The Setting of the Story

Jesus had been teaching and healing the crowds throughout the day in the region of the Sea of Galilee. As evening approached, he told his disciples that they should take him across the sea to the other side.

So the disciples took Jesus in a boat, assumed to be a traditional Palestinian fishing boat approximately 26 feet long by 7 feet wide. Jesus, exhausted from a long day of ministry, went to the back of the boat, lay down on a cushion, and promptly fell asleep.

Soon after setting sail, the Sea of Galilee lived up to its reputation for severe storms. The descent of cold air from the Golan Heights collided with the hot, humid air over the sea, generating large waves and brutal winds.

As the storm strengthened, waves were sweeping over the boat, filling it with water. The experienced fishermen aboard realized their lives were in danger from the storm. Fearing they would drown, the disciples rushed to wake Jesus, urgently crying out, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Jesus’ Miraculous Response

Despite the chaotic scene, Jesus remained asleep, resting peacefully through the violent storm. But once awoken by his disciples’ cries for help, he calmly spoke three words that would end the storm: “Peace, be still!”

Instantly, the wind ceased blowing and the sea became “perfectly calm,” as recorded in Mark 4:39. The disciples were awestruck, asking each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Jesus’ ability to quiet the storm with a mere verbal command demonstrated his divine authority over the forces of nature. The disciples witnessed Jesus’ miraculous power firsthand, evoking reverence and deepening their faith.

The Contrast Between Fear and Faith

The story also highlights the contrast between fear and faith. The disciples were fearful, convinced that death was imminent as waves crashed over their small vessel. They panicked, awaking Jesus in desperation and questioning if he cared about their plight.

Jesus, however, rested in perfect peace, sound asleep amidst the violent squall. He fully trusted God, showing no signs of fear or anxiety. The Son of God knew he was safe in his Father’s hands, despite the dire circumstances.

For the disciples, adverse circumstances produced fear and doubt. But for Jesus, difficult times evoked confident faith, rooted in the assurance of his Father’s constant presence and protection.

The disciples had much to learn about genuine faith in God’s power and plans. This miraculous incident was an important faith-building experience for these early followers of Christ.

A Lesson in Faith for All Believers

This account holds valuable lessons for all believers in every generation. When we feel tossed about by the “storms” of life – illness, grief, financial trouble, broken relationships – will fear and panic overcome us? Or will we trust God, remembering that he is ultimately in control over every circumstance?

Though Jesus may not miraculously intervene in the tangible ways he did for the disciples, he hears our cries for help. He is moved with compassion, offering his peace when we call out to him. Trusting prayer is an antidote for fear, inviting divine comfort and perspective.

As one commentary expresses, “Just as Jesus stilled the storm outside, so must he be called upon to still the storms within us.” Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith, allows us to rest despite surrounding storms.

No matter what hardship or trial we face, may we echo the words and posture of Jesus, “Peace, be still.” Confident that God is sovereign, we can sleep in peace amid the wildest storms of life. The boat will reach the shore safely, for Jesus is on board!

The Deeper Significance of the Story

Beyond revealing Jesus’ authority and the importance of faith, this account has deeper theological significance when viewed in light of the Old Testament.

In Psalm 107, the story of sailors caught in a powerful storm is used as a metaphor for the nation of Israel enduring seasons of hardship due to their disobedience. Just as the terrified sailors “cried out to the Lord in their trouble,” God heard their plea and calmed the storm, bringing them to safe harbor (Psalm 107:28-30).

Centuries later, Jesus came as Israel’s long-awaited Savior, but was initially rejected by the Jewish leaders. However, Jesus as the Son of God had ultimate authority over the chaotic “waters” that threatened them – an authority Israel’s leaders failed to recognize.

The sleeping Jesus in the boat echoed Jonah sleeping during another storm at sea (Jonah 1:5). Yet unlike Jonah, whose disobedience caused the storm, Jesus’ perfect obedience calmed this fierce gale. He is the greater Jonah – the faithful Son and Servant who succeeds where Israel was faithless.

With this episode, Jesus powerfully previews his capacity to bring God’s kingdom and bestow peace in place of sin’s chaos. One day, just as Jesus stilled the storm with a commanding word, he will calm the turmoil of this fallen world and usher in everlasting peace upon his return.

