Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with images from Ryan Stevenson singing… In The Eye of the Storm … powerfully singing of how we can know that God is in control not matter what storm we may face.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Mark 6:49=50 [NLT] … 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him.
… The fear of death and the unknown gripped the disciples in the storm.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Mark 6:45-53 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… The disciples fear Jesus is a ghost as He walks to them on water in the midst of the storm.
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Reference Passage : … Isaiah 26:3, 40:10 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God’s promise of His peace and strength to lift us out of our fears.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus’ promise that His grace will ALWAYS be sufficient to give us the strength when we’re feeling weak.
Reference Passage : … 2 Timothy 1:7 [NKJV] … 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
… We need not fear!
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pye, teaches on a feeling we all experience, … fear. The ODB author wrote: Our bodies react to our feelings of dread and fear. A weight in the pit of our stomachs, along with our hearts pounding as we gulp for breath, signal our sense of anxiety. Our physical nature keeps us from ignoring these feelings of unease.
The disciples felt shockwaves of fear one night after Jesus had performed the miracle of feeding more than five thousand people. The Lord had sent them ahead to Bethsaida so He could be alone to pray. During the night, they were rowing against the wind when suddenly they saw Him walking on the water. Thinking He was a ghost, they were terrified (Mark 6:49–50).
Sometime, … somewhere, … we all will have to deal with the fear of the unknown, or in our feelings of weakness, … or when we face death. That’s why I so identify with the true story of Jesus’ disciples out in that boat in a terrifying storm. And then they saw something even more frightening, … Jesus walking on the churning waters of the Sea of Galilee [see photo and the highlight passage].
But when they realized it was their Rabbi, Jesus, Whom they had just seen feed thousands with so little food; and they saw the wind calm when He stepped in the boat, their fears were replaced by faith. But, later, when Jesus was taken to be crucified, they again let their fears overwhelm them, which is so like most, if not all, of us when we’re confronting with the unknown or fear of death.
So, … when will get it… as Ryan Stevenson sings in the linked song, … “In The Eye of the Storm,” … that our King Jesus is in control? And the sooner we can anchor our faith to The Rock in our storms, the sooner our fears will be replaced by God’s peace [as all the Scriptures above attest].
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for Your empowering grace to lift me up in my storms.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Help me to feel Your strength as I weather this storm today. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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