Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. Psalm 119:165 NIV

Great peace! WOW! I don't know about you, but that phrase excites me.

We live in a world today that is looking for peace. Oh, you can call it contentment, success, adventure, or any other catchy name, but the bottom line is, people are looking for

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything. Mark 4:33-34 NIV

Before you begin reading this series, will you do me a favor? Actually this wouldn't be a bad practice everyday,

That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Mark 4:35 NIV

Are you remembering that Jesus had a calculated purpose for everything He did during His time on earth? When Jesus led His disciples to the "other side", there was more to it than just a midnight ride!

There was work to be done on the other

Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. Mark 4:36 NIV

Not fully knowing all of Jesus' intentions for a nighttime boat ride, the disciples followed their Lord's lead and got into the boat. I love the phrase, "they took Him along, just as He was".

At some point in your

Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. Mark 4:36 NIV

Jesus was teaching the disciples a valuable lesson about Himself, and that's the overall theme of the story in this series. We tend to focus on the disciples and Jesus, because they are the central characters in the

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Mark 4:37 NIV

Furious: Violent anger or dissatisfaction.

Squall: Violent, sudden storm.

Furious Squall: Violent, violent, sudden storm.

Ever heard of over-kill? This is a double usage of the word violent. This sea was an area prone to violent and

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?" Mark 4:38 NIV

To fully understand the truth of this verse you have to know and believe that Jesus was fully man and fully God. Being fully God meant that Jesus knew the storm was coming. Being fully man meant that Jesus

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. Mark 4:39 NIV

In the margin of my Bible I always like to write the word "Duh" beside this verse. When Jesus speaks peace into a storm, the winds die down and it is completely calm. Everyone knows that! Don't they?

You may be

He said to His disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:40 NIV

In the Mark account of the storm calming that we have been studying Jesus implies that the disciples have "no" faith. In the Matthew account of this story, Jesus said, "you of little' faith". In the Luke passage He asked, "Where is your faith?" I did a

They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!"

Mark 4:41 NIV

Who is this? When God calms your storm, you'll be asking the same question. God is still amazing people today! The disciples had a life-changing encounter with the Living God and they would never be the same.

There is a truth in this

They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galiilee" they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:10-11 NIV

Jesus had given

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV

This week we are going to look at the issue of satisfaction. Are you content with where you are in life? Are you satisfied? We will be using the wisdom of Ecclesiastes. Solomon, the wisest of the

As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? Ecclesiastes 5:11 NIV

The more we get, the more we spend. Ever heard that before? Are wealthy people more satisfied than those not so wealthy? Probably not the way we would think they are.

Every time my income has gone up in

The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. Ecclesiastes 5:12 NIV

In my professional career, I have never had a job where when I leave my place of work, I leave the work behind too. I have always had positions which required me to think about work even when I got home.

Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him-for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of

"Then the archers shot arrows at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's men died. Moreover, your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead." 2 Samuel 11:24 NIV

Uriah the Hittite, the husband of Bathesheba, died in battle because of the sin of David. He died an honorable death, but a senseless one indeed.

Today, as we honor in America those

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Leviticus 17:11 NIV

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. Exodus 12:3

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 NIV

There is no other way. Yesterday we saw the importance of blood. Today we see again the importance of the shedding of blood. Without it, there would be no forgiveness. Can you say thank you God for

He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:12 NIV

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,

God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:25-26