A little push out the door?

 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.” (Mark 6.45)

Why would Jesus “make” his disciples get into their boat? 

After all, the majority of the disciples were fishermen, owning their own boats, experienced with fishing on the Sea of Galilee. Why would they need to be “compelled” or “constrained” or “forced” to get into their boats? It looks like they needed a little “push out the door” on this occasion.

Interesting trivia: this is the only instance in the Gospels when Jesus “makes” the disciples take a trip in their boat. There are 32 other references to Jesus and his disciples using the boat, and in each of these, they simply get into the boat. No convincing needed.  

There was something about this setting in Mark 6 that seemed to require a little push out the door from Jesus to get his disciples going.

We can only make an educated guess about the circumstances, but we can glean three facts about this story.

First, we know the disciples had just finished a long day. Jesus gathered yet another crowd, healed many of them, and ended the day with another miraculous feeding of the masses.  The disciples were the ones who had to distribute the food to over 4000 people. That must have been real work! Maybe you know from experience how much energy and patience is involved in doing a food outreach! We can assume the disciples were tired, and maybe a little irritated that Jesus chose this occasion to send them on a trip across the lake. 

Second, the boat being used was probably a typical 1st century Galilean fishing vessel. Archeologists have discovered several of these boats – 26 feet long, 7 feet across, with flat bottoms that enabled them to come close to the shore. We know that the means of propulsion was either a sail or oars. Either way, it was physical labor navigating these sturdy little boats – and given their shallow draft, these were hard to manage in the midst of a storm. 

Third, it was late in the day, probably around dusk, and a storm was brewing. Certainly fishermen in that culture were experienced with fishing at night; but they also knew how to discern the approach of bad weather. We know that later that night Jesus “saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.” If the disciples saw a storm coming, they knew they would be navigating without benefit of the stars for navigation, in a boat that could easily capsize or be swamped in a storm. 

So, it’s easy to guess why the disciples needed a little push to get into the boat.

Simply put: they were weary and they saw trouble coming. Taking this trip at this time, in that boat, made no sense. 

Can you see why Jesus had to “make them” get into the boat?  From their experience and with their expertise, this journey needed to wait till morning! Can we hear them muttering under their breath – “Why now? Why here?”

Take a look at the entire story in Mark 6.45-52, and you’ll see what Jesus was up to. 

The disciples were being sent on a mission that would only be successful with Jesus. Natural elements and human limitations would not prevent them from getting across the lake. Jesus shows up when and how he chooses, and they’re able to complete their journey. 

Here are three lessons we can learn from this story.  Take a moment and consider:

1. Jesus doesn’t need our skill or our strength to complete his work through us.

2. He decides when and where he sends us because he is the power in the mission.

3. And, we can expect Jesus to show up in his time, and in his way. 

We only have one work to do when Jesus tells us to go: get into the boat and start rowing!

 

 

Dear friends of the Table Fellowship,

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!  (1 Chronicles 16.34)

Last year at this time, the lock-downs and the quarantines were just beginning.  Life as we knew was abruptly changing. Stores closed, sporting events were cancelled, millions of jobs were lost… churches shut the doors of their buildings. And The Table stopped meeting at the Wallis house (affectionately known as Lindisfarne) and we began learning about Zoom.

Terms like “virtual” and “live stream” and “social distance” became part of our day-to-day jargon. We could not meet personally, so we became dependent on “Zoom” and FaceTime and on meeting in new ways.

As a fellowship called “The Table,” this COVID experience has been both strange, but by God’s grace, very fruitful.

It’s been strange because “the Table” is not gathering for dinner or Communion around a table right now. Our personal meetings are in small groups of 2’s or 3’s, on Zoom, or on our front porch. A friend suggested (tongue in cheek!) that we re-name our fellowship, “The Porch.”  Not going to do it, but we get it!

In the midst of it all, our Table journey has been very fruitful in several ways!

First, God has been working in our “groups of 2’s or 3’s.”  We have continued to stay connected, and to stay in the Word through Zoom or through personal meetings that are “socially distanced.” The work of making disciples has not stopped. It has just needed new mediums or methods!

