Wednesday, May 18, 2011

May 18

Be careful not to read too quickly when you are exploring Scripture. And part of reading too quickly is allowing the more popularized content of a certain text to overshadow other equally, awe-inspiring details that are forgotten.

For example, the account of Jesus walking on water is so popular that it is part of the vernacular of modern language. How many times have we heard someone exclaim in a moment where they felt too many demands being placed upon them, "What, do you expect me to walk on water too?"

Yet, right here in John 6, we find another phenomenal supernatural event. If however we are reading too fast or if we are simply scanning the story believing we already know the details, we miss the second half of verse 21, "...and immediately they arrived at their destination." Really?

They were in a storm, they had been rowing for hours without making any progress against the storm surge, they were taking on water, fearing for their lives... Jesus steps into the boat (yes, after having walked to them on the water) and as soon as He enters the boat, BAM, they are at the docks in Capernaum! If you are prone to motion sickness, I wonder if time travel is dizzying? They are in one place and in an instance, they are in another. We recently acquired a phone with GPS capability, we named the voice Barb...I can hear Barb now, "Rerouting..., wait, what?"

But it is the first part of verse 21 that is the deepest of meaning for you and I, "Then they were eager to let Him in the boat..." Are you eager to have Jesus captaining your ship? Let's read with expectation of continued revelation, regardless of how many times we have read the same story before...and let's slow down and find new truths that have escaped us in the past but should be defining us in the present!

Pastor Fred

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