Yesterday I went to my first ever cross country race in support of four of our Shelter Rock Church students. They all did really great. I was cheering for them near the finish line, and gave each of them a Gatorade on which I had written a note to them with a Sharpie. It was awesome talking with them and meeting their teammates/school friends. One mom wrote me and said, “[My son’s] friends thought you were a very cool youth pastor.” I was relieved to know that I didn’t embarrass them. Really great time and so proud of our students.
This past weekend our Worship Pastor Christopher Dobson mentioned this story before a specific song and it has been churning in me all week. In a meeting today the buzzer went off on the crock pot of my heart and I had some thoughts that I hope are as helpful to you as they are to me.
Setting: This story in the book of Matthew immediately follows the feeding of the 5000. Read below.
“Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid’” (Matthew 14:22-27 NKJV).
So the story is pretty clear and the point that Christopher made on Sunday was that the disciples obeyed Jesus … and by obeying they landed themselves in the middle of a storm.
It could be that you are in the middle of a storm right now and not because there is any big mistake that you have made or sin that you can pinpoint.
Realize this … Jesus knew when he sent the disciples into the boat that he was sending them into a storm. He also sent them without his immediate presence in the boat. They waved goodbye and didn’t think anything until the wind picked up. When the wind and waves reached a certain strength, they began to doubt, fear and question what Jesus had done. “Why isn’t he here?” “Why would he send us into this?” “Has he forgotten about us?” “Are we going to die?” Then Jesus comes to them walking on the water. At first they thought he was a ghost and were all the more afraid. Eventually they reconized him and then Peter asks Jesus to call to him so he can walk on the water too.
2 things stand out in this for me:
#1. Jesus didn’t immediately calm the storm when he approached the boat. The disciples would probably have recognized him a lot easier if there weren’t waves, wind, spray tossing everywhere. If they didn’t have to fear for their lives, it would be much easier to focus on Jesus.
This tells me that Jesus’s priority isn’t our comfort. He is even ok with us not being able to see him clearly. I believe the reason Jesus didn’t immediately calm the storm is ….
#2. He wanted to meet the disciples in the storm. This was the same Jesus that hours earlier they had seen on the shore, waved goodbye to and glanced back at as they drifted into the sea. When they said goodbye, there was no urgency, no fear of death, no questioning or doubting. I can only imagine how much Jesus loved being himself in that storm environment. He always cared. Always loved. Always rescued. But in a storm the disciples could finally see him for all he really is.
All that to say this …
If you are in a storm and Jesus isn’t calming it as fast as you want … it’s probably because there are parts of his nature, care and love that he can’t show you on glassy seas. Only in the storm do you see him for who he loves to be. Let him be that to you today in your storm and maybe just maybe … one day you will thank him for the storm you in right now.
Last night Adriana and I had a really fun date night! A few months ago I discovered Paint Nite on Groupon (my new favorite site for creative date nights!). Super fun! Can’t wait to do it again!
Today was another first day of school – 11th grade for Claudia, and 8th grade for Natalia. We prayed for them this morning and sent them into this school year with these words from Paul to Timothy, which I am praying for all of our students today:
“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:6-8a).
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. 3 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.
“8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, 9 for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God’s word is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
“11 Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself” (2 Timothy 2:1-13).
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
Ever since seeing my dad’s as a kid I had wanted one.
A Stanley 1.1 quart Classic Thermos.
They’re not cheap as thermoses go, so I have often passed them up. But while I was in Walmart shopping for our trip, there it was. Spotlight from heaven shining down upon it. A vision of baby angels in diapers sitting on clouds was seen, and the sound of them singing and playing harps was heard. I knew this was God’s appointed time for me to finally spring for one. And so I did. As I drove home all I could think about was how great it would be drinking Starbucks Via from my thermos in the Canadian wilderness.
I packed my supplies for the trip and was excited about all of my gear, my new Stanley 1.1 quart Classic Thermos chief amongst it all. I took an earth science class in high school, and one of the things I took away from Mr. Moore’s class, when talking about survival in the outdoors, was to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. As I looked through my gear I was sure I had everything I needed.
But then something happened. I picked up my luggage. It was heavy.
No problem. My suitcase had wheels. But my suitcase wasn’t going into the outdoors with me. All of this stuff was going to go into a pack along with my share of team supplies, including food and a tent, all of which was to be carried on my back. And so, I took the painful measure of going through my gear and lightening my load. Some things that I really liked and wanted to take didn’t make the cut because I realized they were not essential.
