Daily Prayer for August 28

The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Psalm 93:1, NIV Lord our God, you are king, founding a kingdom that reaches to the ends of the earth, establishing it to endure forever. We thank you that we may be sheltered in your hands and that no sickness of body or soul can do us lasting harm. We thank you for lifting us again and again to true life with the light and power to overcome what is earthly, true life with the flexibility to remain trusting and confident no matter what happens, true life directed to the great goal of God’s kingdom, promised to us in Jesus Christ. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough The Killer in Our Choir Daylan Woodall My hometown’s hidden history of violence has left wounds that only divine justice could heal. Read now Tights Narine Abgaryan If only I had grabbed warm tights for her. During a lull between explosions, she darted out to grab warm clothes, and her daughter chased after her. Read now Forgiving the Unforgivable? Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz Did forgiveness die in the concentration camps? Read now The Fantasy World of John Masefield Boze Herrington Masefield’s novels are a glorious hodgepodge of boat voyages, witch covens, flying cars, gun battles with gangsters, talking cats, and time travel. Read now Climbing Through the Ropes Elisha James Jones As I consider how to guide my son in what it means to be a man, I turn to boxing. Read now

Daily Prayer for August 23

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10–11, NIV Lord our God, we thank you that you have given us an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank you that you have already begun to give us new vision, that already many things are being transformed, so that we may go gladly and confidently on our way with hope for whatever is still unsolved. May all this live in our hearts and fill us with thanks to you. We want to be courageous and keep in sight what still needs to be changed. Then we can take part as workers in your vineyard. May the light you have given us continue to shine in us and burn ever more brightly, as you have promised. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough Simone Weil Encounters Jesus Simone Weil Perhaps, in spite of everything, he does love me. Read now Breaking Free of Revenge Antoine E. Davis A father attempts to break the cycle of gun violence – and fatherlessness – from a prison payphone. Read now Soviet Kindergarten Eugene Vodolazkin Kindergarten was a miniature model of real life, where days of glory and success intertwined with periods of failure and bad luck. Read now If My Moon Was Your Sun Andreas Steinhöfel and Nele Palmtag An author and illustrator explain how music inspired a children’s book about dementia. Read now The Absolute Absurdity of a Christian Nation Jason G. Edwards What would it look like if a country made Jesus’ teachings its constitution? Read now

