Luke 5:4-6; 9: “And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking . . . For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken.”

I remember going fishing when we lived in Minnesota. Having a depth finder on your boat would show you where the fish were despite the depth of the lake. It was a fantastic tool! In Luke 5, the first disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John’s employment trade was that of being fishermen. Fishermen are hard working. It took courage, faith, patience, and determination to work on the seas. They had to be willing to work together and help one another in achieving the end goal, of catching fish. This career required developing skills that would get the job done quickly and efficiently. They could not be quitters and give up, for their income depended upon it.

It is interesting to note that fish were in the shallow water at night on the sea of Galilee, whereas in the daylight they would migrate to deep waters where nets could not easily reach the fish, which was why Peter, who was the primary leader, and the other men fished at night. They used bell-shaped nets that would be thrown out into the water with lead weights that would sink around the fish. Then they would pull a cord drawing the net around the fish. These nets had to be kept in good condition, so they had to be washed and cleaned of weeds and then mended on an on-going basis, ready for the next night’s fishing expedition.

These men had worked hard all night and had not caught anything, so they were washing and mending their nets to prepare for the next night’s work. But Jesus, who had healed the sick by just a touch of His hand, cast out demons and showed His authority over them, came to these fishermen, sat in Peter’s boat, and met their need of catching fish. Their nets then became so full of fish that they began to split apart! They had to signal for help from other fishermen to assist them in being able to pull in all of these fish. The nets were overflowing with so much fish, that one boat of men could not pull it all in!

Jesus did several things before these disciples at the Sea of Galilee involving this supernatural and dramatic event:

• Jesus’ miracle demonstrated He is Lord of the sea and all that it contains.
• Our abilities are insignificant in comparison to the greatness of God.
• Jesus cares about our day-to-day routine in our jobs, and He understands our needs.
• Jesus was preparing Peter to exercise his faith, that would be required soon.

Following Jesus requires being Faithful, Available, and Teachable (FAT). You don’t have to push your way into importance. God will do that in His plan and in His timing with FAT people. The results are up to Him.

Just like a New Testament fishermen, we have to apply our faith, courage, patience, endurance, and determination, one day at a time, waiting on God in our employment, and in our role that He has given us to do on this earth. Then, be prepared to see a miraculous outcome on a routine day – just as Peter and the disciples did in Luke 5.

Listen to Firma Collective Mercy Tree (feat. Lexi Jones) Official Lyric Video

Luke 4:13: “And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.”

We have started again with a brand new year – 2019. I wonder what lessons does God know I need to learn and grow from in this year? I have been reflecting on 2018 and reviewing in my mind trials that we endured last year, learned from, and how God graciously brought His will in the outcome to each conclusion, for His glory and in His timing. However, in one scenario we never received closure. It is a visual “no news is good news” is the only way I can explain it and leave it. That was not what I expected. Looking back it was another occasion of feeling tempted to fear a possible unpleasant outcome.

Satan had succeeded in tempting Adam and Eve, in the garden, so he hoped to achieve the same with Jesus in the desert in Luke 4. In Luke’s account, we can see how Satan takes advantage of weaknesses. The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days. Satan chose this specific occasion to target Jesus when He was hungry. Satan attacked and questioned God’s faithfulness, the Father’s love, and Jesus’s hope – just as he does to us. Satan challenged God’s promise by misquoting Ps. 91:11-12. But Jesus fought back and used Scripture correctly. He quoted Deuteronomy each time to counter Satan’s attacks. The devil then retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity.

Temptations targeted at us come in many forms and always provoke guilt, shame, frustration, and feelings of failure. Those are Satan’s weapons, and he knows Scripture too and can connivingly twist it for his purposes in destroying us as he roams around “prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour (Eph. 6:12).”

One’s character is always revealed when under pressure from the unexpected and we are pushed beyond our limits. Will I think to recite a verse I have read or memorized when I next experience a vulnerable spot? Will I make the right choice in how I respond? Maybe not. Will I remember to pause first, and obey God’s Word from the verses that I have read and recognized their truths in the past instead of reacting from my weaknesses?

