Monday... He really is interested in us and what we are doing.

John 21:5-6 (NLT), "He called out, 'Fellows, have you caught any fish?' 'No,' they replied. Then he said, 'Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!' So they did and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it."

Monday... He really is interested in us and what we are doing.

Now here is the setting of John 21, the back story. Jesus had been crucified but he then had been raised from the dead and he was now connecting back with his disciples. Their whole world it seemed to them had been destroyed so they went back to doing what they had been doing when Jesus called them to follow him. Verse 3 says, "Simon Peter said, 'I'm going fishing'" and the others went with him. In their distress and confusion they did what they knew to do. And that is where Jesus found them and he didn't put them down, he didn't lambast them. He understood.

Again, Jesus really is interested in us and what we are doing and how we are handling the difficulties, disappointments and successes in our life.

Now, there was this guy on the beach who was yelling out at them. They couldn't tell who it was but it was Jesus. Verses 5-6 says, "He called out, 'Fellows, have you caught any fish? No,' they replied. Then he said, 'Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!' So they did and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it." They still didn't know who it was but they did do what he said. God uses so many different ways to speak to us and it is so important for our pride to not get in the way. "So they did and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it."

Now after they realized that it was Jesus they came on to shore. In fact, Peter jumped out of the boat and swam to shore. And when they all finally made it they found breakfast waiting for them. And Jesus told them to bring him some fish.

Look at this. Verse 13 says, "So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore. There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't torn." The Amplified Bible says, "full of large fish, a hundred and fifty three [of them]" The Message says, "153 big fish." The NIV says, "153" and the King James Version says, "an hundred and fifty and three."

John put the exact number of fish that they had caught. Jesus had called these men to be fishers of men. He came to this world to be fishers of men and each one of us who have been caught are very important. Some get so upset when people are counted when they come to church. Well it seems that numbers are important to God. Yes, there were 153 fish that were caught. Each one of those fish was a miracle and each one of us is a miracle. If fish are important then so are we.

You see, God really is interested in each one of us and what we are doing. Yes, they caught 153 big fish and there were more to come, more people to come. These eleven were going to change the world. And what we do is also so very important to God and he keeps track. Just listen to him and maybe throw your net where he tells you and then see the result.

He really is interested in us and what we are doing, even the details. Yes, even the number of fish that we catch. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

Todays Beginning

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