"Cast Your Net On The Right Side Of The Boat"

"Simon Peter said to them, 'I am going fishing.'"  (John 21:3)

The KJV says, "I go a fishing."  Have you ever wanted to, "....go a fishing"?  This was a somewhat "confused" Follower of Jesus.  He had walked with Jesus for about a three year period, heard most everything, saw most everything which Jesus said and did-------- and saw "The Empty Tomb."  He was there on the mountain when Jesus said, "Go, therefore...."  But now?  "I go a fishing."

It is not uncommon for a Follower of Jesus to experience such, if you want to call it "uncertainty," or "bewilderment," or whatever.  At times life can leave you with a seemingly no-where-to-go feeling.  But then, as with the disciples in John 21, Jesus "appears" to them.  So maybe it wasn't unbelief, or even discouragement which had led the Followers of Jesus to this scenario, but in the midst of this it was apparently a "wake up" call.  It was as though our Lord Jesus was saying to them, "I have brought you into, 'the household of faith.'  Now get on with what I have told you."

So here in John 21 the Gospel accounts end.  But it is really "the Beginning."  Jesus' Death and Resurrection brings the offering of Eternal Life to the rebellious descendants of Adam, from Cain, Babel, the rise of tribal nations, right to this very hour.  And, because of the Shed Blood of Jesus, as the Bible says, "....in His Cross," the human race can have what the Living Triune God purposed from Eternity, the very reality in and with what our Lord Jesus Christ comforts us, "I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you."

Life will always be, "and...they caught nothing", until we realize and live what Jesus told us so long ago, and continues to speak daily to us, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible....Cast your net on the right side...."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that I will more and more come out of the, "impossible," and into Your, "possible."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"The Empty Tomb"

"But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping....Two angels...said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?'  She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.'"  (From John 20:11-13)

Mary was weeping because her expectations were wrong.  She was expecting to find a dead person in the tomb.  Instead, she found "The Empty Tomb."  The parenthetical statement after John relates how Peter and He had gone into the tomb states that, "They still did not understand from the Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead."  I fear that this will be the epitaph of much of humanity at the close of the present age, "They still did not understand from the Scripture...."

The title of John 20 in the NIV is "The Empty Tomb."  This is the culmination of Scripture.  Everything written in the Old Testament is a prophetic "announcement" that there is a day coming when the Very, "Coming One," would indeed appear on the earth.  In Luke 24 we read that Jesus said to the incredulous disciples, "'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets He explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.'"  In John 5 we read that Jesus said to the religious folk, "....if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for He wrote about Me."  (Please keep that in mind the next time you read the Pentateuch.)

What has this day been like for you, so far, this past week, your anticipation of the weekend, and the future?  I encourage you today to join me in the life of seeking to, in it all and through it all, "....understand from the  Scripture...."  What the Holy Spirit teaches us, we will continue to embrace and obey.  What we do not or cannot grasp, we will not let it dissuade us from following, obeying, glorifying Jesus. 

I leave you today with Paul's Words to Timothy, two people just like us.  "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life...."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that my friend and I will be able to, "....understand from the Scripture...," all that we are able to in this age.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"The Jewish leaders insisted, 'We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God.'  When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace.  'Where do You come from? he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer.  'Do you refuse to speak to me?'  Pilate said.  'Don't you realize I have power either to free You or to crucify you?'  Jesus answered, 'You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above.'" (John 19:7-11a, NIV & NKJV)

Please forgive my harsh language here, but one of the most, if not the most stupid statements and beliefs held over the centuries by people who claim to be Christian is the belief that the Jews killed Jesus.  You and I did that, so did those who believe such lunacy, so too the Jews, so too Pilate, so too...., "For all have sinned...."

What is it about, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above," that people don't (or perhaps, won't) understand and/or accept?  From the Garden to the Cross, the entire "journey" was under the "direction" of the Blessed Trinity.  From the moment sin first entered our race, that "Day of the Cross" was fixed in history.  Whatever "power" humanity has witnessed throughout history is always inside the, "power...from above."  This is so key to victorious living in Jesus Christ: The "inside power" has no chance against the "Outside Power!"

 The Jews and Pilate thought they were running things That Day.  On That Day and, "in His Cross," however, we see that in the Trial, the beating, the spitting upon, the mocking, the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the very Words of Jesus were being fulfilled which He had spoken not long before That Day, "The thief comes not except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly....The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep." 

The Cross of Jesus is God the Father, God the Son Jesus, and God the Holy Spirit, demonstrating His love, His forgiveness, and just as the preacher once said when speaking of Jesus' Words to John about Mary, "Always providing."  We can all look around us today and over our life time and see His "always-providing" care, even in those times when our pain did not allow us to see It/Him.  Life can seem so overpowering at times.  "Where is the promise"? can be on the lips, if not at least in the minds, of so many who suffer so much.  But remember today what Isaiah 53 says of Jesus' Cross, "Surely our griefs/sickness, He Himself bore, and our sorrows/pains He carried...."  You and I are well provided for today!

Father, in Jesus' Name, "What Wondrous Love!"  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"Jesus Answered, 'My Kingdom....'"

"Jesus answered, 'My kingdom is not derived from this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm/from here.'"  (John 18:36, NASB)

Or perhaps, "My Kingdom does not have the same authority, origin, nor does it operate in the same manner, as your kingdom?"

