's fear is a filial fear. The fear a child has for his/her parent. Zacharias Ursinus helps us see the distinction between the two. He writes "Filial fear arises from confidence and love to God; that which is servile arises from a knowledge and conviction of sin, and from a sense of the judgment and displeasure of God. Filial fear does not turn away from God, but hates sin above every thing else, and fears to offend God: servile fear is a flight and hatred, not of sin, but of punishment and of the divine judgment, and so of God himself. Filial fear is connected with the certainty of salvation and of eternal life: servile fear is a fear and expectation of eternal condemnation and rejection of God, and is great in proportion to the doubt and despair which it entertains of the grace and mercy of God." So the beginning of knowledge is a filial fear of God. There will be many who roll their eyes at such a statement. Our faith is a source for scorn, trusting Christ seems like foolishness. We shouldn't be surprised. The Lord tells us "the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1.18) The Gospel has opened our eyes, we have received Christ by faith and we have come to realise that in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2.3) So as the Covid-19 storm blows around us, clinging to Christ is the wisest course. Indeed even in the sunniest of days "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1.25) It was the Christian missionary Jim Elliot who wrote in his diary "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Soon Elliot's life was taken by those he was seeking to serve. Was he a fool? Are you? No. There's no one wiser than the one who has called upon Christ. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

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Q10 How did God create man?
God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. (Gen. 1:26–28, Col. 3:10, Eph. 4:24)

Year 2 Day 116

Pray (AC-ts)

Read Mark 5:16-20

Message Alan Burke

Think here to the reaction of those who were living in the town and the countryside as they came to Jesus seeing the man who was possessed by the legion of demons. What we are told is that they were afraid. Think about it for a moment, these people would have been told by those who had rand off (14) about what had happened. Now as they arrive, they see the man and likely the pigs in the water we are told that they are afraid. Not anger because their pigs were dead, not fearful for their polluted water source or worried about the economic impact but afraid. They are afraid because they had come face to face with the power of God, they had been powerless to bind the man possessed and the manifestation of the power of Jesus leaves them afraid. What we are told is that they beg Jesus to leave, they do not care about his power they just want him gone. 

There is a great sense of sadness here, the living God has displayed his glory to them, he had done a marvellous deed before them and they are more comfortable with the powers of Satan that left this man in bondage, that had destroyed this mans life and led to the destruction of two thousand pigs than they are with the Son of God. They, just as many who Jesus had spoken to, whom he had performed great miracles before, see but do not see, hear but do not hear (4:10-12). Instead of wanting Jesus help, the salvation that he offers, they desire to be left alone. They reject the only source of deliverance and salvation, if Jesus hadn’t have transformed this man, if he hadn’t have effected their business profits, if he wasn’t a challenge to the status quo then they would have had no problem with him. 

Here the people were afraid, they asked Jesus to depart, they did not desire his salvation, they sought to escape his presence, they wanted nothing more to do with Jesus, they had seen his power but they rejected it. Whereas the man, who was possessed by Legion, who was delivered from the power of Satan now begged Jesus to go with him. This mans desire was to be with his Saviour, but instead Jesus sends him to his own and he was sent to go out to tell others about how much the Lord had done for him. This is the first time in Mark’s gospel that Jesus tells someone to go and to tell what the Lord has done. This sending of the man to tell everyone allows the the preparation for the future mission of the church to begin. 

For all who have been saved from their sin, their task like this man is to go and tell everyone what the Lord has done for us, if you are saved then this is your task in what your do, sharing the good news of the gospel. This is our mission as a church, though in God’s providence, each of us has a different part to play. In obeying Him and carrying out our role in this mission, we demonstrate our gratitude to the Lord. This man would go telling others of what he had experienced first hand and that’s what we need to do, take it out, telling others about the Saviour Jesus Christ.

