Kissed by the Spirit

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.”

Matthew 26:36-38 (NAB)

The garden is where we see the pure humanity of Jesus in raw form. Emotional pain reveals what we value most, from a human perspective. In the garden, Jesus was overwhelmed with emotional pain and desperately sought the support of His closest friends, but they were unavailable since they could barely stay awake.

The word Gethsemane, in Hebrew means, olive press. An olive press crushes the olives, to squeeze the oil out of them. In the garden, Jesus had everything squeezed out of Him, as He was crushed mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

There are times when we may  experience a Gethsemane in our own lives, either through some type of sorrow, affliction or a tragedy that we have no control over. It makes us feel emotionally crushed or squeezed, and Jesus knows exactly what it’s like to be squeezed like olives in a press. 

We cannot control the events that cause it, but there is always some insight to gain through our pain. Pain leads us to finding purpose, and purpose brings inner peace. 

My Gethsemane experience occurred when my adult son, Jon, suffered a traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle accident in 2023. His life came to a crushing halt, by being physically and mentally disabled, living in a Nursing Facility ever since. 

He’s made some progress since his accident, but the entire event was a Gethsemane experience for both of us. For Jon and me, it was time spent in the olive press, only in different ways. Our time in the olive press produces a mysterious healing balm. I’ve found comfort through opportunities to bond with people who’ve suffered with a similar situation. If Jon is ever able to talk about it, he will have a good story to tell.

The oil produced in our garden has a twofold effect. It’s a healing balm that soothes the wounds in our soul, but it also drips onto others that we meet, who share a similar tragedy. 

At the Nursing home, I met the parents of a young man about my son’s age, who has been there just as long as Jon has. It seems that God brought us together, since we both had in common, adult sons in their early forties, who nearly died and sustained serious brain injuries. Both our sons have made some progress in their recovery, but still require long term care. We share a special bond as parents, having been in the mutual olive press, through similar circumstances.

Meeting Martha and Ray, Andy’s parents, gave me peace in knowing that God is so fully invested in our lives, that He would intentionally connect

us with others who share a similar tragedy. Jesus can empathize with every kind of pain known to man, and He will find a way to let us know that He feels our pain, by sending specific people to us in our Gethsemane.

One healing effect of the oil that is pressed out of us, is the peace of knowing that God loves our children more than we do. It helps me to accept the tragedy, trust God for further healing, and know that this is only a chapter in our lives, not the whole book. 

The garden of Gethsemane gives us a personal realization that God is love, and because He loves us, He not only sacrificed His Son for us, but shares a small taste of His suffering with us, along with the hope of resurrection. 

Remembering that Jesus told us to “let the children come to Him”, there’s a mystery of wisdom hidden in His words. He is saying to all parents, that it’s always best to entrust our children to Jesus, at whatever age they are. In the infinite wisdom of God, He uses every dire situation to draw our children closer to Him. 

Whether we are parents or not, strength comes through times of adversity, and adversity might occasionally become a personal Gethsemane. Any way we look at it, God loves members of our family more than we do, and His oil of healing gives us the strength to meet every challenge in the garden, as we learn to trust in His love. 

Jesus’ friends failed to stay awake with Him, yet His strength came from knowing that His Father loved Him, and that love enabled Him to move forward and face the cross. God didn’t remove the cup of suffering from Jesus, but Jesus knew that His Father would bring good out of the evil that was happening. Even if the cup is not removed from us, we can know that a good God brings good out of evil, to those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

Someone once said that your pain can be either your prison or your platform. Our platform is used to share our faith with others, by touching and networking lives who share a common trial. Every type of loss becomes a lesson, that reaps inner growth. When we are pressed like olives, our oil of healing is poured out on others. 

Jesus didn’t ask much of Peter, James and John. He only asked them to “remain here and keep watch with Me.” We have a gift of empathy that we can always offer to someone. It’s the gift of keeping watch for them while they are going through an olive press. We do it by just being there and upholding them in prayer. 

