Feel Like Giving Up?

Years ago, we had a poster on the wall, of a young boy sitting hunched over on the sidelines of a football game, with the quote, “I quit!” Then, just to the side of that was a picture of the cross with the words, “I didn’t!” If that is you today, then I pray that this little devotional which I wrote several years ago would give you hope.

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

Peter was like the farmer who has just finished his spring planting only to have his field washed out by a rainstorm. We all sometimes come face to face with our inability and failure no matter how hard we try. Maybe you were the last to get picked for your neighborhood team and only got to play because they ran out of other people. Maybe your marriage is struggling or has failed. Maybe you don’t have a friend. Whatever you may be facing, that is also how Peter felt that day.

But Jesus doesn’t come to choose the best fishermen, fathers, mothers or pastors. Jesus came to pick people for His team who have worked all night and have nothing to show for their efforts. And the call of Jesus is not to just try harder. Jesus only asks us to believe and obey His word!  When Peter simply did what Jesus asked him, he saw immediate results. When he cast the net on the other side of the boat, it became so full that it took all of the efforts of Peter his friends to pull them in. But Jesus doesn’t stop with filling our nets. We think it would be great if Jesus showed up to give us blessings like Peter’s full nets, but this story is about more than blessings. The call of Jesus then, as now, was to come by faith and follow Him wherever He chooses to go!

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

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Love Lifted Me and our Unseen Grandson! — Walking With Lambs

And the Lord came and called as before, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel replied, “Speak, your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10 NLT When the call goes out for helpers for nursing home ministry, many people don’t volunteer, simply because they feel they have nothing to offer. “I can’t sing – I’m not good in front of people’” […]

Love Lifted Me and our Unseen Grandson! — Walking With Lambs

God’s Building Plans

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13A-14 NIV

First I want to give a big thank you to Alan of Devotional Treasures for inspiring me to get out of my funk. We’ve been dealing with a lot of serious health issues here with our two daughter-in-laws as some of you know. The one who was in the hospital with Covid is now home and gradually improving. The other is about to begin chemo for the same ovarian cancer that my wife battled through three years ago. Thanks for those of you who have prayed. I thought I would share today the encouragement God gave me while I was out for my walk yesterday.

Our lives seemed like a construction project that was being completed right on time; when these unexpected difficulties came and slapped a stop work order on our door. The inability to do a thing has been frustrating because it made me realize that in reality I am not in charge at all. It is easy to just blame the devil as some sort of evil building inspector, but God reminded me that His Holy Spirit in my heart is His guarantee that no matter how things look, everything is under His control. His guarantee is not really a down payment as a few translations render the word- because God has the resources to pay off our mortgage in full. Instead the Holy Spirit’s presence is like the deposit which we make on a home we wish to buy. That small amount of our money is our promise to the seller that we will pay their entire asking price once the lender runs our credit and sees that our finances are in order. The good news for us is that God is the buyer with the highest credit rating in the universe!

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Now, think of your darkest moment. At the time when nothing has worked out, your plans have been frustrated and your world turned upside-down, God guarantees that we are still His. He has bought us, by paying the full price of our sins with the precious blood of Jesus. Now the title to our hearts belongs to Him. Though we face very real troubles in this life, God’s Holy Spirit has not nor will He ever abandon us. That tiny spark of His life in us is – that guarantee of our inheritance – is like the Spirit of God that overshadowed Mary. So be patient because just as Mary carried that spark for nine months inside her, trusting that God’s promise was true, so we can trust Him to keep His promise to us. He has promised that we are His and that He will finish the building project of our souls right on time and precisely according to His plan!