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Q9 What is the work of creation?
The work of creation is, God’ s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good. (Gen. 1, Heb. 11:3)
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Year 2 Day 115

Pray (AC-ts)

Read — John 10.7-11

Message Scott Woodburn

“First posted Year 1 Day 19 - 9 April”
I am not a farmer or a son of a farmer. At one of my early funerals in Ballynahinch I brought unintentional laughter to a grieving family. I was leading them at home in prayer before the funeral and told them that a relation was running late and so he would meet them at church. I explained that he had been held up on the farm as one of the sheep was calving. The family glanced at one another and giggles turned to laughter as I stood wondering what I had said that was so funny. I’m no farmer and yet Scripture teaches us about the noble work of those involved in agriculture. Jesus here calls Himself the door of the sheep (v7). It would have been a familiar image for His hearers. The sheep gathered into the pen with the shepherd spreading his body across the entrance. Any sheep trying to get out would have to cross the shepherd and likewise any wolf trying to get in would have to cross the shepherd. It is an image of the shepherd’s care and protection for his flock. Jesus is our shepherd (v11a). He is good and He lays down His life for the sheep (v11b). Who protects the church? Jesus. Who guards us against our enemies? Jesus. Who gathers people into His church? Jesus. He is the door (v9) and anyone who wishes to be saved must go through Jesus (v9). There is no other way and there is no possibility of sneaking past Him. Jesus gathers, guards and defends His church. What a comfort this is! You see we live in days of war and not of peace. We have an enemy who rages against the church for he knows his time is short (Revelation 12.12). Admittedly he has been defeated at Calvary (Colossians 2.13-15) and today is bound until the end of the age (Mark 3.27, Revelation 20.1-3). But like an angry dog on a chain he rages and will destroy whoever he can sink his teeth into (1 Peter 5.8). Resist him and he will flee (1 Peter 5.9). The enemy is active and real and comes only to steal and kill and destroy (v10a). Christ, the good shepherd, comes to give abundant life (v10b). It is this Jesus who is the door to the sheep. The storm may rage and the enemy may growl but Christ remains triumphant. The Lord is for us!   

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Q8 How doth God execute his decrees?
God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Year 2 Day 114

Pray (AC-ts)

Read Mark 5:6-13

Message Alan Burke

The disciples barely had time to gather themselves from what happened out on the sea of Galilee and now there is a man cowering before Jesus. He came running up, falling before Jesus, shouting “What do you want from me, Jesus Son of the most High God?”. This demon possessed man knew better than the disciples who Jesus was and recognised the absolute power of Jesus over him. All of this because Jesus had called the evil spirit out of this man (8) and then he forces the demon to unmask himself asking what was his name (9). His name was Legion. A Roman legion was six thousand, but this isn’t to be though of as the number of the demons within this man, rather to make the point that there were many, many demons within him, that he is truly tormented. 

The people were powerless against the demonic work within him, they had tried to bind him without success, but before the incarnate word the Legion no matter how strong is powerless before the Son of God Jesus Christ. The whole of Satan’s kingdom is subject to the authority of Christ. Jesus then permits the demons request to enter the pigs, and as they do the pigs or rather the demons hurl themselves down the steep bank, like an avalanche of pigs into the water, on top of each other, this is a dramatic demonstration of the power of Jesus over evil and Satan himself (14,16), it is also a dramatic demonstration of how Satan and the forces of evil only ever seek to destroy. They had sought the destruction of this man, whereas Jesus in his compassion for this man cast them out giving him his life back and the pigs were destroyed. The destructive power of the sea that almost sank the disciples’ boat now swallows up the pigs.

This man before Jesus was worth more than two thousand pigs, do not miss that, you and all those who bear the image of God are more valuable to our creator than any other part of creation. Notice though that this was not Jesus who destroyed the pigs, it was the evil spirits who went into them (13). The evil spirits led these animals to destruction. You’re either thinking what a waste, that was a lot of bacon sandwiches or with disgust at what happened. But to the Jews in Jesus day, they would have celebrated, it was a token of God’s power and his vindication over the powers of evil. 

There is something more that we should be aware of, the destruction of the pigs reveal to us the purpose of the work of Satan in this world, for Jesus referring to Satan said, he comes to steal, kill and destroy. Whereas Jesus came that they might have life and that they might have it in abundance (Jn 10:10). Satan desires to steal, kill and destroy, he uses things that are not inherently wrong to destroy the lives of those he controls. Even though Satan rules this world, that he is capable of destroying lives, he is no match for the Lord of lords and the King of kings. And, by his death and resurrection, Jesus he triumphed over the forces of evil for all time. Paul would later say that "having disarmed the powers and authorities, [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2:15). And the day will come that Satans power will finally be ended by the Word of God Jesus himself where he will crush Satan under his feet (Rom 16:20). This is scriptures final word on Satan’s power, and one day God will make all things new where there will be no more pain or sadness, crying mourning, sickness for all the former things will be no more. 