Satan persisted throughout Jesus’s ministry in trying to attack and tempt Jesus. Hebrews 4:15 states: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Applying God’s Word is the only way to keep our sword sharp as it says in Ephesians 6:17: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

“Keep a close eye on your areas of greatest strength and your areas of greatest weakness. They are likely the places where you can expect the enemy to target his attacks against you.” Priscilla Shirer.

We need to especially be on guard when physically or psychologically spent. That is when we especially need to guard our heart.

Andrew Bonar has said: “Let us be watchful after the victory as before the battle.” The inevitable pressures of life can drain us of our emotional resources and place us in “an opportune time” to be batted about once again by the enemy. But Col. 4:2 declares: “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful with thanksgiving.” Prayer will open doors of opportunity for God’s energy, His will, and His power to produce God’s glory shown in our lives. Prayer is vital to achieving spiritual victory. It holds our armor together. That is the starting point of seeking God’s forthcoming rescue, comfort, hope, and reassurance of God’s love, in anticipation – while being in the wait, for every ending, with a clear head pursuing God’s will.

Listen to King & Country’s “Shoulders”

Mark 11:22-23:
” Jesus answered them, Have faith in God.” Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.” 

Do you ever wonder if you have enough faith in regards to a prayer request that is burning within your heart? We look at the impossibility and often become discouraged. Our time frame is limited, and there may be smoke screens clouding our thoughts regarding the outcome God can provide. It could be personal fear factors that barge in and we start not feeling safe. Maybe we are suffering from lack of time to properly digest details, one’s approval is attacked, an uncomfortable change takes place where you prefer and relish status quo, or your pattern of perfectionism is not able to engage due diligence. I sometimes wonder if my faith is just too small.

The metaphor of “moving this mountain” was used in Jewish literature for doing what was seemingly impossible through exaggeration. A mountain signified something firm and stationary – immovable. It would seem impossible to move a mountain into the sea, so Jesus used that word picture to illustrate that God can do anything that may appear unfeasible, hopeless, awkward, inconceivable, illogical, and beyond the bounds of possibility if believers merely trust in God.

I smile and find comfort in how the MSG states this section of verses in Mark: “Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for

 instance: Just say ‘Go jump into the lake’ – no shuffling or shilly-shallying – and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get everything.”

So what is required when facing anxiety, fears, and burdens that just won’t go away?

• Embrace God’s goodness and sovereignty. One’s faith starts there.
• Trust in God. Desire His will to be done in “getting everything.”
• Prayer is an active conversation, communion, and worship of God. The purpose should be to get God’s will done on earth.
• Wait for God to work. The results are now in His hands.
• Feel like you are in a valley rather than on top of a mountain? That may be just where God wants you to be. Faith and obedience are all that matter rather than focusing on results.

Larry Osborne’s book, “A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God. Spirituality For The Rest Of Us” has become one of my favorite books about the Christian life. Regarding “faith” he states: “CONTRARY TO WHAT we’ve been told, most of us don’t need more faith, less doubt, or absolute confidence that everything will work out okay. Jesus simply wants us to act upon the tiny mustard seed of faith we already have. In fact, he said that’s all we need to move a mountain.”

“God’s everything” – submitting to Him in obedience, trusting God to do what He says, as we follow His path for us one day at a time.

What mountain do you need to have thrown into the sea?

Listen to King and Country’s Fight On Fighter (Lyric Video).

ts mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.”

Mark 3:5:“And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.”

In Mark 3:5, Jesus was angry with the Pharisees’ lack of compassion for a man with a deformed hand. They sat silently observing Jesus to see if He would heal this man on of all things, on a Sabbath day. They did not acknowledge the purpose of the Sabbath. The Herodians, a Jewish political party that ordinarily opposed the Pharisees, had now united with them because they saw Jesus as a threat to their political future so united to try to destroy Jesus. Both of these groups silence displayed their hardened and cold hearts, by not answering Jesus’s question: “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill (verse 3)?”

If they chose to do good, that would not have violated any OT laws. Their traditions missed the point of the OT law – to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind and one’s neighbor. Jesus turned the tables back on His accusers by asking if it was against the law to do good or to save a life?

Jesus did not lose his temper and yet was “angry” with the Pharisee’s pridefulness. He could see into their hearts and identified their true sinful motives. Jesus was furious at their hard-nosed religion. They were more concerned about their traditions than seeing a man healed. Jesus then moved the question from a legal to a moral issue.

