Today, there was a christmas market in one of the squares. It was a one day market and consisted of stalls, a stage and chairoplanes. I performed with the gospel choir- it was a nice performance and apparently we drew a large crowd.
We sang a total of 3 songs -
But it’s late and 30 rock is on, so more tomorrow
So yeah, today I don’t have a lot of blog time so i’ll rattle off a quick thought of the evening.
22 and counting…
Its been cold this week. Winter rears its head and its icy teeth clamp down on the country; the freezing breath of the wind penetrates through the thickest jumper. Its been hail stoning this week. Its been down to 2 degrees. What is the rationalisation of this? Its Christmas.
So, today I had a gander at the Christmas offers in the shops. I saw the hideously overpriced 3ds games in a game store (you can get the same ones in asda for like a tenner less), I saw the hustle and bustle of people buzzing around like worker bees, I saw the festive decor and at one point, my eyes were met by two large plastic eyes on a singing christmas tree. The same tree, I might add, that I passed a few weeks ago and saw a child crying out of fear.
I’ve already bought most of/ probably all of my christmas presents this year. Most of them are already wrapped. So why was I there? Was it because bleach season 5 had gone down to 12 quid? Nope, but that was a happy finding! Was it that I needed to buy some christmas presents? Nope. So what was it? I guess i’d say its the ambience; the thrill of the chase; the commercial christmas preparation.
y’know goodwill to men and all that. But, in reality, its elbow to the face when sales are clearance. I don’t elbow people in the face, but I must admit, I do like a good bargain. And i’m a sucker for a good advert. But talking about the whole rat-race elbow in face mentality, let me whisk you back in time to christmas 2009. It was christmas week. Shops were hectic. Supermarkets – doubly so. I was on the mission for sprouts. I had no luck finding loose sprouts. Bagged sprouts were nowhere in sight. I love a good sprout, but it didn’t look like it was going to be my day… and then I gazed upon a stalk of sprouts. A forlorn, lonely stalk of sprouts with small/medium sprouts on them. A feeling of happiness came across me as I sauntered along to acquire them. Suddenly, a crazed pensioner appeared! (cue the pokemon wild encounter music! do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do dun dun dundundun dun dun dun dundundun dun… etc,etc). This was no ordinary pensioner. What she lacked in hight, she made up for in aggression lemmetellya! There was a crazed look in her eye. I wanted the sprouts. She wanted the sprouts. I made a dash. I had a family relying on me to buy sprouts. I get to the sprout counter or whatever you call it and my hand reached out for it. The angry oap shunts me on the way and then tries to steal the sprouts. I wasn’t having none of it! I thrust my hand towards them sprouts like my life depended on it. The pensioner’s trolley half-pinned me to the counter as she battled furiously for the last sprout. I’d like to be over dramatic here and say that I sustained actual bodily harm from this sprout conflict, but that would be a lie. So if you’d like to believe that, then do. But its not true. I grabbed that sprout stalk. I grabbed it good. Holding it like a trophy and making my way back to my own shopping trolley, I said a rather loud ‘how rude are some people’/ words to that effect and glared back at the warzone. Forget all that ‘if you love something let it go’ nonsense. If you love something, fight for it! I had sprouts. They were delicious. Nom nom nom.
I suddenly forget what I was originally talking about. *glances back at title*… Oh yeah. The commercialisation of Christmas. Let me share this useful tidbit of information with you. Today, I had a chocolate from my captain america advent calendar. It was shaped like a gingerbread man. Yesterday’s chocolate looked oddly like one of those ‘punching nun’ puppets and whatever I ate on the 1st could’ve been anything. Whilst I enjoy a good advent calendar choccie, it occurs to me that it is just rampant commercialism. Yes, we’re counting down to the birth of our Lord and Saviour, but what does captain america or hello kitty or cars 2 or chocolate have to do with it? Another such example is coca cola. Did you know that they were the ones that dressed jolly ol’ saint Nick in red? ‘Its just not Christmas until you see the coca cola holidays are coming advert’ but why is that? Why? (btw, I do love coke, its up there in the pantheon of immortal beverages in my mind) (not that beverages are immortal… they are inanimate.) In the UK at least, and I suspect its the same in most parts of the world, Christmas is highly commercialised. We got cards, crackers, presents, trees, turkey, 3 bird roasts, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, paper hats, coca cola, christmas pudding, VH1 christmas karaoke… But we miss the point entirely. All those things are nice and lovely and tasty, but they are not what christmas is about. I’m not saying that they are wrong, i’m just saying that they are not the ‘fundamentals of Christmas’ that we have been brainwashed into thinking they are. You can’t have Christmas without its reason – Christ.