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Q7 What are the decrees of God?
The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. (Eph. 1:4,11, Rom. 9:22–23)
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Year 2 Day 113

Pray (AC-ts)

Read — Job 1.1-22

Message Scott Woodburn

“First posted Year 1 Day 23 - 13 April 20”
The book of Job is one of the oldest in the entire Bible, a substantial book with 42 chapters and a book that is a difficult read. We meet Job in the very first verse and he is described as blameless, upright, someone who turned away from evil and a man who fears God (v1). He was a family man (v2) and a successful business man (v3). Indeed he would often intercede for his family just in case they sinned against God in their hearts (v5). However, by the end of the chapter Job has lost everything due to the malice of Satan. We are told various things about the enemy in this passage. He is a wanderer with no place to call home (v7). He is limited in his power (v12). He is accountable to the Lord (v6). He hates the church of Christ and wishes to destroy it (v10-11). How can any of us stand against such a foe? Thankfully this chapter also shows us that the Lord is in control of our trials. If Satan was in charge we would be utterly undone. Yet here we see the enemy having to present himself before God - when God calls, Satan must answer. Satan is not given a free reign but is limited by the Lord - when God commands, Satan must obey. We have all probably grown up with an image of Satan as God's equal. These two great beings are locked in a cosmic battle with the outcome unknown. None of this is true. There is only one God and His name is Yahweh (Deuteronomy 6.4). Satan is not God but was part of God's creation before rebelling against the Lord (Ezekiel 28.11-19). God is sovereign over Satan, over us and over our trials. I'm keenly aware that what I have just written can seem very distant from the sting of our trials. We know that God is sovereign, we believe that He is for us, we know that He is good, but why does He allow me to suffer? What is His purpose in the sickness of my child? What is His purpose in the collapse of my marriage? My brothers and sisters I will not patronise you by offering you an incomplete answer. In my limited mind I simply cannot fathom the purposes and plans of Almighty God. But I offer you Biblical certainties to close. Firstly, our faith is not a guarantee of struggle free living. The Christian can expect trials of various kinds (1 Peter 1.6, John 16.33). Secondly, sometimes Satan plays his part in our struggles (1 Peter 5.8), sometimes they come as a result of our sin (1 Corinthians 11.27-30). Thirdly, the Lord does have a purpose in our trials, we may not see it, it may seem incomprehensible to us, but the Lord does have a purpose in our trials and it is good (Romans 8.28). Finally, this fallen world is collapsing in on itself. It cannot and will not last (Romans 8.19-22). All that blights us will one day be put under the feet of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15.25-26). Not yet, but soon. Oh Lord! Speed that day we pray! Until then, with broken hearts, dashed dreams and tears in our eyes, we worship. “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (v21)

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Q6 How many persons are there in the Godhead?
There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19)
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Year 2 Day 112

Pray (AC-ts)

Read Mark 5:1-5

Message Alan Burke

A dry change of clothes, a few hours sleep, maybe a pot of coffee and a good ulster fry. That’s what would be on my mind if I had been buffeted by the waves and been soaked to the skin. The disciples didn’t get any of that. Remember how they had cried out in fear because of the wind and the waves, they had witnessed Jesus rebuke them and they were terrified for they had come before the Lord himself. Well now on the other side before they have a chance to process what had happened as soon as Jesus stepped out of the boat Jesus was immediacy confronted with a man with an evil spirit. 

Look at what we are told; this man came from the tombs (2). There are many graveyards and cemeteries across this land but in Jesus day they would have had tombs. What’s significant is this man is living there because he’s an outcast, his life is effective gone, living in the shadows away from community, he is dead but not dead. People had tried to bind him but they couldn’t do it, no matter what they tried, their efforts was futile, for he had the power to brake the chains and the irons on his feet. The picture of this man that we are given is how he is beyond the help of anyone, no matter what others have tried to do they are helpless to help him. This is a vidid picture of a man living among the dead crying out night and day, harming himself, he’s wild, naked, covered in sores and scars, howling, this is awful. 

