A miraculous catch of fish

And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Luke 5:4-11

I wanted to blog on this passage last week when, coincidentally, I taught on it in Sunday School and Pastor Dick preached on it as well. What stood out to me was Peter's response to this miracle. He saw something amazing and knew that God was working through Jesus, hence, his sudden awareness of his sin and unworthiness. He went from tired, grudging obedience to being awestruck. Did he know that Jesus was God? Maybe not yet, but there was certainly something about Jesus that commanded more than just his attention. For there and then, Peter, James and John left their family, their livelihoods as fishermen, and followed Jesus.

 

Does Jesus command your heart and will as He did theirs? Are you willing to call Jesus Lord, and LORD? When did God come into your life, when you knew, unmistakably and irretrievably, that the only thing you could do was follow Him?

To fight for joy

I'm naturally prone to be melancholic and intense. But I've been convicted recently that I am to call myself a child of God, how can I be anything but joyful? How can anything but the deeper, pervading, unshakeable joy of God shine in me? I can be faced with all sorts of things: a frustrating physical injury, an urgent deadline, anything at all, but the joy of the Lord is not to be lost. See what Romans 15:13 says:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Because we believe, we have joy, and we have hope! A hope that surpasses this life, a hope that lasts to all eternity.

If you're like me, often glum or depressive, you'll find this a convicting reminder that the joy of the Lord is to be a hallmark of our life: How Shall We Fight For Joy

The Girl In The Orange Dress

When I was in India, I had this startling, heart-wrenching experience.

We were in New Delhi, crossing the road to a McDonalds, when this little girl ran up to us. She couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old, and she was wearing a dirty orange dress with a patch of sweat at the front. She was selling beaded necklaces. "One for 10 rupees." She follows us as we cross the road and counts out eleven necklaces. "Eleven for 100 rupees." (10 rupees is about 30 cents.) We are standing at the road divider and she sticks out her small free arm in front of one of my friends. "Be careful," she says authoritatively.

Something about this girl strikes a chord in my heart. I buy one necklace from her. Later, I wish that I had bought more, but she is gone when we leave the McDonalds. Maybe it is her energy, her spirit, how she spoke. Maybe she reminds me of my little cousins. Anyway, I can't get her out of my mind.

She could be anywhere else. Were she born somewhere else in the world, she could be in school, playing in a playground or in a comfortable home. She could grow up to be a lawyer, a dancer, a sports star,anything she wants. Instead she's smart, pretty, spirited, but running about the streets of Delhi selling necklaces.

That day, I'm lost in thought. I realize that when we serve God, and our service comes out of faith and obedience to Him, He will always call us to serve another person in the course of it. God never calls us to be hermits in a mountain somewhere. He will always call us to help someone, be it physically, emotionally, but most importantly, spiritually. The best thing we can do for anyone is to bring her or him to life-saving faith in Jesus Christ. And perhaps, in the course of it, we will feed the hungry, give medicine to the sick, house the homeless, counsel a depressed person, speak up for the downtrodden, and so on. But the overarching motivation is always to serve God.

I realize that I must never, never live for myself. Whatever I do in the future, I want to live for Jesus. He gave everything for me, that I may give everything for Him and for all He calls me to do. Oh Lord, use me. Remind me to always live for you, and use me to bring love and peace to a world so in need of them.