Second, the Holy Spirit has been meeting with us during our Zoom calls each week. We are truly grateful to the Lord for the technology that enables us to see and hear one another when we can’t be together in person!  And it has been fun to be like the Early Church who met “in their homes” with hearts that “were glad and sincere” – but in our case, we’re meeting “in homes” through internet software! (Acts 2.46)

One unexpected blessing has been welcoming new friends on our Sunday Zoom calls who live in other countries – Venezuela, Colombia, and Honduras. Right now, we’re learning how to be a multicultural church online!

Third, God has been giving us creative outreach work through Zoom gatherings or social media connections. For example, we are part of a monthly Zoom call to continue our conversation about Social Justice and the Kingdom of God. On these calls, we share resources, we pray, and we invite one another to share in local opportunities for work and witness.  Our regular “members” of these gatherings are leaders, both lay and ordained, who live in four different cities across the U.S.  This is yet another unexpected blessing of using Zoom in our current season of being “together, apart.”

God’s call to reach the World with the Gospel hasn’t changed, but our way of reaching the World has had to change. It’s thrilling to realize that millions of people around the globe have been hearing the Good News of Christ through online streaming services or online webcasts. Prior to COVID, watching church online was a novelty or a “second best” option for people unable to travel. But since March 2020, the Gospel has been transmitted to all continents each day in new ways.  We praise the Lord that in the midst of sickness and loss, his Gospel is going forth to bring hope and good news.

 As we journey together in 2021, let’s magnify God for his faithfulness and mercy. This crisis has not taken God by surprise.  It is encouraging to remind ourselves that our lives are hidden in Christ with God (Colossians 3.3). At the heart of it all, we are sojourners and aliens in this world. As C.S. Lewis wrote, we experience “pleasant inns” in our life, but the Lord wants our hearts to be set on a heavenly home.  As Followers of Jesus, we have acknowledged that we are strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland (Hebrews 11.13,14).  

God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you throughout 2021, and as we look to our heavenly homeland!

Rick & Carol

What kind of hope do we need?

In March 2020, without warning, most of us were asked (or forced) to leave many good things behind. And we found ourselves in a very new place – “quarantine” and “social distancing” – wearing safety masks and gloves for the sake of others.

And now, in the midst of this COVID pandemic, we are in a world that seems shaken by uncertainty and fear.

Many of us are suffering personal loss in this pandemic. Many are suffering abrupt unemployment; many have lost loved ones to COVID; and many people live with the gnawing uncertainty of caring for loved ones.

And for most of us, quarantine and isolation means losing the freedom to enjoy the “good and normal” things of life – like going out to a favorite restaurant… shopping at the local Farmer’s Market … strolling through the museums … picnicking at the park… going to a baseball game…

Like everyone, I hope for the day when I can do these “good and normal” things once again

But if we’ve learned anything recently, it’s that we aren’t guaranteed of anything, much less the good and normal things in our life.

So, it might be a mistake to harbor a heart-felt, personal hope that life will be “good again” some day – a hope that once this quarantine is over, everything we need and want in life will be returned to us, and we’ll be “good.” 

Frankly, I can feel the tug in my heart to find assurance in that hope - that one day, these good and refreshing things will be returned to us, and that I can relax again.  I feel the lure of hoping for a life that will be better, and somehow that “better” will provide peace and joy.

And yet, this lure or tug in my heart feels a lot like idolatry to me.

We tend to think that idols are inherently evil. But an idol is anything we desire, or seek after, in place of God himself. In fact, our idols can be some of the good things given to us by a good and loving God. We can look to his good gifts for comfort and hope before we want to trust him or know him.

It is interesting that this COVID crisis is happening during the Christian Easter season. Easter is all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection is all about hope.

As Christians, we share a  “…living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”

For those who love Christ, “hope” is not wishful thinking. Hope is not simply wanting the best, or trying hard to think the best. Hope is not seeking the assurance that “we’ll all make it through this!”

A “living hope” is the expectancy that God is all we truly need. That in him, we can find true and lasting peace and comfort and provision.

Christ’s resurrection makes possible a “living hope” that can bring joy and peace in the midst of sorrow and fear. This kind of hope is alive with the expectancy that we will know the power of Jesus’ resurrection in our hearts and in our lives. 