You might be thinking ‘This guy! He just did a funny quip about sprouts, rambled on about commercialism and now theres sommat about Jesus. Whats with all the commotion?’ Let me explain it to you. You see, theres this thing that happened a long long time ago. It was called creation. No bangs or anything, just God. God was all like ‘let there be light’ and stuff and in 6 days He made the universe and everything. On the 7th day He rested. In this creation period, man and woman were created. They knew their maker. Adam even walked in the cool of the day with God. Adam and Eve had the chance to have a perfect relationship with God. They also had the gift of free will. They disobeyed God, who had made them and given them everything they needed for free. Then they did some bad stuff. Murderers, adulterers and thieves appear. At one point, the earth is so sinful that God floods the world, saving only a handful of people to restart the human race. But God has promised never to flood the earth like that again. Over time, people turned their back on the God who created them, who gave them everything they’d ever need and who loved them. God gave them chances to repent and come back to Him – God provided methods of getting a good relationship with Him back. Some people came back to Him. Others chose to live for the world and drifted away from His arms of love. Lets fast forward some years. God raises up kings on earth. He sends judges to the people. He raises up prophets who spread the word of God. Some people accept these things; others turn away. God reaches out to help people from being slaves to the world. God reaches out to have a relationship with those He created. God offers an alternate way to live. People harden their hearts. It looks like it could be the end. Theres a period of heavenly silence. But wait, whats this? Prophecies of a saviour? God born in human form? A saviour who would get rid of the sacrificial system of repentance to God by being the ultimate sacrifice? A saviour is coming to take away the sins of the earth. We never have to be apart from God again! The saviour will make it easy to be in relationship with God. He will pay the price for all our shortcomings. He will make things right. Years pass… And then it happens! Roughly 2011 years ago. Jesus is born in a stable. Even from birth on the earth, the world tried to reject Him – there wasn’t even a proper place for Him to be born. Jesus grows up. He gets baptised. He goes into the wilderness and suffers temptations. And then He returns and gathers His disciples. He teaches them things whilst performing many miracles and proclaiming the kingdom of His father in heaven. But still, some people don’t accept it. And so, as prophesied, they plot to kill Him. 30 coins to crucify the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. They torture Him. They beat Him beyond recognition. They mock Him and nail Him to a cross. He suffers torture in the physical and torture in the spiritual. The sins of the world past present and future are nailed to Him at that point. The sky goes black. The devil thinks hes won. A final gasp! It is finished. The cross is pulled down and Jesus is put in a guarded tomb. But the prophecies haven’t been fully fulfilled yet. 3 days later, He raises from the dead. He overcomes death and has paid the ultimate price for everyone. Nothing separates us from God now. Nothing. We can ALWAYS turn to Him. Jesus is risen. Some people don’t believe it but He appears to people. He talks to His disciples and gives them (and us) the great commission. Then He ascends into heaven. A little bit later, the Holy Spirit is sent to earth and thats when things get doubly awesome. Suddenly, we can have the power of God running through us! In His name we can do miracles. Fast forward to now. You have a choice to make. You’ve just read a very brief summary of the bible (excl. revelation). Jesus came to earth and conquered death for YOU. Jesus loves you. Always has, always will. He reaches out to you. What will your response be?
Luke 2
New International Version (NIV)
Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.
Jesus Presented in the Temple
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”[b]), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”[c]25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
New International Version (NIV)Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica
So lets put the Christ back in Christ-mas. Its not about commercialism; its about a God who loves you so much that He gave Himself for you, so that in Him you might have life to the full. Santa isnt real but Jesus is, and He wants to know you personally.
So, ive just noticed the time! Aaaaahhhh! I need to blog! So here goes.
Advent Calendar started today. It’s a captain America one. 24 and counting! I’m thankful to God for the chocolate. I’m even more thankful for the event I’m counting down to – the fact that Jesus came to earth for all of us.
This evening I saw a really cute kitten. It looked at me with its adorably massive green eyes. I love cats. Thank you God for cats. Thank you God for my cat!
Tonight I went to a CU pub quiz. Our team lost by 1 point. Apparently, Japan has tea ceremonies. It sounds intriguing. I had a great night – it was great to hang out with Christian friends and meet some new people. Thank you God for this!
I got to the car and checked the temperature. It went down to 2 degrees. I could feel the icy winds blow through the sleeves of my new holiday sweater. I think I’ll dress in layers tomorrow. Maybe I’ll don a hat. A fedora. Winter is certainly here.
24 and counting.
Sleep grows near to me. I must rest my weary eyes.
thank you God for today. Thank you for my family and friends. Thank you for the day You blessed me with. Thank you that You are always there with me.
Ok so today I was going to blog about something else. BUT NOT ANYMORE! Today marked the release of legend of zelda: skyward sword. It is the latest in one of my favourite video game series of all time and it does not disappoint!
