My good friend Aaron Newcomb shared just a short word yesterday at church and I was convicted to look deep in my own heart and ask some pretty serious questions. I thought I’d pass it along…
Matthew 4: 35-41 says, That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
The disciples had seen Jesus tell interesting stories and bring eternal truths out of such common things as shepherding or seeds. They had seen Him as a healer, changing the lives of the blind and the lame. They had seen Jesus as a teacher. They knew Him as a brother and a friend.
But this was something completely different. This time they saw Him in a much different light. He was the creator and the wind and sea and sky obeyed His every word. He was God of the Universe. He was the mighty God, the all-powerful God.
Last night while I was doing Advent with my kids, we started talking about one of the names of Jesus, “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” Like it or not this is the season we celebrate God with us. You’ve seen Him as the baby in the manger but are you ready for the God of the Universe?
Are you living your life everyday like Jesus Christ really is what Isaiah said He was…Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace? (Isaiah 9:6) Are you ready for that kind of life changing power in your life? Can you deal with that type of presence?
This season you will be tempted to see Christmas as many more things than the day we celebrate Christ’s birth. But the challenge is to see Him as the mighty God of the universe, who has come…come to live with us…with you. Are you ready?
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