The Destination
“Let us cross over to the other side”
Mark 4:35
Here’s what I like to call one of those “game changer” bible lessons that can change our lives completely for good when we take it to heart. I can’t think of a better message for us all today as we go through this Coronavirus pandemic. If you have struggled at all feeling as if you are being tossed around emotionally these past couple of months read this following quote a few times until it sinks in and your spirit rises up. “The calm water is where you are at, not where you are going. The calm is in the boat with Jesus as He is the only one who can truly calm the storms of life". These last couple of months have wreaked havoc on so many lives, leaving us all in a sense longing for the way things were while living with the hope the future will be brighter than the present. With that thought in mind, a quote comes to mind today from a book titled, "A Grace Disguised" which was written by a man who lost his mother, wife and daughter in a head on car collision.
If anyone understood the hurt and heartache of being seemingly lost at sea between two ports it is this man. In the book he wrote about the struggle of trying to make sense out of the tragedy. He wrote, "Loss creates a barren present, as if one were sailing on a vast sea of nothingness. Those who suffer loss live suspended between a past for which they long and a future for which they hope." That quote sums up so many of our lives today, suspended between a life we knew and enjoyed and an uncertain future that we hope and pray is satisfying and worth the sacrifices we have endured.
In Mark 4:41 the story ends as the storm subsides and the disciples are left reasoning among themselves, “Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” What the disciples were beginning to comprehend, is what you and I who follow Christ are learning in our lives too. The destination we should be seeking isn’t heaven; the destination that provides peace from the storms of our lives is Jesus! The storm they were in served as the reminder that God is greater than our storms and that safety isn't reaching the other side, safety is the One who is in the boat with you, even in the middle of your storm. Like I said, if you and I wrap our minds around this today our lives will be changed forever.
In the book of 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul reminds us in chapter 4 that at the rapture of the church when Jesus comes in the clouds, (keep watching the clouds) we will be taken up to meet the Lord in the air and we will be together with Him forever! Not heaven, it’s better than that. We have been saved for a Savior! We get to be with Jesus forever! That’s the goal of life, to be with Jesus and the really good news for you and I today is it doesn’t have to begin when we die, it can start right now… smack dab in the midst of this COVID-19 storm we find ourselves in. Jesus is in the boat and everyone who gets in the boat with Him will make it to the other side.
There is good news for those of us who may have launched our own boat without extending an invitation to Jesus to join us, The good news is, He knows how to walk on water to come to us, as it was Jesus who promised to never leave you nor forsake you. If you find yourself being tossed to a fro on the sea of despair today invite Jesus into the boat and allow His very presence to calm even the roughest seas.
I want to remind you this morning that we who are in Christ are not a ship between two ports, though it might feel like that today and is why we walk by faith and not by feelings. The truth is, loved one, we are not lost in the sea of life. We are however on a journey and Jesus is with us, right here in the boat. Jesus is right there beside you, as He always has been. Yes, you and I will go through the storms of life but we will never go alone. The lesson we need to glean today when the storms of life hit, and they will, is to allow the storm to bring you to Jesus. Remember, this is the game changer so don’t forget that when you reach Jesus, you've reached the destination God had in mind all along! For when we reach Jesus we have reached the other shore, we are safely home!
"You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalms 16:11
I LOVE YOU!
Mark 4:35
Here’s what I like to call one of those “game changer” bible lessons that can change our lives completely for good when we take it to heart. I can’t think of a better message for us all today as we go through this Coronavirus pandemic. If you have struggled at all feeling as if you are being tossed around emotionally these past couple of months read this following quote a few times until it sinks in and your spirit rises up. “The calm water is where you are at, not where you are going. The calm is in the boat with Jesus as He is the only one who can truly calm the storms of life". These last couple of months have wreaked havoc on so many lives, leaving us all in a sense longing for the way things were while living with the hope the future will be brighter than the present. With that thought in mind, a quote comes to mind today from a book titled, "A Grace Disguised" which was written by a man who lost his mother, wife and daughter in a head on car collision.
If anyone understood the hurt and heartache of being seemingly lost at sea between two ports it is this man. In the book he wrote about the struggle of trying to make sense out of the tragedy. He wrote, "Loss creates a barren present, as if one were sailing on a vast sea of nothingness. Those who suffer loss live suspended between a past for which they long and a future for which they hope." That quote sums up so many of our lives today, suspended between a life we knew and enjoyed and an uncertain future that we hope and pray is satisfying and worth the sacrifices we have endured.
In Mark 4:41 the story ends as the storm subsides and the disciples are left reasoning among themselves, “Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” What the disciples were beginning to comprehend, is what you and I who follow Christ are learning in our lives too. The destination we should be seeking isn’t heaven; the destination that provides peace from the storms of our lives is Jesus! The storm they were in served as the reminder that God is greater than our storms and that safety isn't reaching the other side, safety is the One who is in the boat with you, even in the middle of your storm. Like I said, if you and I wrap our minds around this today our lives will be changed forever.
In the book of 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul reminds us in chapter 4 that at the rapture of the church when Jesus comes in the clouds, (keep watching the clouds) we will be taken up to meet the Lord in the air and we will be together with Him forever! Not heaven, it’s better than that. We have been saved for a Savior! We get to be with Jesus forever! That’s the goal of life, to be with Jesus and the really good news for you and I today is it doesn’t have to begin when we die, it can start right now… smack dab in the midst of this COVID-19 storm we find ourselves in. Jesus is in the boat and everyone who gets in the boat with Him will make it to the other side.
There is good news for those of us who may have launched our own boat without extending an invitation to Jesus to join us, The good news is, He knows how to walk on water to come to us, as it was Jesus who promised to never leave you nor forsake you. If you find yourself being tossed to a fro on the sea of despair today invite Jesus into the boat and allow His very presence to calm even the roughest seas.
I want to remind you this morning that we who are in Christ are not a ship between two ports, though it might feel like that today and is why we walk by faith and not by feelings. The truth is, loved one, we are not lost in the sea of life. We are however on a journey and Jesus is with us, right here in the boat. Jesus is right there beside you, as He always has been. Yes, you and I will go through the storms of life but we will never go alone. The lesson we need to glean today when the storms of life hit, and they will, is to allow the storm to bring you to Jesus. Remember, this is the game changer so don’t forget that when you reach Jesus, you've reached the destination God had in mind all along! For when we reach Jesus we have reached the other shore, we are safely home!
"You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalms 16:11
I LOVE YOU!
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February
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March
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May
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