The Secret of Gratitude

I just want to say thanks for the many great comments that have been posted on this site. Also, thanks for the phone calls and cards of gratitude.

I have been really busy and have not been able to post very much as of late because when I am not working on this I am working on that if you know what that is!

Monday night I had the honor of speaking for God in a church in Ridgland S.C.
It was the "Great Swamp Baptist Church. I spoke to the botherhood of this church and it was great. Many men were there and we had supper and then I was honored to say whatever it was that God had installed in and on my heart.

I shared my testimony. It was just what these guys needed to hear.

A personal testimony is a powerful thing. We all have one, they are all different and God has put us through what we have gone through so we can each have a different kind of testimony.

The world is full of men and women who have a great testimony and there is such awesome power in the words that come from their life story.

What is you story?

I know you have one!

There is someone out there just waiting to hear what your story has to say to them. So do not be afraid to share. There is great gospel power in the story of your life so, be brave and share it with someone.

Just as there is power in testimony, there is also power in "Gratitude."

Here is a little story to help you see the light a little better.

In Vermont a farmer was sitting on the porch with his wife. He was beginning to realize how much she meant to him. It was about time---for they had been married for forty-two years, and she had been such a help, and a very willing worker.

One day as they sat together, he said, "Wife, you've been such a wonderful woman that there are times I can hardly keep from telling you."

So here we go! Think about this right now! Do you know someone that has meant a lot to you. Do you know someone who is there for you no matter what the problem is. Maybe that person is there even if there is not a problem, maybe their there just because.

Is there someone you need to call just to say thanks or maybe tell them how much you appriciate them or how much you love them? May be you need to call your mother or dad just to let them know you are thinking about them.

Maybe you need to call your kids and kids maybe you need to call your parents to let them know you care!!

I know you can think of somebody right now that you want to say thanks to. Just take a couple minutes to call them or send them and email or write a little note so that they will know you care!

I grant you there is power in gratitude. Just try it and see, Jesus did!!

Tell someone you love them and you will be rewarded in many ways, Just try it:

Better yet, maybe it would be even more touching if you would just take the time to show that special someone just how much you love them.

I dare you!!

Thanks.

Robert N. Graves, Sr.

Fisherman for Christ.

Believe and Behave

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:16; 12:2.

Text; Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Introduction: “Believe and Behave,” is to me part of the theme of the book of Romans. Paul contends that what we believe has everything to do with how we behave. If our belief is wrong, our behavior will be wrong. And if our behavior is wrong our belief cannot be right. Our behavior says more about our beliefs than does our verbal testimony or written creed.

We often tend to emphasize either belief or behavior to the omission of the other, which makes for a partial and imbalanced Christianity.

Paul a man of balanced faith assigns equal importance to each. The first eleven chapters of Romans deal with belief and the last five with behavior.

In the winter of A.D. 57-58, Paul was in Corinth at the close of his third missionary journey. He was soon to return to Jerusalem with an offering for the poor. A woman named Phoebe, who lived in a suburb of Corinth, was soon to sail to Rome. Paul saw an opportunity to send this letter to the Church of Rome with her.

Desiring to leave a written explanation of the gospel of salvation in the hands of Christians at Rome, he wrote this letter, which Phoebe delivered safely to the church.

Realizing that this may be his only communication with the church so strategically located in the capital of the world, he stressed what he must have felt to be the two cardinal truths of the Christian faith---the belief that results in salvation and the behavior that result from salvation.

(I) The Belief that results in salvation. (Romans 1:16)
After a few brief words of introduction, Paul proclaims, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”

Now, what kind of belief enables us to receive salvation?

A) Belief in the unlimited power of salvation: Paul says that he is proud of the gospel of salvation. He considers himself privileged to preach it. What a strange statement in light of all that had recently happened to him! At Philippi he had been jailed, at Thessalonica he had been expelled, at Berea he had been smuggled out, and in Athens he had been scorned.