The theme of hope is echoed in a recent article by my friend, Esau McCaulley in Christianity Today. Esau writes, “The somber season of Lent seems perfectly suited to the moment. This is a time of    national lament. But as we turn the corner toward Easter, dare we say more? Dare we speak of joy and resurrection in a world that feels like it’s in the shadow of death? If the prophets of the Old Testament have anything to teach us, it’s that precisely in the darkest moments of our history, we need divinely inspired and freshly articulated hope.”

The resurrection is proof that God keeps his word, and that he is everything he claims to be – our rock, our refuge, our redeemer; our healer, our helper, our hope; he is the one who holds us in the palm of his hands; he is the Lord of our lives, the lover of our souls, the life of the world.

So, I close with this prayer for you, this Easter season: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15.13)

An unexpected journey to the grocery store

As a Florida resident, I have personal experience with preparing for hurricanes. We stock up on canned food, bottled water, essential meds, paper products. We expect to see the anxious looks on people’s faces as they jostle in grocery stores or home supply stores. We hear regular updates on TV about “models” and governmental proclamations.

But I was not prepared for this.

My first visit to our local grocery store soon after the outbreak of the coronavirus in our country was, in a word, bizarre.

A day after the president’s declaration of a national emergency, I went shopping for a couple grocery basics at 8.00 AM on Saturday. When the concerns about this virus began to ramp up earlier this month, we had stocked up on many of our basic needs, so we had prepped. But, on that Saturday morning, I had a short list of important items, and I thought I’d get a head start on the day.

As I walked through the store, I saw empty shelves, empty displays, and long lines. At 8.00 AM on a Saturday! All the items on my short list were missing. No milk. No chicken. No bacon. No bread.

I was stunned. I felt a shot of adrenaline, and real fear.  I had never seen anything like this before, not even during the days prior to Hurricane Irma back in 2017.

The store clerks didn’t know when new supplies would come. As soon as the shelves are stocked, they said, people load up their carts (hoarding food, more to the point), and check out.

And for the first time in my life, I felt fear that we might not have all the food we need – not a voluntary worrying, but a natural, knee-jerk reaction type of fear – a fear of wont.

The anxious energy in that store was thick. So many shelves were barren. Many questions hung in my mind like a mobile, spinning around. The normal routine of life had suddenly been taken away. My reliable American food chain did not seem that reliable.

Then something that Jesus said came to mind: “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat ..."

Wow. That’s real. 

Back in my car, on the way home, more of Jesus’ words came: For the nations seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6.25,31-33)

I knew it was time to work this out.  And it is hard work trusting God in the midst of these unprecedented crises. But this is a time when his Kingdom can be expressed in unprecedented ways!

And we get to be part of that!  What an unexpected journey this is!

Can we see this crisis from Jesus’ perspective?

When Christ is the center of your heart

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4.4-5)

Paul wrote these words while he was alone and separated from his loved ones, unable to visit or be visited. He was in jail. But his incarceration was unfair and unjust – he didn’t deserve this isolation.  Yet… he was able to rejoice and trust that God was near, even in his dark and fearful experience.

Many of us can relate to Paul in our current experience: isolated, separated, unable to visit or be visited… but not as a result of our actions or offenses.

Self-isolation and self-quarantine are essential community behaviors that can save lives and protect our communities in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic.

But that doesn’t make us feel any better about it, right? Many of us are feeling frustrated, fearful, and anxious.

When I am anxious or fearful, and I allow that anxiousness to dwell in my heart, it will direct my reactions to people. I am not gentle with others, but impatient and aloof; there is no evidence in my words or behavior that the Lord is in near – or that he is here in our midst.

But when I bring my anxiousness and my fears to Jesus, I can turn them into prayers and requests, and he replaces that turmoil with peace.

⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4.6-7)

His gentleness becomes evident, because the Lord is near – he is in our midst.

And that can bring encouragement and comfort to others. Just like when Jesus calmed the storm – he calms the storms in our hearts and minds.

Today, and in the days and weeks ahead, we can learn to bring to Jesus our fears and frustrations – and turn them into prayers. We can thank him – for all he is, and all he has done.  We can look to him, even when our hearts or minds are rattled with anxiousness.

Jesus can work into our hearts and minds a peace that the world cannot give us, but a peace that only he can give.