A Charcoal Fire & the Smell of Redemption

Why make someone relive his or her sin, why not just ignore it? I’ve just got to have some steak!” I surprised myself when I said this out loud while sweeping my back porch. But my stomach was growling, and I couldn’t think of anything else but a charcoal-grilled steak to fix that growing ache in my belly. So I went inside and told my wife, “I’ve got to have some steak!” After a pause, I continued, “I don’t care if we go to Outback, Beehive, or even if I grill it myself, but I’ve got to have some steak.” Donna laughed and said, “And you know why you’re wanting steak?” “Not really,” I replied. “You’re smelling our neighbors grilling outside, and now you want what they’re cooking!” BINGO! She was right. I opened the back door, and our yard was filled with the aroma and smoke of someone nearby grilling steak. That aroma had awakened something deep inside me that triggered my “I’ve got to have some steak!” response. Two significant events in Jesus’ preparation of the apostles occurred around the smell of a charcoal fire. The term “charcoal fire” (in Greek, anthrakia) occurs in the New Testament in two places, both in the gospel of John. The first involves Peter’s three denials of the Lord (John 18:15-27; esp. John 18:18 ESV). The second involves Jesus’ restoration of Peter to ministry after a miraculous catch of fish (John 21:1-22; esp. John 21:9 ESV). This little detail of personal memory is rooted in the sensory experience of the distinct aroma of a charcoal fire. It links these two events both in terms of a visceral response for both John and Peter as well as functions as a key connection between the two events in John’s gospel. In cornbread English, John is telling us that the smell of a charcoal fire evoked the memory of Peter’s three denials until it was supplanted by the memory of Peter’s restoration by the Lord in front of a charcoal fire. The bottom line: At a charcoal fire, Peter had betrayed the Lord! At a charcoal fire, the Lord restored Peter! At the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus does the important work of calling Peter back to ministry and then restoring Peter to his leadership position among the apostles (John 21:1-22). Jesus does this in a situation that echoes Peter’s original call to follow the Lord (Luke 5:1-11). Interestingly and importantly, Jesus does not let Peter off the hook. Jesus didn’t look the other way and simply ignore Peter’s sinful failures. Peter hadn’t just denied the Lord that night, but he did so after claiming superiority to his fellow apostles. Peter had shown a desire to be first before he failed miserably at being faithful. Both sins would have sabotaged his leadership in the early church and among the apostles. When Jesus had originally warned Peter of his impending denials, it was in the context of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. At first, Peter did not want the Lord to wash his feet, even though the Lord washed the feet of the other disciples. Then after the Lord’s rebuke, in typical Peter fashion, Peter wanted to be washed all over (John 13:1-11). Jesus then warned his apostles that one would betray him, and all the rest would abandon him. The Lord specifically warned Peter that he would deny him three times that very night. Still not recognizing his own vulnerability, Peter claimed that no matter what others did, he would remain faithful even if it meant dying for the Lord (John 13:21-38). Peter failed despite his brash promises. Peter failed despite claiming to love the Lord more than the others and being more faithful to the Lord than his fellow disciples. Peter’s denial of the Lord was the complete failure of Peter to live up to his word and his brash promises. Peter’s denial of the Lord was the complete failure of Peter to be loyal to the Lord he claimed to love. After the Lord’s resurrection, Peter still had influence as a natural leader. “I’m going out to fish”, Peter said to some of his apostle buddies. Despite Peter’s failures and arrogance, the other apostles followed Peter into the boat and went fishing (John 21:1-3). Peter may still have been a brash natural leader, but Jesus didn’t want a natural leader. The Lord wanted a restored spiritual leader. Jesus wanted Peter to be a leader with integrity and who knew his own vulnerabilities. Failure wasn’t the issue. Every human leader will fail at some point. The issue for Jesus was that Peter had to own his failures. Peter needed to humble himself before the Lord and before those he let down with his arrogance and denials. Only then could the Lord raise Peter back from failure and restore him to leadership. Only after Peter could acknowledge his failure – an admission that had to come from his heart – would he be ready for leadership. In our experience with leaders who sin today, we often toss them into one ditch of destruction or the other. We either gloat over, gossip about or pour shame out on leaders who sin publicly. We’re used to doing this because of the popularity of gossip magazines and TV shows about entertainers. So we jump in and do the same thing to those among us who fail in our Christian family. We perpetuate and spread the gangrenous poison of one sin through our own sin. Or on the other hand, we try to be nice and say we don’t want to judge them too harshly; so we end up ignoring their sin. Sometimes this means allowing a leader to continue without ever repenting. Other times we quietly ostracize that person by simply ignoring them and putting them on the back shelf of irrelevance and disassociation. Either way, the leader – our Christian brother or sister – is not restored to life and ministry

Courage! I AM! Quit Fearing!

