Angie's Answer

Thougths and Storms

A Young Man's Thoughts

This morning my 14 year old boy got up and came to me to share something he had been pondering on since waking.  He reminded me that the scriptures tell us to be "fishers of men".  Then he proceeded to talk about how if we, the church are the nets and if we do not keep our nets mended and in good condition, then the fish (lost souls) can not be caught.  They just swim right through the holes.  Then he said, again referring to the church, that if your net is weak then it will tear when you try to catch a large load. 

Well least to say, he got my mind thinking.  He has not experienced a church split, so his thoughts did NOT come out of that kind of experience. He would tell you he was just thinking and the thoughts came to him. I tend to think it may be more.  I know I need to check my heart constantly and keep it well mended by the Lord so that I am strong and usefull for catching men, lost souls.  How about your net today?  

Another Thought  

This morning's sermon was on "the Storm", referring to the storms in the Bible and the ones we face daily in our lives.  I am from Portsmouth. VA and many of you I am sure are aware of the Tornadoes that touched down here and in Suffolk this past Monday.  A man in our church was in the Oncology office that was hit.  He was on the 3rd floor and still hooked up to the machines when all of the windows started popping and glass, 2x4s, etc. began to whirl around.  He could do nothing... no place to hide, no closet, he could only watch.  It was not till it was all over and they went outside to see the damage all around that it really hit him.  The car lot looked like someone scraped peas off the plate he said.  THe car was gone (found later much further away and totaled).  The houses behind the medical complex was devastated and the strip mall was laid flat!  Only by grace had they survived with all the others on that 3rd floor. Everyone knows you get LOW and center for a Tornado. THey were high and on the outside corner!

This all seemed to fit perfect with the Sermon as the Pastor planned it.  The first storm he read was of the disciples on a boat with Jesus: Mark 4:35 ( see below for the passage) Then he retold the story of Paul on the way to Rome as a prisoner via boat.  THis storm was not quieted!  In fact Paul was told by an angel that it would tear the entire boat to pieces!  But there was peace in this storm as well.  It was in Paul's heart.  Paul knew that he would be fine and so would the rest of the crew.  He knew that it would not be easy but he had to keep his mind on Christ.   

The storms that hit our area did a tremendous amount of damage, but there was no loss of life. As you look at the pictures of the area and hear of the totals of damage you are just as amazed as we are.  THe fact that this happened when it did right when school is letting out and people were on the road was just truely incredible.  

This morning I began to think even deeper.  What is happening that I do not know about yet in relation to the storm that hit here?  Sometimes all we hear are the destruction reports but I wonder....Are their lives being transformed and turned over to Christ?  Paul was shipwrecked (and still a prisoner) yet because he ended up on the island of Malta the people of the island became followers of Christ Jesus. 

Jesus Calms the Storm -

 Mark 4:35-44

 35That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." 36Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

 39He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

 40He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

 41They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

The Storm Acts 27:13 -28

 13When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the "northeaster," swept down from the island. 15The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19On the third day, they threw the ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. 20When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

 21After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: "Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island."

The Shipwreck

 27On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic^[b] Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. 28They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet^[c] deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet^[d] deep. 29Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. 31Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." 32So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it fall away.

 33Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. "For the last fourteen days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven't eaten anything. 34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." 35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

 39When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.

 42The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.