Mile Marker 60

Life is a journey, and in two days I will be at Mile Marker 60.  My little kid’s size 3 feet have taken me a long ways.  I thank you little feet.

Looking back over the path that I have travelled over the past 60 years is exciting.  There are some really low spots, but some views from some really high mountaintops.   There have been some lazy river days, and some days that I didn’t know if I would survive.  There have been days I thought my heart would break from sorrow, and days that I thought my heart would burst with joy. 

In the beginning, I walked a lot of miles with Milo and Solomon.

The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

"There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself-not just sometimes, but always.

When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in.  On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going.  Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he’d bothered.  Nothing really interested him-least of all the things that should have. 

“It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time,” he remarked one day as he walked dejectedly home from school.  “I can’t see the point in learning to solve useless problems, or subtracting turnips from turnips.   Or knowing where Ethiopia is or how to spell February.”  And, since no one bothered to explain to him other-wise, he regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of time of all."

Then Milo and I were joined by Solomon. 

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in Jerusalem.  Everything Is Meaningless  2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”  3 What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. 6 The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. 7 Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. 8 Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content.

Looking back over the last 60 years, I will have to admit that I spent some time traveling with Milo and Solomon wondering where I was supposed to be going and what I was supposed to be doing.  There were times I wondered if I would ever find meaning.  There were times when life made absolutely no sense.  Thankfully, I can tell you that at Mile Marker 60 I no longer travel with Milo and Solomon. Looking back, it is impossible to tell when I switched traveling partners and linked up with Paul, but I did.  I don’t think it was one “AHA” moment but a lot of little moments rolled together.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

I finally figured out that the meaning and purpose of life were not a destination but were found walking day by day with the One who is the giver of life. So in two days I will arrive at Mile Marker 60.  I can tell all those who have not had the joy of arriving here yet to keep coming.  The view from here is breathtakingly beautiful.  It the view from a heart of contentment.  Where might these little feet go from here - God knows and that is all that matters.  He walked with me yesterday, He is walking with me today, and He will walk with me tomorrow.  Life is good.

Tour Guides

I have been on a lot of tours and followed around a lot of tour guides. Some tour guides hoist  brightly colored umbrellas high over their heads when the group is on the move so no one will get lost.  I tend to like them best because I have been known to
get lost, so the bright umbrella is my safety net. Tour guides come in all shapes and sizes and the good ones are passionate about the place or area to be visited and that passion is contagious.  They know all kinds of historical information, as well as, comical tidbits. The thought of the blog today is that every day I go to prayer and ask God to walk with me throughout my day. Did you hear what I pray? I pray that God will walk with ME throughout my day.  How ludicrous!  Here I am asking the creator of heaven and earth, asking the all- wise God, asking the all-knowing God, to walk with me.  I am basically saying that I will be the tour guide for this day and what do I know about this day- NOTHING!  What if today I asked God to be my tour guide pointing out the importance and value of people, places, and events in my day?  What if I surrendered my view of the day to His eternal view?  What if I surrendered my one-dimensional view for His three-dimensional view? What if I was out of control?

So I began my day. It started out pretty much business as usual and then I headed to town for prayer time at the local Christian radio station.  I needed to pick up something for my lunch, so I headed to McDonald’s with the thought of a grilled chicken snack wrap in my mind.  I arrived at the stop light ready to turn left over the railroad tracks and the train lights began to blink and the arms came down.  This is nothing unusual as Amtrak and freight trains both regularly go through Carlinville.  However, I waited a couple of minutes and no train.  Finally, I pulled out of the turning lane ready to forfeit my McDonald's grilled chicken snack wrap.  As soon as I turned, of course, the lights stopped blinking and the arms went up so I did a quick U-turn and got in line to cross over the railroad tracks.  As soon as I crossed over, I realized this was futile.  The delay of five minutes had allowed hoards of high school students to be released on their lunch break.  The line through the drive up at McDonalds was wrapped around the building and extended out into the street.  OK, I put my best Plan B into motion and swing through DQ with the new plan of going to Wal-Mart and picking up a sandwich.  All was going well.  I grab my sandwich, some chips, and a candy bar and head to the checkout.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was only one man in front of me already checking out and he only had three things.  Then he went to pay and he had no money.  He had left his wallet in his truck. Are you kidding me! He left to retrieve his wallet.  I waited and finally got checked out and head to prayer.  All seemed to be back on track. 