Too often when we give into losing our patience and express our anger, we blow up like a volcano. Our pride and self-centeredness take over. However, Jesus revealed His outrage, in this instance, by healing a man’s hand – by correcting a problem. That was His solution without tearing either religious sect down, and He did it so well! Jesus challenged His accusers, and their sin made Him angry. Jesus then left the crowd and spent a night in prayer.

The aftermath of anger is a lifelong struggle we all face. Jesus came to offer forgiveness, fulfillment, and freedom. Our focus needs to be turned towards worshipping the Lord and deepening our relationship with Him. That’s it.

As Jerry Bridges states: “Sometimes we apologize to the person who is the object of our anger, and sometimes we don’t. The relationship is scarred but not broken. That seems to be the way far too many believers view the sin of anger. they’ve just come to accept it as part of life . . . rather than noxious weeds . . . and can poison our minds.” Respectable Sins. Confronting The Sins We Tolerate.

Listen to Jeremy Camp’s song, Christ In Me w/Lyrics YouTube

  

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Colossians 3:17; 23-24: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You areserving the Lord Christ.”

I had the privilege recently of being a guest teacher/speaker at a class in the Business department at Biola College. The students, all seniors, were able to listen and learn from individuals who are salespeople in hearing about practical applications. Since I am a seasoned and successful sales representative for Norman Fox, & Co., I had been recommended and was asked to relate what has been useful in my career in sales. The teacher of the class was the Assistant Dean of Administration.

I opened with my background and how I became a sales rep. in the Chemical Distribution industry. My second point was my PowerPoint presentation on “The Secret Behind Sales Negotiations.” I intertwined illustrations from stories with various customers – highs and lows. Towards the end of the class, the students had a chance to ask me questions, and one girl’s question has planted a memory in my mind that I cannot forget. Her question to me was:

 “How do you stay encouraged in your sales job? What do you do for this?”

 Her face looked earnestly perplexed. What an excellent question! My immediate answer was: “I spend timedaily in the Word of God. I read God’s Word every day, and He encourages me.That is how I stay encouraged in my sales job.” Later I thought, oh I shouldhave shared that I talk on the phone with my peers, that helps to encourage me.Or I should have pointed to various Ted Talks on sales or something on LinkedIn. But in the end, none of these will give lasting encouragement in givingmore zeal for continual passion in one’s sales job. No, it is God alone thatgives the sales outcome and gives comfort and peace in that whole process.

I then quoted to the class my signature verse: Psalms 119:92: “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” I explained that sales go up and down. There will be patterns. Then there will be customers that close and declare bankruptcy (I have had at least two). But we are to work in our employment, as working for God – don’t be lazy. God chose fishermen to be his disciples because they worked hard.  Professional fishermen did not sit around doing nothing. They sorted their catch. Cleaned the fish. Mended equipment. God needs professional men and women who are not afraid to work. He will bring the results in the end. My results are God’s job.  My prayer is to be of benefit, and God has answered above and beyond my vision. Our profession cannot be our idol. Being the best in our field, cannot be our idol. Our dreams of aspirations cannot be our idol. My job is to be obedient and to do what God says that I find while reading His Word. My value and worth is in God alone.

So when I need verbal encouragement, I told the class, from management, I pray and ask God to have someone such as my boss, give me a verbal complement that I feel I need, and He does it! I shared a complimentary email from my boss that she had just sent to me that afternoon after I turned in my month-end sales report. Another answer to a prayer that I had on needing encouragement and God provided – Jehovah Jireh. I give all thanks and honor to Him.

So my immediate answer to the girl’s question, was not wrong, “How do you stay encouraged? What do you do for this?” Now my question to you the reader is, “How do you stay encouraged? What do you do for this?”

Listen to MerceMe –Finish What He Started and their song Flawless (Official Music Video).