When we thrive in unity, as God intended, empathy and comfort are gifts we give to those who are going through a Gethsemane. In this life, we see through a veil, but the Lord assures us that one day the veil will be removed and we will see everything clearly.

Lord, bring your healing balm to all who are pressed or grieving today. Strengthen us by your love, so we can empathize and comfort others who are also suffering. Amen

“Say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.”

Mark 14:14-15 (NAB)

Jesus celebrated the Passover each year with His disciples, using one of the upper rooms inside a large home in Jerusalem. He knew that it would be the last Passover celebration with His disciples, so He sent a message to the master of that house, asking where His guest room is, so that they could prepare it for the Passover.

The master, or owner of that large home in Jerusalem, most likely routinely rented out the 2nd and 3rd floor rooms for special occasions. I attached pictures, showing the upper room in Jerusalem, which historians agree to be the one that Jesus used.

The upper room is where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, shared Passover meals with them every year for three years, and is also where 120 of them gathered and were filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. 

Life changing, supernatural events occurred in that same upper room. One of the most marvelous events was when Jesus entered that room in His resurrected body, and walked through the walls, instead of through the door.  (John 20:19)

Every person is the master of their own spiritual home, deciding to whom and to what they will give their space to. Whatever fills our minds most, whatever desires we yield to the most, and whoever or whatever we pay the most honor to, are the ones in our guest room. 

Jesus is asking for the place of honor in our guest room. Once we quiet the outside noises of the day, and silence the angry and confusing voices all around us, we might hear a soft, gentle voice asking us, 

“Where is My guest room?”

Mary was the first human person who welcomed Jesus into her guest room, which was  her womb. For us, the guest room is not a physical place in our body, but a spiritual one, within our hearts.

If an honored guest or a favorite celebrity came to stay in our home, we would prepare the guest room by cleaning it, putting fresh linens on the bed, and stocking the pantry full of food, so that our guest could dine in excellence. Entertaining a guest is more than giving them a room, but the time spent with our guest. We would not greet them, and leave them with a list of chores, as we run off. 

I can easily slip into a mode of treating Jesus more like a servant than a guest. Servants are those whose job is to please us, but an honored guest is someone we seek to please. Some days I’m handing Jesus a laundry list of prayer requests, then hurrying off to run errands and finish other obligations.

It’s an honor and a joy to have His presence in our guest room, even if nothing got done on our list of prayer requests. It’s about loving Jesus for who He is, and not for what He does for us, because that’s exactly how He loves us.  He wants us to keep asking, seeking and knocking on His door, but to remember that He is also knocking on our door, waiting to be invited in as our guest and dine with us. (Revelation 3:20)

Keeping Jesus as the honored guest and dining with us every day, leads to conversation that consists of speaking and listening. It’s the kind of prayer that deepens our relationship with Him. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant by dining with us.

The guest room in Jerusalem is the place where so many life transforming moments happened during the three years that the disciples spent with Jesus. I can imagine Jesus saying to us, during our hectic daily schedules, 

“I hear you and everything will be okay, just give me my guest room and come dine with Me.”

Lord, today as we invite you into the upper room of our hearts, we thank you for the honor of your Presence, as we dine with you each day. Amen

“Only think of me when all is well with you, and please do me the great favor of mentioning me to Pharaoh, to get me out of this place.”

Genesis 40:14 (NAB)

Anyone who feels that life has dealt them many unfair and unjust circumstances, should read the life of Joseph. His hardships began when he was abducted as a teenager, thrown into a cistern by his own brothers, and then sold into slavery to Egyptian slave traders.

Joseph was then sold again to become a household slave whose master treated him fairly, until the woman of the house attempted to seduce him. When Joseph refused her, she falsely accused him of rape, and he was unjustly sent to prison, which was more of a dungeon in those days. 

Joseph was doing time for a crime he never committed, but his reputation among the jail guards and prisoners was stellar. While in prison, he developed friendships and earned respect. A prisoner, who was the former cupbearer to the king, was near the end of his sentence and soon to be released. Joseph asked him to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, and he promised to do so. After being released, that cupbearer completely forgot about Joseph.