As we are talking before prayer began, I mentioned a man who had posted on the prayer site his desire to go on a mission’s trip and then asked people to go to his web site and donate. We have removed one post and he has then posted a new post for the last three days.  Something had to be done because solicitation is not allowed on the site; we discuss how best to inform him.  Prayer begins, and who should God put on my heart to pray for but John (not his real name).  The man I was irked at for continuing to post asking for donations.  Through God’s eyes I saw him completely different.  I saw someone who desperately wanted to go on a mission’s trip.  He desperately wanted to minister.  God didn’t see him as irksome at all. I had caught a glimpse of my guide's umbrella and followed.  I then prayed for John from God’s heart that he would rely on Him and not on his ability.  Then back to Wal-Mart to pick up a few groceries.  Once again I was ready to check out.  I once again picked a line that had only one woman in it and she already had half her cart checked out.  I got in line and then realized that this woman had a coupon for everything she is buying and I do mean everything.  She bought 10 candy bars and she had ten coupons.  And there I stood when the thought floated through my mind; do you see God's umbrella anywhere in sight?  I think I am lost again.  This was the day when I had said I would allow God to be my tour guide. I had asked God to guide me through my day, but I had paid absolutely no attention to His bight umbrella and had forged my own path.  I was in control.

I wonder what God might have wanted me to see at the stoplight while I was busy determining how long I would sit there before I gave up and went on without my grilled chicken snack wrap.  God probably had more on His mind than grilled chicken.  I wonder what He might have shown me as I quickly assessed the situation and drove through DQ and headed to WalWal-Mart I once again forged my own trail and completely lost sight of God and His umbrella.  I stood in line at Wal-Mart not quietly looking for an umbrella that would show me where God was directing. Oh no, once again I had taken off on my own path.  I was actually secretly smiling to myself thinking I had not been praying for patience so why all this practice in patience when what I had prayed once again came to my mind.  I had asked God to be my tour guide for the day and this is where my tour guide had brought me and this is what He wanted me to see. 

Boy do I have a lot to learn.  Instead of my day going perfectly smooth according to my plan and my design, my day may have what appears to be a lot of detours and interruptions but each one will be an opportunity for God to share things I would never have known and to show me wonders I would never have seen.  Tomorrow I will try to do better and keep God’s umbrella in sight, not get lost, and enjoy being out of control.

Celebrate His Love

Back in the dark ages when I was a little girl, Saturday nights were busy.  Saturday night was not for going to a movie, getting together with friends, or sitting back and watching TV.  Oh no, the whole house was on high alert.  Sunday was coming and we needed to get ready.  That meant going down a check list and making sure that clothes were clean and ironed.   I know, who irons today!  It meant finding dress shoes and making sure they were polished.  I know, who knows what polish is today.  It meant that my hair was washed and then my mom would take strips of cloth and hold it against a pencil and roll small sections of my hair up tight to my head and then tie it off.  Sunday when the rags came out my hair it would hang in soft ringlets.  Saturday night was for making sure my mom was ready to teach her Sunday School class the next morning.  Saturday night was a night of preparation and anticipation – Sunday was coming.  So when I read a story about a little boy getting ready for Sunday, I could identify completely.

The story goes that his family was much like mine and Saturday night meant getting ready for Sunday morning.  His mother had asked him to polish her shoes.  He took his job very seriously and took his time to make sure that each shoe was clean and polished. When he was finished, he carefully took them back to his mother’s room so they would be ready for her in the morning.   His mother took note of the work he was putting into making sure her shoes would shine on Sunday.  Her heart was touched by his love and so she decided to reward him and called him to her side.  She looked down at him and praised him for his job well done and gave him a quarter.  His reaction was immediate.  He would not accept the quarter and as he shook his little head and handed the quarter back he said these words, “I did it for love.”

I think of that story almost every Easter as I prepare to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.  I have spent time reflecting on the sacrifice, the pain and sorrow, the brutality endured by our Lord.  I have often wondered why He would willingly leave heaven and come to earth to suffer and die for me.  I think a little boy who polished his mother’s shoes understood the reason. 

He did it for love!

Take Out the Trash!

