"Cheer up - or be of good cheer."
Jesus sees, He knows, He sees the dilemma, our great distress, or our shortfall in our certain situation.
The very struggles that seem to steal our peace, are the VERY ones He is using to draw us to Himself.
Buffeted as the disciples were in that boat on the sea of Galilee, so in our life we are battered upon cruel, fearful waves of dread, doubt and dismay.
Jesus sees, He knows, He sees the dilemma, our great distress, or our shortfall in our certain situation.
The very struggles that seem to steal our peace, are the VERY ones He is using to draw us to Himself.
Mark 4:35-38
(*note the references are of two (2) different events upon Sea of Galilee recorded by Mark.)
"And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full."
****
****
"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?"
Mark 6:50
"For they all saw him, and were troubled.
And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them,
Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid."
And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them,
Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid."
"Cheer Up"
or "Be of good cheer"
When the Lord Jesus cries
or "Be of good cheer"
"CHEER UP!"
NO FEAR CAN ENTER IN.
Asleep on a pillow... perfect rest for a trusting Saviour.
Where He leads I will follow! (Video also here)
Asleep on a pillow... perfect rest for a trusting Saviour.
With and In Jesus, our Anchor holds.
Without Jesus, we fumble, flail about and fall, full of fear.
Mark 4:38-40
"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?
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.
And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?"
"PEACE, be still!"
Amen!
Peace, really lasting peace IN the storm is by being still.
Be still, by our will,
BUT in God's strength,
So still those thoughts.
Be still, by our will,
BUT in God's strength,
So still those thoughts.
Phillipians ends with some pithy treasures for then and this very day!
Philippians 4:5-7
.. the Lord is at hand.
Be careful (= be worried) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
..the LORD is AT our very hand!
His coming is as sure as the dawn (see Hos.6:3).
He is at our hand!
"Amen, even so come Lord Jesus."
He is at our hand!
"Amen, even so come Lord Jesus."
"Look up, for Thy redemption draweth nigh."
The verses of Jesus in sea storms are a beautiful correlation of passages, full of beautiful truths for everyday life.
God's Word is our anchor.
Anchor our heart in God's word, and we will -
Cheer up!
Peace, be still!
God's Word is our anchor.
Anchor our heart in God's word, and we will -
Cheer up!
Peace, be still!
Being in
the Word,
hiding it, memorising in our hearts,
having on walls or around our home.
YES!
Have it somewhere in every room... to capture our eye and heart.
Most know these words of Moses telling us to have the word before our eyes, on walls of our home (see verses HERE).
WHY did Moses say this?
He knew God's Word is the ONLY Anchor that holds in the storms of life!
hiding it, memorising in our hearts,
having on walls or around our home.
YES!
Have it somewhere in every room... to capture our eye and heart.
Most know these words of Moses telling us to have the word before our eyes, on walls of our home (see verses HERE).
WHY did Moses say this?
He knew God's Word is the ONLY Anchor that holds in the storms of life!
How much of the Word, our anchor, do we have around our home to battle, and overcome fear, worry, etc,?
Anchors only hold if they are in use.
Yes, in the midst of them.
A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it.
Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).
From Oswald Chambers, Utmost for my Highest. "The Source of Abundant Joy".
"As he thinketh in HIS heart, so is he."
Prov. 27:3a
If media is on constantly, filling our thoughts with every latest update, discussing it at every moment in our head and heart -
we set ourselves up for fear!
Too often "news" is rumour, innuendo, half truth, or facts, blown out of proportion.
Thinking only on such "news" the heart will founder upon the rocks of fear.
Less of 24/7 media and more in God's word: for we live in end times.
It's a world run by the prince and power of the air.
Satan is happiest when we look to the world for information.
To be honest, the TV is rarely on here. It's too demanding.
It steals too much peace, time.
It's is a personal choice.
But it does bless much.
Keep up to date, but not in media's clutches.
Remember the 24/7 media has to bombard us every moment of every day, with NEW news.
Never the good stories:
eg 150 quarantined in Aust with Coronavirus from Diamond Princess cruise from Japan.
Less than 1%, just one elderly man, with pre-existing lung condition sadly died.
Ten out of 150, less than 7%, caught it, in this instance.
Coronavirus is not new. They've been other previous infections, best known is SARs from 2003
To read up on the four types, see link Here. Another link here on comparisons of other CV.
Excellent article HERE compares stats in factual non dramatic way.
What is new - with Coronavirus, or more correctly, Covid-19 is the accompanying widespread fear epidemic.
God is still in charge.
"Our Heavenly Father knoweth."
In Eph 6 we have the Christian's armour, nearly all are for defense.
ONLY one is a weapon.
The Sword of Spirit the Word of God!!
Do I use that weapon, or is it neglected ... or read in a brief, & rushed way?
Do I spend as much time in Word, in communion, meditation, in prayer,
as I do watching TV, using devices or other tools??
