Luke 5:10b

Luke 5:10b – Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

       Simon saw a glimpse of who Jesus was through a miracle of fish. He and his partners had been fishing all day to no avail. Then Jesus told them to throw their nets once more. Going against the evidence of not having caught anything all day, they obeyed. When they did, they caught so many fish their nets couldn't hold them all.

       Simon Peter saw this and received a revelation of who Jesus was. He fell down before Him and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Fear swept over him because he saw how righteous Jesus was and it showed him the sin in his own life.

       Jesus, however, was not done with Simon Peter. Peters life was about to change. Jesus gave him the miracle of fish and then told him, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.”

       I like how Jesus made the connection between what Peter was doing now to what he was called to do. Jesus does that for us as well. He will take what we now know and do, and incorporate it into the plan God has for us.

       Let’s also look at this story in the literal sense. All day long these men had been fishing and had caught nothing. Jesus shows up, they hang out for a while, and then Jesus tells them to cast out one more time. They obey Him and the result is overwhelming.

       Like the disciples, there are things in your life that you have been trying to do in your own ability. Despite all you've tried, you have not succeeded. You are getting discouraged. It is time to turn to Jesus.

Hang out with Him for a while. Pray, worship and just spend time listening. Maybe He will direct you to do something else, or He might tell you to try one more time. Listen to His leading and obey. If you are obedient to what Jesus tells you I promise the result will be better than you can imagine.

Luke 4:1-2

Luke 4:1-2 – Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them He was hungry.

       Here we see Jesus getting ready to begin His public ministry. He just visited John and was baptized. After He was brought out of the water He received an affirmation from His Father. Now He was ready to face whatever the devil could throw at Him.

       We only see a small portion of what was going on here. Jesus was in the desert for forty days. I’m sure he was praying and talking to God, and while that was going on the devil was trying to make Him fall.

       This was Jesus time for preparation for all that God had in store for Him to do. He knew that if He was going to live according to God’s plan He would have to put His flesh under and let His spirit reign inside Him. So He fasted. That is the quickest way to bring down your flesh.

       If you are looking for a breakthrough in your life maybe it is time to fast. Fasting weakens your flesh and allows your spirit to rise up within you. It makes it easier to connect with God. This may be what you need to move to the next level.

After Jesus went through this time in the desert He was ready to begin His public ministry. If you are getting ready to start a new chapter in your life this is a good way to do it. It allows you to get close to God and go into it with a clear head. 

You need to be aware, though, and be ready. When you are getting ready to do something that God has called you to, the devil will try to come at you, but you must stand firm. If he comes at you come back at him like Jesus did, with the Word of God. 

So I encourage you, if you are getting ready to begin a new stage of life that God has called you to, or you are looking to go to the next level with God, try fasting and praying.

Luke 3:8

Luke 3:8 - “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”

Never think that your lineage or history will gain you a spot in heaven. It really doesn’t matter who your father or grandfather is. Those things can help us here on earth, but they have no eternal significance.

What really matters is your decision regarding Jesus. It all comes down to your individual choice. No one can make it for you or even coerce you into it. You must decide this day whom you will serve.

Jesus came and made a way for everyone to come to God. Then as this verse states we must produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Never think that you can’t lose your place in heaven due to sin. If you sin, be quick to repent and ask for forgiveness.

Forgiveness is always waiting for us, but we still have to receive it. Then let the fruit you produce be a reflection of your repentant heart. Whatever it was that caused you to sin, don’t go back to it.

If you keep going back to the same thing you will keep coming up with the same result. That is why our actions, or fruit, must show our repentant heart. If they do we will then be headed for a different result.

We are a children of God based on what Christ did and through our repentance. God wants us to come to Him, but Jesus reminds us that ‘out of these stones God can raise up children.’ Never think you are above repenting. We must continue to walk with a repentant heart and we will remain as God’s children.

Luke 2:6-7

Luke 2:6-7 - While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in clothes and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

There are many of us who feel limited by the situations we are born into. If we start out bad in life we feel that we can only go so far before our past holds us back. I have known many people that have let their childhood hold them back from truly living.

If this is you, take a look at Jesus birth. He was born far away from home. There was no hospital or birthing center. They did not even have a proper room. All that was left was a stable. And to top it all off He didn't even have a bed to lie in, there was only a manger, which is what animals eat out of.

At Christmas time we paint a glorious picture of this, but in reality it was dirty, dark, smelly and probably over-crowded. The inn was full, so that means all of those people’s animals were in this stable.