This is a man whose life had been consumed by the power of Satan. For all evil in this world stems from him and what happened in fall. This demon possessed man experienced that evil in a way than we can’t even begin to imagine, his life was so overcome, that he was living among the dead, desperate and hopeless, as if awaiting his inevitable fate. Everything we are told about the man is horrendous. Here’s the thing, we may try to dismiss demon possession and true we might not be confronted with it or see it today but we all have seen the power of Satan at work in peoples lives. Think about, watch the news, recall things that have happened to you, then there are those who you have know and love whose lives have been consumed and destroyed by Satan’s power even though we may not want to explain it in that way. That’s what Satan does, he prowls like a roaring lion waiting for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8). 

For the believer thought, if you know and love the Lord you can take solace even in the midst of knowing this, you should have confidence for even though Satan is there prowling like a lion looking for someone to devour (1 Pet 5:8), neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor thing present nor things to come, now powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:38). There is nothing in all creation, nor any evil or being within it, that can end the active love of God towards us in Christ. Today, tomorrow, the next, Satan may do his all, but for you in Christ Jesus you are secure. 

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Q5 Are there more Gods than one?
There is but One only, the living and true God. (Deut. 6:4, Jer. 10:10)
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Year 2 Day 110

Pray (AC-ts)

Read — Luke 10.38-42

Message Scott Woodburn

“First posted Year 1 Day 17 - 7 April"
This extended time of isolation has changed the pace of life dramatically. Life once had its structure, working hours, exercise time, runs to and from church, school buses etc Suddenly we have been urged to stay at home and every day has taken on a unfamiliar hue. We’ve become home schoolers and DIYers and sofa sitters! Yet one thing is necessary...fellowship with the Lord. With more time on our hands may we spend more time at Christ’s feet. That’s where we find Mary. Christ has come to her house (v38) and she plants herself at the feet of Jesus and listens to His teaching (v39). Her sister Martha on the other hand is busy. She’s distracted with much serving (v40a) and understandably so. Christ has come, there’s work to do, food to prepare, guests to serve. Martha is attending to the work in front of her and calls upon the Lord to get Mary to help (v40b). Jesus answers her with gentleness, He is not making a fool out of her and he isn’t belittling her work ethic. Instead with a concern for her soul He answers “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” Christ knows this woman’s heart, she is a worker and Jesus knows her troubles. What she needs is a bit of help. Surely Jesus will now tell Mary to get up. She’s had enough teaching, its time for her to get her hands dirty and take the weight from her sister’s shoulders. Yet Christ’s reply is to tell Martha that “one thing is necessary” (v42a), Mary is attending to the good portion and it won’t be taken from her (v42b). What is this necessary thing? Fellowship with the Lord. Martha needed help and Christ told her where that help could be found. Fellowship with the Lord. These are days with new realities and new responsibilities. Who teaches the children? Who cooks the meals? Who goes to Tesco? Who checks-in with elderly parents? Who apologies first when everyone’s nerves are getting frayed? My friends, one thing is still necessary. Fellowship with the Lord. If we can be thankful for this isolation and dramatic change to life then surely we can be thankful for the slower pace. It doesn’t mean that we will become lazy, there is still work to do. Yet there is more time. May we use it for the necessary thing. Fellowship with the Lord. Your hands are dirty from work. Wash them and sing Happy Birthday twice! Then find a quiet corner and sit at Christ’s feet. It is always the best seat in the house.     

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Q4 What is God?
God is a Spirit, (John 4:24) infinite, (Job 11:7–9) eternal, (Ps. 90:2) and unchangeable, (James 1:17) in his being, (Exod. 3:14)wisdom, (Ps. 147:5) power, (Rev. 4:8) holiness, (Rev. 15:4) justice, goodness, and truth. (Exod. 34:6–7)
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Year 2 Day 109

Pray (AC-ts)

Read Mark 4:35-39

Message Alan Burke
How do you read the question of Jesus to the disciples here in verse 40, because depending on which way you read it and understand it depends on the meaning you take from it. Let me explain, imagine you’ve done something stupid, for some of us that is easier to imagine than others but stick with me. Then someone comes in, doesn’t matter who it is and says, ‘what have you done?’. Depending the person who you imagined walking in depends on how it was said, because the same thing can be said in an angry accusatory but it could also in a way that is gentle and filled with compassion. You get the idea. 

This isn’t Jesus having a go at his disciples here, shouting the bit at them, he’s asking them out of compassion and concern. The miracle that they had just witnessed will help them in their fear and faith, it will help them to further understand, to know the truth of who Jesus was and is. It would not be the last time that Jesus asked this question of them, it was asked because they had not yet fully understood who Jesus was nor could they fully until to the resurrection and ascension. 

The question that these disciples are now left with is who is this before them, who, who is it, who is Jesus, that’s the question that we all need to answer, who is Jesus? We have domesticated Jesus, we have made him like any other person and we have made God, Father, Son and Spirit in our own image. Our view of God is so limited, we place on God the bounds of our own created experience upon the God who made the universe, instead of having an infinite God, we have a finite God who is just like us. These disciples as they were on the boat before their Lord were coming to the realisation who they were before and their fear of the furious squall is replaced by terror at the one they come before. 

The terror of who they are before far exceeds their terror of the storm. They were afraid but now they are terrified, for they have come before the Lord himself. For they understood that they were in the presence of the holy Creator Himself, they stood before the incarnate Son of God Jesus Christ and they were terrified. These disciples respond in the say way that Moses did on the mountain of God, they were terrified. Here we see that fear in the disciples for they were in the presence of God, they were terrified because they were sinners before a Holy God. All of us are sinners, the only way we can stand in His presence is unafraid is to have our sin covered. Ultimately, that is why Jesus came and why His holiness and divine nature were revealed. Seeing Him as He is, the holy God, drives us to our knees in fear as we confess our sin and our worthiness of hell. But by faith, we escape that terror and, because our sins are covered, enter the filial, loving fear of Him that brings us peace. 

To know Jesus is to fear him, To fear the Lord is to know Him, to love Him, to trust Him. It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9v10). It isn't the fear a servant has for their master, instead it is the fear a child has for their father. For God is holy and we are not, if we haven’t feared or have no fear of our Saviour then there is something wrong.

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Q3 What do the scriptures principally teach?
The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. (2 Tim. 1:13, 2 Tim. 3:16)

Year 2 Day 108

Pray (AC-ts)

Read — Psalm 90.12-17

Message Scott Woodburn 

“First posted Year 1 Day 11 - 2 April”
As I sit to write today's devotional it is after two days with two funerals. Unfortunately funerals are not rare or new. This week's funerals have been my 14th and 15th respectively since September and my 141st since the 1st July 2005. Death called the enemy in Scripture is the wages of sin and whilst it is always there, the events of these days have brought it more to the fore. In Psalm 90, the only Psalm we have by Moses, he pulls no punches. He speaks of our frailty (v3-6&9-10) and the shortness of our lives (v10) but he doesn't allow us to wallow in the bad news. He prays that the Lord would teach us to number our days and that we would have wise hearts in the midst of our weak condition (v12). We could approach life with an attitude that says "Life is short so live it up because you are a long time dead!", such an attitude is not new. Paul when discussing the resurrection says that if we are not raised to life then we we may as well eat and drink for tomorrow we die (1 Corinthians 15.32) BUT in Christ we will be raised to life. A great day is coming when Christ will come and the faithful will be raised imperishable. Today though, a pandemic is everywhere, the coming of our Lord seems distant, so how are we to live? Moses prays. He asks God for mercy and pity (v13). The Lord knows that we are dust filled with frustration and frailty. "Have pity on us!" Moses cries. Have mercy on us and return to us O Lord! He continues by praying that God's steadfast love, His covenantal love, would satisfy us everyday (v14). We know that life is fleeting and the joys of this life can be short lived. O Lord! May our souls be saturated and nourished by the knowledge of Your steadfast love! "I will be your God" says the Lord "and you will be my people." THE LORD IS FOR HIS BRIDE! His love for us will not be diluted, it will not wane, He loves us steadfastly. Knowing the difficulty of life Moses prays that we would see good days (v15). We will see evil, we will weep at gravesides, we will feel the weight of our frailty but Moses asks that we will see good, we will rejoice at the birth of our children, we will love and be loved, that the evil days would be tempered with God given gladness and that future generations will see the glorious power of the Lord (v16). We are all short sighted people. We think about today, my life, my family, my health. Yet Moses prays for the generations to come that they will know the Lord. Edengrove is almost 250 years old. It has stood through wars, empires, pandemics and it still stands. The Lord has been our dwelling place throughout many generations, may there be many more to come! Finally he prays that the Lord would establish the work of our hands, that our lives would have a significance (v17). You are one individual out of billions on this earth, yet in Christ your life is not in vain. We are favoured by the Lord because we have trusted Christ. Your deeds unheralded and unseen in this life are known by the Lord. O Lord, establish the work of our hands! So in fear and frailty we cry "teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom!”

