Posts tagged "Week 5"
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By Sherry Meneley
BUT SOON A FIERCE STORM CAME UP. HIGH WAVES WERE BREAKING INTO THE BOAT, AND IT BEGAN TO FILL WITH WATER. [MARK 4:37]
When I was young I lived in Dallas, Texas. I remember much about that place; the NFL Cowboys (because I got to go to a game and meet a cheerleader), Katydids, Locusts, and Lightning Bugs (or Fireflies). But the most memorable experiences were the storms. I’m sure you’ve heard how everything is bigger in Texas, and I can personally attest to that when it comes to it’s storms. Big, bad, violent storms; filled with intense winds, loud thunder, and crashing lightening. I was so little and those storms were so big.
When the storms would come at night I wanted nothing more than to be in the safe arms of my parents. But, I would muster up as much bravery as I could, trying to make it though the storm on my own. Eventually there would come a point I could no contain my fear – I needed the safety of my parents. I would crawl out of bed, dragging my pillow, gather up my little brother, and escort us to mom and dad’s bedroom. As a child, I was certain that as soon I was in the safety of my parent’s arms, snuggled under the blankets with them, I would be safe. It didn’t matter how big the storm was, or that the electricity went out, or that our swing set was blown across the yard, or even that the windows shook from the electrical storm overhead…there was safety in the arms of my mom and dad.
Now all grown up, I’ve come to watch storms in wonder. But when the “storms of life” hit, sometimes I still want a safe place to crawl to and be comforted. That when we can all turn to our Abba, our Father and Daddy in heaven, who wants nothing more than for us to grab our pillow and crawl into His loving and safe arms. He is simply waiting for us. There is no storm to big, nor situation too immense for Him. Sometimes He will calm the storm in our life – much like Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Other times He will be our rock and safe place to cling to; He will be faithful, not letting go while the storm rages on. In either way, we can know we will be safe in the arms of God, our Father, our Abba, our Daddy.
“ABBA, FATHER,” HE SAID, “EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE FOR YOU. TAKE THIS CUP FROM ME. YET NOT WHAT I WILL, BUT WHAT YOU WILL.” [MARK 14:36]
QUESTION TO CONDISER
Are you trying to be brave during a storm on your own? Have you considered going through your Abba’s door; climbing into the safety of His arms?
PRAYER
Abba, I need You. I’m scared; this storm in my life is too much for me to handle alone. If it’s Your will, please deliver me; otherwise I need Your comfort and peace while the storm passes.
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By Sherry Meneley
YOU ARE THE GOD WHO PERFORMS MIRACLES; YOU DISPLAY YOUR POWER AMONG THE PEOPLES. [PSALM 77:14]
Miracles of awe and wonder; unexplained by science and reason.
Jesus’ miracles - healed, restored, fed, calmed, cast; and rose from a grave.
These are great and mighty; proclaiming the identity of the Son of God.
But what about the every-day miracles; the ones we experience and can forget to notice.
Every time the Bible details stories of Jesus healing others;
I’ve read a miracle.
Every time the sun rises at the break of day;
I’ve seen a miracle.
Every time a newborn cries at it’s first breath of air;
I’ve heard a miracle.
Every time I’m moved into worship by music;
I’ve felt a miracle.
Every time I’m able to forgive after so much hurt;
I’ve been part of a miracle.
Every time I‘ve held a delicate fragrant flower in my hands;
I’ve smelled a miracle.
Every time I’ve eaten a sweet and plump strawberry;
I’ve tasted a miracle.
Every time I pray and Your answer was yes;
I’ve witnessed a miracle.
God let me never forget Jesus’ miracles;
And let me never cease my wonder and awe at the miracles of Your creation.
QUESTION TO CONSIDER
What have you noticed lately that speaks of God to you; and do you see these things as miracles?
PRAYER
God, I’m thankful for the big miracles and so thankful for the smallest of miracles that I can see, smell, hear and touch every day.
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By Sherry Meneley
HE PERFORMS WONDERS THAT CANNOT BE FATHOMED, MIRACLES THAT CANNOT BE COUNTED. [JOB 9:10]
I have heard many stories of miracles, events and things that just can’t be explained. At a conference I once listened to a story of a miracle that I want to share with you.
A man was driving through an intersection one day and his little four-year-old son was in the car with him. Unexpectedly the passenger car door flew open and the little boy rolled out of the vehicle right into the middle of traffic coming from four ways.
The man recalled that the last thing he saw was a set of car wheels just about to come over the top of his son as a vary fast rate of speed. All he knew to do was cry in plea, “JESUS!”
