Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer GuideTwo Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeSabbath Keeping FastingA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationPersonality Type in CongregationsPrayers of the Old TestamentPrayers of the New TestamentSabbathFriendingA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDeath in Dunedin: A NovelDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeAdvent DevotionalDraw Near: Lenten Devotional by Lynne Baab, illustrated by Dave Baab

Praying about Jesus’s miracles: The second miraculous catch of fish

Lynne Baab • Tuesday July 9 2024

Praying about Jesus’s miracles: The second miraculous catch of fish

In Matthew's and Mark’s versions of the day of Jesus’s resurrection, the women at the tomb are told to pass a message on to the other disciples. Jesus wants the disciples to go to Galilee and meet him there. In Matthew, the disciples receive the Great Commission in Galilee. In John, one of the events in Galilee after the resurrection involves a large catch of fish (John 21:4-11).

In the early morning, the disciples are fishing close to the shore and see a man they do not recognize on the shore. He tells them to cast the net to the right side of...

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Praying about Jesus’s miracles: The first miraculous catch of fish

Lynne Baab • Tuesday July 2 2024

Praying about Jesus’s miracles: The first miraculous catch of fish

One of my favorite prayers is “Lord, you know.” Sometimes, I’m troubled about something and confused about what to ask God for. Other times, I’m tired and can’t organize my thoughts, but I feel deep concern about something. Sometimes, I feel blue, and I don’t know how to pray for my mood.

I tend to pray “Lord, you know” about my personal life and the needs of friends and families. The miraculous catch of fish widens the options for when and where to pray that helpful prayer.

Luke 4 describes the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. After Jesus fasts in the wilderness and is...

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Praying about Jesus’s miracles: Touching the fringe of his cloak

Lynne Baab • Tuesday June 25 2024

Praying about Jesus’s miracles: Touching the fringe of his cloak

Ten years ago this week, I wrote the first post on this blog. I’m praising God for this cool anniversary. Today, I’ll begin with some reflections about blog writing and then get to some miracles that I had never noticed before, described briefly by Mark and Matthew.

In 2014, my website had been in existence for about a decade. I viewed it as a place to promote my books and make articles that I’d written for magazines available. I got the idea of having a blog on my website to further promote my books, so I hired a wonderful web designer (Blair...

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Praying about Jesus’s miracles: The feeding of the 4000

Lynne Baab • Wednesday June 19 2024

Praying about Jesus’s miracles: The feeding of the 4000

I want to give you a series of words. See how you feel as you read them. Deserted place. Desolate place. Remote place. Secluded place. Wilderness. Desert. Open field. Do these words evoke longing to get away from responsibilities and difficult people? A hint of uneasiness? A feeling of isolation? A bit of fear for your safety?

All those words are possible translations of one Greek word, eremo, which is used frequently in the stories of Jesus’s feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000. The possible translations of that word may give us a possible answer to a question that bothered me for a...

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By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021