Discipleship

God Still Has a Job For Us To Do

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

I Confess that this election has been tough to deal with, but moping isn’t going to help much and as I’ve been praying, God comforted my heart with four things from Matthew’s gospel.

Then he got into the boat and His disciples followed him. Matthew 8:23. Jesus is still in my boat! As the disciples traveled across the Sea of Galilee they got caught in a storm. But no matter that water was coming over the sides and they were exhausted they had the most important thing going for them. Jesus was still on board!

All the storms we face in life have one thing in common. We get afraid, but Jesus is not! The disciples went and woke him saying, “Lord save us! We’re going to drown!”

Jesus is still in control! He is not wondering what to do next! …Then he got up and rebuked the wind and the waves and it was completely calm. Matthew 8:26b

God still has a job for us to do on the other side of the storm! Matthew 8:28 when He arrived at the other side… If we will just stick close to Jesus we will discover that He always brings us to the other side and that when we get there he has something for us to do!

Snow Storms and Celebrations

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Our first home had a spectacular view from the top of a high ridge in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania. However nice as that view was in Summer, we paid double for it in Winter. Can you guess where the snow piled up in drifts several feet deep? Yep you got it -right outside our front door!

Then in 1993 a snow storm attacked our state and we went through 3 days of everything being shut down and the roads being closed. But we discovered the sweet reality that as long as our wood supply was stacked safe and dry in the garage and Nancy had flour for baking bread we simply turned that storm into a time of celebration!

God offers us the same sweet reality and much more in today’s verse. Notice first He doesn’t say that storms won’t attack us but that when they do He has a blessing in store. We can trust Him because He is totally and perfectly prepared for whatever comes. The warmth of His love and His Living Bread from Heaven will always be in abundant supply and He will raise up a banner turning our greatest trials into our greatest celebration!

Let Down the Nets

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And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”  Luke 5:5

We all sometimes come face to face with failure no matter how hard we try. When kids were picking teams to play baseball in my neighborhood I was always the last to get picked and usually was made pitcher because I couldn’t hit, run or catch.

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Maybe you are struggling in your marriage is struggling or you are just weeks away from bankruptcy. Like Peter whatever you are facing, remember that Jesus didn’t come to choose the best fishermen, fathers, mothers or business men and women. Jesus came to pick people who have worked all night with nothing to show for their efforts. in fact Jesus is not asking for us to just try harder. He calls us to simply believe and obey His word!  When Peter did what Jesus asked his once empty nets became so full that he needed his friends’ help to pull them in. But Jesus doesn’t stop with simply filling our nets with fish. He has an astonishing adventure in mind far beyond just immediate blessings. If we follow Jesus we will be amazed at where that journey leads; but everything hinges on being willing to let down those nets at His word!

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him Luke 5:11