Key Takeaways from This Remarkable Event

In summary, here are the key points that stand out from this account:

• Jesus’ exhaustion showed his humanity, but his miraculous power over nature revealed his divinity. He is the Son of Man AND the Son of God.
• Jesus can bring perfect peace amidst turmoil. His presence and power impart comfort and faith when believers encounter life’s storms.
• Jesus cares deeply about his followers during difficulties. Despite being asleep, he immediately responded to the disciples’ cry for help.
• Genuine faith requires keeping our eyes on Jesus above the surrounding storms. He remains sovereign even when circumstances seem out of control.
• This episode previews Jesus’ ultimate authority to calm the storms of sin, evil and death through his redemptive work. He alone can speak peace into existence.

Nearly 2,000 years later, this account still edifies Christians in every cultural context. Seeing Jesus command the winds and waves through the eyes of the awestruck disciples builds our faith. And hearing his gentle rebuke, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” reminds us to place our trust in Him above all else.

Though stormy seas may arise, Jesus remains the powerful, yet compassionate captain of our boat. With him aboard, we can rest securely no matter how violently the gales rage. His perfect purposes will always prevail!

The post Jesus Sleeps on the Boat: A Miraculous Demonstration of Faith appeared first on Late Faith.

Do you want to read the Bible in 6 months? It’s possible, but it takes a little bit of work. This post will give you all the tools and strategies that you need to make a reading plan and stick with it so that by the end of six months, you will have read the entire Bible.

Reading the Bible in six months (or over any period, really), comes down to applying some simple steps and doing a bit of basic math … and then sticking to it, of course!

Here are the steps to follow …

Plan Ahead

Plan ahead for any scheduled vacations, tough stretches at work, or concentrated school work that might interfere with your ability to stick to your six month goal.

Set Your Daily Commitment

Choose how many minutes per day you want to spend reading: 15, 30, 45, or some other number? Whatever it is, make sure you can stick to that level of daily reading for the long haul.

Set Your Weekly Commitment

How many days a week do you plan to devote to your Bible reading — 1, 3, 7? Again, make it a target you can stick with.

Decide on a Plan

Now that you know how and how much you want to read each day, it’s time to choose your plan.

Before you do, though, some quick math.

Overall, there are 66 books in the Bible (73 for the full Catholic version).

That means, if you’re reading one book per day, it will take you 66 separate days to read the full Bible.

Since there are about 180 days in sixth months, you could reach your goal by reading about one book every two or three days.

Another approach would be to read three days per week. Since there are 26 weeks in six months, you need to read about two-and-half books per week, so targeting a full book each of three weekdays would work well.

If you wanted to concentrate all your reading in one day each week, you’d need to target nearly three books at a time.

Of course, some books have more chapters and verses than others, so plan accordingly.

With all that in place, it’s time to choose one of three basic Bible reading plans: traditional (one book per day), daily devotions (three chapters each weekday), or weekly devotionals. One way to get started with this would be by finding a plan through any number of Bible apps like The Word Study Bible App – it has a variety of different reading plans from systematic read throughs all they way down to topical readings. You might also want to try out DailyVerses because it’s very easy for beginners who don’t know where to start with a traditional plan.

Buckle Down!

Try to stick with the same reading plan for the entire six months, and set goals that are achievable but challenging—you want this goal to be attainable so you don’t get frustrated or give up too soon!

Bible Reading Tips

Finally, keep in mind some of these tips: try not to read your Bible near any social media sites where there is constant distractions — in fact, once you have decided how many minutes per day and which app or website will work for you, make sure that those are the only things open on your computer.

Make sure you have enough light when reading because it can really affect your ability to focus if you’re working on an electronic device; and remember to take breaks from time-to-time.

You can switch things up by listening through audio files while driving or exercising at home, which will help avoid eye strain and general fatigue over time.

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Put this plan in motion, and you’ll be well on your way to reading the Bible in six months!

The post How to Read the Bible in 6 Months: A Full Reading Plan appeared first on Late Faith.

There are as many ways to study the Bible as there are Christians who want to gain a deeper understanding of scripture.

These methods run the gamut from occasional cursory reading to intensive university programs. In between lies the sweet spot for most believers, where we can do some deep learning but at a pace that makes sense for us.