For days, weeks and months, Joseph was hoping and praying that the cupbearer would speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, but he didn’t. Years went by and Joseph never lost his hope because he believed in a God who never forgets anyone. Two long years later, Pharaoh had a disturbing dream one night and asked the cupbearer if he knew of anyone who could interpret dreams. He suddenly remembered Joseph from his time in prison, and told Pharaoh all about him. 

Joseph’s breakthrough moment finally came. Pharaoh required Joseph to tell him what he dreamed and then to interpret it. 

The Lord gave Joseph the details he needed to know so that he told Pharaoh his exact dream and what it meant. Pharaoh was impressed and freed Joseph, then promoted him to second in command over the entire nation of Egypt. 

One of Joseph’s predictions from Pharaoh’s dream was that a drought was coming, so he stocked grain for seven years and there was an abundance of grain for all of Egypt when the famine hit. His grain storage plan saved the lives of people from all the surrounding lands, as well as Egypt, during the famine. 

In Joseph’s life, we see hints of Jesus’ life to come. Through all the injustices, mistreatment and betrayal by his own brothers, in the end of the story, Joseph was the key to feeding the world during a famine. He had enough grain stored up to sell to all who came to Egypt. Jesus feeds the world today with Himself as He told the world that He is the living bread from Heaven. 

The years Joseph spent in the dungeon were not lost years, but years of preparation for a greater mission. Nothing is lost when we entrust our lives to God, because all things work together for the good to those who love Him.

Joseph was an example for anyone who was ever betrayed, falsely accused, unjustly incarcerated or those who feel forgotten. God always was, is and will be our greatest hope, because He never forgets anyone. 

Joseph shows us that we can trust God even when others disappoint us. Joseph was also very forgiving to the people who mistreated him. When Joseph reunited with his brothers and his elderly father, there was only love and forgiveness between them.

If we learn anything from Joseph, it’s that we don’t need an itinerary for our destination in life, when we know that God is our driver.

Lord, give us the patience to wait with faith and to trust in your perfect timing. Amen 

“When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Mark 10:14 (NIV)

We can tell a lot about a person by what makes them angry. Jesus became indignant when people stopped the children from coming to Him. There are a few times in the gospels where Jesus became angry enough to be described as indignant.

I looked up the meaning of the word to better understand it. To be indignant is to be irate, annoyed or outraged. The word in Greek translates “to shutter.”

He was so annoyed with the Pharisees, that He burst into a verbal tirade, that took Matthew twenty verses to record it word for word in his gospel, and we know that Matthew was very accurate. In that one rant, Jesus publicly called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs, vipers, blind guides, fools and greedy, self indulgent hypocrites. Matthew didn’t use the word ‘indignant’ to describe Jesus at that moment, as Mark did in his gospel, but it’s evident that He was. (Matthew 23: 13-33)

Another time that Jesus became indignant was towards the money changers in the Temple, as He drove them all out with a whip. Hypocritical religious leaders who misused His Father’s house made Jesus shutter with anger, but when the children were blocked from coming to Him that day, He became indignant towards His own disciples.

Parents brought their children to Jesus so that He could bless them but the disciples drove them all away. They treated children as if they were unworthy of the Lord’s time or attention, which was the opposite of what Jesus taught. He said that the kingdom of God belongs to children, and then He went even a step further.

He stood a child in front of Him and said, “Unless you become like a child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven….and whoever humbles himself like a child will be the greatest in heaven.” 

(Matthew 18:3-4)

If it means that much to Jesus that we become as humble as a child, then there is a childlike heart of humility deep within all of us, or Jesus wouldn’t have told us to become like a child. He knows that it is attainable for us.

Although it’s easy for the child in us to get buried beneath the troubles and worries through years of adult living, Jesus is asking us to find our childlike heart, and hold His hand, so He can comfort and guide us in His pathway to peace.  

Isaiah described it beautifully saying,

“So do not fear, for I am with you;

 do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

(Isaiah 41:10)

The righteous right hand of Jesus is reaching out to us every day, hoping we will respond in childlike humility and trust. Whether it’s a scripture verse, a prayer or a childhood memory of faith, Jesus wants us to find our childlike heart that may be buried within us. 

