What would it have been like to have been on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Today I am looking out across a lake with virtually no development on it and see such a beautiful scene. I hear the water with a little bit of wind banging up against the shore. There’s not a cloud in the sky, there’s a wonderful breeze from the west, and it’s a mild temperature this time of the morning. I’m sitting in the shade so even though the sunlight is coming through and the sun is on my back, it’s not a blistering hot day right now.
I just wonder what it would have been like to see Jesus of Nazareth on the shore on a day like today.
I noticed that most of the boats that go by on this lake are fishermen. You can tell by the style of boats that they have. That reminds me of Matthew Chapter four verses 18 to 22: Jesus was walking along the shore and he called four fishermen to follow Him. Each of these men was a professional fisherman. This was their livelihood. It was a productive livelihood. But Jesus called to them, “follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men.” Jesus was calling them to be productive spiritually. We all need to do this. If we are following Jesus’ lessons and what He taught us, we would be sharing the Good News. By telling others about Christ’s kingdom we would also be bringing men to Christ just as these fishermen would pull fish into their boat with their nets.
Sure, I want to be productive spiritually. It is very clear to me now. The fact is, God has called me out of a productive profession, even one where I could express my faith in Jesus freely. This was even one that had been productive spiritually at times. But this is different. I am now where I can be constantly doing His work if I will stay focused. I am very thankful to be given this opportunity to serve the Lord and His church. I am excited to have been appointed to serve as Pastor of Discipleship.
Are you ready to follow Jesus? Would you like to be productive spiritually? Pray right now that God will give you an opportunity to love, serve and care for those He sets in your path. Pray that you recognize that opportunity and that if necessary the Holy Spirit would nudge you when that opportunity approaches your path!
Thank you for taking a moment to read this post. I haven't posted in a few weeks. I've been busy editing episodes of my podcast "Training for Godliness". This summer, I have a series of short devotions that are published each Tuesday. You can find my podcast at chaplaingray.podbean.com.
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Have a wonderful day! Remember, this is the day the Lord has made, so rejoice and be glad in it!