There were some pretty quiet times in my childhood.   I was always told that if I could not say something nice about someone, I was to say nothing at all. Deafening quiet ensued. Boy, have times changed!  Sometimes it feels like we have become a nation of trash talkers.  Being in an election year seems to have opened Pandora’s Box on all kinds of negative trash talk.  Add to that the vast array of so-called reality shows, radio talk shows, and the wide world of sports, and it seems like an avalanche of trash is careening down on us on a daily basis. Just pick up a paper (if you still have one) or read the news on your iphone, listen to secular radio, or watch TV. Sadly even closer to home, read your facebook page, call up a friend, or get three or four people together for dinner.  We feel it is our right to voice our opinion, good or bad, on anything and everything and about anyone and everyone.   I wish I could say that the Christian world was exempt, but sadly trash talk has seeped into our churches and our homes.   Our world, and if we are not careful, our own lives have become trash talk bins.   

A very basic definition of trash talk is simply a war of words.  It is getting into your opponent’s head and messing with him for your own advantage. Can you believe you can actually google steps for trash talk!  Take a look at this site on how to be a better trash talker.

http://www.wikihow.com/Trash-Talk

1.       Identify the situation. If you are only joking around with your friends on the soccer field, meaningless jests about each other's mothers is usually the most effective way to go. On the opposite end, if you are currently engaged in a fist fight and honestly want to mentally crush your opponent, then use many vulgarities and compose a mean look on your face.

2.        Continue to talk about your unending skill in whatever activity you are currently engaged in. Even if these statements are not true, use them! False trash talk is equally effective as true trash talk (although sometimes you will have to back it up).

3.       Repeat the steps as necessary. If you feel that your trash talking is ineffective, it's probably a good idea to stop. Many people have built an immunity to trash talking and therefore it doesn't affect them at all. If you run across this kind of person, your best call is to just shut your mouth and own them at whatever you are doing. If this happens it is much easier to trash talk that person next time you challenge them at this particular event.

4.       In the event that you lose, remove yourself from the situation as soon as possible. If many people hear you talking trash and then see you lose, no one will respect you. Also, your opponent could make fun of you. If you feel you are losing, stop trash talking. Continuing will only make your downfall even worse.

5.       Challenge the opponent to another match, whether you win or not. You must be willing to put your money where your mouth is, which is an expression that means to do what you say you are going to do, even when you are talking trash.

The Bible shows us some heavy duty trash talkers.  Remember Goliath calling out David?

1 Samuel 17:43 (NLT) 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods.

The King had some pretty intimidating words for Daniel.  

Daniel 3:6 (NLT)6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Moses was on the end of a long rant by Pharaoh.

Exodus 5: 1 Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”

2 Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD and I will not let Israel go.”

3 Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

4 But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” 5 Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”

6 That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”n to this exchange between Pharaoh and Moses

Jesus was not exempt from trash talk.  Listen to Satan trying to get into the mind of Jesus

Matthew 4:3 (NLT) During that time the devil[a] came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Bottom line is that we are not exempt from trash talkers or from trash talking ourselves, so how do we NOT get ourselves tangled up in a mudslinging contest where no one wins, but everyone gets dirty?  We are to live our lives with the word of God written on our hearts.   Remember how Jesus handled Satan’s trash talk - “ It is written.”

     2 Corinthians 3:3 (NLT) Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry             among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

      Luke 6:45 (NLT) A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an        evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.       

    

1.       The battle is won or lost by the tongue speaking what comes from your heart.

      Amplified Bible (AMP) Proverbs 21:3 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it (for death or life)

2.       Make sure what is in your heart is good.

     Philippians 4:8-9  (MSG) Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

3.       Expect victory

     Romans 12:21 (NLT)  Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

4.       Joy is the evidence of a trash free heart

     Psalm 1: 1 – 3  Oh, the joys of those who do not  follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners,  or join in with mockers.  2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.  3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season.    Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Every year my husband and I settle on something to give up for Lent, and this year we decided to give up negative words.  Now I have never considered myself to be a negative trash talker, but I have been unpleasantly surprised by the number of times negative words have come out of my mouth.    I am once again revisiting those quiet times of my childhood. 

Psalm 141:3

 Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;

keep watch over the door of my lips.

Dancing with David

How many of you know what the three letters PDA stand for?  If you said "Public Display of Affection" then ding, ding, ding, you win.  When I was growing up there were always two letters that went before the three letters PDA, and those two letters were NO! 

As a young person, and especially as a teenager, I heard the phrase NO PDA over and over.  The five letters even made their way into my parental repertoire of sayings passed on to my children.  There would be no handholding and absolutely no kissing in public.  Those things were also greatly discouraged in private, we just didn’t have letters for that.  It is funny how boundaries that are set up for our benefit and protection can take on a life of their own and seep into our thinking coloring every area of our life. Somehow NO PDA found its way into my spiritual life. There are definitely boundaries for displaying our spiritual affections such as...

