Jesus, Master of Winds and Sea

Have you ever been in a great storm, on a boat? I have. The wind was strong and the lake was full of angry waves. The waters dashed over the little boat and we were tossed about so much that we wondered if we would be able to get to the shore.

One evening, long ago when Jesus lived on the earth, He wanted to be alone, so He told His friends, the disciples, to get into their little boat and go to the other side of the lake, which was the Sea of Galilee. They enjoyed going across the lake in the cool evening. But as it started to get dark, a great storm arose. The wind began to blow the little boat out of her course, and they just could not steer it. They rowed with all their might, but they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. One of the disciples must have said, "I'm afraid we're lost! This is a terrible storm." And maybe another one sighed in despair, "If only Jesus were with us... He would help us."

But Jesus was alone in the darkness on the mountainside, praying. When He finished, He started to go to His friends. He saw them rowing and struggling on the lake to save themselves, but it didn't help a bit. All their efforts were of no use. There was no ship to carry Jesus across the water, but He was going to His friends, to help them. How could He do that? He just stepped right out on the stormy sea! Jesus walked on top of the water! Human bodies cannot walk on water, and Jesus had a human body, didn't He? It was a miracle! Jesus is God, and He _can_ walk on the waters. He can do anything.

Suddenly one of the disciples saw something. "Look!" - He must have whispered, as the white figure came nearer. "A ghost!" Fear got hold of them, and they cried out in terror.

"Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid!" the white figure spoke. That was the _voice_ of Jesus! Could it really _be_ Jesus? Yes, it really was. They had never before seen a man walk on the water. Then they gladly received Him into the boat, and the very moment Jesus stepped into the boat, everything changed. The wind stopped and everything was quiet, and immediately the boat was at the land. That was another miracle. All the night the disciples had struggled against the storm without any success, but the moment Jesus stepped into their boat, the wind stopped and they were at the shore.

Now.....this story is like a picture. It shows us what it means to receive Jesus into our hearts. How can a _person_ live in someone else's heart? I'll tell you. Jesus is really God, and He can be everywhere at the same time. He can even be inside a person. He loves us very much, and wants to live in us. But He won't come if there is anything bad in our hearts. He says that everybody has done some bad things. These are really sins, even if they are only small. God says it is like making our hearts dirty, and He wants them to be perfectly clean. If we want Jesus to live in us, we must ask Him to forgive us for the bad things we've done, and_make_ us clean. Then He will come in and live in our clean hearts. We are not able to clean our own hearts. Only Jesus can do it. We may struggle and work, and try to be good, but we can never make ourselves clean. But the moment we accept Jesus, He makes us clean and helps us to remain clean, not doing things that are displeasing to Him.

It is just like the men in the boat. They were going to die in the storm, but when they let Jesus into the boat, He saved them. God says that if we sin we must go to the place of punishment when we die, but if we receive Jesus, He will take away our sins. He will _help_ us to be good, and when we die He will save us from going to the punishment - He will take us immediately to live with Him in Heaven. That is a _beautiful_ place, where there is no sickness, no night, no fear. There are not even any tears, because everybody is happy there all _the time._ It is such a good place that nobody should miss going there.

One time there was a young boy who loved the sea. He was still quite young when he became a sailor. . He was a bright boy and a good sailor. In a few years he was made the captain of a ship. When he was on a voyage nearing the port, a man said to him, "I suppose you will anchor at the headland and send for a pilot to take the ship to port, won't you, Captain?" (A pilot is someone trained to bring ships into their ports when it might be very difficult and dangerous and this was that kind of a port.) The captain exclaimed, "Anchor! No, not I!" I will be my own pilot and will be in dock with the morning tide." And do you know what happened? Something very sad. Yes, he was at the shore in the morning, and pieces of his ship, but he was dead and the ship was wrecked. He would not have a pilot.

Our lives are like little boats on the sea. What about your little boat? Are you going to say, "I am my own pilot. I will do as I like and go my own way!" If you say this, there will surely be a wreck. Or are you going to ask Jesus to come into your ship? He will be your pilot and take you safely to Heaven. He is the only One Who can take you there, for He died on the cross for our sins. He took the punishment for all the wrong (bad) things we all have done... But this will do us no good unless we receive Him into our own hearts, as our Saviour. The disciples gladly received Jesus into their boat. Will you gladly receive Him into your heart? You can do it right now, if you want to. You may tell Him, "Lord Jesus, I am sorry for the sins (bad things) I have done. I believe you died to take my punishment for me. I receive you now as my Lord and my Saviour, to live in my heart and to pilot me to heaven. Thank you for making me your child. I want to love You and obey You. Amen." If you pray to Him like this, His Spirit will enter your heart and stay with you always.