And that’s where the SOAP method shines

In fact, by setting a SOAP Bible study schedule that fits your lifestyle and goals, you can establish a scripture routine to last a lifetime.

But before we get to setting up your schedule, let’s look at the basics of the SOAP method.

What Does S.O.A.P. Mean?

The letters in the acronym “SOAP” stand for …

Scripture

To start implementing SOAP, you need to pick the part of scripture you’re going to be studying, and then write it down.

There have been all sorts of studies done about the advantages of actually writing something down, but suffice it to say that you just may be amazed by how much more deeply you connect with a Bible verse when you use your own hand to get it down on paper.

Observation

As you’re reading, writing, and re-reading your verse(s), what stands out to you? Who is speaking? To whom? Are there certain words that resonate with you or may have multiple meanings? What special message is the scripture trying to impart?

Application

Once you have a handle on the passages you’re studying, find a way to apply them to your daily life. What changes should you make in order to follow the scripture? What actions do you need to take? Can these verses help you help other people?

Prayer

To wrap up your SOAP study, pray about the lesson you’ve learned. Tell God what the passage means to you. Express thanks for the new insights. Admit to shortcomings about yourself that the scripture may have brought to life.

Why Should You SOAP Your Bible Study?

As you can see, the SOAP method for Bible study lays out a fairly straightforward procedure to guide your daily research into the scripture.

That direction can be invaluable when you’re trying to work through difficult material, or when you hit a lull in motivation.

You still have to put in the work, of course, but as long as you follow the SOAP guidelines, you’re almost guaranteed of getting through your verses and, more importantly, getting the most out of them.

How to Schedule Your SOAP Bible Study

Now that you know what SOAP Bible study is all about and are convinced (hopefully) about the value for you, it’s time to think about fitting it into your life.

In truth, if your sincerely want to study the Bible and make it the foundation of your life, you can fit it into almost any schedule.

In practice, as you deal with day-to-day frustrations, surprises, and even routines, it can be difficult to stay true to your intentions.

The SOAP method, in particular, is fairly intensive. You’re not simply reading a few verses and moving on. Instead, you’re writing down scripture, thinking deeply about its meaning, applying it to your life, praying on it.

On the whole, it’s an uplifting process, but it can be daunting and even draining some days. It’s a lot of energy to expend, and it requires all of your spiritual and mental focus.

I don’t say any of this to discourage you from using SOAP — that would be silly considering I just spent half a post making the opposite case!

No, I say all this to emphasize that you need to establish a schedule for your Bible study that will energize you, not tear you down. That will make you eager to dig into the scripture, not shy away from it.

Now, technically, you could SOAP on any schedule, such as those geared toward reading the entire Bible in a year, or three months.

And that might work fine if you’re extremely motivated, or if you’re just reading scripture.

As you get started with SOAP, though, it might make more sense to take a more conservative approach, such as one of the two-year Bible reading plans I discussed in this post.

Or, you might take one of those one-year plans and work on a lesson a week or every three days.

The point is, start with a schedule you can handle consistently and that lets you really dig into the scripture using SOAP.

Once you get your feet under you, you may be able to accelerate your studies.

Heck, if all goes right, you won’t be able to stop yourself from accelerating, so strong will be your motivation!

The post How to Build a Workable SOAP Bible Study Schedule appeared first on Late Faith.

If you’re like many Christians, you probably begin each New Year with the goal of reading through the entire Bible.

Maybe you’ve even achieved that goal once or twice.

The truth is, though, that most people won’t make it very far down that path once they realize how daunting the task really is and how intrusive and distracting everyday life can be.

And even if you did make it all the way through the Bible, did you get out of it all that you hoped to when you set out?

Likely not.

So what should you do? Just give up and accept that you’ll never read the entire Bible in a meaningful way?

Don’t Give Up!

Heck no!

The reason most Christians don’t achieve their Bible study goals are 1) they try to do too much at once and get overwhelmed and/or 2) they don’t have a solid path to follow and lose motivation.

Neither of those point to a personal or spiritual shortcoming — they’re just a consequence of the monumental (but vital) job of reading the whole Bible.

Fortunately, there are alternatives that can move you toward your goal of a better understanding of God’s word.