Matthew 6:3   (MSG)

2-4"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Matthew 6:4-6  (NLT)

4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

5 “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. 6 But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

These are boundaries that are set up to keep our relationship with God pure.  Our love is to be intimate.  It is meant to be expressed in private only for God’s pleasure.  But does that mean there is no place for PDA?

So is there ever an acceptable time for PDA?

Luke 9:26 (NLT)

26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

2 Samuel 6:14 (MSG)

 12-16 It was reported to King David that God had prospered Obed-Edom and his entire household because of the Chest of God. So David thought, "I'll get that blessing for myself," and went and brought up the Chest of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David, celebrating extravagantly all the way, with frequent sacrifices of choice bulls. David, ceremonially dressed in priest's linen, danced with great abandon before God. The whole country was with him as he accompanied the Chest of God with shouts and trumpet blasts. But as the Chest of God came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, happened to be looking out a window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before God, her heart filled with scorn.

And then there is Jesus dying on a cross on Golgotha’s hill for the entire world to see.  Was His death a Public Display of Affection for you and me? I think it was.  So how do we sort out white t-shirts and red socks?  When the word speaks about not praying for the public recognition, or helping someone out for the accolades, or giving to be seen, those are our white t-shirts.  Prayer, acts of service, and giving are all ways we express our love for Jesus.  Purity and humility are vital to our relationship with God, but that does not mean we can’t dance in our red socks sometimes.  By that I mean that there are times, when like David, we dance openly before the world not caring who sees or judges because our love cannot be contained.  Jesus was willing to die on a cross for me so I should be willing to show my love for Him openly. 

If you are one of those people who has no problem with publicly displaying your affections, and by that I mean you have no problem hugging a stranger, than your red sock drawer is probably full and you need to check your white t-shirts and see if you are humbly expressing your love for the Lord in private.   For me, my white t-shirt drawer is pretty full, but I am not sure I have any red socks. I would say in my life I voted for whiter whites and refused to buy red socks.  I am wondering if the boundary I set up to protect me from pride and self-righteousness has robbed me of the joy of expressing my love. I think there are times when PDA is not only appropriate but also demanded. 

Food for thought:  David’s wife Michal scorned David for his PDA and the Bible says she was barren the rest of her life.  I am wondering if unexpressed love renders me barren? 

So look out world, I have bought my first pair of red socks and I bought a pair for a friend.  I don't think you can dance in red socks alone.  

Bigger Than the Oscars

They arrived in shiny black limos and then their feet hit the red carpet.  Yes, the stars had arrived as I watched the Oscars Sunday night hosted by  The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. The event was televised in over 100 countries and is estimated to have drawn 41.3 million viewers.  Oscars were given out for best actor, best actress, best director, best movie, and 21 other categories.  There were lavish parties and small neighborhood gatherings of friends who watched.  The excitement built as the TV broadcast the red carpet that leads everyone to the big event. The red carpet is 500 feet long and 33 feet wide and took workers two to four hours just to unroll and can actually been seen on google earth.  Along the red carpet there were a few strategically placed interviewers.  They bantered back and forth with the stars and then the question that we were all waiting to hear – not a serious question about a movie, a director, or even the actor or actress themselves, but “Who are you wearing?”  Now no one actually had a designer attached to his or her gown or tuxedo, but we still understood and wanted to know, “Who are you wearing?”  I had not seen most of the movies so all I really cared about were the dresses.  I think there is still a little girl in all of us that wants to play dress up.  Now the big names like Versace, Vera Wang, Valentino, and Ralph Lauren were batted around.  Of course, we all know that no outfit is really complete without a killer pair of shoes so Prada, Jimmy Choo, and Christian Louboutins make their way down the red carpet.  On a night like this, who you are wearing and how well you are wearing it is almost more important than if you win or lose.  The designer label matters and Monday morning was filled with the best and worst dressed reviews.

There is no chance that my little feet will ever walk that red carpet in a pair of Christian Louboutins (I hear they really do kill your feet) and there is no chance that I will ever try on a Versace, Valentino, or Lauren let alone shell out the money to actually buy one and wear it to any type of gathering, but I can say with 100 percent certainty that one day I will attend a party that will dwarf anything Hollywood could ever imagine or dream.  One day I will walk through gates made of pearls and down streets made of gold in white robes of righteousness without spot or wrinkle designed and custom made by the King of Kings just for me.  No one will have to ask who designed my robes because if you are at this party, Jesus designed your robes.  