I preordered the game special edition at the beginning of the month and so in addition to the game I now have a gold wiimote with the hyillian crest on and an orchestral zelda cd! This somehow adds to the whole experience.
As soon as I saw the package arrive, I ripped into it like no-ones business and got straight in.
The game was released today… I have already played it for 6 hours!
The artwork is fantastic – it is based on a watercolour paint style, which blends the elements of reality and fantasy nicely! It is not too harsh to look at but its also not more kiddy zelda game like phantom hourglass (which I also enjoyed, but completed in 3 days!). The gameplay is the best of any zelda yet! With the use of the wii motion plus in the controller, the player must now wield their sword in precise ways in order to defeat enemies- no more random sword swinging! The enemies are also more intelligent, which makes the game more challenging and fun!
The dungeons are still fairly hard which is also a plus! There are some new items too!
There doesn’t appear to be any sightings of epona in this game. But fear not! You can fly around on a massive red bird instead! It’s equally, if not more fun than horse riding!
Even though I’ve only played it a short while, it handles like a dream. From a preliminary play, I would rate this game… 10/10!!! I think this is shaping up to be the best zelda yet! Worth every penny! Nice one Nintendo! 
Rain pounds the car as I drive along. Headlights fade behind me. I’m rushing to make time. Hoping to get home in time.
Time. It waits for no man. I had a good time tonight. I aim not to waste time. I saw a film called ‘in time’. It’s got me thinking about time.
But now, its time to go to bed and sleep.
More tomorrow (probably!)
RAWR *sparkle sparkle* RAWR! ITS A SHINY FACE!
IT FEELS LIKE I’VE BEEN READING REPORTS ALL DAY!!! (I have been reading reports for most of the day). Whilst reading the last 3 reports, I though ‘shove it i’ll take a break’. So, like ya do, I read my bible. Moreover, my bible in one year.
If I said to you ‘shinyface’, what would you think of? A face that is shiny, right? For some reason, the term shinyface made me think of 3 things. Two of them are the office USA related.
Exodus 34
New International Version (NIV)
The Radiant Face of Moses
29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. 30When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the LORD had given him on Mount Sinai.
33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the LORD’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD.
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica
So, I read this. I was like ‘what the what????’. I mean, I’ve read it before, but it gets me every time. But before I go on, lets contextualise.
THE STORY SO FAR:
heres a picture of a fish, because this post includes both water and fishes!
Who do you say Jesus is? I say He’s the saviour of the world. I say He’s the son of God. I say He performed many miracles.
Today, I’ve been reading my Bible In One Year. You can probably tell that by the title. The passage from the new testament for today is from the gospel of Mark. It spoke to me. I’ll share it with you!
Mark 6
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica
So, from the outset, what can we see? I’ll enlighten you. We can see that the passage is split into three parts, each showing Jesus performing a miracle or doing something miraculous. I will lay these out, in an unnecessarily severe manner (at least for the subheadings).
COUNT THE FIRST: JESUS FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND PEOPLE
Yep, you read that right. You’ve probably heard this story before, but has it ever really hit home for you how amazing this is? Lets not forget that its not like our day and age; There wasn’t a McDonalds nearby that people could pop into to get a big mac! There wasn’t even a Tesco express. Nope, Jesus did a miracle here. Lets examine this miracle once more:
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late. 36 Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages[e]! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.
Jesus and the apostles were having a chat, and so many people were coming to them that they didn’t have time to eat. Jesus noticed this, and so asked the apostles to come with Him to find a quiet place to rest. So they all hopped in a boat and headed for somewhere peaceful and quiet. BUT a couple of excited people saw them leaving and ran ahead of them to their destination. Upon arrival, Jesus notices the crowd waiting to talk to Him and listen to Him and He has compassion on them – He doesn’t mind spending time with those who He loves and those who love Him! That part is the same today and will be forevermore! So, Jesus starts teaching the people. And then the disciples either feel hungry here, or fear for the impending hunger of the crowd. They suggest to Jesus that He should send them away to grab something to nibble. But Jesus is all like “you give them something to eat”. I can imagine the bewilderment here. The disciples weren’t the richest of men and i’m guessing they weren’t in the habit of carrying around massive quantities of delicious edible food substances. So, thinking of this they’re all like “thats goanna cost flipping megaloads! DO YOU REALLY WANT US TO SPEND THAT MUCH ON BREAD??!?!??!?!?” (if it was a modern day scenario, I think that if they would have had to buy the bread, they would have got it at Tesco. Think of the clubcard points!) The disciples are of little faith here. They momentarily forget just who they are talking to. Jesus replies by asking them to see how many loaves of bread are readily available. They come back with 5 loaves and 2 fish.The math here shows that with an ordinary man, this mealtime would not have worked. (Even going cuisine nouveau on these ingredients could not cover a crowd this big!) But Jesus is no ordinary man. He is the son of God! He is a miracle worker! He gets all of the people to sit down in groups. And they do. Then, He gives thanks for the meal, before distributing the food between His disciples, for them to dish out.I wonder how it looked – did the loaves keep reappearing? Did bits of fish keep growing back? I don’t know what it looked like, but I know it happened. EVERYONE ate and were satisfied – they didn’t just have a bit in passing – they were properly satisfied with the meal! No more rumbling stomachs! And even though they all ate, the disciples collected 12 baskets of leftovers! 12! Thats like, one for each of them! And five thousand people ate from just 5 loaves and 2 fish. This was not by man’s doing – this was by God’s hand! Jesus performed a miracle here!
