Storm Watch

At the time this post was written on Thursday at 11:00 am our area is currently under a storm watch. There is potential for a little or a lot of snow. There are several "weather models" that are trying to make an accurate prediction but they literally range from 1 - 11 inches of snow! Storms aren't easy to predict.

Last evening eighteen people met for our first "Jesus, Jonah, and Soup" gathering. We had delicious soup and fresh bread. Then we dove right into the book of Jonah. If you haven't read it lately it's the story of a prophet named Jonah. God asked Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh. But instead of obeying God, Jonah went in the opposite direction. He bought a ticket on the nearest ship and headed for a city far away. While on the ship a really wicked storm came up. It was so bad even the seasoned sailors were frightened! I won’t give away the rest of the story but one of the discussion questions we had was who was responsible for the storm? God? Jonah? Then we asked another question, “Who is responsible for the storms in our lives?”

The storms we face in our lives are because of two things. One, all the evil in the world. In other words because of Adam and Eve’s choice to sin, we live in a world that is sinful and evil. The storms we face like health issues, disasters, violence etc. are because of the evil in our world. In Matthew 5 Jesus says, “… he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”  In other words, the storm we’re in the middle of can happen to anyone… good or bad. It doesn’t have anything to do with what we have done or not done. The second type of storm we face is the consequences of something we have done. For example, if I robbed a bank God would forgive my sin…but I’d still have to go to jail! The good news is no matter where the storm came from, we don’t have to ride it out alone. God is right there with us giving us strength, courage, and comfort in the middle of it all.

If you want to know what happens to Jonah, join us next Wednesday at 6:00 pm for one hour. We have great soup and childcare is provided! Jesus, Jonah, and Soup… I can’t think of a better combination!

See you Sunday!