The gospel Paul preached in Corinth was considered, “Foolishness” by the Greeks and a “stumbling block” by the Jews. In spite of the opposition, Paul says the gospel is “The Power of God unto salvation”! The unlimited power of the gospel made Paul victorious over every obstacle in his path.

When Paul speaks of “The Power of God unto salvation,” he speaks from personal experience. At first he hated the Christian faith; his heart was calloused against the call of God. He even planned a journey to Damascus to arrest and persecute those who were followers of Christ.

If ever a man were unbending in his conviction, Paul was that man. Nothing could change him—until he encountered the person of Jesus Christ.

It was then he discovered the unlimited power of God that can change any person, anywhere, in any condition! The belief that results in salvation is a belief in the unlimited power of salvation.

Let’s not forget what our question is:

What kind of belief enables us to receive salvation?

B) Belief in the unrestricted availability of salvation: Paul proclaims that this salvation is available to all who believe. Why does Paul say, “To the Jew first”? Because they were in the immediate proximity and had the best religious background for accepting the gospel. The he says, “And also for the Greek.” The gospel reaches Greeks as well as Jews.

The Greeks were the intellectuals of the first century and were often pessimistic and distrustful. They thought they knew it all but the gods they believed in were almost four hundred years old and the Greeks grew unexcited and decay had set in. Greek-Roman religion in the first century was confused and chaotic, with so many gods and deities that cities even maintained, “Catch all” shrines to provide for divine emanations that might have been overlooked.

What caused Greeks to become Christians? The answer is revealed in the opening of Paul’s address on Mars Hill, (Acts 17:24 NIV) “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.”

In place of the uncertainty that Athens offered, Paul tells of a God who can speak for Himself and who is not contained in human thought. Jesus provides an unrestricted, “across the world” available salvation.

In his letter to the Church of Rome, and to us also, Paul says that salvation is available without restriction because of several factors. (Right here is the meat of this message so read it slowly and carefully because Paul talks about me and you in all these following verses.)

Here are the factors:

1) The need that requires it: (Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Since all have sinned, salvation is available to all. It is available without restriction because people have sinned without exception.

2) The grace that provides it: (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Salvation is available without restriction not because of human goodness but because of God’s grace. If salvation were available on the basis of our goodness, it could not be available without restriction.

3) The price that purchased it: (Romans 5:8) “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinner, Christ died for us.”

How could God prove His love to us through the death of Christ? Because, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2nd Corinthians 5:19)
Christ died for us. He died on our behalf—voluntarily. (John 10: 17-18, “I lay down my life…no man takes it from Me.”)

A little boy made a toy boat. He would go out to lake by his house and sail it off from the shore. It would come back and he would push it off again. One day a strong gust of wind came and blew the toy boat away. Later he saw it in a window of a pawn shop.

He saved his pennies and paid one dollar for his boat. As he left the shop he said, “Little boat, you’re mine twice—I made you and I purchased you back after you were lost.”

We are God’s twice. He made us and he bought us back.

What kind of belief enables us to receive salvation?

4) The loves that ensures it. Robert Bruce, a disciple of John Knox, died on July 27, 1631. That morning he had come to breakfast and his younger daughter sat by his side.

As he sat in silence, suddenly he cried: “Hold daughter, hold, my Master calleth me.” He asked that the Bible should be brought, but his sight failed him and he could not read. “Cast me up the eighth of Romans,” cried he, and he repeated much of the latter portion of this Scripture till he came to the last two verses: “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, not things to come, nor height, not depth, not any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “Set my fingers on these words,” said the blind, dying man; “God be with you my children. I have breakfasted with you, and shall sup with my Lord Jesus this night. I die believing in the words.”

For belief to be valid, it must accompany the right behavior.

(II) The behavior that results from salvation: (Take time to search out these Scriptures, Romans 12:1-2; 13:1-5; 14:21; 15:1-3)

Belief results in salvation—behavior results from salvation. In other words, belief saves us and behavior proves that we are saved. Paul points out that our belief in the gospel will affect three areas of our behavior.

