THE BOAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO SINK

The disciples has just watched Jesus feed the 5000 and the disciples had had hands on experience in a great miracle. They saw the awesome power of God. Jesus was rung out and weary. He told the disciples to get in the boat and go to the other side. He went up the mountain to pray and be alone with the father. To remove himself from the ministry of the crowds. Jesus had been training the disciples for the ministry for months, they still did not get it. They are in the boat. A storm comes up. Faith flees in the presence of fear. The enemy convinces them the boat is going to sink. They believe the lie. Jesus has been teaching them to do what he does and to say what he says. That all he says and all he does comes from the father to him and is released from him to his followers. He sends them off alone armed with faith. Trouble comes(the storm) they lose faith and embrace fear. They move from the land of more than enough (miracles) to the land of lack (we are not enough). Refreshed, Jesus comes strolling by, walking on the water. The scriptures says he would have walked by but they called out to him. We can learn an important lesson from their experience. When Jesus was not present they felt fear and they felt powerless. When he showed up faith returned and they felt powerful. With him there... everything would be all right. Peace comes to still the storm. The same thing happens to us. When we drift away from his presence we become weak and powerless, but when we pray and praise forth his presence miracles can happened, answered prayer is a surety. The thing they failed to realize is the boat was never meant to sink. It's destiny was to reach the other side. In our faith our destiny is not to sink but to reach the other side. Heaven is our destiny. Another lesson is that as soon as their faith got them through the mess they were in and they got to the other side... the person they met was a house for a legion of demons. What a reward. God has such a sense of humor. A great lesson we can learn from the demoniac is that he was indestructible. When you are in the hand of God you are so valuable that nothing can stop who you are meant to be. Think of all the man went through. He tried to kill himself to rid himself of the torment but he could not. Others bound him with chains and they could not hold him. When Jesus healed him and returned him to his right mind he sent him home to tell others what God had done for him. Get that... His reward was to go home. Our reward at the end of our destiny is to go home...a place of rest and comfort and peace to think on HIM and all He has done for us. Remember be-loved no matter the storm...no matter the world's report the boat was never meant to sink. God bless Linda.

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME

Jesus commanded us, take up your cross and follow me. Jesus' cross was the cross. Man commanded him....if you be the Christ come down from your cross. Our cross is our destiny our future . The only way we can stop following our destiny is if we willingly come down from our cross. I heard a preacher say God had given him a vision of a junk yard full of empty crosses. He asked what was the meaning of the vision and the answer he received was....these are the abandoned crosses the workers of the kingdom has come down from. They have disconnected themselves from their destiny. God is waiting for them to be restored and come take up their cross yet again and follow him. Something to think about.

I CAN HAVE ANYTHING I WANT IN GRANDMA'S HOUSE

A couple months before my mom passed last year, her and dad came to my house to visit. It was the last time she ever came to my house before she left us. My son and his 2 sons came over to visit with them as well. I had a bowl of trail mix on my table. It had dried fruits as well as nuts and seeds in it. The youngest grandson had just turned 7. He came often to the table and picked out the dried pineapple from the trail mix and ate it. The pineapple pieces were his favorite. Now my mom is old school and after about the third trip to the bowl she said I think you ought to eat some of the other things and not just the pineapple. My grandson looked at her in amazement and said quietly...I can have anything I want in grandma's house. My mom face was priceless and I burst out laughing. I said mom, he's right, he can have anything he wants in my house. I don't mind if he eats all the pineapple. I thought later of the scripture that says we have to come to him with the faith as a little child. It warmed my heart that my grand kids know without a doubt they can have whatever they want in grandma's house. We should take a lesson of the faith of a child and believe we can have anything we want in our Father's house. Salvation, healing, deliverance, miracles. God bless.

THE BLIND MAN'S GARMENTS

One of my favorite Bible stories is about blind Bartimaius in the 10th chapter of Mark. This is how the story starts...... Jesus is passing by with a crowd following him. May have been up to 2000 people. Imagine the noise level of this crowd. Even if they are being respectively quiet there has to be a murmer going on. There is a blind man begging at the side of the road. Then this blind man cries out...Son of David have mercy on me. The crowd tells him to shut up...don't bother the Master, but the blind man calls out louder and Jesus hears the cry and he stops...stands still and commands the crowd...bring him to me. When Jesus heard the call the crowd faded from him and he focased on the one man. He gives him his personal attention. The crowd goes to the blind man and tells him to cheer up get up Jesus wants to see him. Then an amazing thing happens. The blind man gets up and flings off his garment and goes to a personal audience with Jesus. Today we identify blind people because of their white cane or seeing eye dog. Then a blind man was identified with the garment they wore...so... When he stood up by faith he threw off his present his past. He threw blindness behind him. When Jesus asked him what he wanted? He said to see. Jesus said according to your faith be it done to you. The blind man received his sight and became a part of the crowd who followed Jesus. I think we all can learn a lesson from this blind man. When we call on Jesus and get his attention we need to by faith throw off our garment of fear, doubt, illness, our present our past and look to the future. That is where miracles can happen. To cast off the garments the world has put on us to identify who they say we are. We need to to look forward to who Jesus says we are.... The healed.... The saved.... The delivered. AMEN.

BRIDGE OF HOPE

If you want to be a bridge of hope sometimes you have to let people walk on you. Think about it. It is not our job to judge how the world receives our gift. It is our job to give the gift of hope and Jesus is his name. God bless.