Several of Jesus' disciples were fishermen, and occasionally Jesus used
their boats to travel to his next destination. One evening they were
crossing the Sea of Galilee with Jesus asleep in the stern of the boat.
While they were underway, a fierce squall arose, and the wind and waves
threatened to overwhelm their boat. They were taking on water as each
new wave washed over them, and it was only a matter of time before they
would sink if the situation didn't rapidly improve. This was a true
emergency; these fishermen were not over-reacting when they thought they
might die during this storm. Everyone who has been in a storm at sea
knows exactly how they felt.
Jesus slept through the storm until the fishermen woke him up and said,
"Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Jesus rebuked the wind and
waves, and the storm immediately subsided. Then Jesus said to his
comrades, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
Why wasn't Jesus afraid? Jesus knew that he didn't come into this
world to drown in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was following God's plan,
and death by drowning definitely wasn't in the plan. Jesus had such
close fellowship with God that he knew God's plan by heart from start to
finish. Jesus knew he had nothing to fear from a storm at sea.
The disciples didn't know that God wouldn't allow them to perish in the
storm. They didn't understand God's plan, and their hearts were full
of fear. The same thing often happens with us.
Without a close personal relationship with God, we don't understand his
plan, and our hearts are full of fear. When our fellowship with God
becomes up close and personal, for the first time we understand his plan,
and we put our faith in it. We know that if we follow his plan,
nothing can happen to us until the plan has run its full course. Once
we have faith in his plan, we no longer have any reason to fear.
Jesus made it clear that fear has no place in the heart of a child of God.
When you have a personal relationship with God and follow
God's plan, you have nothing to fear.
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JUMP
INTO GOD'S OCEAN OF LOVE - When I jump into God's ocean of
love, my life is never the same. I am born spiritually and become
a new person. Old things pass away, and all things become new.
I think new thoughts, take new actions, and have a new life.
SEND GOD'S
LOVE TO EVERYONE
- Whatever shortcomings
others have, I will send them love and leave the judgment up to God.
God is the judge of how each person lives, and He is fully qualified and
able to judge in a fair manner without my help.
PERFECTION IS A DISEASE AND GOD'S LOVE IS THE CURE -
Excellence is the path to my dreams unless I stop at a roadblock called
perfection. God never demands perfection. God loves and
accepts me the way that I am, and if it's good enough for God, it's good
enough for me.
BLOWN TO
SMITHEREENS - God's love still is the most powerful force in
the universe, and it will blow the maze of sin to smithereens when my
heart, mind, and will are all aligned with God's love.
THE FACTS OF
LOVE -
Until I understand God's love, I will never know what God is like.
I must see myself through God's eyes and learn the facts of love.
God's love never falters or fails. There is nothing in the entire
universe that separate me from God's love.
THE PURE IN HEART
SHALL SEE GOD - Jesus said
that the pure in heart have a special blessing. They are able to
see God. When I have a clean mind and a pure heart, I have 20/20
spiritual vision, and I can see God at work in my world.
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD -
God speaks all the time, but the only way to hear his voice of love is
to become silent and listen. That is why the Bible says, "Be still
and know that I am God."
ONCE IS
NOT ENOUGH - Jesus said I must
be born again. Once is not enough. The first time I was
born, I was born in the flesh. The second time I am born, I am born in
the spirit. God is a Spirit, and He is the One who makes my spirit
come alive. That is why I call him Father.
WHAT
GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
- God's plan of love is simple. What goes around comes around.
The love I send to others comes multiplied back to me. God gives
me as much love as I am willing to pass on to others. When I send
God's love to everyone, I become immersed in an ocean of love.
DON'T LET THE WORLD CLIP YOUR WINGS -God designed me to fly like an eagle. I will not let the world
clip my wings or force me into its mold. I will fly like an eagle.
LIVE AS IF YOU ARE IN GOD'S PRESENCE -
The power and presence of God in the world is love. Whenever I see
love, I see God's hand at work. When I practice God's presence, I
experience his love. I feel the power of his love flowing through
me to other people.
ENOUGH FAITH
- Faith isn't about size. It's about stepping out in the direction
of your dreams regardless of the consequences. I never need to
worry if I have enough faith. Any faith at all is enough to start
moving in a positive direction.
HOW TO INCREASE MY FAITH
-Faith isn't something I must have before I
move in the direction of my dreams. Instead, it's something that
develops after I start moving.
DOUBLE DOSE OF
FAITH -
Practical faith comes in two types. Type I
faith empowers you to do the things you can do and should do for
yourself. Type II faith empowers God to do the things for you that
you can't do for yourself.
THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE
-
The most powerful force in the universe is God's love. God is love
and works by love, and by nothing else than love. The power and
presence of God in the world is love. When I experience God's
love, I experience his presence and power.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
-
God's love carries away my burden of guilt. His love not only
wipes the slate clean, it also throws the slate away. There is no
limit to how good my life can become when I max out on the power of his
love.
MAX
OUT ON GOD'S LOVE
-
There is nothing I can do to earn God's love or make him love me more.
God already loves me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, and
it doesn't get any better than that.
COMING TO MY SENSES -My five
senses are eternal skeptics. The five senses that insure my safe
passage through the physical world blind me to the reality of the
spiritual one. There is a time to listen to my senses, and a time
to come to my senses.
ULTIMATE REALITY
CHECK -Prayer is the place
I go to find out how I am doing. If I am getting into trouble, I can
probably get straightened out with prayer. Prayer is the way I
align myself with God’s program for my life. Prayer doesn’t change
God. Prayer changes me.
TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE -
Jesus used freedom as a primary test of truth. He
said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Why
did he say that? He said it because truth is the only thing that
leads to freedom. Everything else ties you up in knots and puts you
into bondage.
I HAVE A DREAM -God gave me the
ability to dream. Dreams are God’s way of pointing out I have the
possibility of achieving excellence in my life.
AFFIRMATIONS CHANGE THE WAY I FEEL -Affirmations give me
the power to change what is in my heart. Affirmations do more than
change the way I think; they also change the way I feel.