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Q2 What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, (2 Tim. 3:16, Eph. 2:20) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. (1 John 1:3–4)

Year 2 Day 107

Pray (AC-ts)

Read Mark 4:35-39

Message Alan Burke

You gotta love our Norn Iron summers, in effect we can have all four season in the one day no matter what time of year it is, we have a multitude of different saying and words for the rain; ‘spitting’, ‘wetting rain’, ‘rotten’, ‘pissing’, ‘bucketing’, ‘drizzling’ ‘lashing’, ‘pelting’, and ‘hammering’. Now this list isn’t exhaustive but it’s some of the words that I grew up with. I heard a new one a few weeks ago when calling with someone, ‘sure what did you expect, we have ten months of bad weather and two months of wet weather’. Fair enough, for our summers are, well you know! Here’s the thing, we all talk lots about the weather, complain, gurn, blether about it but there ain’t much we can do expect be prepared for it. That means out for a walk the sun is shining, take and umbrella but also a full set of waterproofs. 

For all the talking we do about it we can’t change it. The disciples in their doubt had woken Jesus, we thought about that on Monday and here we’re told Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind, says to the waves “Quite!, Be Still!” Then it dies down and it was completely calm. Here the power of the word was demonstrated over creation itself, a complete authority. And it’s shocking when you think of it, its mind blowing, who can do this, I certainly can’t go out and fix the weather, no matter how much we complain about it, there is nothing that we can do. Yet here Jesus by his rebuke “Quiet! Be Still”, showed his authority over all of creation. 

Look at what we’re told, how it was completely calm. If any of you have ever been out on a boat on the water on a stormy day, or even when it’s a bit choppy you know it doesn’t just calm down, it takes time, the waves take some time before they settle even when the wind stops, but here were told that it was completely calm. From the Whitehorse’s to a millpond, from a furious squall to completely calm. As soon as he uttered this command its calm. The suddenness of what happened likely left the disciples in silence and awe, trying to take in what had happened. Yeah they had seen the power of Jesus displayed in the miracles and as he drove out demons but this was completely different, this was showing he had power over nature itself. 

Scripture speaks of how the waters of the sea were to be feared, it was threatening and something that needed to be brought under divine control, it was God who alone possessed the power to quell the chaos of the sea, the Lord himself is the one who has the power to quell the chaos of the sea, to bring the natural world under his control, could tame the sea, could bring the natural world and its chaotic storms under control (Ps 69:1; 77:16; Isa. 43:2, Ps 65:7; 89:9; 104:7).

Here as the power of the word is demonstrated, the language that is used here is also used as Jesus casts out demons, rebuking them (1:25, 3:12). To the wind and the waves Jesus rebukes them, “‘Quiet! Be still!’” and they “obey him” (v. 41). In all that took place, the stilling of the storm, the casting out of the demons, in his power over illness, Jesus was revealing himself as the Lord God for he could only do what God could do, for he is fully God and fully man. His human nature meant that he was exhausted, sleeping on the boat in the midst of the storm but his Divine nature meant that the had the power over all of creation. This is our Saviour who has power over all, “for all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens” (Ps 96:5).

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WSC 
Q1 What is the chief end of man?
Man’ s chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor. 10:31, Rom. 11:36) and to enjoy him for ever. (Ps. 73:25–28)