Needless to say, it was a mess and not the place two people would want to be when their child came into the world, but that was Jesus birth. Then, much of His childhood they were on the run or in hiding. To say the least it was not a great beginning for the Son of God.

Jesus rose above all that, though, and lived the life God had laid out for Him. As we look through the scripture we see a lot of other people who had messed up childhoods and pasts, but they did not let it hold them back.

It is important to not dwell on your past. Sure it happened. It sucked. Now move on. Your past has nothing to do with who you will be. Your decisions today will affect who you will be tomorrow.

Luke 1:67

Luke 1:67 – His (John’s) father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied.

       John’s birth, similar to Jesus, was nothing short of a miracle. His parents were well beyond child bearing age and they had tried their whole married life to have a child, but were unsuccessful. Then Zechariah was ministering in the house of the Lord and an angel appeared to him.

       This angel brought the promise of a child, but Zechariah found it hard to believe. He was looking at the natural circumstances of His life and questioned the message that came from God. Because of his doubt his voice was taken from him and he was unable to speak.

       From the time of the vision all the way until his miracle baby was born, Zechariah was unable to utter a word. It wasn't until he named his child John that his tongue was loosened. This verse in Luke comes right after he is given the ability to speak again.

       There are a lot of things that Zechariah could have said, but what he did was prophecy. First his praises went to God, and then he prophesied over his son. That speaks a lot to those of us who are fathers. I think this is one of the things that is missing in today’s families. It is a tough world to grow up in and our kids need to help. They need encouragement and life spoken into them.

Prophecy is not just about speaking the future. It can come in many forms. Basically it is a word from God; sometimes it is a scripture or just an encouraging word. Children need this. As fathers it is our responsibility to give this to them. Seek God for your children. Pray for them every day and then in turn prophesy over them.

Mark 16:15

Mark 16:15 – He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”

       This was Jesus final command to His disciples before He ascended to heaven. “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” If you call yourself a disciple of Christ this command is given to you as well. This is not a call to leave your home and go into other Nations to preach. God may call you to do that, but that is not what Jesus is saying here.

       Jesus is not calling us to ‘missions’, but to be the mission. We all live in the world. There are people that we see every day and some we run into only on occasion. Some call it our sphere of influence. These are the people that are directly affected by what we do.

       That is your ‘world’. Jesus has called you to share the gospel with these people. That doesn't necessarily mean with words, either. I think St Francis of Assisi painted a good picture of this when he said, “Preach the gospel always, and when necessary use words.”

       We are called to live a life that is different from those around us. God has given us His Love to walk in and we ought to show that Love and reflect His glory in all we do. Words are powerful, but without corresponding action they will fall lifeless on deaf ears.

       Sometimes if we speak the Word to someone before we show them Love, it will come off harsh and actually drive them away. We need to Love people and let Love make an opportunity for sharing your story. That’s what love will do. It opens the door for you to speak into the lives of others.

So, to bring it back, go and preach the gospel in your world. Wherever God has placed you and to the people that are around you. Let your life be a reflection of who Christ is.

Mark 15:37

Mark 15:37 – With a loud cry He breathed His last.

Jesus cried out and then breathed His last. That was the end, or so they thought. As the crowds were watching this happen they did not understand the significance of this moment. They did not know that this was the turning point for the fight of the believer.

       This moment is the starting point for which our faith stands. Without Jesus death we would have no hope or future. He took our sin, He took our pain; He took everything upon Himself so that we could be made righteous.

Sometimes I think we fail to understand or appreciate all that Christ did for us. Here’s the thing we need to remember: Christ didn't need to die. He was perfect and already had it made. There was nothing in His life that could separate him from God. He was sin free and righteous.

It was all of us that could not make it on our own. We all deserved death because we were sinful and unrighteous. Our lives were not right with God and we needed a miracle. Jesus became that miracle. Being perfect He chose to be the sacrifice that was needed. ‘He who knew no sin became sin for us.’

       As we look upon this moment when Jesus gave up His life we must realize that He gave it all up for us. He didn't need too, but He chose too. As He looked at our lives He knew there was no other way for us to enter the kingdom of God.

His Love for us gave Him the strength He needed to endure the pain, suffering and death and ultimately separation from God. Then God resurrected Him and now He is in each one of us in the form of the Holy Spirit. Because of His sacrifice we are made righteous and holy before God.