No Fish, No Problem

Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 

And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. 

Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”   

Simon responded and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.”  And when they had done this, they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear;  so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking.

But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; and likewise also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. 

And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

Luke 5:1-11 

If you know anything about fishermen, you know they like to brag about the fish they catch, so this for Simon was a humbling moment when he confessed they had caught no fish. Yet, here he was, face to face with Jesus and he did as he was told and caught so many fish, that he had to call for help to bring them in.  

I look at this and think how sometimes when we are ready to quit some failing venture, that something happens that brings us enough success that we decide to carry on. That is the way it is with God, when are down to nothing, God is up to something.   

And, for Simon, James and John that is exactly what happened - Jesus called them to be His Disciples and they left everything and followed Him.

So, when you think you are not successful, remember that God's plans are bigger than our plans, and, He will open doors for you to find success. 

Today Is For You

 

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27

It's Sunday and it's your day.  Relax and do something you want to do.

Jesus said it and we believe it.

Have a good day. 

 

No Sin Is Too Big For God To Forgive

 

“Come now, and let us reason together,”

Says the Lord,

“Though your sins are as scarlet,

They will be as white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson,

They will be like wool.”

Isaiah1:18

Do you think your sin is too big for God to forgive? 

Think again. God says He will forgive you.  Jesus came to forgive all sins, not just the small ones. When we confess our sins, repent and ask Jesus to be our Lord, Master and Savior, we are new in the eyes of God. As far as God is concerned, there is nothing that prohibits us from ministering in His name.

However, we still may face the problem of people and what they think. The barriers caused by our previous sins might not so easily be reconciled with humans.  What then can we do?

We can find places to minister where others are not ministering. We can serve the homeless, we can work with refugees, or we can provide lawn care to those who need help.  We can create an awareness of the needs in our community.  When we seek God's direction, He will provide us with more opportunities to minister than we can do alone, and God will send people to help us. 

Be brave. 

When God calls answer Him. 

Need A Break?

Then he came to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

1 Kings 19:9-10.

Elijah called the fire down from heaven. I would call that a roaring success, but Elijah was discouraged and hid in a cave.  He was exhausted.  

We all have times when we feel like we have been beaten up when all we were trying to do was the right thing.  We need to take a break and take time to pray and study the scriptures and to rest.  

That’s OK, but don’t lose heart.  God will come looking for you, and when He does say, “Here Am I.” 

Read I Kings 18 and 19 to get the whole story of Elijah calling the fire down from heaven. 

The Right Time

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

James 4:17

Sometimes it takes a life time of bad choices to figure this out, but I say, "Why wait?" 

Think before you act. 

As Martin Luther King said, "The time is always right do do what is right." 

 

Everything Will Be Alright

 

Then Job’s wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity?  Curse God and die!”

But Job said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks.  Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?”  In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job 2:9-10

Did you ever notice when bad things happen to Christians there are always people who say they must have done something wrong?

I should know because I have felt at times like I was melting in the midst of purgatory with accusations from those who I thought would support me in the worst five minutes of my life.  I was driven to the point of questioning my faith. 

Then I discovered my accusers were wrong.  If your spouse cheated on you or your child got arrested or your house burnt down or if you were laid off from your job, it was not because you sinned.  It is because God has some bigger plan He is working on and you just happen to be right in the middle of it. 

It may be rough going, but we need to praise God for our circumstances and with great anticipation wait to see what He has planned next. 

Raise your hands up and say, “Thank you God for everything.  I trust you.  Hallelujah!  Amen.”

Take A Walk

Therefore I, a prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, and being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope in your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 

Ephesians 4:1-6

Paul wrote to the Ehesians to encourage them to maintain their Christian faith in his absence.

Paul points out that we, as Christians, have a higher calling than our own personal agendas, that being serving God by acting with humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, and striving for unity in the Church.

All of this is possible because the one God and Father is over all and through all and in all.  All includes us!

So, take a walk and find the bond of peace.