In John 21 Peter who was ashamed that he had denied Jesus three times decided that instead of continuing the journey he went back to his old way of life. Peter left the pulpit to pick up the fishing net in order to start a life where maybe he could once again be successful and whole.
As a rule of thumb we are prone to want to give as much as we receive. Yet, in God’s world that is impossible because no one can wholly live up to being Holy (Perfect)! This is why remembering that in our weakness we can have God’s strength. The burning question before us today is which way are we running? Is God’s perfection too much? Instead of going toward the light we are sprinting into the darkness at break neck speed. If you feel in the pit of your stomach this feeling of longing, urgency, and loneliness maybe its time to stop, catch your breath, and look at the compass your of life. Just like Peter when he tried to run away from who God had made him to be, or when he placed value and worth into things other than God namely his trade as a fisherman all he got was a night with no sleep, and zero fish. Yet, when Jesus appeared and told Peter to throw the net on the other side of the boat his nets were overflowing. As soon as Peter realized this strange man was Jesus he jumped off the boat and swam fearlessly toward Him.
Do you feel lack of purpose and value in your life, work, and family? Do days pass by mindlessly and your thoughts run wild about having a different wife, kids, job, and to live in a different place, or country? The problem might just be that in our daily lives we have been chasing after money, popularity, and comfort for so long only to realize we missed the greatest goal to chase after our Heavenly Father with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength! (Matthew 22:37) The goal of this life shall either be the safety and comfort of this lifetime, or to live for something bigger than only one lifetime. What would our current state of affairs look like if Peter would have stayed on that boat? After all the first sermon about Jesus was preached by Peter in Acts chapter 2. Peter chose in a moment to leap from the security of what he had always done and ran back to Jesus despite feeling as if he was a failure. This is what we must do as well. Instead of looking at life with mundane glasses we start to see what God can and will do with us if we allow him space, and we chase after a real relationship with Him.
The Challenge this week should you choose to accept it. Take 15 minutes each day in a quiet place praying to God to show you forgiveness for your faults. (He Will!) Then ask God to show you an adventure this week and to live for something bigger than your one lifetime.
This is a small feat, but can you see if you did this for weeks? Months? Or even Years? As the clock ticks by you will be so busy in God’s adventure you will not have time to see the world through mundane glasses!
Strive on my Friends! Strive On!
Pastor Richard Hiltibran!
focusonthecross.org
focusonthecross.org
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