“Last week it was my turn to tell the Bible lesson during large group at the Bible clubs and I was pretty worried about it actually. I’m fine with teaching the lesson, but I did not feel like I had adequate time to prepare the lesson. (Jesus Calms the Storm) While I was reading and preparing something stood out to me. When the disciples were caught in the storm and battling the wind and waves, Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat. Did He not want to help His disciples? Of course He did! But they did not realize how much they needed Him until they realized they could not do it on their own… They could have asked sooner; they could have asked as soon as they saw the storm clouds gathering, but no, they waited until they thought they would perish at sea.
How many times am I in the midst of a storm, no matter how small, and fight till my strength is gone before I ask Jesus to calm the sea? Feeling very unprepared to teach, I quickly asked the Lord to calm my heart as He calmed the sea that day. He does answer prayer! I ended up teaching that particular lesson three times last week. At the first Bible club, I had the honor of leading a little girl to Jesus. At the second Bible Club for the week, after the lesson, I had the honor of telling Anthony about the peace that Jesus gives in forgiveness of sins. As I explained to him how Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins he looked sad. However, when I told him about how Jesus did not stay dead, but conquered death and sin, Anthony’s eyes got wide and a smile spread over his face! He, too, prayed and accepted the gift of forgiveness that Jesus holds out to each of us. Later, Clarissa, his small group leader, told me that Anthony had come up to her and said, “I talked to that lady. We were talking about sin and I prayed!”
“Who’s child are you now?” Clarissa then asked him.
“God’s!”
“How do you know?”
“Because He changed me. I know He changed me!”
I was able to give him a Bible (which he treasures!) and challenge him to read at least 2 verses each week. We are going to keep each other accountable and make sure we are keeping up with the two verses every day!”
~Mary