3309-large.jpg”> Can we see the LORD in middle of our storms? 0″ /> Sometimes the most powerful things come in small packages. Last week, we looked at the book of Jonah with four chapters. Today, we look at only twelve verses in the gospel of Matthew and will focus on five specific words: “Courage. I AM. Quit Fearing!” Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” [The five words in Greek here could be literally translated: “Courage! I AM! Quit Fearing!”] “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down (Matthew 14:22-32) 570″ border=”0” /> This little stick of dynamite made up of these five simple words 8212; “Courage! I AM! Quit fearing!” 8212; lets Jesus speak to us on two different levels as his disciples. In this short event, Matthew gives us a message as individual disciples. This message is given to help us in those times when we are caught in our own personal LIFE-STORMS. Matthew also gives us another message for leaders. Through the lens of the apostle Peter, Jesus reminds us how to lead others as we try to serve others through our shared LIFE-STORMS. Let’s look at each of these in a little more detail. As we do, let’s ask, “What can I do and what should I know as we face our LIFE-STORMS?” We’re all going to have LIFE-STORMS. We live in a broken world where bad things happen to good people. We are regularly confronted with all sorts of unfair challenges that can be caused by health problems, unfairness, world economic issues, unscrupulous people, betrayal by those close to us, natural disasters, and a host of other things. So we need to be prepared for these unwanted storms. We will focus first on Jesus’ message to us as individuals. What is Jesus saying to each of us personally in our own individual LIFE-STORMS? What do Jesus’ five words 8212; “Courage. I AM. Quit fearing!” 8212; really mean for us? 570″ border=”0” /> Jesus’ words powerfully echo God’s words to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). God revealed himself to Moses and called him to redeem the children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt. The LORD revealed himself through the name “I AM,” the God who is and was and always will be. He also identifies himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Then, God reveals himself as the LORD (YHWH) and tells Moses that he is about to act powerfully for his people: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people… I have heard them crying out… I am concerned about their suffering… So I have come down to rescue them…” (Exodus 3:7-8). Jesus is reminding us that he is “I AM.” HE is our God. He is our LORD, who worked through the history of Israel to bring deliverance, redemption, and salvation. This God preserved his people through all sorts of “impossible” challenges over the course of centuries and generation-upon-generation. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He will allow nothing to separate us from his love for us (Romans 8:38-39). So in the storm, let’s look for our LORD. Let’s ask him to reveal his presence to us and guide us to where he wants us to be. Let’s trust that Jesus is with us and that Jesus is the great “I AM”! No matter what our circumstances are at the moment, no matter our doubts, no matter what Satan is trying to do to make us ashamed or afraid, we can choose to believe the promises of Jesus as the great “I AM”! He will not abandon us or leave us. He is working in our LIFE-STORM to bring us deliverance. He is there with us in the roiling waves and the fearsome winds and the driving rain. We can choose to believe he is there, but it is hard to do on our own. So we must choose to stay connected to the Lord’s people and not be too proud to admit our fears and our doubts. 570″ border=”0” /> Sometimes, however, we need help remembering that the LORD is tangibly with us. Rather than seeing ourselves as fellow disciples of Jesus caught in a LIFE-STORM with other disciples in the same boat, we often feel alone and vulnerable as we face our LIFE-STORMS. I am reminded of the often-told story about the little boy in a new house who is scared of the lightning and thunder. He repeatedly ran into his mom and dad’s room seeking comfort and reassurance during the storm. Each time the boy hopped in bed with them, they let him stay for a few minutes. Then, his daddy would tuck him back into bed. Finally, as the dad could hear the storm moving off in the other direction, he tucked his son in bed and said, “You know God will take care of you. You don’t

Daily Prayer for August 11

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy. When the Lord returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes. Isaiah 52:7–8, NIV Lord our God, grant that we may be your watchmen, who can understand what you mean for our time. We thank you for all you have already done, for every change to the good among the nations. For the nations must bow to your will so that nothing happens unless accomplished by you. Judge us wherever necessary. Open our eyes to see where we are wrong and where something does not go according to your Spirit. Be with us and give us strength. Raise up more watchmen everywhere, in every place and in every home. Wherever something happens to move people’s hearts, let the watchmen proclaim, “This comes from God. It does not matter how much we suffer. This comes from Jesus Christ, who suffered and died, but who rose again.” Raise up such watchmen among young and old everywhere on earth, to the glory of your name. Let there be a people who go to meet you with shouts of joy and thanksgiving. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough Artist Not for Hire Daniel Domig A contemporary painter describes how he balances his artistry with earning a living and parenting. Read now Should Disabled Parents Have Kids? Jenna Klaassen What should I make of online comments advising me not to pass on my genetic condition? Read now What I Learned at Ravensbruck Corrie ten Boom A concentration camp prisoner turns to prayer. Read now Growing Roots in Portugal Claudio Oliver A small intentional community moves continents and finds new neighbors. Read now Christian Nonviolence and Church History Ronald J. Sider What would happen if all the Christians in the world refused to kill? Read now

Saved From… Saved For!