When I want to stir up the child within me, I remind myself of a vivid dream I had at the age of five. I dreamed my elementary school was on fire. Everyone was panicking and running in all directions. As I stood in the school hallway, unsure of which way to go, someone took hold of my right hand and calmly walked me through the halls, around corners and right out the door. I remember being led out in such calmness, in the midst of the chaos all around me.

When I looked up, it was Jesus standing next to me, wearing a white robe with a blue sash, and holding my right hand, but He never said a word. The memory of that image became a life long lesson, to keep my hand in His, and He will be the calm in my chaos. As an adult, I need to remind myself often of that dream, which has remained in my memory like a gift throughout the years. 

The adversities of this life are like fires, and fire brings chaos, but if we can find the child within and trust Jesus to hold our hand, He is with us in the fire, and will calmly guide us to every fire exit.

The trials in our “school of life” are not meant to make us scholars, but saints. Each one of us has a childlike heart of humility buried deep within us, prompting us to trust by keeping our hand in His. Jesus never promised to put out all the fires, but He promised to walk beside us in the fire, and He calmly leads us to the fire exits. He is our calm in the chaos, as we like children, keep our hand in His.

Lord, we begin this Holy Week asking you to rekindle our childlike trust and humility, by keeping our hand in yours, and please bless all the children in the world. Amen

“Provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

Isaiah 61:3 (NIV)

My mother passed away twenty years ago at the age of 92, but just five years ago, her good friend, Elsa, passed away at the age of 102. I learned of her death, too late to attend her funeral service, but her family recorded the entire funeral on YouTube. Each of her relatives gave a touching eulogy, and it was obvious that Elsa lived a very love and faith filled life for the majority of her 102 years. I say the “majority” of her years, because her childhood was cruelly interrupted by the holocaust.

What I remember most about Elsa were the numbers tattooed on her forearm. She grew up in Hungary, during WWII. When the Nazis took over Hungary, her family was taken from their home, and Elsa was separated from them. At the age of twelve, she was sent to a concentration camp, and became a number instead of a person, never to see her family again. 

I cannot recall the details of how Elsa escaped her captors and made it safely to America, but she later married and raised a family, settling in the Chicago area. She lived a long, good life, with those numbers permanently tattooed on her arm, a reminder that beauty comes out of the ashes, as she overcame the sorrowful time in a Nazi camp. 

I found it interesting that not one of her family’s eulogies made mention of Elsa’s time spent in the concentration camp. At first I was perplexed by their neglect of such a sorrowful phase in her life. Each eulogy described who Elsa was and what she meant to her family. Her children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great grandchildren all gave eulogies describing how much love and joy she brought into their lives.

Then it occurred to me that her early period of suffering was not disregarded, but the person she became had overshadowed the tragedy she overcame. During the years of her long life, her family celebrated who Elsa was and what she meant to them, which was greater than the tragedy of her early life. As I listened to the last and final eulogy, I felt hope that all people can become the person God intended them to be, which overshadows all sorrow.

In that moment I imagined Elsa and my mother together in heaven, joyfully reunited in a warm embrace.

The numbers on Elsa’s arm remind me of the ashes of mourning in today’s scripture, which God can turn into a crown of beauty and the oil of gladness. Sorrow, injustice and a spirit of despair can keep us too focused on the ashes, but God gives us immeasurable grace to overcome the most unimaginable sorrows. We have the potential, like Elsa,  to rise above our ashes and become a beacon of hope, love and strength for others. 

The cross of Christ reminds us of the ashes of mourning, symbolic of His suffering, like numbers tattooed on Elsa’s arm reminded her of a time of great sorrow. Everything Jesus suffered was for us, and later turned into a crown of beauty and a garment of praise through His glorious resurrection. 

Jesus is now our beacon of faith, hope, and love, who gives us strength to rise above the ashes. When we wear His cross, it’s a reminder of the grace and mercy that forever exchanged our ashes for a crown of beauty and a garment of praise. 

