Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E58 | Everyday Eurasia | Pravin Samudre

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S1-E58 | Everyday Eurasia | Pravin Samudre · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  This week we're highlighting the India field.
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  It is the largest measuring field in the Eurasia region with
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  more than 95,000 members and over 2300 churches.
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  Throughout the week, voices from across the field will be sharing
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  their daily devotionals with us. Today we're joined by reference
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  Praveen Samudre. He serves as the Communication
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  coordinator for the India field. Together with his wife, he also
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  works as a professional counselor specializing in
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  marriage, family, in relationship counseling.
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  Praveen has been serving in Pune for the past 16 years and is
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  blessed with two children. Today he will be sharing from
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  Mark Chapter 6 verses 45 till 52.
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  Greetings in Jesus name. My name is Praveen.
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  For today's devotion I have chosen a chapter from Mark 645
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  to 52. Let me read it for you
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  immediately. Jesus made his disciples get
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  into the board and go on ahead of him to bestseller, while He
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  dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, He went up
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  on a mountainside to Pring. When evening came, the boat was
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  in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
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  He saw the disciples straining at the oars because the wind was
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  against them. About the fourth watch of the
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  night He went out to them. Walking on the lake, He was
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  about to pass them but when they saw him walking on the lake,
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  they thought he was a ghost. They cried out because they all
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  saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and
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  said take courage it is I don't be afraid.
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  Then he climbed into the boat with them and the wind died
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  down. They were completely amazed, for
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  they had not understood about the loves.
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  Their hearts were hardened. The Bible records more than one
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  storm on the Sea of Galilee. If we read Mark chapter 4, we
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  can witness the disciple faced a storm while Jesus was sleeping
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  in the boat. Jesus spoke and the storm became
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  calm. Later on the same sea, the
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  disciple faced another storm. This time Jesus was not in the
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  boat. Today I want to bring your
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  attention to Mark chapter 6, verse 45, where Jesus gives one
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  small instruction, crossover the other side.
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  Now think with me for a moment. When a new year begins, we also
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  crossover. We leave the old year behind and
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  step into a new one. We often do this with
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  confidence. We believe this year will be
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  better. We expect life to become easier.
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  We hope blessings will flow. But now, a few weeks into the
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  year, some of us may feel very different.
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  World old problems are still there, new challenges have
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  appeared. And we quietly ask ourselves
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  what happened? Did I do something wrong?
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  Where is God in this situation? When we read Mark chapter 6
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  verses 47 to 51, the disciples were not travelling to an
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  unknown place. These were familiar waters.
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  Some of them had worked on this sea for years.
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  In the same way, when a new year begins, nothing around us really
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  changes. It is the same sun we see every
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  morning, the same home, the same people we meet, only the future
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  is unknown. The disciples knew the sea but
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  did not know what kind of experience awaited them.
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  This passage help us understand what happens when God leads us
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  forward, but does not explain everything along the way.
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  As I was reflecting on this story, it spoke deeply to my
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  heart. I believe it can encourage you
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  as well. My first reflection.
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  God may lead us into familiar places with unfamiliar
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  resistance. Verse 47 tells us the boat was
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  in the middle of the sea. Verse 48 says the wind was
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  against them. They were exactly where Jesus
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  told them to be. They were doing exactly what He
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  asked them to do. They were obedient, yet they
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  were struggling. This teaches an important truth.
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  Obedience does not remove resistance.
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  Sometimes obedience places a right in the middle of it.
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  The disciples knew the sea, but they did not expect the wind to
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  fight them. When human beings face
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  unexpected struggle, frustration is often the first emotion.
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  They wrote hard, but progress was slow.
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  Does this sound familiar to you all?
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  We follow God, we take the next step and then resistance.
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  Sure, we become frustrated, we are blaming situations,
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  Sometimes we blame people, and sometimes quietly, even in our
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  heart, we even blame God. But this passage remind us of
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  something important. The presence of struggle does
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  not mean the absence of God. My second reflection.
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  Fear grows when our experiences does not match our expectation.
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  Verse 48 tells us that Jesus saw them straining at yours.
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  Jesus was watching them struggle.
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  He was not absent. Then comes the surprising moment
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  Jesus walked towards them on the water.
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  But verse 50 says they thought he was a ghost and cried out in
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  fear. This feels very human.
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  Jesus was coming to help them, yet tired and frustrated
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  disciples misunderstood His presence.
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  Why does this happen? Fear often comes not because God
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  is far, but because we do not understand what he is doing.
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  When pressure increases, emotion takes over.
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  When answers are delayed, fear fills the silence.
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  The disciples were not afraid of the sea.
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  They had known its since childhood.
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  They were afraid of what the sea had become.
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  As we move through a new year or a new season, probably similar
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  questions may rise in our hearts.
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  What if things get worst? What if God is silent?
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  What I if I cannot handle this. The text remind us that Jesus
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  never stopped watching them and his promise still stand.
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  I am with you always to the very end of the age.
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  Matthew chapter 28 and last verse final reflection verse 51
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  says Jesus got into the boat with them and the wind died
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  down. Amazing right?
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  The greatest change was not around them, it was within them.
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  Problems do not always disappear immediately, but peace enters
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  when Jesus is present in the boat.
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  Jesus said take courage. It is I do not be afraid.
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  This is the heart of the message.
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  I feel who is with you matters more than what you're facing.
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  I'm sure you must have heard this of from many people.
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  As we walk forward, challenges may continue, storms may rise
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  again. But when Jesus in the boat, fear
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  no longer controls our heart. Mark chapter 6 shows us a
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  pattern of discipleship. First God gives direction, then
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  resistance appears. After that, fear rises, but
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  everything changes when Jesus comes near.
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  The disciples were not abandoned, they were being
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  formed. As this new year unfolds for all
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  of us, we may not know what lies ahead, but we know who walks
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  with us. Storms may still come, problems
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  may not stop. But when Jesus is in our boat,
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  our hearts can find rest and that makes all the difference.
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  As we are walking in this New year, I pray that the Lord will
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  help us and guide us from this scripture portion and He will
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  always encourage us. Shall we pray?
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  Lord Jesus, thank you for being with us in every situation.
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  When the winds are against us, Lord, when fear rises in our
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  hearts, Lord, we pray that remind us that you are near.
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  Give us courage to trust you. Give us your peace so that we
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  will rest in your presence. And also, Lord, we pray,
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  increase our faith to cook. Keep moving forward.
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  As we walk in this new year, we pray, we ask helpers to remember
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  that you are in our life good. We love you and we thank you.
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  In your name we pray. Amen.
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  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Fate for everyday. For more Everyday Stories,
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  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
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  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
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  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.