SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/21/2021 10:09 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “The Portent”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 8:27
Message of the
verse: “27 The
men were amazed, and said, "What kind of a man is this, that even the
winds and the sea obey Him?’”
Let us begin by looking at what John
MacArthur writes about the word “marveled.”
Thaumazo (‘marveled’) refers
to extreme amazement and can carry the idea of portending.” (“transitive verb. 1:
to give an omen or anticipatory sign of. 2: indicate, signify.” MacArthur goes on “The men could not imagine ‘what
kind of a man’ Jesus was, ‘that even the winds and the sea obey Him.’ Mark reports that, along with their great
amazement, the men were also ‘very much afraid’ (4:41). They were now more afraid of the One who had
stilled the storm than they had been of the storm itself. Many of them had encountered dangerous
storms, but none had encountered such supernatural power as Jesus here
displayed.” I find the definition of the
word “portending” and” Portent” very interesting.
Let us look at what happened after
God had declared His great power to Job as seen in Job 42:5-6 “5 "I have heard of You by the hearing of
the ear; But now my eye sees You; 6 Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and
ashes.’” Another example comes from
Isaiah’s experience in Isaiah 6:1-5 “1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw
the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe
filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two
he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And
one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of
hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." 4 And the foundations of the
thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was
filling with smoke.5 Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I
am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my
eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’”
Just a comment on this and that is some have wrongly stated that this
section of Isaiah speaks of his conversion, not so.
Two
more experiences, one from Daniel 10:8-9, and then the conversion of Saul of
Tarsus found in Acts 9:4, and 8. “8 So I
was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for
my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But
I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I
fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.” I did miss one and that was from Luke 5:8 as
Peter experienced the great catch of fish “But when Simon Peter saw that,
he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord!’” “And he fell to
the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting Me?" Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were
open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into
Damascus” (Acts 9:4 and 8).
I
really cannot imagine what these men went through while in the boat where Jesus
stopped the storm and calmed the sea, when Job saw the Lord, when Peter saw the
great catch, or when he was allowed to walk on the water in another storm, even
though his faith seemed to slip, or what went through Saul of Tarsus when Jesus
came to him as he was going to destroy believers in Damascus.
1
We sing the mighty power
of God
that made the mountains rise,
that spread the flowing seas abroad
and built the lofty skies.
We sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day;
the moon shines full at his command,
and all the stars obey.
2 We sing the goodness of the
Lord
that filled the earth with food;
he formed the creatures with his word
and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how your wonders are displayed,
where'er we turn our eyes,
if we survey the ground we tread
or gaze upon the skies.
3 There's not a plant or flower
below
but makes your glories known,
and clouds arise and tempests blow
by order from your throne;
while all that borrows life from you
is ever in your care,
and everywhere that we can be,
you, God, are present there.
On Thee each moment we depend,
If Thou withdraw we die
O may we ne’er that God offend,
Who is forever nigh.
MacArthur concludes this section and
this chapter with these words “The same Christ who stilled the Sea of Galilee
is the Christ who keeps every atom and every star in its orbit. He keeps the universe in balance and provides
for each plant and animal. One day He is
coming to restore the world that sin defiled, to make completely new the
heavens and the earth. Even He is the
God who gives eternal life to those who trust in Him, and who will calm their
every storm and give strength for their every tragedy.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I am very thankful to worship a God who has
the power to calm the storms in my life, who cares for me more than I can even
realize, and for that I am truly grateful.
My Steps of
Faith for Today: I trust that the Lord,
who is in control of all things, will bring the people to our prayer meeting
for revival this evening that He desires to be there and that through His
Spirit things will progress on His time schedule.
4/21/2021
10:43 AM
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