So if you’re going through a storm in your life right now, or even if you’re unknowingly about to enter into a storm… this episode will help you to prepare.

I thought today would be a good day to discuss our faith and values for preparing for storms. 

When you think about it… the transition from summer to fall is more dramatic than fall to winter, than winter to spring, and even from spring to summer. 

Unfortunately, this time of the year is also known for unstable weather patterns. Names like Isabel, Sandy, Katrina, and Irene are reminders of the devastation of major storms that happen during this time of the year. 

And this is the time of the year where We are bombarded with information on how important it is to prepare for the possibility of storms. We can be certain that there will be a storm, but the severity, the timing, the location and the duration, no one really knows.

Experiencing these storms is also a reminder that life has its storms. health storms, when you are faced with a diagnosis that catches you off guard; financial storms caused by unstable economic conditions; emotional storms that happen as the result of the loss of a loved one. …Those relational storms that occur when we have to care for an ailing relative or become a parent to our own parents as they deal with the challenges of aging. 

Yes, life has its storms, and just like the meteorological storms we face, we can’t predict them. But, we can prepare for them.

Psalm 46:1 says these words, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

The message Bible says it like this, “God is a safe place to hide.” Why is this important to know? 

Because, Your devotion to God helps to reduce the effects of the distractions that the storms of life may try to bring your way. The promise in the verse is not that we won’t experience troubles and trials in life — the storm will come. 

But the promise is that God will be a refuge, a safe place to protect us from the effects of the storm. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God." 

Jesus consistently demonstrated His authority by doing things which were totally beyond human capacity. In this case, while the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee by boat, Jesus fell asleep on a cushion. A great storm arose, and the disciples panicked. 

In desperation, they awoke Jesus saying: "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He got up and calmly rebuked the wind and the sea. The storm ceased. He then turned to the disciples and reproved them for their lack of faith. Though they had seen Jesus perform many miracles, they were always amazed by each new one. They said: "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" 

Note -- Let me ask you, How well do you sleep? Considering the things that the disciples had already seen Jesus do, their doubts about His ability to quiet the storm are astonishing. They had seen Him heal multitudes of people, cast out demons and prove Himself equal to any task at hand. Suddenly, they despaired because of a storm on the sea. Obviously, they didn't really think Jesus could solve this problem because they were amazed when He did. How could they have been so slow and so distrustful? What about us? Do we not believe that Jesus can handle any situation, if we trust and obey His will? Have we not seen in the Scriptures how Jesus can solve every problem? How do we react when we confront a fresh crisis in our lives--do we trustingly and confidently turn to Jesus, or do we throw up our hands in despair? How well do we sleep?

Today, we are going to learn about how Jesus frequently taught in parables. 

A parable is a story with a spiritual application. 

As a result of His teaching and miracles, Jesus' popularity grew rapidly. So many people wanted to hear Him that they filled the house in Capernaum where He was teaching and crowded around it. There were, five men who arrived, eager to see Jesus too. 

One of them was paralyzed and the other four carried him on a stretcher. Because of the crowd It was impossible for them to get in through the door, so they climbed up on the roof, cut a hole in it and let the paralytic down through the opening they had created. Can you imagine the commotion among the crowd in the house below as they were cutting the hole in the roof?

When Jesus saw the faith they demonstrated, He told the lame man that his sins were forgiven. ….That was probably not what the man had expected to hear, but it is every man's greatest need, right?. To be forgiven of our sins…  

Well., The scribes who were present thought Jesus had blasphemed because God is the only one who can forgive sins. Jesus read their minds and asked: Which is easier to say your sins are forgiven, or get up and walk? 

And so, To prove His ability to forgive sins (something invisible and therefore impossible to verify), He healed the paralytic who then got up and walked. So, Jesus proved His power to conquer invisible, spiritual problems by overcoming a visible, physical problem. 

The crowd was dumbfounded. They had never seen anything to compare with Jesus.

In the very first verse, Mark announced that he would write about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is surprising, therefore, that he did not start out by telling about Jesus Himself; instead, he described the work of John the Baptist. This was because John was to prepare the way for Jesus. John fulfilled this mission by preaching to get people ready for the coming of the Lord.

John's message focused on two themes that will help us get ready to receive Christ. 

First, he preached about repentance. To repent means to decide to change. It means to ask for forgiveness of the sins that you are in and turn away from them.

Here, we see John was telling his hearers that they had to reverse their life's direction to get ready for Christ; and those who were unwilling to change could not come to Christ, right.

And then Secondly, John declared the greatness of Jesus. He said Jesus was so great that he himself was not even worthy to stoop down and untie His shoes. This was an amazing declaration because we don’t have to have much worth to untie somebody's shoes. In fact, in John's day, untying shoes was considered to be a slave's lowest duty - John wasn't worthy to be Jesus' slave! 

So, for us to be ready to receive Jesus, we must repent (change our lives) and recognize His awesome greatness.

The promises of God are meant to be effective in your life, both materially and spiritually. But you must possess them by faith, prove them by obedience and inherit them through prayer.

You can do this! Let your daily confession be, “Yes, I can possess God’s promises.”

Today’s episode is going to address the common wound that people experience from church life. We call this church hurt… 

And this is just simply people being burned by other church members or even church leaders, and the pain often leaves them feeling confused, hurt, and isolated. And some people have left and given up on church altogether….  

If you have never been hurt in church then you probably won’t understand the reason for this topic. but for those that have ever felt hurt in the church then this is especially for you.

This week I want to talk about the benefits of reading the Bible. There are many people who don’t take time to spend reading the Word of God. Which is the most important and best-selling book of all time: I, myself, have been guilty of this as well. 

Let me ask you: How often Do you read your Bible? How much time Do you set aside for God to speak to you through His Word?

And God has commanded us to do this over and over again in the scriptures…

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

We all want to be a successful child of God, right? And If so, then a constant reading of the Word of God will be indispensable for you. This is the only book that God has given to mankind to read. And so Every other book comes secondary to the Bible.

And so for those of you who are taking notes, Today’s topic is the benefits of reading the word of God because the Spirit of God impressed upon me that it is time for His people to read His Word and to know it…. well. 

And so I’m speaking on 21 reasons why… I believe… you should never neglect the reading of God’s word as a part of your daily routine. And it’s With the intention of giving you some motivation and encouragement to carve out some time every day to read the word of God…. So here we go! 21 benefits of reading your Bible…