Here is a wonderful version of Philippians 4.6-9 from the Message Bible. Perhaps this is worth memorizing!

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Invite Jesus into each place of your heart, and ask him to dwell there.

He is called the “Prince of Peace” and he wants to share that peace in our hearts.

Moreover, he can give us that peace – all you need to do is “let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.”

Is today the day when you can take a new step in trusting God? What is preventing you from reaching out to him, in your heart, and asking Jesus to come and dwell in you? 

Can you ask him to be the center of your life today?

If you want to chat about this personally, please PM me or email me so we can connect.

"God, I remember you"

At times, over these past several weeks, I have woken up around 4.00 AM with troubled thoughts and anxieties – all stemming from the COVID-19 outbreak and the financial crisis developing.

In the normal course of everyday life, I can mull over problems, and turn that mulling into worrying.

But these moments of early morning wakefulness feel more like an involuntary fearfulness welling up. What are my fears?

That I will not be able to find food for my family members with special dietary needs (the shelves of our local grocery stores are more and more limited, and I’m not referring to toilet paper! Hah)  Or that our vulnerable family members could catch this virus. Or that the financial downturn will take away our savings. 

These thoughts can shake me out of an early morning sleep. But, then what?

I choose to remember how God has provided in my life over the past years. 

I try to follow the example of the psalmist in Psalm 63.6-7:

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.

So, I choose to remember how God was my help and covering in years past.

For instance: How God provided opportunities for me after college in Ohio, even though I had wasted a couple years in school in reckless living; How God provided a job for me when I moved to Virginia at the depths of the 1980 recession; How God provided work and support for us here in Jacksonville over these many years of mission and ministry.

I recall these times, specifically, one by one. And then I turn them into a prayer.  

Such as, “Lord, just as you provided for me in Ohio…in Virginia…in Jacksonville…so you can provide for me now. I will not allow myself to stay in an anxious place, but I thank you for being my provider, then and now. You chose me, and you love me. And I will rest on You.”

Or to quote the psalmist:  “On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

There are many other scriptures that help us look to God for his grace and mercy, such as…

Psalm 143.4-6

So my spirit grows faint within me;
    my heart within me is dismayed.
I remember the days of long ago;
    I meditate on all your works
    and consider what your hands have done.
I spread out my hands to you;
    I thirst for you like a parched land.

Isaiah 46.9

“Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.”

Why would I say that God cares about me, and that I can bring him my fears and needs? Because he made me his own, through Christ – I belong to him, and he will care for me – and he offers you the same opportunity today.

Please PM me or email me if you want to chat more about what this would mean for you. At such a time as this, we all can reach out to God afresh, for he made a way through Christ to know his love and his care.

"Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

There seems to be a pandemic of anxiety and fear. The spread of the COVID-19 virus is causing people to seek quarantine and isolation for protection. Global financial markets continue to plummet, largely spurred by the fear of economic damages from the effects of COVID-19. And now, a new international oil price war is creating more economic havoc. (And ... we can’t forget to mention the ongoing rancor and drama in this current American Presidential election year, which is not really a new thing, if you think about it – but it can add more stress and anxiety to an already fearful environment.)  Whew! Just typing this paragraph is wearying!

Anxious and fearful times are nothing new. We read Jesus’ words to his anxious disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…” (Luke 12.22) If the disciples weren’t worried about their welfare or protection, Jesus wouldn’t have issued this specific command. Although the disciples’ fears were rooted in a different context, the question expressed in fear or anxiety is the same for us: “Will I be OK in this unsafe world?”

Jesus’ answer is not simply a quick “yes, of course.” But he digs deeper (as he always does!) and draws our attention to our hearts’ affections: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12.34)

In other words, what you treasure expresses what you trust.

And trust is a heart-issue.

God is a realist. He knows our needs. Which is why Jesus says, “For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.” (Luke 12.30) That is meant to reassure us. God knows your personal, private needs. We are known, personally, by the eternal God Most High. And he cares for us.

So because of Jesus, we have a different and better response to anxiety or fear: “Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.” (Luke 12.31)

To “seek” is another heart-issue. It means to intentionally turn our attention and affections toward God – to his rule and reign, his presence and power in us.