jon mark

this morning i was continuing a study of the book of isaiah and was reading chapter 46. there were two verses that really stood out to me. so i just sat there and read them over and over, trying to see all that i could draw from them. it was verses 9-10…

9 Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. 10 Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.

and here is what came to mind…

- the past = yesterday, 5 years ago, 35 years ago…all the way back to creation!

- how many times has God provided in the past?

- how many ways has God been able to provide in the past?

- who else has done anything close to what God has done…

NONE!

- so why do i worry or fear the future?

- why do i question whether He is able to provide for me this time…or the next?

- time after time God has included mess ups like me in that plan He has…because He does whatever He wishes…oh wait, that means that He wants to use me…

this is just a start. i’m going to continue reading and thinking on these verses. but so far, this has been a huge challenge and encouragement to me this morning.

i hope that it can encourage you in some way as well. trust in Him to get you through today because there is no other like Him…
NONE!

this week we started a fast at limacc call “21 Days To Breakthrough”. the fast was from meat, bread, and sugar. along with that fast we were given a daily study guide for Scripture reading and prayer. as i read through the passage given for day 2, Mark 4, i had things that seemed to jump off the page at me. so much so that i keep going back to it, though we’ve moved on.

here are the specific verses that i keep going back to, Mark 4:35-41…

35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.”36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. 38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” 39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” (NLT)

this is a story that i’ve heard before, more than once. but this time i observed things a little differently. here are some notes that i jotted down and keep going back to…

- Jesus invited them to join in what He was doing

- He left them in charge

- they were doing what He asked of them when the storm came

- He was physically with them the whole time and the disciples were still scared

- His own disciples, who knew Him well and were with Him all day…every day…underestimated Him!

- not only did Jesus show His power, but He did so while answering their prayers!

i’m going to continue to process this and how i can apply it to my life, but there are definitely things that i can identify with already…doing what God asks of me…storms…fear…underestimate…His power…answered prayers…OK, pretty much the whole thing!

what is your take?

what are your thoughts?

what can you identify with?

what jumps out at you?

i would greatly appreciate any input you have…it may be something i need! so seriously…

what’s your take?

sometimes…my mind just gets stuck!

i get introduced to certain songs and i can’t get the lyrics or the melody out of my head. that would be true of two songs that i came across last week. following a conversation on the phone about an upcoming opportunity to lead worship, i spent the last of my iTunes credit on the latest album by New Life Worship. i’ve really enjoyed listening to the whole album, but two songs have really resonated with me.

so i wanted to pass them on to you…i hope that these songs will minister, encourage, and challenge you in some way!

Great I Am

God Be Praised/ Our God Reigns

today i’ve got the album as my background music, as i most likely will all week long.

sometimes…my mind just gets stuck!

tonight involved a very interesting conversation about how God has been leading and challenging. any conversation with that as the topic has got to be good! tonight was definitely good. later, as i set down to read and study, i was lead to a passage and to some thoughts that i wanted to share…

isaiah 40:3-5

Clear the way through the wilderness for the LORD! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places. Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. (NLT)

the first thought that comes to my mind is that i can’t clear something or make something in a place that i am not willing to go. i have to GO to the…

wilderness, wasteland, and the rough places

the second is that God revealing His glory, is contingent on you and i being willing to go and do what He has for us to do.

the third is that my willingness to go and to do what God has for me, affects far more than just me.

so the question is, where is the wilderness, the wasteland, or the rough place that God has for me to be going? in 2012 i want to make sure that i go there, wherever it is. because that is where i can experience God’s glory. i can experience Him. and not just so that i can, so that “all people will see it”.

what about you? where are you supposed to go? will you go? will you experience Him in 2012?

wilderness, wasteland, and rough places…