As soon as he could bring his car to a screeching halt, he jumped out and ran to his son, fearful to discover the worse. But as he approached his crying son, he realized his little boy was perfectly all right. Not a mark on him.
But the man driving the speeding car, that had almost hit the small boy, was standing near by and had become completely hysterical in tears.
The father gathered his son in his arms and went over the to man who was now uncontrollably sobbing. He tried to comfort him. He said, “Please, don’t be upset - my son – look he is fine – not a scratch on him!” The father continued, “I just thank God you were able to stop!” That’s when the man paused, looked at the boy, then back at the father and said, “You don’t understand…I NEVER touched my brakes.”
Interesting story. It is all together possible that the car halting without brakes can be explained by no other means than a miracle. A skeptic might say that a car-mechanic could discover how this happened, providing logic to an illogical event. But from these shoes, it’s a story of a miracle. Whether God actually intervened, sending angels to stop the car, or interacted to make the car suddenly malfunction – that child was miraculously saved.
QUESTION TO CONSIDER
Do you feel like speeding traffic is coming at you from all directions? Do you need a miracle in your life? You can call out to Jesus, He saves, He provides miracles.
PRAYER
God, I ask You to come in my life and heart. Save me.
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By Sherry Meneley
THE NEXT THING THEY KNEW, THEY WERE IN A SEVERE STORM. WAVES WERE CRASHING INTO THE BOAT—AND JESUS WAS SOUND ASLEEP. [MATTHEW 8:24 - THE MESSAGE]
I used to love naps; I could easily catnap a Sunday afternoon away without a care in the world. But then “life” happened. Truth-be-told I’ve become terrible at this thing called “rest”. Like a tightrope walker, I carefully traverse the thinnest of lines between living a productive life and one that will spin completely out of control. I allow my pressures to take on a life of their own urging me to “keep doing” and “don’t stop” and sometimes shouting “get moving! There is MUCH to do and it’s all up to YOU!” Even reading that makes me feel a sense of urgency and a bit worn out.
I’ve discovered that when I’m tired, it’s much harder to handle life, even the most simple of tasks or stresses become difficult. Constant fatigue will always result in a weakened spirit; it is the natural outcome of the product. And when the spirit is weak, it is susceptible to all types of lurking prowlers.
I’m certain Jesus knew this simple truth as there are countless examples of Jesus taking moments of rest after stressful or fatiguing work. He took time to refresh, not only His body, but also His spirit. Even when He knew of impending dangers, He made time to rest – relax - refresh. Had I the pre-knowledge, like Jesus did, of a deadly storm on the day they set out to sea, the last thing I would have done was nap. Rather I’d be awake and exhausting myself with worry. But Jesus took time to rest before providing the next miracle of calming the sea.
Recently I read, “Just as ninety percent of income goes farther when we tithe ten percent of it, so does our energy when we tithe it in rest.” Jesus certainly provided this example. He knew the workload involved with His ministry years. Think about it: this would be the one time, opportunity of a lifetime, for Jesus to show God’s goodness, love and path to salvation like never before and never again. That is some serious pressure! Jesus was swamped with traveling, teaching, loving, performing miracles, gathering believers, and converting skeptics. Yet within a pressure-filled schedule, He would rest.
Even with the knowledge of pending storms in our lives, we must take time to rest. Take a nap, spend silent quiet time with God, sit in the beauty of God’s lush Earth and let peace fall over your mind, let rest sooth your body. Like Jesus, we must learn to rest so we are equipped to deal with the storms when they come.
QUESTION TO CONSIDER
Are there areas of your life/heart that suffer because of fatigue? Where is God asking you to take rest?
PRAYER
God, I’m only one person, I can only do so much about the things I worry over. I invite your Holy Spirit to work in me, provide me wisdom to know the things that are important, and what can be put to the side. Help me find times for physical and spiritual rest.
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By Sherry Meneley
THE DISCIPLES WERE AMAZED. “WHO IS THIS MAN?” THEY ASKED. “EVEN THE WINDS AND WAVES OBEY HIM!” [MATTHEW 8:27]
I have heard countless stories of people going about their business on any given day, going through the routines of life, and something happens in a split second that changes the course of the day. Maybe even the course of their life.