Lord, thank you for bringing beauty from our ashes, and give us the wisdom to know we are much more than the sum of our suffering, but made to reflect your love into the lives of others. Amen

“But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

1 Peter 4:13 (NIV)

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Romans 8:17 (NIV)

It’s not a popular topic in Sunday sermons, and no one looks for suffering, but when life brings it, the answers are found in the inspired words of Jesus, and the writings of Peter and Paul. 

They tell us that when we unite ourselves with Christ, we share in His suffering, and when we share in His suffering, we will also share in the glory of His resurrection power.

The drive for success among our current culture, exalts the winners and high achievers, while those who suffer are pitied and thought of as unfortunate. The world celebrates fame, wealth, intellect, talent, athletic fitness and beauty as the goalposts of success, so it’s easy to become conformed to that mindset, and to interpret all suffering as failure.

Jesus said that His peace is not the kind the world offers, and His idea of success isn’t either. Success in His kingdom is not based on the world’s standards, but in being transformed to Heaven’s standards. Jesus taught the most paradoxical ideas, like the last will be first, and those who lose their life for His sake will save it for eternity. 

When we participate in Christ’s suffering, we also participate in His glorious resurrection, and are filled with His power. To combine suffering with power is the most paradoxical combination of all, and it is unique to Christianity alone.

Paul united his suffering to Christ, and his ministry was so anointed by the power of God, that he would merely touch a cloth, which was then brought to the sick and their illnesses were instantly cured. He never even saw the people who were healed. It’s the power that comes from Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. (Acts 19:12)

Paul had a ‘cloth healing ministry,’ but Peter had a ‘shadow casting’ ministry. Whenever he walked down the street, sick people would line up, lying on cots, and as Peter’s shadow was cast over each person, they were all miraculously healed.  (Acts 5:15)

We can learn an essential lesson from these amazing stories of Peter and Paul’s ministry. Both men suffered continual hardship, persecution and beatings. They each carried their own cross of suffering, while at the same time, were empowered to spread faith and healing to the world, in the power of Jesus’ name.

Our lives as believers will also include this odd combination of suffering and resurrection power. 

We may not have a cloth healing or shadow casting ministry, but we all have something that the Spirit of God is developing in us, to spread faith and healing to the world around us. It is achieved by uniting our suffering with Christ’s. It seems like a paradox, but His ways contain many paradoxes. 

God answers prayers, and we praise Him for it, but faith doesn’t deepen by getting all the things we ask for. Spiritual endurance and growth is most powerful, when we face the hardest times in our life. It’s what Peter and Paul were trying to tell us in today’s scripture.

The most difficult trials will be followed by resurrection power. I experienced it after caring for a terminally ill husband, and again in watching the effect of a motorcycle accident on my son’s life. It’s like a mini death, followed by a mini resurrection, that raises us up with renewed endurance. 

These cycles of life deepen our identify with Christ, and help us to discover the new way that His resurrection power is being  manifested. We can trust that God is always doing something new and wonderful, through the many mini resurrections in our lives. 

When we are overwhelmed with suffering, Jesus reminds us that we will go through similar trials as He did, since servants are no greater than their master. He also reminds us that we are His children, heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ, united and sealed in His love.

Lord, we thank you that there will be a day when the troubles of this life cannot compare to the love, joy and glory to be revealed in you on that day. Amen

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Philippians 4:8 (NASB)

Our capacity to find peace and contentment, depends on how we invest our thoughts. It’s what scripture has always taught, and can now be supported by scientific research. I like to summarize it by saying that investing our thoughts is like investing our money. If we invest our thoughts in negative, stressfull thinking, we will reap anxiety which is damaging to our body and soul. 

We need to pursue the state of mind that the heroes of the Bible had. If we invest our thoughts in gratitude, as they did, we will reap a spiritual profit in return. Who wouldn’t want to sleep peacefully during the storm, pray calmly in a lions’ den, sing praises in the fiery furnace and slay giants with a single stone? 

