Connecting Point – June 21, 2023

This week the season's first Tropical Storm or Hurricane is supposed to land somewhere along the North American coastline, which is a reminder to us in South Louisiana that we need to start our annual preparation for Storm Season. In South Louisiana, preparing for Storm Season includes: 1) cleaning out our gutters and drains, 2) making sure we have a place to store outside furniture, garbage bins, and plants, 3) putting important documents in a case so that we can take them with us if we need to evacuate, 4) stocking up with non-perishable food and good drinking water if we have to live without electricity for several days and 5) much more. For a comprehensive list of what it takes to get ready for Storm Season, click here.

We also need to prepare ourselves spiritually and emotionally for Storm Season. Because if we don't, we will live with anxiety, discouragement, and fear for the next several months. And by the way, "storms" don't have to be big weather events. "Storms" occur when we deal with physical difficulties, financial distress, relational conflict, vocational problems, and other issues.

There is a great story in Mark 4:35-41 about preparing emotionally and spiritually for Storm Season. In that story, Jesus decides to travel in a boat with His disciples across the Sea of Galilee. He had spent several days teaching and ministering to people. So, being physically exhausted, Jesus was sleeping while his disciples were rowing across the large lake. And while they were making this journey, a big storm arose that because so dangerous that the disciples thought that their boat was going to be overturned and they were going to drown. In fact, in the midst of the storm, they woke Jesus up and asked Him, "Master, don't you care that we're about to perish?" The Bible says that Jesus got up, looked at the wind and waves that were posing such a threat to the disciples, and then said, "Peace, be still." And immediately the winds ceased and the waves died down, and the disciples were no longer in danger. And they made it safely to the opposite shore. That story in Mark 4 reminds us that Jesus has the power to conquer our "storms" - whether they be physical, emotional, financial, relational or vocational "storms."

So the question is, how do we "get in the boat with Jesus" or "get Jesus into our boat (life) so that we aren't overcome by the "storms" of life? One way to "get in the boat with Jesus" is by spending time with Him on a daily basis as we worship Him, pray to Him, receive His counsel and read His Word. Another way to "get in the boat with Jesus" is to prioritize living for Him, serving Him and worshiping Him with other Christians. A third way to "get in the boat with Jesus" is by regularly re-surrendering our lives to Him. There are all kinds of ways to "get in the boat with Jesus." The good news is that when we're "in the boat with Jesus" or "He's in the boat with us" we don't have to worry about the "storms of life." Because the same Jesus who conquered the storms on the Sea of Galilee is still conquering "storms" in our day and time when we turn to Him, trust in Him, and daily surrender our lives to Him.

Lots of people have been learning how to get help from the Lord with their "relationship storms" as they've participated with us in our Navigating The Challenges sermon series. In this series, we've been learning how to "navigate the challenges" of parenting, marriage, sex, communication, faith, and conflict.  Be sure to join us this Sunday, either in-person or online, for worship, communion and our final Navigating The Challenges sermon. And especially invite to come with you any friends or family members who have been hurt by a separation or divorce.

If you would like to see more justice and unity take place in our region and nation, I encourage you to register today for our UNIFY Conference on Biblical Justice and Unity that will take place at Celebration on Airline on July 15. Our aim for this conference is to ignite the heart, equip the mind, and propel the body of Christ forward in engaging in issues of justice and God's work of loving our neighbors. The UNIFY Conference will feature powerful keynote messages from Pastor Jonathan Tremaine Thomas of the Civil Righteousness organization, question and response sessions with local thought and community faith leaders, and dynamic breakout sessions enabling attendees to link arms and join hands with organizations making a difference in our communities. For more information or to register for the Unify Conference, go to www.celebrationchurch.org/jutcc.