i took this picture 5 years ago at our family reunion,
and this summer, devin will experience his first
ever reunion. wish him luck! ;)
a while back, i visited our church's youth group and the youth pastor (who's also a part of our bible study!) was talking about mark 6:45-50something. i took notes (on my phone--you think i had a PEN in that enormous purse of mine?), filed them away, and kept moving. but yesterday i found the note in my phone, and i want to share a few things that stuck out to me in the passage.
in case you didn't read the story, it's the one where the disciples are out on a boat in the middle of an awful storm, and Jesus walks to them on water. but why were the disciples in a boat during a storm? because Jesus put them there. in verse 45, it tells us that "Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him..." while he went off to pray on a mountainside. why the heck would he stick them in an uncomfortable spot, a place they probably didn't think they'd end up (the middle of a lake during a storm?!)??? it was a chance for him to show them his power.
besides putting those panicked friends in a turbulent spot, Jesus also approached them before he stopped the storm. he didn't calm everything down, and then head over, all like "oh hey, aren't you glad i got you through that rough patch?". he approached them, and then he calmed the storm.
looking over that passage again and the notes i jotted down during the teaching just reminded me: i am right where God put me. and as hectic/overwhelming/challenging as a place that might be, he will approach me. he hasn't left us alone to weather these choppy, boat-breaking waters!
what do you get out of that story? what other Bible passages have stuck out to you lately?
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