It is a grave mistake to interpret what Our Lord Jesus Christ is saying here to Pilate as a denial of Jesus that He is, "King of the Nations."  Jeremiah makes it quite clear that Jesus Christ is exactly what Pilate asked of Jesus, "Are You a king then?"  We read in Jeremiah 10:7, "Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?  For this is Your rightful due.  For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You."  Followers of Jesus have made grave mistakes throughout history, believing that Jesus Christ is not, "King of the nations", 0nly "king" of Bible Studies and Sunday School classes, church programs, etc.

The problem with too many is that they interpret most translations which say, "My Kingdom is not of this world," to mean that Jesus' Kingdom has nothing to do with, "this world."  The result in America, and I suspect in other nations, has been to see people who claim to follow Jesus voting for those who deny the Reign of Jesus Christ, Biblical Principles, and the call of the Church to, "Go therefore and make disciples of ALL NATIONS", aka, humanists.  The majority of Christendom in the last few centuries has been of those who leave the reign of Christ in the Church buildings and other religious "contexts."  Such an interpretation would not have put fear in Pilate's heart.    

The Word translated, "of," in, "of this world," literally means, "from, from out of."  Jesus is telling Pilate that His Kingdom is from another Authority.  The Word for, "from,"  is also translated in other contexts as, "against, belong, because, depends, inspired."  We could say, I believe, Jesus' Kingdom is not against, does not belong to, is not because of, does not depend upon, nor is inspired by, "this world."  Jesus Christ is "not from this world," but we can say that Jesus and His Kingdom is for this world, "I came...to save the world."

For your personal comfort today, I pray that you see this as a conformation of Jesus' love, care, and provision for you and me, no matter the context in which we find ourselves.  Jesus is, "King of nations," your work place, your home.

Father, in Jesus' Name, teach me continually what "all of this" means.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Beneath The Cross Of Jesus Worship Video

"Now THIS Is Life Eternal"

"Now this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."  (John 17:3, KJV & Interlinear)

I played a video study in one of our parishes years ago, entitled, "Knowing God."  It was based on our text.  I heard the author of that video series being interviewed on a radio program.  The simplicity with which he said, "Eternal life is knowing God," really stayed with me.  And so there we have it.  This is not some, "Repeat after me," some "formula," some correct altar call.  Eternal Life is powerfully, simply knowing God in Jesus Christ.

Islam says this cannot be.  It teaches that you cannot know God personally.  This is in stark contrast with Christianity, which is what the Bible calls, "the faith of Jesus."  Our text tells humanity and the deceived followers of Islam that we can not only know God in Jesus Christ, but also in that knowing have His Eternal Life.  You probably know that the Word for, "know," is the most intimate, personal of knowing.  Our relationship in Jesus Christ cannot be made any clearer.  This is just glorious: "Now this is Life Eternal, that they might know Thee...."

The Interlinear gives a specific reference in defining the Word, "know," as, "To become acquainted with."  This same Word is found in John 10, "I am the good Shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." 

The call to, "know...God," is the most wonderful "knowing;" it is a "knowing" which could be described as, "Now unto Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,..to Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.  Amen."  I confess: As I read our text this morning, my eyes filled with tears.  John 17:3 is just wonderful, "Good News."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I can never thank You enough for the reality of John 17:3.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

The "Work" of the Holy Spirit

"....The Spirit...will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you.  All that belongs to the Father is Mine.  That is why I said the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you."  (John 16:14, 15--NIV)

We have six more chapters to consider in John, which will take us to this coming Saturday.

The Holy Spirit does not glorify anyone or anything but Jesus, and our Lord Jesus Christ makes this very clear in John 16.  Beware what you "glorify," and what your particular "corner" of the Church glorifies.  Worship, prayer, sermons, "ministry," missions, everything which you and I do as Followers of Jesus, if it is done in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit, will have Jesus "written all over it."

Life in the Holy Spirit is life in, "the Father, and with/in His Son Jesus Christ.  In Jesus is the, "secret place of the Most High,...from whence cometh my help."  Yet I sometimes feel as though the Holy Spirit brings some portions of the Church "kicking and screaming" into the reality of our text, "He shall glorify Me."  Why should this be, when, if you recall, and we should recall quite often, who and what you and I would be without Jesus, and that day when, "He, to rescue me from danger, interposed His Precious Blood"?!?

At the end of John 16 we read that our Lord Jesus says, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome that world."  The psalmist had foreknowledge of this when he penned, "I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I pray that Your Holy Spirit will never find a hindrance in me to, "He shall glorify Me."  Amen. 

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

More Life "Guidance" From John

"Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide I Me." (John 15:4)

This is the purpose of the Godhead for humanity; "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen."  The Bible calls this, "fellowship," or, "participation."  No human inventor-of-religion could have thought of this.  Plainly, this is God's will for humanity.

Then notice the condition of humanity if it does not walk in the "original purpose" for us, "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,..neither can you...."  And just a few Words later our Lord Jesus tells us, "....without Me you can do nothing," no fruit, in reality too, no life itself.  Have we really learned this?

The HCSB translates Psalm 119:26, "I told you about my life, and You listened to me...."  This was such a blessing to me today as I read the Psalms.  It reveals communion/fellowship/participation in the Living Triune God, just as in our text, a person and His Maker, His Savior, His Everything.  For me, it was another "call" from our text, Jesus calling us to an, "Abide in Me," Life Style.  It is a reminder to all, especially to those who think that "God does not listen"; quite the opposite. "I told You about my life, and You listened to me...."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You so much for the call to, "Abide in Me."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2