The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [John 10:10 (ESV)]
It was morning along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Fishermen on shore were cleaning their boats and nets after a night of fishing. The mood was dark and the men were glum. It had been a disappointing night and their nets had returned to them empty.
As people gathered around Jesus to hear his message, He sat in one of the empty boats and spoke to the crowd from there. He then presumed to tell these experienced fishermen take their boats out again and drop their nets. What did Jesus know? He was just an itinerant preacher and carpenter from Nazareth. The fishermen, however, didn’t argue about his lack of credentials nor did they point out that the best time for fishing was evening and not daytime. There were no complaints about being tired from a night of work and no grumbling about having just cleaned the nets. Instead of questioning Jesus about his fishing knowledge, they simply obeyed. The result of their obedience was a record-breaking catch! If we followed Jesus’ advice as readily as did Simon Peter and the others, just imagine the blessings we might gather in our lives!
“How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” asks the comedian. “Practice, practice, practice,” is his answer. “Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work,” said Booker T. Washington, a man who truly knew the value of hard work. Most of us, having been raised with a strong work ethic, would agree with Washington’s words. If we want something we must work for it. If we want to be musicians, we practice; if we want to get on the team, we train; if we want a scholarship, we study. Success comes through determination and lots of hard work. We’ve heard all the maxims; there’s no elevator to success so we have to take the stairs. We know there’s no such thing as a free lunch, we must work our way up the ladder, and we’ve got to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Success is never handed to you and it’s only in the dictionary that success comes before work.
While yesterday’s story of the testy foul-mouthed grandpa was funny, it was also sad. That grouchy man with the bad vocabulary claims to be a God-fearing Christian and yet he thought nothing of losing his patience and taking God’s name in vain when annoyed by a little boy! His story points out the complaint so many have about the Christian church—we’re just a bunch of hypocrites!
“I’m the answer to Pastor’s prayers,” said the woman lightheartedly as she sat down next to me at Bible study. Having seen on Facebook that he was praying for more people at Bible study, she felt the urge to come. Her comment caused me to think about the way God uses us to answer people’s prayers.
Well, it’s that time of year again and I went through my annual (and embarrassing) total body check at the dermatologist’s office. I was closely examined head to toe with a bright light and a magnifying glass and body parts that never see the sun were seen by a complete stranger. That’s what David asked God to do, only God was no stranger and it was his heart that was inspected rather than his skin. Knowing that he was imperfect and hadn’t lived up to God’s standard, David asked God to thoroughly examine him and point out his failings. As awkward as it is to stand naked in front of a stranger, it is far more difficult and humbling to bare our hearts to God and ask Him to point out our deepest faults.
Sometimes our Florida church celebrates Communion at the beach. The church provides fried chicken and everyone brings a dish to pass. After enjoying dinner and fellowship with our church family, we congregate around the gazebo, pray, hear a brief sermon, and partake of the Lord’s Supper. Some Sundays, there also may be a Baptism in the ocean. We stand on the beach as the sun sets in the west and welcome a new Christian into the body of Christ. These sunset meals are a celebration of God’s grace, Jesus’s love, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Devotions of the Heart 