God is in control
Co-worker Ron Boyd-MacMillan writes in his epic volume, Faith That Endures,
“Your life’s purpose may remain a mystery to you, as may the events of your world, but that’s okay. God is in control. We are relieved of the responsibility of…
This is good!
A tribal king had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) as well as the lives of others and remarking, “This is good!” He based it on…
God has everything under control
Throughout the Bible, God reveals that He is always in control over His vast universe and even our seemingly insignificant lives. Here is a true-life story from a member of the persecuted church:
“I was the only convert of a man who died…
Boldness, love and non-violence
A few years ago I was leading a group from my home church in Canada on a mission trip to Cuba. The church in Cuba had experienced a significant revival movement and the fast-growing house church movement was overflowing with new believers.
In…
Faith that brings hope
We often think that faith is our duty, or something we can give back to God. In reality, we cannot even do that on our own. There is nothing we can give to God. We must rely on Him for everything—even our faith. When we accept it as His precious…
Can you sleep while the wind blows?
During a recent hurricane storm, the following story circulated on the Internet:
A farmer on the Atlantic seacoast constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic because of the awful storms…
Three fold preparation
In the 1980’s, an Open Doors co-worker visited Pastor Tu in Vietnam—leader of the fastest growing house church network at that time. It was reported to the pastor by a member of his house church that the authorities were threatening to imprison…
Storms reveal new things about Jesus
Thankfully storms ultimately do come to an end! We learn this as another insight from this passage of scripture. And the storms often reveal something new about Jesus. Here the disciples express their amazement that He even controls the winds…
Faith and fear
Storms often bring out our true spiritual condition. Jesus was in the boat but the disciples still feared for their lives. He chastised them for their fear and their little faith! Thus our greatest need is not for the storm to end but to be…
Jesus’ presence doesn’t guarantee our comfort
Many times storms can make it seem like Jesus doesn’t care. In this story Jesus’ humanity is evident. He was so tired he was sleeping through a storm which caused the disciples—some even professional fishermen—to fear for their lives.
Without…