Matthew 22:41-42: “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

The Pharisees and Sadducees in the book of Matthew, kept trying to test and trip up Jesus over and over. Jesus’ miracles of healing the blind, casting out demons, etc. didn’t change their intellectual minds and cold hearts. Seeing new wonders were not needed. It says in verses 34-36: “But when the Pharisees had heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” A lawyer was an expert in the law. The Pharisees had classified over 600 laws and often tried to distinguish the more important from, the less important. So this lawyer, who was an “expert in the law” asked Jesus to identify which was the most important law? Jesus answered by quoting Deut. 6:5, “Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind” which Jews repeated daily, and Leviticus 19:18, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He quoted from the Old Testament which they would have been familiar with. Jesus was saying that by fulfilling these two commandments, a person keeps all of the other commandments. Instead of worrying about all we should not do, we should concentrate on all we can do to show our love for God and others. Jesus didn’t condemn what the Pharisees taught, but He went right to the root of their heart issue – pride and hypocrisy. They knew the Scriptures but did not live by them.

So then Jesus turns the tables on the religious leaders. He asked them a question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” Six different times in Matthew, Jesus introduces this question, “What do you think?” He did that to test someone. These Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and scribes had all put Jesus to the test. Now he was turning the tables on them and used an indirect approach on His enemies. He made it sound like He was asking another theological question. But in reality, it was the most crucial and critical question, a personal issue they would ever face. Jesus responded to each test with wisdom, logic, and Scripture, that verified Him as the Messiah. In the end, the Pharisees and others were amazed and did not dare to continue to trap Jesus and ask Him anymore questions.

It is no different today. We can argue about the political scene of our day, we can debate about differences in denominations and values, but it all boils down to “What do you think about the Christ?” That is the most critical question to be answered.

This Christmas season, it may be easier to speak up more about Jesus, as “He is the reason for the season.” We can cut through all the philosophical and intellectual clichés and get down to the heart issue: “So what do you think about Jesus Christ?”

Listen to Matt Maher’s What A Friend (Official Lyric Video) YouTube.

Matthew 16: 1-3: “And the Pharisees and the Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”

Jesus had performed numerous miracles in numerous cities that validated Him being the Messiah. The Pharisees, who were traditionalists, legalists, and religious hypocrites elevated their traditions above God’s Word. They came from middle-class Jewish families. The Sadducees were from the Jewish aristocracy and were the liberals of their day. They rejected the idea of angels and any form of resurrection or life after death and were more politically minded. These two groups were often bitter opponents, and both had false teaching of doctrine. However, now they were joining forces in unity against Jesus because they saw Him as a threat against their leadership and power. They did not come to Jesus out of any genuine faith or need, but out of jealousy and “to test him.” They asked for a sign or miracle to use against Him. Neither sect was concerned about matters of the heart.

But miracles never convince or convict people of sin or produce a desire for salvation. The miracles that Jesus did were the result of peoples faith in recognizing Him in their heart and mind and soul. Willful unbelief was never dissolved by any miraculous wonder that Jesus or His disciples had performed.

My husband, having grown up on a farm when he was a child, can tell what the weather is going to do by looking up at the sky. By looking at the particular type of clouds in the air and the direction of the wind, he can often predict what the weather pattern will be. The Pharisees and the Sadducees, in Biblical times, did the same thing. If they saw a red sky during sunset, it meant that no rain was ahead, dry air was moving towards them, and the wind was sure to follow. A red sky in the morning indicated the dry air had already moved past them and rain or a storm would follow. They had great intellectual intelligence (such as predicting the weather) but did not have spiritual knowledge and understanding to discern spiritual matters. They held onto their idols of pride and their independent way of indifference to Jesus, in demanding yet another sign from heaven. No miracle in the sky would have changed their minds. Jesus could have chosen to impress them but He refused. So Jesus judged them by leaving.

The theme of faith is found throughout Matthew. In Matthew 14:31 Jesus says to Peter when Peter tried to walk on water but started to sink when he saw the wind, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Then in Luke 17:5: “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

So how do we correctly live amongst our own modern-day culture of misguided intellectuals and philosophers who don’t recognize Christ’s return is closer today than it was yesterday? How do we as believers learn from Peter and the apostles? Do we keep needing to see miracles ourselves?

Jesus said “follow me” 23 times throughout Matthew and Mark. That is our answer. We keep on following Jesus one day at a time. We that are saved are each a miracle molded by Jesus working in and perfecting us in His image on an on-going daily basis. He gives us blessings we need to recognize and give Him thanks. We have a story to share – His story to share with others.

