Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the daily challenges.  This week’s topic is part of our series called EPIC where we’ve been exploring how Jesus is found throughout the Old Testament part of the Bible. We’re reading some epic old stories from the Old Testament, some of which you might have heard before, some of which might be new to you. But our hope is that in each of them we’ll see how they’re part of one big epic story: the story of the Bible, the story of the world, God’s story.

Our daily challenges are meant to help you explore what it means to follow Jesus, even if you don’t have a lot of time. That’s why we have a rhythm that keeps us in sync, even if we’re not a community that meets together in person regularly. This means every Monday we introduce the week’s idea. Every Tuesday we study it in the Bible. Every Wednesday we see how that challenges and transforms our thinking on the topic. Thursdays we try to apply and live it out. Friday is a day for prayer and reflection before we take a rest on Saturday, and Sundays we meet together with other Christians in community.

Back in 2012, amateur astronomers noted a strange haze, or cloud in the high atmosphere of Mars.

http://astronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/81043906_mars_cloud.jpg

Three years later, scientists acknowledge it’s mysterious, and there are no categories for it right now.  The cloud reflects sunlight like water, ice, CO² or dust, but scientists don’t expect those substances up high in the atmosphere of Mars based on current models.

It’s a mystery, we know it’s there because we can see it from a distance, using amazing instruments and technology.  But we still don’t understand it or control it.

Thousands of years ago, a mysterious cloud appeared on earth.  God was communicating his presence to his people.  We couldn’t understand or control God, but he was there for his people to trust and follow all the same.

Question: When do you easily forget God’s presence?  What visual aid would help?

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• Are you meeting just once a week with your discussion group?  You can find all of this week’s discussion material in our Weekly Study Guide