riding in a boat, sleeping on a cushion | jay fesperman (2/3)
riding in a boat, sleeping on a cushion | jay fesperman (2/3)
Now, let’s look forward a few years and hear the instructions of Paul to Timothy, a young disciple who was being trained for leadership in the church: “Timothy, God did not give you a spirit of fear (timidity), but a spirit of POWER, of LOVE, and of SELF-DISCIPLINE” (emphasis mine). . . . What a combination! And Paul said to TImothy, “Timothy, YOU fan into flame this gift of God! This grace was given us IN Christ. NOW, through His appearing, it is meant to be put to work. Keep this teaching, this pattern of sound teaching which you have heard from me. NOW, it’s yours! Guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us” (paraphrase and emphasis mine). We hear a lot about LOVE and POWER – and we love it! But we don’t hear too much about SELF-DISCIPLINE – and we don’t want to do, do we? But the combination is necessary.
Riding in a boat, sleeping on a cushion | Jay Fesperman (1/3)
It had been a busy day, and Jesus was exhausted. It was late evening and crowds of people had swamped Him with their needs. He said to that special group of His disciples, “Let’s slip away to the other side of the lake”. So they took Him along, just as He was – no change of clothes = and put Him on board a small fishing boat. He walked directly back to the stern, dropped His parcel to the deck, and stretched out on a cushion and went to sleep. The disciples had hardly got the boat under way when a furious squall suddenly arose, and the waves began to break over the bow as it plowed eastward. But in His weariness, Jesus kept on riding in the stern, asleep on the cushion.