Look to the Lord alone.
He IS trustworthy.
"Rest in Lord
Trust also in Him,
Wait patiently for Him,
Fret not thyself.."
Ps. 37: 4 -7
So let's pray, rest, trust.. and wash our hands! 😁
Prayer hugs 🙏🤗
Shaz in Oz.x
Anchors only hold if they are in use.
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. —Romans 8:37
"We are more than conquerors through Him” “IN all these things”;Yes, in the midst of them.
A saint doesn’t know the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it.
Paul said, “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation” (2 Corinthians 7:4).
From Oswald Chambers, Utmost for my Highest. "The Source of Abundant Joy".
"As he thinketh in HIS heart, so is he."
Prov. 27:3a
If media is on constantly, filling our thoughts with every latest update, discussing it at every moment in our head and heart -
we set ourselves up for fear!
Too often "news" is rumour, innuendo, half truth, or facts, blown out of proportion.
Thinking only on such "news" the heart will founder upon the rocks of fear.
Less of 24/7 media and more in God's word: for we live in end times.
It's a world run by the prince and power of the air.
Satan is happiest when we look to the world for information.
To be honest, the TV is rarely on here. It's too demanding.
It steals too much peace, time.
It's is a personal choice.
But it does bless much.
Keep up to date, but not in media's clutches.
Remember the 24/7 media has to bombard us every moment of every day, with NEW news.
Never the good stories:
eg 150 quarantined in Aust with Coronavirus from Diamond Princess cruise from Japan.
Less than 1%, just one elderly man, with pre-existing lung condition sadly died.
Ten out of 150, less than 7%, caught it, in this instance.
Coronavirus is not new. They've been other previous infections, best known is SARs from 2003
To read up on the four types, see link Here. Another link here on comparisons of other CV.
Excellent article HERE compares stats in factual non dramatic way.
God is still in charge.
"Our Heavenly Father knoweth."
In Eph 6 we have the Christian's armour, nearly all are for defense.
ONLY one is a weapon.
The Sword of Spirit the Word of God!!
Do I spend as much time in Word, in communion, meditation, in prayer,
as I do watching TV, using devices or other tools??
Look to the Lord alone.
He IS trustworthy.
"Rest in Lord
Trust also in Him,
Wait patiently for Him,
Fret not thyself.."
Ps. 37: 4 -7
So let's pray, rest, trust.. and wash our hands! 😁
Prayer hugs 🙏🤗
Shaz in Oz.x
PS . If you haven’t I'd love it you to join as a wonderful encourager of this blog ... link HERE. Thank YOU to those who have done so already. It really encourages me to keep on.
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If you'd like these posts in your inbox, you can add your email to email link option on side bar. If you're on a mobile device on which there is no sidebar, then scroll down and select "View Web Version" at very bottom of post. This will bring up sidebar and "follow by email" link. Thank YOU.
Once more you have encouraged and inspired me Shaz - I too don't watch TV, by choice. I do have Christian radio on in the evenings. I stream it though the computer while I am on it.
ReplyDeleteYes, the 'news' is fueled by the might $!
Blessings
Maxine
Hello Shaz, Thank you for your visit to my blog today and for your sweet words of encouragement both there and here on your blog. For someone who has anxiety in "normal" life and worries anyway, these events are very troublesome so I'm trying to spend more time daily in prayer and Bible reading.
ReplyDeleteAlex lives in Towada which is not far south from Hokkaido. I have visited there and the people are lovely. Our own state has issued a state of emergency and just today has banned all gatherings of more than 250. We are having a drastic rise in cases with 28 deaths just here in Washington State, most in one senior care facility.
My knitting group has been suspended indefinitely because there is also a statewide ban on nursing home visits. Not even family can visit which is very troubling since we have several friends in facilities. They are already feeling isolated and abandoned and it's very sad.
We turn to Christ, who is our one salvation and hope. I am SO grateful to know that I have the assurance that even if this body fails, I know where I'm going. I wish all would come to that realization and belief.
Thank you for so faithfully sharing the WORD of the LORD my dear friend and sister.
Much love and blessings,
Betsy
Thank you Shaz, it was a very good read with much beauty.
ReplyDeleteDear, sweet sis, your words are words of such comfort and encouragement and peace in such a turbulent time. God is in control, and I keep quoting Psalm 91:10. It is such a powerful thing to speak the Word of God. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, NOT on the ebb and flow of the hysteria in this world. He is so precious to my soul. May He richly bless you. Your blog is a place of solace.
ReplyDeleteAn encouraging post...always so good to be reminded Who is in control of the storms in our lives. Yes, this virus news is being overreacted to by a long shot. People get sick so many other times, that I have to think this is getting out of hand how people are growing so fearful. May the Lord direct our hearts into His peace, especially those who are succumbing to the fears more than others. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete