Deep Waters

 

     The men were exhausted. They had been out all night The fishermen and hadn’t caught a thing. Tiredly, they cleaned their nets in the early morning hours. Are you overwhelmed with exhaustion? Have you tried everything and nothing works? Surprisingly, Jesus gets into one of the empty boats and tells them to go back out.

“Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4b

      How would we respond? “I’m too tired.”  “I can’t.”  “I have given it my best and nothing worked.” Here is Simon Peter’s response. It sounds familiar, but we might want to pay attention to the last phrase.

Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught a thing, but because You say so, I will let down the nets.” Luke 5:5

     Have you been swimming in the shallow end of faith? When the answers are not immediate or your prayers are not answered in the way you expected, do you give up? Jesus challenges us to dive in a little deeper, to tread for a while longer in the living word of God, until eternity is etched in our hearts and Jesus is the answer to everything.

After they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. Luke 5;6

     Jesus is the answer to the loneliness, the emptiness, the hole in the net of our hearts. He can fill and re-fill our souls until they overflow. Let’s head to the deep water and fill our nets. The abundant life is there for the taking.

Jesus,

Take away our fear of diving into the deep water of faith to trust and obey You. You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68) Let our defeated attitudes change to a resounding, “yes” to living the abundant life with You.

Amen

Come Lord Jesus

 

     Life moves through cycles of weakness and strength, of chaos and peace, of sadness and joy, of comfort and unrest. After we come to know Jesus, He sticks with us through it all and as we deepen our relationship with Him, we look more and more forward to seeing Him face-to-face and we yearn for our eternal homes.

     My grandma, Pella, made a huge impact on my life. I was lucky to have her until my late twenties. As she aged and moved into her nineties, she would often say, “I just want to go home to Jesus.” With her strong Swedish accent, she said, “Yesus,” and called me “Yudy.”  I still miss her, but the older I get the more I understand the longing that faith brings and the eternal perspective in life. I treasure her Swedish Bible that is so worn from her years of lovingly reading its contents.

     My one remaining aunt is in her mid-nineties now. Along with my grandparents, she and her husband, Paul, taught by example what it means to live a life of faith. My uncle, Paul, was larger than life to me with his outgoing personality filled with laughter and love, with his ability to speak passionately and pray beautifully, never afraid to share His love of Christ.

     Each time I spoke with him, even as he lay dying, he added the words, “Come, Lord Jesus!”  And to me, “Keep shining the light.” My aunt is close to going home now and each day she prays Jesus will take her to heaven.

     Did you know that the disciples expected Jesus to return at any moment? The apostle Paul wrote often about being ready for the soon return of Christ. Each generation believed He could return at any moment, any day, any season. We, along with generations past, should be ready as well.

     His return is imminent. About to happen at any moment. Are you ready and longing for His appearance?

So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him. Matthew 24:44

Therefore, keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Matthew 24;42

     Keep watch. Be alert. Watch the signs and the seasons. As we witness Scripture coming true prophetically, we can be confident in our faith and in the soon return of our Lord.

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:28

     We have nothing to fear. Live with confidence in Jesus. Wait patiently and with great expectation. Each day is a blessing and our eternity is secure.

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come Lord, Jesus. Revelation 22:20

Father,

We say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” What a day it will be when we meet Him face-to-face and move into our glorious eternal home. In the meantime, keep us ready and alert, doing what You ask us to do through our lifetimes here as we await that glorious day.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Enjoy the weekend and keep shining!

Come and See

 

     Come and see what the Lord has done! As we live our lives with Jesus, we begin to witness the miraculous all around us. His creation is more magnificent and unbelievably beautiful than we appreciated before knowing Him. The love we share with family and friends becomes more precious because of Him.

     Our eyes open to what is important to Him, the deep and the lovely world that Jesus offers. Deep speaks to deep.

These are the things God has revealed to us through His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:10

Deep calls to deep in the roar of the waterfalls, all Your waves and breakers have swept over me. Psalm 42:7

     Jesus opens our spiritual eyes with the help of His Holy Spirit. After meeting Jesus and following Him for a while, the deep blessings overwhelm us. His voice reverberates in our souls and we begin to see through His eyes, hear with His ears, serve with His hands, walk in His steps.

     We remain human and fraught with weakness, slipping again and again, but His love remains strong and faithful as He continually welcomes us back to Him and to come and see what He will do next.

Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind! Psalm 66:5

     Our testimonies will become filled with His stories, with His ability to walk us through anything, with the blessings of His love. John and Peter had been arrested while sharing the Gospel and were told not to speak in public anymore. After their release, they went right back out. Why? Here is the answer.

“As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20

     Come and see what Jesus has in store for your life, and you, too, will not be able to stop speaking of everything you see and hear.

Lord,

Your ways are much deeper than our ways. Open our spiritual eyes to see what You have to share with us. The glories You offer are beyond this world, sent from heaven for our pleasure. We love You.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Come Follow Me

 

     After coming to Jesus with our hearts, He asks us to follow Him throughout the rest of our earthly lives, trusting Him through each day, with every step, through the tough times and the smooth times.

“Come follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Mark 1;17

Then He said to them all, “Whoever wants to be My disciple, must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

“My sheep listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me.” John 10?27    

     Following Jesus does not mean our lives will be perfect and easy. On the contrary, He often works best through our times of suffering and sadness. We become closer to Him. Our testimonies become rich with wisdom and trust. His blessings are much deeper than the blessings the world sees as most vital. His love and hope grow in us when we are most vulnerable.

     Follow Him and listen to His voice. He has the answers to the questions you are asking right now. Feel the warmth of His love and comfort. Follow His lead. He will use your stories to shine with His love.

Lord,

Even when life is not easy, we come to You. We follow You. We listen to You. Teach us to trust You and count on You every minute of every day.

In Jesus name,

Amen

 

Come to Me

 

     Have you met Jesus? Accepted him as Savior? Love Him more than anything? If not, He is right there, knocking at your heart. Jesus beckons, welcomes, waits patiently for us to turn our heads His way. Jesus will continue to watch over us, waiting for the opportunity to arise. Often, when we do come to Him, it is during a time of suffering, a time of asking the deep questions in life. Are you seeking answers? Wondering about life and what it’s all about?

“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7;7

“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

     Jesus is ready to open the door. You will find Him. Feeling weary and burdened with life? Seeking comfort and hope? Jesus is speaking to your heart.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

          Rest from our worries, rest from our stress, rest from our grief, answers to eternal questions, peace and joy from now until heaven. He offers us a changed life, one built on the foundation of faith. If you haven’t met Jesus, come to Him today with an open heart, ready to listen, to discover His love, to accept Him as Savior, and He will meet you right where you are.

May Your unfailing love come to me, Lord, Your salvation according to Your promise. Psalm 119:41

Jesus,

Open our hearts today. We come to You with our lives. Open Your loving arms to us and to those who do not yet know You. You are waiting for us to come home.

Amen

Go and Tell

 

     The great commission from Jesus Christ is to “go and make disciples.” Do you find it challenging, awkward or scary to bring up Jesus in a conversation? Have you missed opportunities to share your faith? I know I have. I believe, if we are truly looking, God will place the right people at the right time in front of us. All He asks is that we plant the seeds.

     The Holy Spirit knows when a heart is seeking. As believers, we can jump in and assist in God’s work. I find that an impossibly amazing fact. God actually uses us! The Holy Spirit will give us the words. (Matthew 10:19) Let’s be ready the next time an opportunity arises.

     After their arrest, Peter and John were told by the rulers not to speak of Jesus. Even then, they could not keep the hope to themselves.

For we cannot help but speak of all we have seen and heard.  Acts 4:20

     Are you filled with the hope and joy of Jesus and His eternal hope? Let’s be ready!

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15

Lord,

Fill us with courage, with gentleness, and with respect and give us answers to share with those who ask. You do not want to lose even one.

Amen

Faith

 

     It can be so difficult to trust God through the deep valleys in life. It’s easy to shout for joy when we are on the mountaintop, isn’t it? Our familiar comfort zones can leave us lethargic and lukewarm. God asks us to believe and have faith throughout our lives, good and bad, ups and downs, from the pit, and from the top of the world.

     God loves to see our passion and love for Him. Our faith pleases Him. In fact, Scripture tells us it is impossible to please Him without it.

And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Hebrews 11:6  

     Whatever your view right now, trust Him. Have faith in His presence. Have faith He is working. Watch for the blessings, even in the time of trials and sorrows. He stands in the pit with you. His hand reaches in to pull you out.  Jesus, the One and Only, is your Savior, your Shepherd, your salvation. Nothing is too hard for Him.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18;14a

Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. Jeremiah 32:17

Jesus,

Take our focus off of our troubles and onto You. You will work it all out in Your eternal time. We trust You above all else.

Amen