Revelation 19:6 -8  (MSG) 

Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:

Hallelujah!

The Master reigns,

our God, the Sovereign-Strong!

Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,

let us give him the glory!

The Marriage of the Lamb has come;

his Wife has made herself ready.

She was given a bridal gown

of bright and shining linen.

The linen is the righteousness of the saints.

Stunned with Bewildered Wonder

Have you ever tried naming the twelve disciples?  I can start off with Peter, Andrew, James, and John.  I remember Matthew, Thomas, and of course, Judas.  Those other five are harder to recall, and I will have to admit I had to grab my Bible and to come up with Thaddeus.  What a diverse bunch to put it mildly.  There is Peter who was bold and quick to act and speak.  Andrew was a seeker having been a disciple of John the Baptist before following Christ, and then introduced his brother Peter to Jesus.  Peter would become better known, but Andrew was content to be second.  James and John were also brothers, and were called the Sons of Thunder.  They were passionate and part of the inner circle.  These four were all fishermen by trade. Some scholars think Philip came from nobility and loved the scripture.  By nature he was pessimistic.  He wanted to help but did not see how it was possible, but He had a true heart for evangelism and the moment he received Jesus he went and found his friend Nathanael.  Nathanael had studied the Old Testament and had doubts about Jesus, but was open to correction.  Thomas could be discouraged and is remembered for his doubts.  Matthew was a hated tax collector wrapped up in himself and making money.  Simon was a zealot fiercely opposed to Roman rule and believed that whatever means necessary to defeat Rome was justified.  Very little is known about James the Lesser.  He was not known to be a mover and shaker.  Even though little is known about Thaddeus, his dream was that Jesus would dominant the world not be a suffering Savior. Thaddeus’ claim to fame seems to be that he was known by three names Jude, Thaddeus, and Lebbeus.  Judas was called and chosen by Jesus, but would betray Jesus.

Most resource books break the disciples down into three groups with Peter, Andrew, James, and John being the top group, and just as you would expect, Thaddeus finds himself in the bottom group, but the fact of the matter is, Jesus called and loved each one of them.   Everyone but Judas, grew in their love for Jesus to the point they were willing to die for their faith.  All but John is thought to have died a martyr’s death. For someone wanting to reach the entire world with their message, why would Jesus have chosen these twelve?  I was thinking about these twelve men, and how I can see a little bit of me in every one of them.  I sometimes speak before I think.  Sometimes I am pessimistic about God's promises.  Sometimes I get discouraged.  Sometimes I doubt.  Then I read this passage ...

Matthew 8 (AMP) 23 And after He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him.

    24And suddenly, behold, there arose a violent storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered up by the waves; but He was sleeping.

    25And they went and awakened Him, saying, Lord, rescue and preserve us! We are perishing!

    26And He said to them, Why are you timid and afraid, O you of little faith? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great and wonderful calm (a perfect peaceableness).

    27And the men were stunned with bewildered wonder and marveled, saying, What kind of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him!

A violent storm came up – remember that Peter, Andrew, James, and John were all fisherman - so storms on this sea were not something new to them.  The Word says that they all recognized that they were in danger of perishing and went to find Jesus.

That is where all of us begin our journey with Jesus.  We recognize that we are lost and dying in our sins and we need a Savior.  Jesus did not put them in groups of importance.  He had called them all and he loved them all.  With a word Jesus calmed the storm.  The Word then says they were all amazed.  Those considered by men to be the leaders did not think that they could have managed on their own.  They did not think they could have found a way to rescue themselves.  The disciples that have been categorized to be servants did not say they were not worthy and did not deserve to be rescued.  They all knew they were going to die and went to find Jesus.  Jesus loved them all and saved them all.

That simple message rings as true today as it did on that day on the Sea of Galilee.  We are all in danger of perishing spiritually and Jesus is our only hope.  The good news is He loves us, warts and all, and when we cry out to Him for help He will calm the storm within us. Even after we commit our lives to be disciples of Christ, that does not mean smooth sailing for the rest of our lives.   Just like the disciples, we all face many violent storms.  Some may be financial, some health related, or stormy relationships, but no matter what the storm, the answer is always the same.  Find Jesus!  You too will be stunned with bewildered wonder and marvel.