We don’t want to be swimming with Jonah on the shoreline! Jonah may be the most classic “Saved at Sea” story in the Bible! You have a storm, a boat, sailors in panic mode, a man thrown overboard, the lives of tens of thousands of people at stake, and you have a runaway prophet with a suspect pedigree. You don’t get a much better story line anywhere. Only this “Saved at Sea” story has an important point that often gets lost — lost in the Jonah story and lost in modern evangelicalism. God saves us FROM sin, death, and hell FOR his purpose of redeeming a lost world. This was true when God called Abraham and gave him the great promises (Genesis 12:1-3). It is true for us today. We aren’t saved to go to church, to be nice, or to control politics. We’re saved for the same reason Jonah was: God graciously loves us and wants to give us the privilege of living out his divine purpose for us: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10). So there’s today’s message tucked into one nice long paragraph with a Bible verse. But if you quit reading now, you will miss a whale of a story! A little over a week ago, I was on a bus traveling through the slums of northern Lima, Peru. I was praying and trying not to hold my breath because I was so excited. Nelvis wanted to be baptized. Nelvis is an incredible young man I have known for several years from la Communidad de los Niños — Sagrada Familia. Nearly always in such situations, the devil throws a curveball or two. He did that morning as well, but Jesus helped us hit those curveballs out of the park! I was privileged to baptize Nelvis in the Pacific before our church service. Later, Donna and I sat by Nelvis as he took Communion for the first time with a small congregation that has been planted at this special place for 950+ kids ranging in age from 9 months to 19 years. (You see Nelvis and I arm in arm headed to a cave in that rock formation under the yellow sign in the picture below. The cave was our changing room after the baptism.) Every night for weeks to come, Donna and I will think of Nelvis going out to live alone in the shantytown near Sagrada Familia. He will go into a 10 ft. x 10 ft. one-room, thin-walled wood structure with a tin roof. His mother is dead. His dad works far away. His older siblings are at the university paying their own way. And Nelvis is my son in the faith thousands of miles away in a dangerous place alone. He is part of a community of children that Donna and I have served over six years. You can see over 1000 of us crammed into a space the size of the gym getting ready to rock the place with songs of praise. God has called us to be part of the team that brings Jesus to these kids. Of course, my dream was to help plant a church among the children and families nearby. When we first came to Peru, we began working with 3 to 6-year-olds who are now older. While we spend about 90 minutes among the little ones in the morning, most of the day is with teenagers who are serious about Jesus and about studying the Bible in English. The community of children and the surrounding poor neighborhoods are part of metropolitan Lima — approximately 10 million people. What you see here is the beautiful area of Miraflores near where we stay. Like several other cities in South America, I feel a special love and responsibility for Lima. But Lima is extra-special. Our 24-year-old Spanish translator for VerseoftheDay.com also lives here, and he is like a son to us. I’m coaching several on the team there who are not yet Christians, but who help us in our week on the ground. I love that God called me to Lima to be a part of this special week and stay in contact throughout the year! Jonah was called to go speak for God to one of the great ancient cities of the world. This great city had a large population with incredible buildings and structures. That city was Nineveh. You are looking at a painting of the Assyrian palaces of ancient Nineveh. This is where God called Jonah to go preach. There was, however, one problem… a huge problem… a major problem… Nineveh was the most dangerous enemy of the Israelites in Jonah’s day. They were terrifying warriors known for their brutality and the obliteration of people groups and their identities. Assyria’s domination and destruction of Israel may be one of the reasons why ISIS targeted Mosul, Iraq, as their first major city to capture. Mosul is the modern city built upon the ancient city of Nineveh. Jonah was called by God to preach to Israel’s most feared, most hated, most violent, and most threatening enemy. Is anybody volunteering to do the modern going to Nineveh equivalent today? Yeah, now you get a glimpse of how Jonah felt. This why the story of Jonah should resonate so powerfully for us today. This isn’t just a story from long ago and far away, but it’s from yesterday’s newspaper and this morning’s CNN report. So let’s do a 30,000-foot flyover of the story of Jonah: God called Jonah to go to Nineveh. Instead, Jonah went in the opposite direction on a ship for Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). God tried to get Jonah’s attention through a great storm on the sea.

