Jesus calms the wind and waves

23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8)

Thoughts:  Jesus rebuked two things here.  He rebuked first the disciples for not trusting God to watch over them.  After all, Jesus...Jesus was in the boat with them.  Their fears were overcoming their faith.  Many times we let fear drain away our courage so that we do not do the right thing for God.  We think the worst and forget the best. 
    The second rebuke of Jesus was to the wind and waves.  One version says that he said, "Be still!" (Mark 4:39)  and then immediately they were stilled.  The Word of Jesus calmed the storm.  Just as God's Word (recorded in Genesis 1)- "Let there be... and there was" created sea, earth, air, and all that is in them; So God's Word calms the current wind and waves that He created.  To not believe that God is able to control these things is a degrading of the Creator's power.  It is saying the Creator has no power over His creation.  It is saying that the Creator doesn't care or mess with His creation after He created it.  God is all-powerful and God cares more than we can imagine. 
     I have no problem at all giving thanks to God for the degrading of Hurricane Florence that was once a category 4 storm to a tropical storm.  Many prayers- maybe millions have gone up asking for mercy from God.  God stilled the storm into a whisper.  All that I have- my roof, my windows, my trees, my dry house- is a gift from God.  That they are preserved this night is an act of grace, mercy, and kindness.  To think otherwise would be to say that any good that has happened is a matter of luck, chaos, or chance. Sometimes we believe because we can measure things or have predictive computer models that we are controlling the weather- this is not so. There is more to life than meaningless luck/chaos/chance or even our own ingenuity and pride.  There is a loving God who can rebuke the wind and waves- and rebuke us for not trusting that He could do this. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to trust in your power and love.  

Not afraid of Jesus

28When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,^c two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 29“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

30Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

32He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.33Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region. (Matthew 8)

Thoughts: For many in the West, a confrontation with demons seem remote.  We have psychologists who could have given  such people medicine to calm them so that no one would have to be afraid.  Yet no one could say that these two people in this remote region were not feared nor were they weak. No one had been able to do anything with them.  But Jesus did.  He healed them, and when he did the pigs ran headlong into the water.  Ironically the people did not care about these two.  They may have cared about the pigs (an unclean food to the Jews).  They may have cared about the power and bravery of Jesus- they wanted him to leave.  Instead of asking the healer to stay- they wanted to be left alone.  Today, so many of us are so secular- wrapped up in our commerce (pigs) that we have no time to deal with anything unusual.  We would rather not deal with God- we'd rather just go about our business with our low expectations of life.  Our task is when someone as helpful and great as Jesus comes knocking on our door- we should let Him in. 

Prayer: Lord, let me be welcoming to you and trusting in you.  

Listen to His Power

23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

26He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

27The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8) 

Thoughts: Jesus would have us to listen to His power.  We do not listen to His power with our ears but with our souls.  He would have us trust in His power to calm the storm.  Jesus shows us how to trust. He goes to sleep in the middle of a storm.  Jesus, who calmed the demons, healed the sick, calmed the storm.  He asked the disciples, and He asks us- "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"  Put your faith in the Almighty.  Put your faith in the One who can calm the storm and raise the dead.  His power will help us to overcome our fears.  

Prayer: Lord, deep down I have fears.  But, go deep down with your Spirit and calm us. 

LIsten to the Healing

14When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. 15He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

16When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases." (Matthew 8)

Thoughts:  These words were written that we might listen to them.  Listen to the power in them.  Listen to  the love and response in love in them.  Jesus heals and the woman gets up and serves. Evil and sickness are driven out.  This is a foretaste of heaven- where there will be no evil, no sickness, no tears or sorrow.  Jesus brings hope and joy and a reminder of what God can do.  We forget and too often think we are left here on our own.  We to often think evil, temptation are too strong  We say, "This is just the way I am" or "This is just the way it is" as we give into sin and temptation. Jesus took our infirmities up- and threw them away.  He bore our diseases.
      There was a Marvel comic movie where the hero (Ironman) took the nuclear bomb headed toward New York out into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He was bearing the evil away.  The suspense was whether he could make it back or not- and he did.  Jesus takes our evil away and makes it back.  He carries our sorrows, our infirmities and diseases away from us.  

Prayer:   Lord, help me to look to you- to listen to your power to bear my infirmities away.  Keep me from self reliance. 

(Peter's mother-in-law's house- Capernaum)

Say the Word- and Sickness Listens

5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

7Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment. (Matthew 8)

Thoughts: The centurion believed in the power of Jesus  He believed in the power of Jesus to just speak and sickness would disappear.  He believed Jesus has the ability to control life and to defeat evil and sickness.  Indeed, the healing of people by Jesus was a sign that evil, sin, and sickness will not end.  The centurion was not a likely candidate to have faith.  He was not Jewish, was a hardened soldier far from home, but he cared for his servant who was sick.  Caring for others and bringing them to Jesus is the ultimate healing.  Sickness, evil, even demons listen to the voice of Jesus as ultimate good has power over all evil.  

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you win in the end.  Thank you that when you say the word all are called to listen- animate, animal, plant, even viruses and bacteria.  Help me to listen to your voice too.