Discipleship

Let Down the Nets

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

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.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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

Are We on God’s Crew?

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5

As we work hard to build our churches sometimes we forget whose house it is. The home under construction under the supervision of God’s general contractor the Holy Spirit is for His. And since God in all His wonderful creativity has made us different then every color of living stone myst be included.

Being a part of God’s construction crew means more than just showing up for work. We are called to follow God’s blueprint if we are going to be on His construction site. And if we are to all be built together we need to do more than allow diversity we must pursue it! If glancing at God’s plans and seeing a lot of remodeling to do seems daunting, don’t walk off the job and quit. God is still at work in us and will hand out specific work orders for each of us on a daily basis.

The church is still an active construction zone. Stick around, pick up your tools and be willing to work with everybody He puts on the job. When Jesus is in charge we can start being less of an exclusive religious resort and more of a city on a hill that shines a light and glorifies our Father!

Jesus Knows How to Fish

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.  John 21: 8-9 NIV

I could have made the title a bit longer and added, Jesus knows how to fish and I don’t. Funny thing because my son who I taught to fish can cast farther and catch more but the disciples’ night fishing was about like mine would have been: a still one big fat zero!  Can’t you almost picture them throwing out their nets and pulling them in all night wondering why they are empty? Yet at the same time, Jesus was catching fish! By the time the disciples got back to shore with nothing, Jesus had already started a fire and started cooking the fish He had caught.

Photo by Min An on Pexels.com

But the good news for us as well as Peter James and John is that Jesus is still waiting for us. He is waiting for us to give up and bring our boat back to shore. He is waiting for us to be ready to listen to Him. He is waiting for us to recognize His voice. Fishing without praying is just feeding the fish. Fishing longer won’t help. Often just giving up is the first step back to Jesus. He is standing on the shore. He has been working all through our night and He’ll have everything ready when we arrive!