We with our spiritual eyes recognize the signs of the times are pointing to Christ’s return more and more. God alone controls human history. So each day that we live is a gift from God. Live out your faith fully as He intended – one day at a time. Your life is evidence to reach another person for Christ.

Listen to Lauren Daigle – Light of the World (Lyrics)

Matthew 13:58: “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”

Jesus had been healing people, doing miracles, teaching in parables, instructing his disciples, and then returned to Nazareth, where he had grown up. But the people in His hometown rejected Him. They still didn’t accept Him as the Messiah, as the Christ. We all shake our heads and don’t understand how this could be  – despite all the miracles Jesus had done? The people of Nazareth walked by sight and not by faith and rejected believing in Jesus again, so that was Jesus’ final visit to Nazareth. They took Jesus for granted and only saw Him as the carpenter’s son. He astonished them and yet their hearts remained the same – unmoved. Jesus knows the feeling of rejection.

Jesus did few miracles in His hometown “because of their unbelief.” The NIV says it was “because of their lack of faith.” Lack of faith blinds us to the truth found in God’s Word and robs us of hope. Unfulfilled dreams and expectations can cause despair and disillusionment, and that is just the temptation that Satan tries to distract us by within our Christian walk of faith.

Jesus later healed an epileptic boy with a demon, in Matthew 17:14ff. The disciples had tried to heal him but were unsuccessful. But Jesus did it. These disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast it out? Jesus answered in verse 20: “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

A mustard seed is tiny. It is like a little dot – like the size of a grain. Think of having a small amount of faith, even the size of a period on paper at the end of a sentence, and give it to God to enlarge, grow, and get planted into something so much larger than you can even imagine, despite any circumstance.

Are you in need of more faith today? Are you trying to understand God’s sovereignty in the midst of your pain? Are you struggling with being blinded by lack of faith because you can’t see God working in your situation? Ask God to increase your faith and then keep your eyes on the Lord and listen for His voice to speak to you as you keep reading the Word day by day with endurance and perseverance. Trust in God no matter what. Follow Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Listen to Mercy Me Even If (Official Lyric Video) YouTube and MercyMe – “Even If” Live with Bart Millard Testimony – Lead Singer.

Matthew 13:23: “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty and in another thirty.”

This verse is the last on the section where Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:18-23. He states that the last sower is a picture of a person sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and passionate about following in obedience what God’s Word states. This person seeks after God’s leading and will, and is prepared to receive knowledge from His Word and to give it out. Desiring to hear God’s voice and act on it is the description of the one who sowed on good soil – despite when some difficulty arrives.

The word hear in Matthew 13 is used nineteen times. Jesus was making a point on how important it is to listen to God. Hearing God’s Word, paying attention, putting it into practice, and using it in our lives is emphasized by Jesus in Matthew, Mark, and Luke:

• Matthew 13:23: Hear and understand.
• Mark 4:24: Pay attention to what you hear. Listen carefully.
• Luke 8:18: Take care then how you hear and share it with others. Don’t hide it.

The person who planted on good soil, in the parable, does not allow trials, burdens, setbacks, unexpected circumstances, and heartache, to control, contaminate, and dominate their life. How Satan works at trying to get us to sin by the trap of discouragement due to anxiety and worries. We have to fight back. We have to persevere and keep staying in the Word, holding it close to our heart, and praying God’s Word out loud to be an overcomer in Christ. Sometimes it takes an Eli in our life to speak apples of gold words that we so need to hear. It isn’t always easy, and trite and over simplistic cliches don’t cut it. Often feelings of rejection come into place that becomes our battle. It is said rejection is the hardest emotion of them all to handle in life. But that is another subject for another time.

God gave us two ears so our brain can tell from which direction the sound is coming from. The brain needs input from both ears to separate sounds efficiently. I want to listen carefully and have my ears primed to hear His voice back to me of confirmation from a verse He has chosen to speak to me in giving me answers. I want to be the one that then bears fruit and yields a hundredfold. Got my earbuds on. How about you?

Listen to Nobody (feat. Matthew West) Casting Crowns Lyrics Lyric Video. YouTube. This just came out on October 18, 2018.