We can do it when we choose to invest in good thoughts. There is a way of uniting science and scripture to rewire our brain for the good.

God created our human bodies with chemical messengers to regulate our nervous system.

Serotonin is the neurotransmitter known as the “happy hormone.”It’s the brain chemical that brings us a sense of well being. Research found that when we intentionally think and reflect on good times, good people, and the positive experiences, past and present, we increase the production of serotonin, which has a significant impact on our overall sense of well being. 

Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone.” Thoughts that are  focused on negative, stressful experiences, increase the production of Cortisol throughout our bodies. Prolonged exposure to elevated cortisol disrupts our sleep patterns, suppresses the immune system, increases blood glucose and increases depressive symptoms.

Instead of taking a pill to block the Cortisol, we can choose to invest our thoughts on the good and the positive by producing Serotonin. How we invest our thought life determines how we maintain a sense of well being. 

God is the one who wired our bodies this way, and science happened to learn about it later. The bible tells us that scripture is “living and active” and pierces through the division of soul and spirit, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

If scripture has such an organic living effect on our soul and spirit, then it can also help our minds to overcome negativity and depressive moods. People have found that memorizing a scripture has helped them through difficult times. So, one way to invest our thoughts is in God’s living word. 

One of my favorite verses to dwell on in troublesome times is,

“I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

(Philippians 4:13)

Our attitude is so easily affected by what we think or say to ourselves, but the Holy Spirit can  police our thoughts and lead us to a disposition of gratitude. He does it whether we invest our thoughts in scripture, or reading inspiring books, listening to Christian music, and hearing true stories of faith by Christian TV or radio. We can change our brain chemistry by finding the smallest positive things that happen during our  day, and dwelling on those things.

One day, after speaking to my son on the phone, I realized how dragged down he was while going through a divorce. I felt a knot in my own stomach from everything going through my mind. I tried to pray about it and leave it in God’s hands, which is easier said than done.

Later that day, I received a phone call from a friend who used to be my dog walker a few years back. She moved to California and I have not heard from her in four years. Her phone call was a surprise yet very therapeutic. We talked about her life, our pets, neighbors, current events and holding on to faith in God. 

Without sharing any of my problems, we shared an unusual bond that was different from the bonds I have with others. That phone call was like a healing balm from Heaven. Afterwards, I kept thanking God for her call.

After that, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude, which I cannot explain or put into words. I had a sense of peace and well being, in spite of everything that previously caused me stress. That knot in my stomach was gone as gratitude was overriding all the negativity. Somehow, that phone call triggered a sense gratitude which produced Serotonin throughout my body system. 

God knows that we are wired this way, which is why He inspired Nehemiah to say, “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” 

Paul knew it when he told us to find anything worthy of praise or excellence to be thankful for. Brain chemistry works just as scripture declares, long before anyone knew what brain chemistry was.

Serotonin flows from happiness, and happiness flows from our gratitude. Gratitude doesn’t depend on perfect relationships, perfect health, perfect families or total financial security. It depends on how we invest our thoughts. Gratitude leads to confidence in a perfect God who is our steady anchor in an unsteady world. 

When things seem hopeless, we remind ourselves that God came through for us before, and we can trust Him to do it again. We focus our thoughts on anything good that happened in the past, even if it was a phone call in the past hour from a friend that day. 

Our true citizenship is of an invisible kingdom that cannot be shaken. It’s a Heavenly kingdom that dwells within all of us, giving us the resilience to do all things through Christ, who is our source of strength. We are unshakable, because Jesus is unshakable and He lives in us.

Lord, we thank you that science verifies what you have declared centuries ago. Help us to maintain an attitude of gratitude and to live in your peace today and always. Amen 

“Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

Mark 4:38-41 (RSV)

The boat was swamped by waves and rocked by the wind, which terrified the disciples, especially since Jesus was sleeping through it all. They finally woke Him up, shouting “Lord, don’t you care that we are perishing?”

Jesus seemed disturbed by their faithless words and He asked, “Why are you afraid, have you no faith?” He must have expected them to have faith since He was in the boat with them.