COUNT THE SECOND: JESUS WALKS ON WATER
You might be thinking, that isn’t really miraculous. Well think again. It is. I can’t walk on water! And Jesus walks on water here on a windy day, so the waves would have been pretty rough! Lets examine this miracle closer:
45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
So, after the whole feeding of the five thousand thing, Jesus sends His disciples off to their next destination, whilst He dismisses the crowd. After He leaves them, He finds Himself hungry for more of His Father in Heaven, and so He ventures up a mountainside to pray. It soon gets late and Jesus is alone on land. His disciples are battling the waves. He can see this. So, whilst its still dark, He goes out to them. He just walks out onto the lake. This next bit I think is funny – “He was about to pass them by, but” – the disciples are struggling against the wind and waves, and all of a sudden Jesus just nonchalantly walks past on the water! He only stops and gets in because they are scared of Him and think that He is a ghost! (note here that it is just before dawn, and they might have been a bit tired). They see Him walking along and they are terrified. How often do you see someone walk on water? Never! Its probably pretty scary if you don’t know whats going on! And although Jesus has already miraculously walked on water up to this point, He decides to calm His disciples down and get into the boat with them. When He does this, the wind dies down. The disciples are flabbergasted! They saw the thing with the loaves and fish and then they see this – they harden their hearts; they don’t really understand whats going on. The truth of the matter is, they’ve just witnessed Jesus doing two miraculous things in the space of a couple of hours!
COUNT THE THIRD: JESUS HEALS MANY PEOPLE
By this point in the book of Mark, it has been established that many people recognise that Jesus has the power to heal people. Lets look at this miracle a bit closer:
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55 They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
The boat anchors and everyone gets out. Its been a weird few hours for the disciples. But it does not stop there. As soon as they get out of the boat, people recognise Jesus! And so they run – they literally run – to carry the sick people to Him for healing. They don’t walk, they don’t patiently wait and form an orderly queue – they run to Jesus with sick people. And wherever He went, the people brought Him sick people. Usually in the bible, we are told of Jesus speaking to people and healing them, or laying hands on people and healing them. Here, the healing miracle is slightly different. The people are begging to touch Him. They know that God’s power courses through His veins. They know that He has the power to heal. They’ll even settle for touching His clothes – and that’s the amazing miraculous part! They didn’t even have to touch HIM to be healed! Even touching the edge of His cloak caused the sick people to be healed! Isn’t that amazing! Jesus is so powerful, that even His clothing is soaked in His power here! Brilliant! And ALL who touched His cloak were healed. ALL of them!
Jesus performed many miracles; these are just a few of them. And He still performs many miracles today. I wonder if you see them, or if your eyes are closed to them?
the bee, (c) Stickandgooniverse, All rights reserved
REMEMBER THIS GUY? No? well, he’s back! He first appeared in this post and then he buzzed about for a bit before landing on this post. And now he’s here once more to please your eyeballs. Woohoo!
I see that woohoo and raise you some more bee-autiful pictures!
Thats right, its time once again for additions to the bee range. Are you ready?
Stickandgooniverse Presents: The Bee range
1. The bee (shown above)
5. Obeesity
'Obeesity', the bee, (c) Stickandgooniverse, all rights reserved
6. Bee-ten up
'Beeten up', the bee, (c) Stickandgooniverse, all rights reserved
BUZZ BUZZ, you’d think i’d be near the end but i’m just getting started! BUZZ BUZZ BUZZZZZZZZZZ!
The bee (c) stickandgooniverse, all rights reserved.
BUZZ BUZZ! You may remember this guy from a previous post I did! If you don’t, i’ll introduce you. Say hello to the bee. AKA it’s that bee from beefore! He is part of the stickandgooniverse! And theres a whole range of things that he does. Including these things:
Stickandgooniverse Presents: The Bee range
1. The bee (shown above)
3. The bee enjoys a lunch bee-reak/ be(e)verage
The bee, 'Be(e)verage, (c) stickandgooniverse, all rights reserved.
4. Time for work
The bee, 'Time for Work', (c) Stickandgooniverse, all rights reserved
Someone’s been a busy bee! BUZZ BUZZ!
