~~~ Colossians 1:9-14 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Luke 5:1-11~~~
...the boats were in danger of sinking...
God enters into our circle of awareness at various times in our life.
When his presence is made known to us things happen.
Jesus brings about change when he is with us.
Peter had just come ashore from a disappointing day of fishing.
They had been up all night trailing the nets and came
up empty each time they checked.
This was their job. Fishing was how they supported their families.
When there was no catch, there could be no income
for their labor that day.
Fishing is hard work...it requires strength...
it takes muscles to pull up the nets full of fish.
Many hours were devoted to carefully checking and mending the nets.
Imagine Jesus now entering the picture...
He makes the request to go back out on the water.
When God enters into the picture things change...
people get healed, tables get overturned, men
drop what they are doing to follow him.
Jesus asks Simon, Peter, to cooperate with him.
In effect Jesus is telling Peter,
'Now that I am with you...things will be different.'
Jesus is asking Peter to trust him, to believe in him.
Jesus came at the end of the fishing day.
It may have been the end of the fishing day, but it was the beginning
of the rest of Peter's life.
I know that may sound a bit cliché, but its the truth.
Jesus is the alpha and the omega...the beginning and the end.
It does not matter if you are young or old
Jesus can enter into your life.
He can ask you to cooperate with him
to create something new from something familiar.
Peter was overcome with wonder and awe at the catch that afternoon.
He affirmed the presence of Jesus and followed his directions.
Peter grew from that day on in spiritual wisdom
and clarity of understanding.
From that day forward Peter, with all of his shortcomings,
attempted to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
From that day on casting the fishing nets
would never be business as usual.
That day the net could not contain all of the fish.
It was as if the waters had been filled with fish just for Peter to catch.
When the presence of Jesus is in your midst, prepare to be amazed...
prepare to be taken beyond normalcy...
prepare to let go and let God.
The nets were being physically stressed with the
abundant supply of fish.
The more you cooperate with God the more
you will discover about your relationship with him.
The presence of God in our lives is sometimes
too much even for us to contain.
His presence stresses our previous attitudes.
Do not be afraid
Blessings come when God
enters into our personal space.
He comes to us
by invitation and by inspiration.
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