A) Our conduct: (Romans 12:1; “I beseech you therefore…” Whenever we see the word therefore in Scripture, we should ask, “What is it, ‘there for?” It always looks back on what has been said. Paul is saying, “In light of the belief that results in salvation, I now set forth the behavior that results from salvation. You have believed; therefore, you should behave!” He does not say, “I command you!” He says, “I beseech you.” After all, he is writing to those who have already believed in Christ and should of their own desire behave as believers.

There may be many things we cannot do and much we cannot give, but by the grace of God, we can behave!
1) Our conduct should be voluntary: “Present your bodies” (v1)

2) Our conduct should refuse to be molded by others: “Be not conformed…” (v2) Real Christians don’t take on the color of their social environment. Like their Savior, Christians are distinctively different from those about them!
3) Our conduct should come from within: “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…(v2b) Until we have genuine belief that results in salvation, we lack the power within to behave. But when Christ really comes into our lives, we become new creatures and Christ becomes the center of our lives.

B) Our citizenship: (Romans 13:1-5) Our citizenship—the way we relate to people in elected positions—may be the greatest testimony we have. In God’s providence there is no place for the destructive spirit of defiance and disorder.

C) Our concern: (Romans 14: 21; 15: 1-3). In chapter 14 Paul says that salvation enables the Christians to place the concerns of others above their own selfish interest. When we reach this level of behavior, the criteria is no longer merely, “Is it right or wrong?” but rather “Will it cause my brother to stumble?”

If our belief in Christ is genuine, we will behave as Christ would. We won’t be out to please ourselves, to prove our point, or to insist on our own way.

Rather, our lives will be characterized by the Christian love of which Paul speaks of in 1st Corinthians 13: “Love is patient; love is kind…it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

Conclusion: Believe and behave!

That’s the way I see the message of the book of Roman. “Believe and behave” Not “Believe or behave.” When we grasp both of these truths so that they are translated into our everyday lives, then Paul’s letter to the Church of Rome has accomplished its purpose both in the church and in our lives as well.

Thanks.

Robert N. Graves Sr.

Fisherman for Christ.

Would You Like to Know God Personally

The following four principles will help you discover how to know God personally and experience the abundant life he promised. ________________________________________
1) God loves you and created you to know Him personally.

God's Love
"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

God's Plan
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3, NIV).

What prevents us from knowing God personally?
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2) Man is sinful and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love.

Man is Sinful
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Man was created to have fellowship with God; but, because of his own stubborn self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and fellowship with God was broken. This self-will, characterized by an attitude of active rebellion or passive indifference, is an evidence of what the Bible calls sin.

Man is Separated
"The wages of sin is death" [spiritual separation from God] (Romans 6:23).

"...(Those) who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus...will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord..." (2 Thessalonians 1:8,9)

The third principle explains the only way to bridge this gulf...
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3) Jesus Christ is God's only provision for man's sin.

Through Him alone we can know God personally and experience God's love.

He Died in Our Place
"God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

He Rose From the Dead
"Christ died for our sins...He was buried...He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred..." (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

He is the Only Way to God
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me'" (John 14:6).

It is not enough just to know these truths...
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We must individually receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally and experience His love.

4) We Must Receive Christ
"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12)

We Receive Christ Through Faith
"By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

When We Receive Christ, We Experience a New Birth
(Read John 3:1-8.)

We Receive Christ by Personal Invitation
[Christ speaking] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him" (Revelation 3:20).

Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us of our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith, as an act of our will. ________________________________________
You Can Receive Christ Right Now by Faith Through Prayer

(Prayer is talking with God)

God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving me of my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?
If it does, pray this prayer right now, and Christ will come into your life, as He promised.

How to Know That Christ Is in Your Life
Did you receive Christ into your life? According to His promise in Revelation 3:20, where is Christ right now in relation to you? Christ said that He would come into your life and be your friend so you can know Him personally. Would He mislead you? On what authority do you know that God has answered your prayer? (The trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.)

