Excitement in the Boat, part 9:

They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. (Luke 8:24 NASB)

The word translated as "rebuked" is an interesting choice of words. It is epitimaō, and is defined as "to charge". It is used to mean "to show honor" or "to adjudge". Digging a little deeper, we find that it comes from two roots words. The first is translated as "chamberlain" and it indicates the one in the service of the King who is in charge of an area. The second root is used to indicate "to honor" or "to fix the value of". None of that sounds much like what we think of as rebuking, does it?

When Jesus stepped up to speak to the storm, he was announcing His authority as the One who was in charge. He was not only commissioned by the King, He was the King. In reminding the wind and the waves of Who He was, He also reminded them of the value of the cargo in the boat. In a personification of the storm, He was saying, "I'm in charge here. You do not want to mess with this boat. The price is way too high.  Stop this now."  

Let's be sure we get this, because it is breathtakingly beautiful. Jesus was the one in charge of the boat and anything that affected it. The disciples were the "cargo" for which He cared. When He addressed the storm, He was commanding it to be still on the basis of His authority and because of the high value He placed on the lives of His disciples. Of inestimable value and dearly loved, those disciples were far too precious to have the storm destroy them. 

As a disciple of Jesus today, we can put our own names in that sentence. 

Of inestimable value and dearly loved, you are far too precious to Jesus for Him to allow the storms of life to destroy you. 

He is with us, He in in charge, he loves us, and He is protecting us. 

Dear ones, trust the One who loves you most, and pray that He will still the storms that assail you and your loved ones. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-back-tree.html

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The terrorist prayer focus this week is Hamas. Pray that they will begin to value life, that their efforts at terror will not prosper, and that their social welfare programs will be more important to them than their costly efforts at destruction. Pray for the kind of Damascus road experience that turned a Saul into a Paul. 

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Excitement in the Boat, part 7: The Master Moment

They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. (Luke 8:24 NASB)

Get the picture clear in your mind's eye. The disciples were with Jesus in a large wooden boat (or ship), sailing across the Sea of Galilee. Lulled by the rocking of the boat, Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. The disciples knew He was tired and had decided to let Him rest, since they were professionals and could handle the transit. 

Suddenly, an enormous storm began. The next thing they know, they were caught in a whirlwind (hurricane) and the ship was about to be swamped. The disciples were desperate and had done all they knew to do, to no avail. 

Finally, someone remembered Jesus in the back of the boat, sleeping. "Master!" they cried, to awaken Him. "Master" was the term used, not teacher, as they sometimes said. Instead, it was "Master", indicating acknowledgement of His authority. Perhaps that disciple had an idea about this One who was so clearly in charge in every situation. 

In a way, the use of the honorific Master was a turning over of the authority for the ship and all in it to Jesus. When they cried  "Master", it was their point of surrender. It was the moment they gave up trying to solve the problem and gave it all to Jesus.

We desperately need those moments of surrender, when we cry out "Master" and not only acknowledge our Lord's authority but give all the trouble, all the chaos, all the danger to Jesus.  Have you experienced a "Master moment"? Have you given your storm to Jesus?

Today, pray that we and our loved ones would surrender the storms (and the calms) of our lives to the only One who can still the storms. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/07/back-to-beginning-bahamian-blogging-14.html

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Our terrorist prayer focus this week is Abubakar Shekau. He is the leader of Boku Haram, a radical terrorist organization operating in northeastern Nigeria. He is particularly fond of kidnapping and murder, having kidnapped nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls (many who are still in captivity). Earlier this week, his forces captured a civilian-controlled town, murdered at least 100 people, and made the town his new headquarters. More than 22,000 have been killed in battle between his forces and the Nigerian military in the last few years. Earlier this week, two bombs in Abuja killed dozen more. Boku Haram is suspected. Please pray for an end to his reign of terror and for salvation for him and his men.