Out Fishing the Fisherman

What happens when Jesus confronts us in our area of strength? Many of us who claim to be Jesus’ disciples today treat our personal life like a roll top desk. Far more than dividing things into secular and sacred, each of us subdivides much of our life to help us cope with all our responsibilities, interests, and personas. We keep our different areas of interest and involvement separate from each other in separate cubbyholes. If we are honest, we even keep a few of our areas of interest very separate from our “God stuff.” We simply don’t want our spiritual interests interfering with these other areas of self-interest! So we have a cubbyhole for recreation. We have another for vacation. We keep a special drawer full of stuff for work responsibilities, relationships, and politics. We also have a cubby for parenting, hobbies, and investing. We even have a “God stuff” cubby for our Christian “Facebooking” as well as our church friends and church life. If we’re completely honest, some of us also have an “opposite of God stuff” internet cubby. This place is where we keep all sorts of things we really don’t want God to interfere or influence what we do. When things get really messy, we pull down the roll top desk and everything looks “fine” on the outside to others. We punch our “I’m fine!” button and head to church, pray for help, read Ann Voskamp, check out Max Lucado books, or seek a counselor. The problem is everything on our inside is a scrambled and mixed up mess. Under the roll top, there is no ordering Lord to bring coherence and purpose to our multi-personalised jumbled up mess. Which brings us to this week’s “Saved at Sea” segment with Jesus. Jesus’ entourage followed him to the seashore on the northwest side of the Sea of Galilee. This part of the sea of Galilee was called Lake Gennesaret. Peter and his homie-fishing buddies were washing their nets after a long night of work. Suddenly they were overrun by the God-squad of people wanting to hear Jesus and see one of his miracles. One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat (Luke 5:1-3). Why did Jesus come to the seashore? He knew the crowd would follow him there. Sure, the acoustics were good in this place. Yes, a boat makes a great pulpit, and this location on the lake makes a great amphitheater. Is there possibly something more to this moment than just a good place for a sermon for the masses? Let’s ask another question and see if we can’t find out what’s going on in this important moment. Why did Jesus really interrupt Peter and his buddies? Did he need Peter’s boat or was he trying to win the heart of the boat owner? A quick reading of the story (Luke 5:1-11) sure seems to suggest that Jesus was on a “fishing expedition” of his own! Jesus commandeered a boat. He used this boat, the water, and the shape of the shoreline as his amphitheater. But, notice who owned the boat! Simon Peter, the guy who would one day be the leader of Jesus’ apostles. So as we pay close attention to what’s happening, we realize the audience that came to hear Jesus wasn’t Jesus’ target audience for this moment. Jesus was after bigger fish than a herd of fickle people who made up the crowds that often followed him! He was looking for dedicated disciples who would become world-changing disciple-makers. Jesus was looking for people who would do anything and give up everything to follow him… obey him… and carry on his mission. So instead of offering an invitation song or an altar call with 10 verses of “Just as I AM” to get the crowd to respond, Jesus surprisingly told Simon Peter, “Hey buddy, let’s go fishing!” When he [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). However, there was a huge problem with what Jesus said. Everybody who knew anything about fishing in Jesus’ day knew you didn’t go fishing with Peter’s kind of nets in daylight. Fish could see and avoid them. Also, everybody who knew anything about fishing in the Sea of Galilee knew you didn’t catch fish with these kinds of nets in deep water. They were most effective for fish near the surface. On top of that, everybody who knew anything about fishing in those days knew you needed to be fishing at night or in the dusk of dawn and sunset. You weren’t going to catch anything at the time of day Jesus was speaking to the crowds! What makes Jesus’ command all the more interesting, Simon Peter knew fishing better than “everybody who knew anything about fishing in Jesus’ day.” Fishing was Peter’s life. Fishing was Peter’s livelihood. He fished every day. He knew how to catch fish. He earned his living catching fish. He took care of his wife and family catching fish. He had partners with whom he fished regularly. So Peter knew what Jesus was asking was crazy, yet… Simon [Peter] answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5). In cornbread English, Peter is saying, “The fish aren’t biting, or I would have caught them last night. But if I am going to call you Lord over spiritual stuff, then I’d better let you be Lord of all my stuff… even the stuff I know

Daily Prayer for July 27

I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. John 10:16, NIV Lord our God, bring us together as one. Give us your Spirit so that we may know you, so that joy may fill our hearts, not only for ourselves but also for others. Root out evil from the earth. Sweep away all that offends you, all lying, deceit, and hate between nations. Grant that all people may come to know you, so that disunity and conflict may be swept away and your eternal kingdom may arise on earth and we may rejoice in it. For your kingdom can come to people even while on earth to bring them happiness and to make them your own children. Yes, Lord God, we want to be your children, your people, held in your hand, so that your name may be honored, your kingdom may come, and your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.   Recent articles on Plough In Deep Water off Antarctica Jessica T. Miskelly On an icebreaker off the coast of Antarctica, I felt a warming planet’s pulse. Read now The Unspeakable Beauty of God’s Love Clement of Rome A first-century bishop of Rome writes to the believers in Corinth. Read now Orthodox Stonemasonry Alan Koppschall A crew of master builders build houses using old methods. Read now The Redemption of Lam Trang T. J. English After serving twenty-eight years in prison, a former teenage immigrant, gang member, drug addict, and killer looks to build a life. Read now Dialogue in Christian Community Elizabeth O’Connor Dialogue requires a clear, radical, and arduous commitment to listening. Read now

‘What Sort of Man Is This?’