The Bible Promises Eternal Life to All Who Receive Christ

"The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:11-13).

Thank God often that Christ is in your life and that He will never leave you (Hebrews 13:5). You can know on the basis of His promise that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in. He will not deceive you.
An important reminder...
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Do Not Depend on Feelings
The promise of God's Word, the Bible - not our feelings - is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.

Now That You Have Entered Into a Personal Relationship With Christ the moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:

1. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 and Colossians 1:27).

2. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14).

3. You became a child of God (John 1:12).

4. You received eternal life (John 5:24).

5. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Can you think of anything more wonderful that could happen to you than entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Would you like to thank God in prayer right now for what He has done for you? By thanking God, you demonstrate your faith.

News Too Good to Keep Quiet!!

This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent.

Introduction: Boy is it hot!! I just came back in from my mother’s house across the street. It is so hot out side until the asphalt is soft and melting on the road. It reminds me of a saying I often use while talking to people about Christ and it is, “There ain’t no air conditioners in hell.”

My momma was making some hot dogs so I sat down and looked at the news paper. It seems that the world is in a big mess. This is so true! I looked at the paper for a few minutes and no where did I see any good new that is worth sharing right now.

Murder, rape, school officials accused of miss using funds, wars, death, murder, cheating. The big thing now is drugs. People using, buying, killing for more drugs. Crack cocaine, is a killer. It kills families, homes, lives, churches, business, the list is endless.

Good News: As I pondered all these things I was reminded of some special news that is always good. The weather never gets to hot or cold to share this news. Life is short, and we will be here on this earth for a very short while, compared with eternity.

I came home and started looking for a way to share that Good News today and here it is.

Scripture: 2nd Kings 6:24:30; 7:3-11 NIV. If you want to get the full benefit from this message, it will help if you take your own Bible and read and study these Scriptures from 2nd Kings on your own. Let God speak to your heart as you read them.

The lesson in this Bible story is so obvious we cannot help but be aware that God must have placed it here on purpose, to give us a vivid example of our obligation to share the gospel.

The nation of Samaria was under siege, and within the city, an awful famine was stalking the residents. Outside the city were the mighty armies of Aramea. Just beyond the city's gates were four lepers about to experience the best day of their lives.

1. The Bad News (2 Kin. 6:24­-30,) (24) Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. (25) There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eight shekels of silver and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels. (26) As the King of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, “Help me, my lord and king!” (27) The king replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress.” (28) Then he asked her, “What is the matter?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we’ll eat my son. (29) So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, ‘Give up your son so we may eat him,’ but she had hidden him." (30) When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body.

Our story begins after the nation of Israel had been divided by civil war. The northern portion of the nation, which retained the name Israel, was suffering the siege of its capital city. The mighty armies of the nation of Aramea held the city in a death grip. Their siege was so effective that the city, Samaria, was facing a deadly famine. A donkey's head sold for two pounds of silver and a cup of dove dung cost two ounces of silver. This siege and famine had come as a direct result of Israel's rebellion against God. (Could this be what is happening to our nation?)

In words recorded hundreds of years before, God had warned the nation of what would happen if they rebelled against Him (Lev. 26:27­-29, (27) If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, (28) then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. (29) You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters.)

As a result, people were so hungry they turned on their own children. It's one of the most horrible scenes in Scripture. The bad news for Samaria was that death was certain. There was no hope. The bad news for us is that death is certain (Rom. 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.) and afterward the judgment. (Heb. 9:27, Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.).

2. The Good News (2 Kin. 7:3­-20 ) Take time to look this scripture up and read this great story).

While these atrocities were occurring within the walls of Samaria, at the gate of the city sat four lepers, outcasts of society. Since leprosy was considered extremely contagious (Just like sin) they were forced to live outside the city walls, quarantined from normal society. Their disease forced them to live apart from wives and children, and there was a social stigma--they were despised and rejected by others.