I’m talking about two-year Bible reading plans.

Now, you might be thinking that two-year plans just space out a one-year plan over a longer time period, but that’s not quite all there is to it. The best two-year plans are carefully thought out and orchestrated to both reduce your time restrictions and to enhance your reading enjoyment and comprehension.

With all that in mind, are you ready to finally move forward in your study of scripture, to read the entire Bible?

If so, then one of these wonderful two-year Bible reading plans just may be exactly what you need.

TGC Two-Year Bible Reading Plan

Stephen Witmer first unveiled The Gospel Coalition’s Two-Year Bible Reading Plan way back in 2010 … but it has stood the test of time.

That may sound silly considering how timeless the Bible itself is, but many Bible reading plans have some inherent weaknesses:

• They’re daunting, forcing you through what may be too many passages each day.
• They’re rigid, in that if you miss any reading sessions, you won’t reach the overall goal of the plan (time-wise, at least).
• They can be disjointed, in that they have you jumping from topic to topic.
• All of the above might encourage you to read quickly and gloss over the true meanings interlaced with God’s words.

TGC’s plan addresses most of these, and it’s a principled approach that nearly anyone can follow.

You can find an overview of the plan here, and a PDF copy of the plan here.

Ligonier Ministries 2-Year Bible Reading Plan

Founded by the late R.C. Sproul, Ligonier Ministries is one of the great sources for Christian Apologist information in the world today.

But they also provide more foundational materials, such as a complete suite of Bible reading plans.

In particular, they offer up multiple one-year and two-year plans, including one that has you reading through both the Old and New Testaments once, plus four trips through Psamls and Proverbs.

Check out Ligonier’s free Bible reading plans here.

Newspring Church Two-Year Reading Plan

South Carolina-based Newspring Church serves up a modern web experience that makes it easy to navigate through their various resources — not that web design is the focus of this post, but it’s nice to see, and the site flows well.

One of the offerings from Newspring is a Two-Year Reading plan that has you sampling from Psalms or Proverbs each day, along with a longer passage from other books.

It’s a nice, steady pace that helps you reach your goal of reading the entire Bible in two years.

Check out the two-year Bible reading plan here.

The Bible in TWO YEARS

“The Bible in Two Years” is provided by the Providence Presbyterian Church in Concord, NC.

Like the other entries in this post, this Bible reading plan has you finishing the entire scriptures in two years.

What sets “The Bible in TWO YEARS” apart is that it’s organized in rough chronological order, meaning that you will be reading about the events in context with each other (again, roughly).

It’s a neat idea that can give you a different perspective on your Bible studies and can help keep you engaged in the narrative.

You can find “The Bible in TWO YEARS” here.

2-Year Bible Reading Plan from LisaNotes.com

LisaNotes.com is the online home of Lisa, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother … and most of all a Christian writing about, as she puts it, “how I see God in the everyday.”

Lisa’s blog is well worth visiting on a regular basis, but her two-year Bible reading plan is a special gem.

Like other similar plans, Lisa’s plan gets you through the Bible in two years, but she has taken special care to make sure it works for your situation.

In particular, she has you studying five days a week instead of the full seven, which can really help avoid burnout (it happens even with the Bible).

Lisa also covers the entire Bible in 95 weeks, which gives you plenty of leeway over the two-year period.

Finally, Lisa alternates between the Old and New Testament, while respecting chronological order to enhance readability.

All in all, Lisa is a woman who is dedicated to sharing God’s word, and her two-year Bible reading plan demonstrates that dedication in spades.

You can find her introductory post here and a PDF of her reading plan here.

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So, which of these plans is best for you?

The answer to that question will, of course, depend on your particular situation, study habits, and reading preferences. But you probably can’t go too wrong with any of them, and you can always change course later on.

The important thing is to get moving with a plan that is manageable for you, and that you’ll stick with.

And if you do pick a particular entry here and follow it through — or at least for awhile — I’d love to hear how it went for you.

What was great about the plan, and what did you have to adjust? And did you make it all the way through the Bible?

Finally, if you know of any great two-year Bible reading plans I should include here, please let me know!

The post Five 2-Year Bible Reading Plans to Help You FINALLY Achieve Your Study Goals appeared first on Late Faith.