I went through the process several more times, and each time I made the hard choice to leave things behind. One thing that kept making the cut, however, was my Stanley 1.1 quart Classic Thermos. As we were making final preparations before getting into our canoes and setting out for the week, Greg, one of our experienced team leaders saw me struggling to fit everything into my pack. I had crammed as much in as I could fit. I sat on my pack and squeezed out as much air as I could, but my thermos was not in the pack. Greg asked, “Do you have a cup?” I assured him I did. “If I was you,” he said, “I would leave the thermos. You’re not going to need it.”
What?! O no he didn’t! No way! This thermos was coming with me! I found a couple of carabiners and hooked the thermos onto my pack. Heavy? Yes. Necessary? Do you really have to ask?
By day 3 … I had not used the thermos … not once. I forgot I was going to be up so early each day and would have my 2 cups of coffee in me before 8am. I also apparently neglected to consider that I would be busy paddling all day and wouldn’t have time to sip coffee anyways, even if I wanted to. Plus, one of the carabiners broke and I had to deal with the thermos clunking around while I was struggling to carry my pack along the trails.
Sometimes we need to leave behind things in order to get where we want to go. Sometimes it’s obvious and easy. They may be things that we know are not good for us. They might be sinful things. But then, there are other things that are not as easy to identify and let go of because they are not bad. They are not sinful. But the issue isn’t whether or not they are bad, it’s a question of whether they are essential and helpful in getting us where God wants to take us. The hard thing is letting go of the good things that God tells us we must leave behind in order to reach the great places He wants to take us.
The Apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12: “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be brought under the control of anything” (HCSB).
The writer of Hebrews said it like this: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2, HCSB). Notice the two different things: 1) every incumbrance, and 2) the sin which so easily entangles us. Not just the things that will entangle our feet and trip us up (sin), but also the things that will encumber us and weigh us down, making if difficult to move forward.
What are the sin issues that God is calling you to lay aside in order to fulfill His plans for your life? What are other things – maybe even good things – that you know are not helping you in your journey – that God is calling you to let go of?
Two weeks ago we traveled down to Yorktown, Virginia for the Mahaffy Family Reunion. The last time all of our families were all together was 21 years ago (we’ve come close at a couple of weddings) , and that was before any of my generation were married. Each family was assigned a different color t-shirt, and the numbers on our t-shirts represented the order in which we joined the family (really cool idea!). There were 55 of us in total from 83 years old to less than 2 months. In addition to the obvious joy of being with everyone and catching up, few highlights for me personally:
It was the first time my parents and all of my siblings were together in 5 years.
It was the first time I’ve seen my only brother in 3 years.
Seeing my parents with all of their 11 grandchildren at once for the first time ever.One night all of us “older cousins” and our spouses went out together (There is a 14 year gap between my grandparents’ oldest 3 children and their youngest 2, so those of us born to the older 3 all grew up together, and the children of the younger 2 are in the age range of my daughters.)
Seeing my daughter walking with her great-grandmother.
Seeing my grandparents with all of their 5 children and spouses, 17 grandchildren and spouses, 18 great-grandchildren. What a legacy!
Last month we asked you all to pray for Rachel Caldwell, one of our former students who was experiencing serious brain shunt failure while on a missions trip. She made it back to the United States and underwent surgery to repair the shunt. Last week, while we were in Virginia for a family reunion, we were able to see Rachel for a while. She is doing great, and we really enjoyed our time with her, albeit brief. Thanks for praying for this awesome woman of God!
Today was another first day of school – 11th grade for Claudia, and 8th grade for Natalia. We prayed for them this morning and sent them into this school year with these words from Paul to Timothy, which I am praying for all of our students today:
Ever since seeing my dad’s as a kid I had wanted one.
Two weeks ago we traveled down to Yorktown, Virginia for the Mahaffy Family Reunion. The last time all of our families were all together was 21 years ago (we’ve come close at a couple of weddings) , and that was before any of my generation were married. Each family was assigned a different color t-shirt, and the numbers on our t-shirts represented the order in which we joined the family (really cool idea!). There were 55 of us in total from 83 years old to less than 2 months. In addition to the obvious joy of being with everyone and catching up, few highlights for me personally:
One night all of us “older cousins” and our spouses went out together (There is a 14 year gap between my grandparents’ oldest 3 children and their youngest 2, so those of us born to the older 3 all grew up together, and the children of the younger 2 are in the age range of my daughters.)
REVKEVJR.COM 
