God Will Listen

Published: Nov. 21, 2021, midnight

b'Some Bible stories are easy for me to relate to. When Simon Peter and his friends go fishing for a long period of time and catch nothing, I feel their pain. They most likely expected to catch a lot of fish but came up completely empty. Keep in mind these are professional fishermen who stayed out all night. They are tired, dirty, and probably grumpy from throwing and retrieving empty nets all night long. I imagine their pride was more than a little hurt from a night of failure in their chosen occupation.\\nWhile they\\u2019re cleaning their empty nets on shore, Jesus is there teaching the word of God to a crowd. Then Jesus gets into Simon Peter\\u2019s boat and, after He finishes teaching, tells Peter to return to the deep water and drop their nets. Peter replies, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Master, we\\u2019ve worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I\\u2019ll let down the nets\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Luke 5:5). With Jesus in the boat, they start catching so many fish, their nets begin to break! They call to their friends for help, and soon both boats are so overloaded with fish, they begin to sink!\\nPeter responds to this haul of fish by falling at Jesus\\u2019s feet and exclaiming, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Go away from me, because I\\u2019m a sinful man, Lord!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Luke 5:8). At first glance, Peter\\u2019s response may seem odd. Why would he say that? Peter has just encountered God in the flesh. He is filled with amazement and awe, and at the same time, he is acutely aware of his own sinfulness. Standing before the Messiah, Peter knows He is unworthy.\\nJesus doesn\\u2019t correct Peter\\u2019s statement. But Jesus doesn\\u2019t go away from Peter either. Instead, He wants Peter to follow Him and be part of what God is doing. So it is with us. The gospel reveals our sinfulness, but Jesus\\u2019s death on the cross pays the price for our sin. And His resurrection from the dead invites us into new life! When Peter sees the Lord before him, he confesses his sin, drops his nets, and follows Jesus. The Lord gives us the same call today: confess your sins, drop anything that\\u2019s keeping you away, and follow Him. \\u2022 Mike Hurley\\n\\u2022 Why do you think Jesus revealed Himself to Simon Peter and the others in this particular way? \\n\\u2022 Why do you think they were willing to leave everything and follow Jesus? \\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Don\\u2019t be afraid,\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Jesus told Simon. \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153From now on you will be catching people.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Luke 5:10b (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\n1John.5.14-1John.5.15|1Kgs.16.29-1Kgs.16.34|1Kgs.17.1|1Kgs.18|Jas.5.13-Jas.5.18'