Who in the world is this man? What’s the most important question you’ve ever asked someone? “Will you marry me?” “How are we going to live through this?” “Did I lose the baby?” “Should we move?” “Why should I try to go on living if my life is going to be like this forever?” “Where should I go to college and what should I major in?” “Will you still love me if I say, ‘No’?” “What are we going to do now?” “Is it a boy or a girl?” “Should I take this job?” “Is there any money left?” “Will our marriage survive this?” “Do you think we should adopt?” “Was the surgery successful?” “Should I be baptized?” “Is it cancer?” My guess is that none of these questions grabbed at your heart unless it was a question you asked at some point in your life. Our questions become a lot more urgent when we’re the ones in the boat, the seas around us are raging, and we don’t know what to do. That was certainly true for Jesus’ early disciples. And when he [Jesus] got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” (Matthew 8:23-27 ESV) This may well be the most important question any of us asks: “What sort of man is this…?” And this is not a question we ask just once. Each of us needs to keep asking it in all of our own life’s unique circumstances. Because life is, after all is said and done, about navigating storms. These storms come and they go. They rain and they blow. Their waves rock and they roll. And through it all, we need to keep asking, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Sometimes we find ourselves caught in a building Storm. We see the storm clouds collecting on the horizon. We’ve seen the warning signs. We’ve felt the dread of knowing difficult times are coming. As the storm intensifies, we need to know that we are not alone. We need to know that Jesus and his people will walk with us. Because life is, after all is said and done, about navigating storms. These storms come and they go. They rain and they blow. Their waves rock and they roll. And through it all, we need to keep asking, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Sometimes we find ourselves in the middle of a storm in life, and we are frozen with fear. At that moment, we need someone to act for us. We need to know that when we don’t know what to pray or how to pray, the Holy Spirit prays for us (Romans 8:26) and that the prayers of Jesus’ disciples surround us. Because life is, after all is said and done, about navigating storms. These storms come and they go. They rain and they blow. Their waves rock and they roll. And through it all, we need to keep asking, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Sometimes we find ourselves feeling like Jesus isn’t even listening to us. We’re tired of the shallow answers and throw away clichés that don’t fit into the frustration playing out in our lives. We’re angry. Yet more than angry, we’re hurt. We don’t understand why our prayers aren’t answered, and other prayers seemed to be answered. We can’t fathom why the Lord of heaven and earth can’t just blink away our challenges and bring us to a new day. We need help. We need to know that the Lord isn’t sleeping while we’re praying. We need to know he is not ignoring us while we plead with tear-stained cheeks. Because life is, after all is said and done, about navigating storms. These storms come and they go. They rain and they blow. Their waves rock and they roll. And through it all, we need to keep asking, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Sometimes we find ourselves trusting that Jesus is in control. We have this strangely wonderful calm in the face of our storm. We can’t say why, exactly, but we do. We feel as if Jesus has been here before and can handle our mess and guide us to a safe harbor. So we wait while the storm rages knowing that the storm will pass, or the Lord will still the seas and order the winds to cease. Because life is, after all is said and done, about navigating storms. These storms come and they go. They rain and they blow. Their waves rock and they roll. And through it all, we need to keep asking, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Sometimes we find ourselves enjoying the calm after the storm. We love the peace and good times. We bask in the sun of God’s goodness and obvious grace. We share in the gentle presence of those we love. Life seems easy. Our world feels comfortable. Our future looks bright. Yet we know that sooner or later, storms will come. For life is, after all is said and done, still about navigating storms. These storms come and they go. They rain and they blow. Their waves rock and they roll. And through it all, we need to keep asking, “What sort of man is