* A woman finds out she’s pregnant
* A man pays for gasoline just as a youth enters with a gun and corrupt intentions
* A stranger buys a homeless woman a lunch
* A performance review takes a wrong turn and a job is lost
* A car screeches to a halt, missing an unaware teen on a skateboard
* A man opens the front door to find a trembling woman saying she is his daughter
* A weak tire gives away as a family gleefully travels I-5-South towards Disneyland
* A taxi is stuck in traffic - the passenger will miss their flight on 9/11/01
* A person gathers the courage to invite a neighbor to their church’s Christmas Eve service
These are examples of the unexpected catalysts that happen in our lives. Some have positive effects, others seem devastating. But each will change the course of that person’s life.
The day that the disciples went out onto the Sea of Galilee with Jesus, it was like any other day. The routine was following and helping Jesus from place to place, they listened to him talk, and watched Him perform miracles. Up until the crossing on the sea, the Bible tells us that Jesus had already cast out demons, cured Peter’s mother-in-law, healed a leper, and much more. For the sake of discussion, lets consider for the moment that perhaps the disciples had become accustomed to Jesus’ miracles. Little did they know that the miracle they were about to witness would change the course of their lives and how they saw Jesus.
During that turbulent storm, Jesus was waked from His sleep by the fear-filed disciples. Seeing their distress and pleas, He stood – rebuked the wind – and told the sea to be still. The disciples were awe-struck as they exclaimed “WHO IS THIS MAN?!” Their shock and exclamation could leave us with the idea that the miracles they witnessed from Jesus, up until that point, had become oddly routine. Expected. From the disciples perspective, they knew of Jesus’ power to heal the sick, they had seen these things first hand; but now they had seen something all together new. Something amazing! Jesus had the authority and power to control the forces of nature. That day, the disciples didn’t expect to need their physical lives saved. Yet Jesus provided for them. But I also suspect that Jesus used the storm to create a new catalyst in their hearts and minds. It strengthened their faith to completely accept that Jesus, an all-powerful healing man – and now controlling the wind and sea, was indeed the Son of God.
QUESTION TO CONSIDER
When was the last time God changed your pre-conceived concept of Him by a display of His power?
PRAYER
God, thank You for Your hand in the circumstances of my life. Thank You for the things I see and the things I’ll only understand when I get to heaven. You are all powerful and mighty!
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By Sherry Meneley
THEN HE (JESUS) ASKED THEM, “WHY ARE YOU AFRAID? DO YOU STILL HAVE NO FAITH?” [MARK 4:40]
Jesus had spent a long day speaking with crowds; for the time being, His work was done in that place. Jesus, knowing there were matters to attend to elsewhere, told His disciples, “Lets go over to the other side of the lake”.
The lake, known as the Sea of Galilee, is an inland body of water sitting 685 feet below sea level, 141 feet deep, spanning 13 miles long, and 8 miles wide. Surrounded by tall hills, it is the drainage basin for water; as such, it can be a perilous place when crossing during any rainstorm.
Now, most of the disciples were skilled fisherman and would know a thing or two about navigating boats in this specific lake. But in all three Gospel accounts of this story, no disciple mentioned the dangers, nor showed caution or hesitation when getting into the boat. It must have been a good day for sailing, a fair weather day, as they climbed in and headed out on calm water.
Jesus, in His human flesh, was exhausted and went into a deep sleep in a corner of the boat. A short time later, the disciples found themselves in the midst of a storm. Waves beat the small boat and water began to flood the vessel. The situation was getting quite bad and the disciples began to panic. They certainly didn’t lack faith when piling into the boat with Jesus during fair weather, but they did begin to fear the worse and lose faith when the storms came on.
Isn’t that how life goes? We can be 100% on-board with Jesus and passionate about following in His footsteps (even into a boat on the Sea of Galilee). But when things start to not go our way, when things don’t go as planned, when everything in life and it’s storms start to beat us down - we begin to doubt. We can easily lose faith. We wonder why we ever got into the boat in the first place!
But just because you don’t see Jesus bailing out water with you in the midst of a storm, doesn’t mean He’s not there. Once you’ve followed Him into the vessel of salvation, allowed Him to be your captain and Savior, you can be rest assured He is always there. He is unwaveringly faithful to us.
THOUGH THE MOUNTAINS BE SHAKEN AND THE HILLS BE REMOVED, YET MY UNFAILING LOVE FOR YOU WILL NOT BE SHAKEN NOR MY COVENANT OF PEACE BE REMOVED,” SAYS THE LORD, WHO HAS COMPASSION ON YOU. [ISAIAH 54:10]
QUESTION TO CONSIDER
Have you forgotten in the midst of a storm, maybe the “storm of the century”, that Jesus not only is - but also wants to be onboard with you?
PRAYER
Jesus, you calmed the raging power of the sea, please stand by my side and calm my heart and soul in the midst of the storms in my life.