In normal circumstances, these four might have received scraps from residents of the city or spoiled vegetable or fruit from a merchant. Since the Arameans had arrived there was nothing. Sitting outside the gates, they began reasoning that they had nothing to lose, (What do you have to lose?).

The only place where there was food was in the camp of the Arameans, so they decided to go there. To their surprise, the camp was abandoned. Entering a tent, the lepers ate, drank, and carted off silver, gold, and clothes. They entered another tent to take what they wanted. But then, they had a serious bout of conscience.

They knew they had to share the news. Here are four of society's outcasts, rejected, avoided, ridiculed by the people of their culture. Yet, when they received good news they didn't want everyone else to be left out. In the middle of the night, they went to the city gate and got the attention of the gatekeeper who sent the news to the palace. When the word got out it caused a stampede at the city gate in which one of the king's officials was trampled to death.

The news was so good that the lepers could not keep it to themselves. The city that faced death without food now had plenty to eat.

Those of us who know Christ as Savior have entered a camp of hope. We have discovered the life-giving promises. We now have life, and we have it more abundantly!

Jesus is the greatest discovery of life!

Conclusion: The good news and bad news can be summed up simply. All of us will one day die and after death, we are destined to face judgment. The many wrong things I have done, the good news is that Jesus died on the Cross to pay the penalty for all those wrong things. He offers forgiveness simply for the asking.

How about you? Have you received the good news that Jesus is willing to forgive those who place their trust in him? If you have not done this, today is a great day to do it.

If you still have questions, ask them, but don't put it off. The news is too good to refuse. If you have received the good news of Jesus' forgiveness and have placed your trust in Him, are you sharing it with others?

Thanks

Ten things God won;t ask on that day!!

1) God won't ask what kind of car you drove,
He'll ask, how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

2) God won't ask the square footage of your house,
He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

3) God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet,
He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

4) God won't ask what your highest salary was,
He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

5) God won't ask what your job title was,
He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of our ablity.

6) God won't ask how many friends you had,
He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

7) God won't ask in what neighborhood you lived,
He'll ask how you treated you neighbors.

8) God won't ask about the color of your skin,
He'll ask about the conent of your charcater!!

9) God won't ask from which demomation you came
He'll ask what you did with His Son, Jesus.

10) God won't ask why it took you so long to seek salvation,
He'll be so prowd you chose to follow in His footsteps and chose his way of life.

See if you can add to the list and if so, leave it in the comment section.

thanks.

Keeping Steady During Life's Storms!!

Scripture: Luke 8:16-­25: NIV:

Introduction: Hello world! I have not been able to post anything as of late because of several storms in my life. Not big ones, but storms just the same. (Our computer crashed not once, but twice, my wife broke her foot and several other light twisters have set down in the life of my family.)

I believe that no matter the size of the storm in our path, there is something that we need to see or learn from whatever we are going through. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and walk by faith. It sounds easy but it is not.

STORMS: As a commercial fisherman I have been in and rode out many a storm. There have been many times when we could see a squall coming and would turn and go the other way. There are some people who do just the opposite.

One of the top movies of 1996 was Twister, a movie about storm chasers who actually try to find violent storms and get in the middle of them.

Generated in part by the fame of that movie, different "Storm Chaser" organizations have sprung up throughout the country, offering information on how to chase after storms.

I don't know about you, but I have always thought it was better to try and avoid storms than to place myself in the middle of them.

Most of us don't make it our goal in life to find storms, but when it comes to the storms of life; they have a way of finding us, don't they?

Our Scripture today teaches us how to, ‘Keep Steady During Life's Storms.’

1. In the Storm of Confusion, Jesus Provides Truth (vv. 16-­18)

16) “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or put it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17) For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18) Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more: whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.

In looking at verses 16-­18, it is important to place them in there proper setting. Immediately preceding these verses, Jesus taught some important spiritual truths through what we know as "The Parable of the Sower" or the "Parable of the Soils."