One Dad Changes Everything

How much power does one man of God have?! My heart broke.As I gathered in the news of Charleston on Wednesday night, my heart broke at the slaughter of people who came for sanctuary and a time of holy rest in the grace of God. These people of faith were murdered because of hate. My heart broke.I received a Sunday morning email from our VerseoftheDay.com translator in Pakistan. He told about the women and children killed and dismembered by suicide bombers. These women and children had been sharing a Sunday dinner-on-the-grounds while their husbands prayed inside. My heart broke for all whose lives were murdered, bodies damaged, and families wounded because of hate. My heart broke.I have watched while the press has remained largely silent about the methodical rape, selling of young kidnapped girls on the slave markets, beheadings, and crucifixions of fellow Christians at the hands of those who hate. My prayers and support have been offered for the families, churches, cities, and countries as they have endured such barbaric hate. In my own small way, I have come to understand a little of the deep emotion of God as he watched the world that was once “very good” (Genesis 1:26-31) become filled with evil: GOD saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil-evil, evil, evil from morning to night. GOD was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart (Genesis 6:5-6 MSG). What do I tell my son about raising his boys in such a world? What do I tell my grandsons about what it means to be God’s man in such a world? How do I help you understand that our efforts at sharing grace, our desires to tear down walls of racial bigotry, and our prayers to end racial and religious hatred are not in vain? Where are we supposed to turn as darkness descends, and all we can think to do is to adopt the plaintive cry of our Savior and say, “O God our God why have you forsaken us?” (Mark 15:33-34). The plan in our series entitled, “Saved at Sea,” was for us to study the story of Noah this week. Weeks ago, Noah seemed to be the perfect fit for Father’s Day. Now Noah seems even more powerfully tuned to our need of the hour. We need today’s men of God to be the men the Father has called us to be! We need to be like Noah, who “was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God” (Genesis 6:9). While we know that Noah wasn’t a perfect man because of what we read later in the story (Genesis 9:20), he was God’s man. He was God’s man in a time when there weren’t any others — except perhaps for his sons (Genesis 8:1). In reading the Bible story of Noah (Genesis chapters 5-9), we can divide the story into four parts. We have already taken a peek at the first two parts, Breaking God’s Heart (Genesis 6:5-6; Genesis 6:11-12) and Being God’s Man (Genesis 6:8-9; Genesis 8:1). The world broke God’s heart with its evil. Violence erupted and multiplied in the lives of people made for so much more. Noah had distinguished himself from the wickedness of the world because of his righteous life. Stage three of the story is the account of Noah’s obedience as he focuses on Building the Boat of God. He built the ark based on the specifications God had given him. A theme that runs through this stage of the story is that Noah did all that the LORD commanded him to do (Genesis 6:22; Genesis 7:5; Genesis 7:9; Genesis 7:16). The final stage of the story focuses on Bringing God’s Future to the destroyed world. This involved those God saved on the ark: Noah, his family, and the animals. Noah had not brought every animal on the face of the earth into the ark, but the key type or exemplar pair of each animal — “according to its kind” (Genesis 6:19-20; Genesis 7:2-7; Genesis 7:14). God also had Noah bring his sons and their wives along with his own wife into the ark (Genesis 7:7; Genesis 7:13). The LORD then shut Noah in the ark with his family and the animals. God had chosen this group of people and animals to re-begin life on earth. The ark protected Noah, his family, and the animals on the ark from both the flood and the wickedness and violence on the face of the earth (Genesis 7:17-23). God then brought Noah, his family, and the animals out of the ark. The LORD entered into a covenant with Noah and his family (Genesis 6:8), the animals that had been spared, and the earth itself promising never to destroy the world with a flood again (Genesis 8:18-22; Genesis 9:8-17). Then God gave Noah’s family and the animals the charge to bring life in its beauty and diversity back to the earth (Genesis 9:1; Genesis 9:7). As we look at this powerful and bewildering story of God’s work through one dad, we should take some lessons with us for men and dads in our day. This example is especially important for us when our day seems so filled with evil and violence. So let’s grab three important principles from the story of Noah. God can take one man, one faithful dad, and use him to help his family stand against the strong tide of an immoral and violent culture. God notices that man, that dad, and remembers what he does to share his faith, bless his world, and live a holy life (Genesis 6:8-9; Hebrews 6:10). God uses that man, that dad, to bring new life and fresh hope! God can take such a dad and use his efforts and his life to save his family in every way they can be saved — morally and spiritually — because