One thing that seems to be very concerning to Jesus is faith. He praises people who have faith and reprimands people who don’t. He once asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Scripture tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him. 

(Hebrews 11:6)

Our faith seems to depend on our perspective of how big God is. The disciples saw the storm as a worsening situation, which was bigger than Jesus. Their lack of faith shows by what they said after Jesus stopped the storm. The gospels record them saying, “What kind of man is this, that the wind and sea obey Him ?”

Faith is a journey and they were not yet persuaded of who Jesus was, since they wondered what kind of “man” He was. They thought of Jesus as a kind of man, because their faith was still developing, but in the end, that storm tossed boat deepened their faith in who Jesus really is. They discovered “Who” is with us, is much greater than “What” is against us, and Jesus is greater than any storm.

Maybe there’s a way to practice the Presence of Jesus in the midst of our storms. If we can visualize Him with us, we can place our trust in Him by speaking words of faith. I often wonder what Jesus preferred to hear His disciples say as they woke Him up that day. Maybe, instead of hearing “Don’t you care that we’re perishing!”, 

He wanted to hear “Jesus we’re trusting in you.”

I can visualize Jesus standing up in that shaking, soaked boat, with His hand raised toward the sky, speaking with authority, words to rebuke the storm. His voice was a human voice, but He spoke with the authority of One who created the wind, rain and the sea. Jesus spoke to the sea, “Peace, be still !” and there was instant peace, because of who He is.

Whatever storm we are going through, Jesus is Lord over all the forces of nature. He is also Lord of our bodies and minds, and when He speaks, He brings physical, mental and emotional healing. 

His words collapse all strongholds of evil, but most of all, He brings inner peace to those who trust in Him. 

Just like the disciples, the storms in our life’s journey may cause us to briefly lose our footing, but when we remember “Who” is with us, and pray in faith, we find that Jesus has always been standing with us in every storm, to give us His peace. 

Lord, thank you for being with us in every storm and we trust you to give us perfect peace, calmness, and healing to our body, mind, soul and spirit. Amen

“At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NAB)

My mother was talented in so many areas. She was an excellent seamstress, a water color artist and very gifted in the craft of embroidery. She once made me a beautiful tapestry embroidered picture which I still have in a frame. As I looked at it one day, I thought of the well known metaphor of the tapestry. 

The backside of an embroidered work of tapestry appears as a cluster of multi colored threads that make no sense. No picture can be seen from looking at the back of a tapestry, but from the front, it is a beautiful work of art. In the same way, we cannot make sense out of the illnesses, losses and tragedies that we experience, but one day, we will see the front side of the tapestry of our lives. 

People of faith trust that there is a design to the sorrows and trials woven throughout our lifetime, like the threads in a tapestry. Research has proven that those who have faith in God, as the Master designer in their lives, have better outcomes to medical treatment, and live longer, happier and healthier lives.

Jesus never promised a trouble free existence, but He assured us that He will lift and lighten our burdens, when we come into Him. 

I once talked about what Jesus said to a lady who had lost her husband, without knowing her faith outlook. She asked, “How is losing someone I loved lifting my burden?” 

I started to explain my point, that He lightens our burdens but I decided to simply acknowledge her suffering, and remind her that God loves her and I would pray for her. She thanked me for the kind words, but I realized how much harder sorrow is for people living their lives without faith in God. 

The tapestry metaphor doesn’t only apply to those who have lost a loved one, it refers to any trial that is confusing or hard to understand. It can refer to the loss of a relationship, loss of health, or anything in life that puzzles us and leaves us with unanswered questions. 

Faith and hope in God doesn’t give us answers to why things happen but it gets us through it in peace. The tapestry metaphor reminds us that people of faith trust in a Supreme Designer, even when we can’t see the front side of His design. For now it looks like a mass of jumbled threads or a blurry reflection in a mirror, but we believe that God is the designer of the tapestry in each person’s life. He takes our losses and turns them around for the good of our eternal souls.

