The Boat Experience

Once a furious storm came up on a sea ‘without a warning’. The waves swept over the boat. There were experienced fishermen like Peter, Andrews, James and John in the boat. Their skills failed. The good thing in this incident was that Jesus was in the boat with his disciples (Matthew 8:23-27). Prior to this incident, the disciples had seen Jesus performing miracles to others. Now it is their turn to expect a miracle. But Jesus was sleeping. God never sleeps nor slumbers. That is for sure. But the second person in trinity, Jesus in human flesh, slept like we humans do. He slept out of tiredness, and also to teach the disciples a lesson. Firstly he rebuked them for their little faith because they screamed that they were perishing! Then he rebuked the winds and the sea. They obeyed. Perfect peace prevailed. Here are some lessons I learnt.

Learning 1
The disciples not only learnt about anchoring their faith in the divine power of Jesus. They also learnt that God who parted the Red Sea, River Jordan, is of the same essence in Jesus. A sudden shocking news pins us down. Unexpected death rips and wears us out. What is our faith level in times of adversity? We have the benefit of knowing these real incidents that demonstrate the power of Jesus over nature, disease and death. Jesus, Immanuel, is always with us. He expects us to face adversity fearlessly. He will order peace in our painful and stormy situations. Jesus can make a difference in our difficult situations. He is the Lord of all creation.

Learning 2
There is another interesting learning in this boat experience. Jesus never used the word ‘miracle’ but only the word ‘sign’. His miracles were real. But on the other hand they had deeper meanings. It was Jesus who got into the boat. His disciples followed him (v.23). So the next lesson for the disciples was to follow Jesus by setting their feet in an unfamiliar gentile zone (v.18), stepping out of their comfort zones. In the early church, this meant following Jesus in both the Christian and gentile communities as witnesses. This was why the little boat on the stormy sea became an ancient symbol of the church. The church in this regard is not a pleasure boat. It is a fishing boat! Did not Jesus ask his disciples, to follow Him and to be fishers of people?

Learning 3
Satan attempted to curtail the mission of Jesus right from the beginning. He worked through Herod to finish off baby Jesus, when he was around two years old.  The people in the synagogue in Nazareth tried to push him down a cliff (Luke 4:29). The sudden storm in the sea in this boat experience could have been an attempt from satan to finish off Jesus and his team of disciples in one take. It did not happen then. But eventually Jesus gave his life on the cruel cross for all our sins. He crushed satan’s heel through his ultimate power over death by rising on the third day. Following Jesus, his twelve disciples were martyred too for their faith, in Jewish and gentile areas, as witnesses all over the world. They are now with Jesus forever. Satan is a defeated foe. Christ reigns supreme. Every creation would obey, every knee bow would bow to the Lord, one day! Come Lord Jesus, reign supreme over us!!

Prompted to write this after my morning devotion today @ https://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2018-01-31/When-the-storm-strikes

Influence, For God’s Sake

Missionary Spectacle Series

Wearing my missionary-spectacles, I can say that the wisdom literature of the Bible which comprises of  Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs had a powerful influence in the nations in the context of its day. If we can vouch for the influence the wisdom literature has in our lives today, we can imagine how much more it would have been in days, when books were few and precious.  Only the wealthy and influential people had access to books. The biblical wisdom literature was like gospel tracts reaching out to the unreached. I am going to point out to three significant persons in this regard.

Influential Singing

Have we admired David the shepherd boy turned powerful king for his rich inclusive style of Psalms? I always admire him as a world Christian, that is, a person who loves the world as Christ loves. I cannot include all of his psalms that reveal his concern for the nations of the world for paucity of space here. Only when we read his songs with missionary spectacles can we justify his world view!  However I wish to highlight a few, here.  We glean about his love for nations in the historical books of the Kings and Chronicles too. After being delivered from Saul he sings, “I will praise you… among the nations…” (2 Sam 22:50). We read about his gospel hymn in 1 Chronicles 16:8-31, inviting the nations to join in praising Yahweh.  The book of Psalms has much more to offer. His song in Psalm 2:8 says, “Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance.”  Have we prayed for nations? David tells about all families of the nation bowing before God (22:7). Similar thoughts are found in 66:1-4, 86:9, 96:7, 98:2, 117:1, 145:11,12, 148:7-11 and so on. In Psalm 67, specifically he answers the question: Why God blesses his people? It reflects the blessing of God to Abraham that all nations are to be blessed.

What should be our influence today in a nation like India where the gospel was given to us in the first century AD by Apostle Thomas? What is the content of the songs we compose these days? Are they influential enough to bring nations to Christ?

Influential Wisdom

Like his dad, Solomon, who became the next king influenced through his writing. Above all, his wisdom was like a powerful magnet.  Rulers of all the earth came to hear his wisdom in his palace in his kingdom (1 Kings 4:31-34) including Queen of Sheba, who came from the area of today’s Iran and Saudi Arabia. Her amazing testimony has lots of spiritual insights (1 Kings 10:3-9).  Also adding to the influence of Solomon, was the temple that he built which had an evangelistic intent. All people of God could pray, even the gentiles, in the temple, and towards it.  Solomon also prays that all peoples of the earth might know that the Lord is God and there is none other (1 Kings 8:60). Unlike the patriarchs, who were sent to nations, nations came to Solomon and his kingdom. His influence was a combination of his wisdom and writing.

I started to write with an evangelistic intent in a time when doors of ministry were shut off for me. Today through blog evangelism, sitting in my place (this comes from a train travel!) I have reached out to many nations, which I will never be able to go to,  in my life time. What could be your area of influence? Use your God-given wisdom for His glory!

Influential Life Style

With my missionary spectacles, I am seeing Job as a powerful missionary in a gentile context. The story happened in the land of Uz, which appears to have been in the Arabian Desert (Job 1:1). Job’s life and testimony stands tall in the patriarchal era. His faith and commitment in the worst adversity of his life should have brought his friends and people to the true God. The writing of the book could have happened between Solomon’s reign and the exile. Job coming from a non-Abrahamic tradition was a representative of the nations who had the knowledge of the true God. He was a recipient of God’s revelation and redemption. This was a reward to his life of integrity. Have our lifestyles influenced people in the land of our living? No wonder, Job’s biography is a gospel tract of all times.

For God’s sake, I would love to influence and persuade people to the knowledge of our Saviour. How about you?  May this New Year be such a purpose-packed one!  And do not forget to wear your missionary-spectacles whenever you read the Bible 😊

Note: I am indebted to Dr Frampton Fox for his teaching at HBI, Chennai on this subject and for his book, "Down to Earth" (Mission Educational Books, Chennai, 1998)