Hello everybody! How are you today? I hope you all are enjoying your summer! I would like to share with y'all a passage that has had quite a large impact on me recently. Hope you enjoy this little devotion I have for you here!
Todays devotion is found in Luke 5:1-11:
One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
- In verse 5 Simon says that because Jesus told them to let down their nets they did so. Step 1 in properly following Jesus is to obey when you are told to because that is simply what Jesus is telling you to do. Obeying doesn't mean doing what God has directed when you want to, it means doing it right then, when he asks. The children's pastor at my church always says that the definition of obey is "Doing what your told to do, when your told to do it, with the right heart attitude." -This applies to everything but especially what God commands.
- At the end of verse 8 Simon says "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" I think there is definitely the presence of the Lord in your life when you feel unworthy of his grace which Simon did in this moment. Have you ever had a moment where you are almost left astonished at how real the presence of God is in that moment to where you feel unworthy of any of his time or love? If not, maybe you haven't allowed God to enter your heart and speak to you quite yet.
- Near the end of verse 10 Jesus said to Simon "Don't be afraid; from now on you will fish for people." This might sound scary now that we humans know we are supposed to go out to others and reach them for Christ however, it really isn't scary or hard. In this passage, all the fisherman had to do was cast their nets over the boat and the Lord provided them with the fish. Enough to feed and provide for their families for a while! In our situation I think that the Lord isn't asking much of us other than to cast our nets. For example, just inviting someone to your youth group or church is an easy way to plant a seed. The Lord just needs you to invite them and he will take care of the rest.
How often are you casting your nets? I know I am not doing it often enough. I encourage you to pray about how you can trust the Lord and invite someone to church or reach out to them in any way possible. It is amazing what God can do with one act of vulnerability and a prayer. I promise you will feel Gods presence like you haven't ever before.
How can I pray for you all this week? Let me know by leaving a comment below! If you have anything personal you would like to share or have something you would like to tell me please feel free to email me! I love hearing from you all!
Hope you all enjoyed! Talk you y'all real soon!
This is exactly what I needed today. Great portion of the Word here, and very encouraging to me right now. If you are into praying for strangers, my husband got laid off from work and is going back to school, so I need a higher paying job to pay for the tuition bills, or otherwise need some money. :/ I have been asking everyone to pray for me because it is very hard. Likewise, I pray for others to be blessed. Have a wonderful day and always keep your head up.
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I will continue to pray for you and your husband daily and I hope to hear back what happens. Genesis 28:15 says "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go [...] and I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." God promises to never leave us. Also, remember there is no testimony without the test. I appreciate you taking the time to comment and hope to hear back soon! Have a great day. God Bless
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