If we look at the backside of the tapestry of Jesus’ life on earth, most unbelievers would say that He was an innocent victim of injustice, torture and murder through a political system that needed to be overthrown. He definitely was a lamb led to the slaughter, but the front side of His life tapestry reveals a completed and beautiful work of salvation. 

In Jesus, we see the love and mercy of God, who never stops weaving opportunities for each of us to draw nearer to Him during our lifetime. The backside view looks like a mess and a tragedy, but there is a front side view to every story. 

Let’s anchor our faith in the Chief Designer, who knows how to weave a beautiful work through His choice of colors and threads in our tapestry. We may not always like the color of thread He chooses, but He knows how it will all work in the end, and His perfect design will benefit our souls for eternity. At present we know only partially, but one day we will know fully. 

Lord, help us trust in your perfect design even though we see only tangled threads. Amen

My mother’s handiwork-she always said that the little boy is Jesus 

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”

Acts 9:13-15 (NIV)

A dialog between Ananias and the Lord took place through a vision. The Lord wanted Ananias to go visit Saul of Tarsus, but Ananias was resistant because every Christian feared Saul, who was notorious for leading the persecution of Christians at the time. Still, the Lord urged Ananias to “Go!” and he finally went. 

Yesterday, I shared a true story of a woman who heard an audible voice warning her not to go somewhere and by obeying, she avoided a bomb explosion which saved her life. 

God’s Spirit may urge us to go or not to go somewhere. When someone is resistant to the Spirit’s urging, He simply presses them a little harder as in the following true story. 

Jim, a devout Christian young man, preparing to go to seminary, heard the Lord speak to him while he was driving home from his restaurant job one night. It was around 11:30 pm, and while he was driving home, the Lord told him to go visit an old friend that he hadn’t seen in a while. 

He kept insisting that it was too late at night to bother his friend’s family for a visit, but he felt a strong urge as the Spirit kept pressing him, saying two more times, “Go!” so he finally did. He headed in the direction to visit his old friend for a reason that only God knew. 

When he arrived, the parents of his friend were very welcoming. Despite the late time of night, his friend was also happy to see him. Jim and his friend spent time in the man cave of his basement, sharing stories and reminiscing old times from the days together in their church youth group. 

When Jim was preparing to leave, his friend looked at him curiously and asked why he came over in the first place. Jim told his friend that he came because God told him to, explaining how the Holy Spirit kept urging him to “go”. His friend invited him to come look at something inside his bathroom. Jim walked into the bathroom and saw a noose hanging there. His friend told Jim that he was going to commit suicide that very night. 

Jim’s visit changed his friend’s heart and turned his life around. He had a new awareness that God loved him so much that He urged Jim to come see him late that night. No one is too lost, too depressed or too alone, to keep God from reaching out to them. The Lord could intervene directly in anyone’s life, but He chooses to do it through people. He wants us to know that He isn’t up in the sky somewhere far away, but right here in people like us, where He has chosen to dwell.

We might be prompted to call an old friend, or to pray for someone. Beautiful things happen when people hear and respond to the Holy Spirit. Jim learned that God has no borders regarding time of day to respond to Him. 

It doesn’t need to be a dramatic intervention such as preventing a suicide. The Spirit works in odd ways, sometimes just by slowing us down from our busyness, in order to give our time to a lonely person. We never know how it will impact a person’s day. 

One day, I was on an errand at a Home Depot store, and an elderly stranger started talking to me. He mentioned that he immigrated here from Greece, which caused me to perk up and tell him that my father was also an immigrant from Greece. He asked what town he was from, and when I told him, he was thrilled because it was a neighboring town that he knew very well. 

Nick talked to me for 15 minutes, and before we parted, he told me that I made his day. I’ll never know why a brief dialog with a stranger made Nick’s day, but God knew. 

Since then, I believe in the daily providence of God, working through brief interactions with strangers we meet. God is writing people’s stories, and our role is to be whoever God made us to be. As we slow down and listen, someone’s eternal destiny might change for the glory of God.

Lord, help us to live each day with awareness of divine providence, and keep our hearts open to go and share your love with whoever you bring our way. Amen