A Stormy morning

After a flying across the Europe and the Mediteranean, we arrived in Tel Aviv. Then we had a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Tiberias, which is on the southwest side of the sea of Galilee.

The Sea of Galilee is not huge...by our standards. But it is down in a valley, with Golan Heights ( long disputed land between Syria and Israel)on the east, and the mountains that lead to the Jezreel valley and the coastal region on the west.

We fell into bed the first night. Our bodies were definately confused by the 8 hour time change. We both were so tired when we went to bed about 9:30 that night.

The first morning on the Sea was very memorable. About 4 AM (about 8 PM Oklahoma time), I was awakened by the clap of thunder. I laid their for a moment thinking, "Where am I?" I did not expect a storm. But God has a surprise for us. I got up and looked out the window over the sea and it was a full-fledged storm broiling on the sea. I looked at streaks of lightning across the sky. Then the rain, then more lightning and thunder. Pam was sleeping, but I woke her up with, "How cool is that!" God was giving us a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

I did not see Jesus or a boat, but I could imagine it. Locals said that the storms come up from time to time, totally by surprise. And when they come up, they are loud and crazy. Wind, rain, lightning... the whole thing.

I thought about the storms that the disciples experienced on the Sea and how Jesus calmed them. It was a "miracle moment" for me. It was like God was saying to me on that first morning..."You really are here."

I came back to Oklahoma and our church family with a new appreciation for the calming influence and presence of Christ. This week many have needed to be reminded of it. One of our members mother died. Another member had been given a terrible cancer diagnosis and was undergoing exploratory surgery. ( Guess what??? After all the tests , they got in there and did not find a thing!). Another member found out that her mother has been given very little time to live. One of our secretaries is dealing with a terminal illness in her family.

Where do you go in the storm? You look for, you call for, you pray for Jesus. Even when it is stormy, His presence helps. It calms us, reminds us that this fallen world we live in is not all there is. His presences gives us hope, since he has conquered death.

It was all brought home to me this morning. I went to church with high hopes for a big crowd, the introduction of our series called " Wise Words." ( Proverbs). It had been stormy over the weekend, but not a really big deal.

First service went fine... Then the storms hit. Deluge, lightning, hurricaine force winds, and hail. It was incredible. Our water retention pond was nearly full. Things from our phase II construction were flying around. What a storm!

It all calmed down... and then it hit again during our second service. Attendance was way down, but we pressed on... and then as I got up to preach, ( two sentences or so into ), the power went out. What do you do? You keep going. You press on. Worship and preaching are not dependent on sound systems, lights and all the extras that we have in our building.

It was great moment, not unlike the moment from the Sea of Galilee. Storms come and storms go. That is life. But you keep on trusting, keep on searching, keep on believing. At the end of our "dark" service one of our members came forward for prayer. It is really stormy in her life. And another family came forward to join (Kyle had been baptized last Wednesday.)

I was proud of our church this morning. They pressed on and after it was all over, they said, "It was kind of neat." And they appreciated the fact that we did not stop.

I am also extremely proud of our Early Children, Childrens and Worship teams. They did not panic, and just kept on. They are great people.

Storms are part of life, in Isreal and Oklahoma. Jesus is there no matter where you are.