Jesus emphasized that our attitude toward the Word of God can be like seeds thrown on hard ground, shallow ground filled with weeds, or on good soil. The different types of soil represent different levels of receptivity to God's truth.

I also believe, Jesus was trying to let us know that some of us have hard heads, (Thinking we know it all.)

Or shallow or busy thinking. (These shallow people do not have time for the Word of God and if they do it takes very little to uproot their faith.)

Good soil represents good people who listen, take in the Word an go out and live a life blessed by what they have learned or heard.)

In our social order, each individual wants to make up his or her own "truth." However, God says that we need to make Him and His Word the root for truth in our lives.

In what direction are you headed today?

Are you walking toward the truth or away from it?

If you're walking away, remember that God allows U-turns!

2. In the Storm of Loneliness, Jesus Provides a Family (vv. 19­21).

19) Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were not able to get near Him because of the crowd. 20) Someone told Him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21) He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear god’s word and put it into practice.”

Sometimes our families are the very ones that are causing the storms or trouble in which we are going through. Although this happens in all of our lives, when the going gets really rough, I thank God for my church family. I especially thank the Lord for my wife.

When we read these verses, on the surface it appears that Jesus is slighting his earthly family, but He is not doing that at all. Jesus always showed love and concern for His mother. When He was dying on the cross, He asked John to take care of her. He was teaching about a larger spiritual family in which you and I can find a home.

The blood of Jesus Christ provides spiritual bond between believers that is even a greater bond than physical family ties--because it's eternal! When it comes to the storm of loneliness, this truth is most comforting bcause we live in a world plagued with loneliness.

No matter what condition your biological family is in, you can find those who will love you and care for you in God's spiritual family. There’s no such thing as a perfect church, but when we trust Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become part of "God's Forever Family."

3. In the Storm of Adversity, Jesus Provides Peace (vv. 22-­25).

22) One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. 23) As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24) The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master. We are going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging water; the storm subsided and all was calm. 25) “Where is your faith?” He asked His disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.

As you read this, let your mind connect to the Holy Spirit and let these words take you where God wants them to take you.

This account takes place on the Sea of Galilee, where strong storms can come seemingly out of nowhere. This storm was so severe the disciples were convinced they were going to drown! This storm was a real storm on a sea with wind and waves, but it illustrates the different storms of adversity or hardship, we face.

Let me suggest several truths from these verses about....

"Keeping Steady In Life's Storms".

First, storms come into your life even when Jesus is with you. That shouldn't surprise us. Jesus has promised we will face storms in life (John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”).

Second, we often wait until we come to the end of our resources before we cry out to God. The disciples were expert sailors, but they couldn't handle this storm. There will always be storms that we can’t handle but Christ can? We must stay focused on Him!!

Third, They went to Jesus for help, seemingly as a last resort. This is truly what most of us do! Instead of calling on Him each day with each new start, we often wait until we are in water up to our neck and then call. We should, as people of faith, call on Him 24/7.

In a crisis our natural response is to cry out, "Calm the storm!"

Jesus did calm this storm. Sometimes He does that, but…..

Fourthly, sometimes He chooses to bring peace to us rather than to our circumstances. He may calm the outward storm of circumstance or the inward storm of our stress and emotions.

When we encounter storms or hardships, Jesus may be trying to teach us something, something we need to learn for ourselves and once we have learned the lesson, turn around and help teach someone else the same lesson!!!

Finally, with Jesus, we can always make it to the other side.

When Jesus awakened and calmed the storm, He questioned the disciple's faith. He didn't expect them to calm the storm but to trust Him for their ultimate safety.

How about you?

Where is your faith?

Have you put your trust in Jesus?

If not do so now so you will be ready when the storms of life come your way, and they will come, one is on the way right now, so be ready.

Do you have Jesus in your boat?

Conclusion: I know some of you are in storms right now--the storm of confusion, the storm of loneliness, or various storms of adversity. Trust Jesus to provide what you need.

Thanks.