Do you know this Jesus?

When I speak, I always begin with the Bible, the Word of God. It is the most up-to-date 'smartphone', because it is the only one where you can actually hear God speaking to you. Sometimes I speak from Matthew 8:23 where Jesus entered into a ship and His disciples followed Him. There was such a great storm that the ship was covered with the waves, but Jesus was asleep. The disciples woke Him saying, 'Save us, we're dying!' Jesus responded, 'Why are you so afraid, O you of little faith?!' Then He rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled saying, 'What kind of man is this that the winds and the waves obey Him?!' - Isn't it interesting that even after seeing all the miracles that Jesus performed, they still didn't recognise who He was.

I want to introduce people to the real Jesus. In this Bible story the disciples were with Jesus in the boat. A storm came. I know Galilee and how violent these can be. Even these strong fishermen were afraid! There comes a time when there are storms in all our lives and we are afraid, life is not easy. Now they were sinking and Jesus was fast asleep, in the boat! They called out, 'Don't You care?! Help us! Save us!' - How often do we feel the same way? We are screaming, 'Aren't You interested? How can You love me when You allow all these problems?!' With authority, Jesus spoke to the wind, and the sea became calm! Jesus reveals Himself through the miracles when He is in the boat with us.

Jesus changes lives. Every one of us has to go through storms. I've had cancer twice, but both times I've been healed by a miracle. We all need Jesus in the boat with us when we go through these storms, or else we drown under the crashing waves. But when He is by our side we can walk on stormy seas. The great hymn writer put it so profoundly: 'I've had many tears and sorrows, I've had questions for tomorrow, there's been times I didn't know right from wrong. But in every situation, God gave me blessed consolation that my trials only come to make me strong. Through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus, I've learned to trust in God. Through it all, I've learned to depend upon His Word… I thank God for the mountains, and I thank Him for the valleys, I thank Him for the storms He brought me through. For if I'd never had a problem, I wouldn't know God could solve them, I'd never know what faith in God could do' (Andrae Crouch, Through it All).