In Mark 4:35-41 we see Jesus perform an amazing miracle of calming a storm.

Jesus was in a boat sleeping when a storm came up and threatened to sink the boat. The disciples were terrified and thought they would drown.

One of the things I find interesting about this is they were experienced fishermen. They knew what it was to fish in all types of weather and it would take a lot to scare them.

In verse 38 we see the terrified disciples shouted at Jesus and said, “Teacher, don’t you care we are going to drown?” The next two verses is where the miracle happens…

[39] When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. [40] Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

Can you imagine being on a boat in a ferocious storm and thinking you were going to die, then all of a sudden it stops at Jesus’ command?!

The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

Earlier in the book of Mark we see that Jesus had already caste out an evil spirit from a man, healed a paralytic, and healed a man with a deformed hand on the Sabbath. This miracle was next level. He controlled nature.

I can imagine the disciples having an unfolding sense of awe as they followed Jesus. Healing people, teaching with authority, casting out demons, but telling the wind and waves to be calm. I am not surprised they were terrified!

Looking back from our position we know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. But for the disciples there would have been an unfolding sense of awe and belief in who Jesus was.

I know in my own life I had a sense of unfolding awe in Jesus too. I did not come from a family of faith so in my early twenties I started my search for God.

Slowly over time I purchased a Bible, attended church and began to pray. Over the period of six months I came to faith in Jesus. I knew I was a sinner and Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I knew I needed Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.

If you are in this search for God, I would encourage you to visit my “Find salvation” page above. It explains what Jesus has done and what we need to do in response. I hope and pray that you will find an unfolding awe of Jesus too.

Ephesians 2: 8-10 says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

One of the great truths of the Bible is we are saved by grace thought faith in Christ. This means we become Christians through God’s unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on our part. 

Out of love for God and out gratitude for this free gift from God, we should seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not just not live as we please.

While no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation, God’s intention is that our salvation will result in acts of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit, but to serve Christ and build up the church.

God wants to save us. That is why Christ came and died on the cross for us. God wants us to accept this and go one and serve Him all the days of our lives.

God wants us to do the works He planned long ago as a result of our love for Him and salvation. We truly are saved by grace to serve.