Sunrise at the Sea of Galilee

 

SUNRISE AT THE SEA OF GALILEE

          It is 5:30am, still dark as I settle down on the rocks beside the Sea of Galilee in Tiberias, Israel, on a cool Monday morning in March, 2000. I turn on my video camera and set it down on the rock beside me to record the sunrise and then I steady my 35mm camera for this first still shot of the pink glow beginning to peak over the eastern hills. 
          Then it hits me . . . He was here, He walked here, He may have sat on this very same rock on that early morning after His resurrection as He prepared a breakfast of fish and bread on a fire for His disciples. Right here where I am sitting right now. I am in awe. His Spirit Feet shod with flesh left footprints in this sand.
          He is here now, with me. Emmanuel, God with us. His Spirit dwells in the innermost part of me, taking authority over my soul, the seat of my emotions, and my body, my fleshly desires and appetites. El Shaddai, my all-sufficient Heavenly Father, my Abba Daddy, speaking to me through His Word from Jeremiah 1:5, “Beth, before you were born, I knew you.”
          The video camera on the rock beside me hums, and I begin to sing, "My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine, for Thee all the follies of sin I resign, My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou". . . and then suddenly, at the exact moment when the first golden round edge of the sun peeks over the distant hills, my voice can be faintly heard on the video recording singing the closing words of the hymn, "If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now."

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign, My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me, And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree, I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now 

In mansions of glory and endless delight, I'll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright; I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now

          John 21:1-6 Later Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there--Simon Peter, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn't see who he was. He called out, "Friends, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get plenty of fish!" So they did, and they couldn't draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.

          Lord Jesus, Thank You for Your peace today. You are our Peace. I ask you to help me to do these things: to lean on you, to meditate on your character and attributes, and to trust you with all my heart. Thank You for Your promise that Your perfect peace will guard my heart and mind. In Christ, I am relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusions, bewilderments, and perplexities of this life, because I trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

          Look Up—meditate on John 21:1-6 pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.

          Look In—as you meditate on John 21:1-6  pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."

          Look Out—as you meditate on John 21:1-6   pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.

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it was one of those moments

"Fasting from any nourishment, activity, involvement or pursuit—for any season—sets the stage for God to appear. Fasting is not a tool to pry wisdom out of God's hands or to force needed insight about a decision. Fasting is not a tool for gaining discipline or developing piety (whatever that might be). Instead, fasting is the bulimic act of ridding ourselves of our fullness to attune our senses to the mysteries that swirl in and around us."—Dan B. Allender, PhD

“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”—Exodus 3:5 NIV

Seek, inquire of and for the Lord, and crave Him and His strength (His might and inflexibility to temptation); seek and require His face and His presence [continually] evermore.—Psalm 105:4 Amplified

It was one of those moments…my senses were more alert, more intensified, more attuned to the mysteries that swirl in and around us, more aware of God's presence…it was about 7:30 in the morning, when I opened the door to go to work, the brilliant rays of the morning sunrise came bursting through our neighbor’s tree, directly into my eyes. 

I paused, amazed at the beauty, I moved slightly to the right and I couldn’t see the sun’s rays, moved slightly to the left and I couldn’t see the sun’s rays, but as I returned to the center point, for what seemed to be several minutes, those rays shown straight into the eyes of my heart, and I suddenly became conscious of His Presence. I stood very still, almost frozen in time, actually not wanting the moment to end, thanking the Lord for the beauty He created, and for drawing my eyes and my heart to appreciate Him all over again. 

I shared my experience with a few people…they just laughed it off, kind of made fun of me for thinking it was anything special, but in the innermost part of my heart, I knew it was the Lord, I was totally captivated by the stunning beauty of those rays, perfectly symmetrical, glowing so intensely, I even spoke out loud saying, "Lord Jesus, Thank You, Thank You, You did that for me! Just for me!"

The memory of that moment makes me crave Him more, remembering the experience makes me yearn for more of His personal touch in my life, makes my senses truly alert, more attuned to the mystery that is our Savior...I'm looking forward to experiencing Him more and more, alive and active in my life every moment of every day...Praise His Holy Name!

(c) 2011 beth willis miller

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What are your thoughts about this post?

      In what ways have you experienced God's presence?

            How does a certain location bring back that memory to you?