Wednesday's Word-That There's a FAST BOAT!

On with the adventure toward one of my top 5 favorites in the Bible, I wanted to come atcha with ANOTHER MIRACLE this week! So, flip to John 6: 16-24, and let's get on our way! Oh, and don't forget your life jacket...this could get intense! !)

MIRACLE #2:

For the record, this is NOT the second miracle Jesus did. It is NOT even the second miracle recorded in the book of John, but it IS the second miracle I'm going to talk about.

Jesus had just finished feeding 5,000 people dinner (yes, five THOUSAND-but probably more like 15,000 people when you count women and children). Right. THAT would be the miracle right BEFORE THIS miracle. Jesus went to be by himself (a rare occasion) while his disciples jump into their boat and head out for Capernaum. It's dark, it's windy and the waters are rough, and they're exhausted (but well fed). They've been rowing for 3-3.5 miles by now (ie. they are in THE MIDDLE of the lake). This is where I have to stop and tell you a story...

When I was about 8-11yrs old, my family moved to Madrid, Spain. (Remember? My dad was a pilot in the Air Force) Anyhow, ALMOST daily in the summertime, I would walk to the pool with my friends. I have this vivid memory of my friends and I trying our darndest to actually walk on the water at the swimming pool. We would get a running start (followed by the whistles from the lifeguards and WAAAALK!)...splash. We would try to tiptoe in...splash. Anyone else ever try this? Okay, get ready for it:

I cannot walk on water.
There! Secret's out! Phew! That was intense!

Okay, so moving on...Jesus is on the mountain by himself, disciples are in THE MIDDLE of the lake in a boat. And...OUT. WALKS. JESUS.

NOT-"out SWIMS Jesus."

NOT-"out ROWS Jesus."

NOT-"out SURFS Jesus!"

OUT-WALKS-JESUS!

At this point, his disciples are scared. Imagine a bunch of fishermen rowing in the middle of the lake, out WALKS...A MAN-you'd be scared, too! That's just something you, um, don't see everyday in the middle of a lake? So, Jesus basically says, "Guys, guys, it's just me, don't worry!" Their response (paraphrased)? "OH! PHEW! I thought something WEIRD was happening, but it's just YOU!" !)

The good news about this week is that this "Miracle #2" is actually a TWO-FER. We get two miracles in one small bit of Scripture! The part that comes next pretty much boggles my mind!

"...immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading." (vs. 21)

"IMMEDIATELY?"

Remember! Jesus is a CARPENTER!

He's NOT a fisherman!

He is NOT a navigator!

He also, consequently, is NOT a Baker (He fed those 5,000+ people bread)

OH! And, if you're thinking from last week...He is also NOT a winemaker!

But, when He got into this boat, the boat

IMMEDIATELY

REACHED

THE SHORE WHERE THEY WERE HEADING!

Now, I don't know if this was some sort of Biblical molecular transport, or if it was something like THIS, but either way, this was phenomenal!

The next day, that crowd that Jesus had fed started looking for Jesus because they noted that the disciples got in their boat WITHOUT Jesus and rowed away, and verse 24 tells us that "Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus." I think John included this part so that instead of there only being 12 eyewitnesses that a miracle had happened, there were 5,000 or so.

So, what I hope you take away from this passage is this: That Jesus has some sort of supernatural ability to do things that NO ONE ELSE can DO (ie. walk on water. Remember? I tried. I failed), and that He is MORE ABLE to do a job that a professional could NEVER make happen (These professional fishermen could have NEVER made their boat immediately reach the shore)!

'Til next week, Smooth Sailing!

The Big Apple-Leann style!

I was recently blessed to be able to spend two days with my dear friend, Leann. She was one of "my Young Life girls" until she graduated last year, and now I call her "friend." I'm so proud of her! She is a wonderfully amazing dancer, and she's studying dance in New York City now. I miss her friendship and her childlike faith terribly, and I am amazed at how much she's growing as a person and as my sister in Christ now that she's not tucked safely under my wing! I just love this girl to death!

I took Leann and her roommate to my favorite Italian restaurant in Little Italy, La Mela, where we chowed down. Leann and I then mad rushed to The Met and oogled over the famous artwork we saw! The next morning, I was so excited to worship with Leann at her new church home, C3 Manhattan! WHAT AN EXPERIENCE! God's Church was alive in New York City-right in the New York Times building! Listening to their Australian pastor was such a sweet treat for me! He preached from the book of Matthew (Matthew's theme being how Jesus was KING and LORD!). A little peek into the sermon from Matthew 7:21-23 reminds us of how God defines salvation: 1) We must recognize Jesus is LORD! He is KING! And we must, therefore, allow him to be LORD and KING in our lives. That's not all! 2) We must do the WILL of God to enter the Kingdom of Heaven! And, 3) We must have a friendship with Jesus! Check out how, in vs 23, Jesus would say to them, "I never knew you." HE-LORD AND KING-wants to KNOW---US! Team that message up with hearing "BRILLIANT and ELECTRIC" with this oh so Australian accent and some MAGNIFYING worship, and you get where I'm coming from! So, to put the LORD in the place where He belongs, a place HIGH UP, a place where we can ESTEEM HIM and MAGNIFY His name! To put Him in a place where we will bow down in worship and humble ourselves before Him, is His very desire!

After church, Leann and I went to Alice's Teacup! (Big, very serious pause) Next time you are in New York City. DO! NOT! LEAVE! without eating here! Teatime with Leann was so great! And, the scones, cookies, cake and tea were so VERY, VERY delicious! I took a bit of a cookie, and pondered to myself that "This must be a magic cookie straight out of Alice and Wonderland" before I gave Leann "The look." The "I could never eat anything for the rest of my life just to savor this flavor" look. And, just to top off the cookies, when I tasted the cake, I actually got goosebumps! HAHA!

After teatime, we went to The Cathedral of St. John the Apostle. Amazing. The outside of the cathedral was beautiful. No detail was left undone. I was touched when I saw this detail in one of the pillars outside. I can hardly believe it's been almost 10 years. It was a very somber reminder that I was in NYC. After spending some time outside marveling over the details of the cathedral, we entered to the angelic voices of a children's choir preparing for mass. My breath was taken away. The inside of this structure was nothing short of magnificent! I wanted to drop to my knees in worship. I felt SO small inside this building that must have had 50 foot ceilings or better. Every detail was amazing! And, I thought back on the sermon we had just heard...it all came together! God is even bigger than that cathedral, and the power and majestic-ness inside that cathedral was a drop in the BUCKET compared to the power and majesty of MY KING! Here are a few more pictures from inside the cathedral

If you walk around the cathedral to the back, there is a quiet garden (yes---it's quiet! In the middle of the city!) with PEACOCKS! What a fun suprise!

After spending time in the garden, we meandered through Central Park chatting on our way back to pick my stuff up, and the time I had with her was over. I used to see this girl three times a week (or more), so my 24 hours with her were not enough, but it was precious! Thank you, sweet Leann, for hosting me and showing me YOUR New York City! I can't wait to come back for another taste of Wonderland! :)