Got Fruit ?

Last week has been sort of a setback, nothing too drastic (until Saturday), just felt a little disconnected from the Lord. The disconnect is most likely a result of me not reading my devotionals or studying Scripture nightly, last week.

So I played catch-up again this past Saturday. I’ve got this hang up about bypassing my devotionals, call it a fear of missing a timely message/word. I started with my devotional from the 12th of February titled: “He’s Still Lord of the Wind and the Waves!” (Sparkling Gems by Rick Renner). The devotional was over Mark 4:37-39 (NIV), which covered the crossing of the Sea of Galilee by Jesus and His disciples.

I had read or skimmed this scripture a few times, and admittedly, had only taken in the literal of it. I had merely taken the text as a re-accounting, missing the message completely. Thankfully though we have each other, as well men and women specifically called to be Spiritual leaders to give us insight into the deeper message of Scripture.

Mark 4:37-39 (KJV)
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

In the devotional Rick Renner points out one phrase in particular that stands out, as it relates to this post. Renner explains that the phrase “there arose” comes from the Greek word GINOMAI, which in the case of Mark 4:37 describes something that happens unexpectedly or something that catches one off-guard.

After Jesus and His disciples successfully cross the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encounters a demon possessed man (near the region of the Gerasenes) who goes by the name of Legion. Legion pleads with Jesus to not send him from the region, but instead to send the demons into a herd of pigs that were feeding nearby on a hillside. Jesus agrees, and the demons came out of the man and into the pigs (about 20000), after which the herd rushes down a steep bank and drowns in the lake. Mark 5:1-20.

The two key ideas that stick out are one obviously being faith. The other idea, and this is really more from Renner’s explanation than what I readily picked up on is this:

Renner tells us that Jesus was on the brink of one of the greatest miracles of His ministry, and Satan was in fear of losing his most prized weapon of terrorism. “The occurrence of the storm at this exact moment was no accident. The devil didn’t want Jesus to reclaim one of his most prized captives (the demon possessed man). This was a preemptive strike of the devil to undo the work of God.”

Now, I firmly believe in receiving a timely word from the Lord, sometimes you might get that word by way of someone, other times it’s in a sermon, or Scripture that you just happened to have read. I’ve even gotten a timely “word” from a church marquee before. As I stated earlier, I have a hang up with missing my devotionals, well this was a timely one indeed as you’ll see. To quote Paul Harvey; “Here’s,the rest of the story…”

Grace and peace be with you.