EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
9/21/2026 8:49 PM
My
Worship Time
Focus: PT-2 “The Calm Before the Storm”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
8:22-23a
Message of the verses: “Now on one of those days Jesus and
His disciples got into a boat, and He
said to them, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell
asleep;”
I will continue to quote from John MacArthur’s
commentary for this section and also quoting the verse references that he puts
into his commentary.
“The lake is about thirty miles east
of the Mediterranean Sea, situated in a bowl-shaped section of the Jordan
Valley running from Syria in the north to Mozambique on the African continent
in the south. The lake is surrounded by
steep hills on all sides, which are a major factor in the development of the
sudden, violent, sometimes life-threating storms that the lake is known
for. Cooler air from the higher
elevations flows down the slopes and collides with the warmer air nearer the
lake’s surface. In addition, as the air
flows through the ravines and canyons it is compressed, and its speed intensifies. Most powerful of all are the winds that flow
from the eastern desert Heights. In 1992
the winds from one such storm generated waves ten feet high that crashed into
the city of Tiberias on the western shore, inflicting considerable damage.
“After dark (cf. Matt. 8:16) Jesus
and the disciples launched out onto the lake.”
(cf. Matt. 8:16)
“16 That evening they brought to him many who
were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed
all who were sick.”
“As they were
sailing along Jesus, exhausted from a long day of crowds and preaching, fell
asleep. Mark adds the details that
the Lord was asleep in the stern of the boat, His head pillowed on a cushion
(Mark 4:38).”
(Mark 4:38)
“38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the
cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we
are perishing?”
“Along
with being fully God, Jesus was fully human, therefore subject to hunger (Matt.
4:2; 21:18), thirst (John 4:7; 19:28), and fatigue (cf. John 4:6).”
(Matt. 4:2; 21:18)
“2 And after fasting forty days and forty
nights, he was hungry.” Ok let me
explain something that I learned about fasting a long time ago, and I have put
this info on different SD’s. When you
begin a fast you can be hungry for three days, and then after that you are not hungry. The next time you are hungry is when you must
eat or starve. Jesus was a perfect human
being along with being the second person of the Godhead. I realize that it does not say that he drank
water, but when you fast you must drink water or die, so in my opinion Jesus
drank water.
18 ¶ In the morning, as he was returning to the
city, he became hungry.”
(John 4:7; 19:28)
“7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus
said to her, “Give me a drink.”
“28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now
finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
(cf. John 4:6)
“6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as
he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth
hour.”
“This
incident is the only place in Scripture that pictures Jesus sleeping. He was calmly, peacefully resting, despite
knowing that the storm was coming.
Trusting in His Father’s plan, He was secure in the knowledge of His
sovereign power and ability to calm the wind and waves.
“It should be noted that the
reference to the Lord’s disciples encompasses more than merely the twelve
apostles. Mathetes (disciple) refers
to learner, student, or follower, someone who had some interest in Jesus, but
does not necessarily indicate a high level of commitment to Him. In fact, at this point some of the Lord’s
disciples were not saved; John 6:66 notes that ‘many of His disciples withdrew
and were not walking with Him anymore.’
When a would-be disciple said to Him, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but
first permit me to say good-bye to those at home’ (Luke 9:61) Jesus replied, ‘No
one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the
kingdom of God (v. 62).
Along with a man who professed willingness to follow Jesus wherever He went (v.
57) and one who when challenged to follow the Lord chose instead to wait for
his inheritance (59), this man chose earthly things over a full, saving
commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“The people illustrated by the rocky
and thorny soils in the parable of the
soils were also professed disciples of Christ who received His word, yet were
never truly redeemed (see the exposition of 8:4-15 in chapter 20 of this
volume.” I will now quote Luke 8:4-15.
(Luke 8:4-15)
“4 ¶ And when a great crowd was gathering and
people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And
as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds
of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell
on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8
And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As
he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him
hear." 9 And when his disciples
asked him what this parable meant, 10 he
said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God,
but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and
hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now
the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have
heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that
they may not believe and be saved. 13
And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive
it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of
testing fall away. 14 And as for what
fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way
they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit
does not mature. 15 As for that in the good
soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good
heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
“Genuine
disciples will manifest not only repentance, confession, and obedience, but
also perseverance. Jesus was about to
put on a display of His divine power designed to move those who witnessed it to
genuine faith in Him.”
9/21/2026
9:37 PM
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