For some guys, the annual fishing trip is the highlight of their calendar. They stay in cozy cabins and spend long days fishing just for the fun of it. You can be sure it wasn’t that way for the disciples. They weren’t on vacation when they met Jesus. Fishing was their career.
Our careers often demand much of our time and attention. But Jesus has an interesting way of interrupting our business-as-usual agenda. In fact, He invites us to join His business.
Notice the sequence of His statement to the fishermen: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). We are tempted to think that we should make something of our lives and at the same time follow Jesus. Wrong! He calls us first to follow Him, and then He makes something of our lives. He leads us to prioritize so that we see the needs of people and their eternity as the goal of all our endeavors.
And while God may not require you to give up your career, following Him will guarantee that you will never see your career in the same way again. Where you “fish” is not important. But if you follow, you must fish.
What are you waiting for? Drop your nets, follow Him, and let Him make something of your life. — Joe Stowell
“Take up your cross,” the Savior said, “If you would My disciple be; Take up your cross with willing heart And humbly follow after Me.” —Everest
Affluenza Description: As people in affluent societies stock up on Blackberrys and flat-panel TVs, it’s hard to deny the increasing wealth in many parts of the world. You might call it “affluenza.” There is anxiety, however, amid so much prosperity. It is the economic “puzzle...
Buy Without Money Description: A story was told of a wealthy man who felt his son needed to learn gratefulness. So he sent him to stay with a poor farmer’s family. After one month, the son returned. The father asked, “Now don’t you appreciate what we have?” The boy thought for a moment and said, “The family I stayed with is better off. With what they’ve planted, they enjoy meals together. And they always seem to have time for one another.”
This story reminds us that money can’t buy everything. Even though our bodies can live on what money can buy, money can’t keep our souls from withering away. In Isaiah 55, we read: “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat” (v.1).
Is it possible to buy what truly satisfies without money? Yes, the prophet Isaiah is pointing to the grace of God. This gift is so invaluable that no price tag is adequate. And the one who offers it—Jesus Christ—has paid the full price with His death. When we acknowledge our thirst for God, ask forgiveness for our sins, and accept the finished work of Christ on the cross, we will find spiritual food that satisfies and our soul will live forever!
He’s calling, “Come to Me” (Isa. 55:3). — Albert Lee
I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him. —Bonar
Only Jesus, the Living Water, satisfies the thirsty soul.
Castaway Description: In the film Castaway, Tom Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a clock-conscious Federal Express manager who gets shipwrecked on a desert island. Completely cut off from other people and modern conveniences, he must learn the primitive skills of a caveman. He puts arduous effort into harpooning fish, making fire by rubbing sticks together, and opening a coconut to get its milk and sweet fruit. The movie is rich with insights on how difficult life can become for someone who is stranded in an isolated wilderness.
Choices Description: Wherever you go, I will go; and . . . your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. —Ruth 1:16 A friend once told me: "Joe, I’ve come to realize that my life is not made by the dreams that I dream but by the choices that I make."
Count on it: You will have plenty of choices in life. And usually they boil down to a choice between "What do I want?" and "What’s best for others?"
Voltaire said, “Common sense is not so common.” He was right! In a society that has grown increasingly litigious, we are inundated with warnings on products, mostly because some people lack common sense. Just read the following instructions.
On a hair dryer: Do not use while sleeping.
On an iron: Do not iron clothes on body.
On a chainsaw: Do not attempt to stop chain with your hand.
Common sense can be learned from experience or the teaching we receive from those we trust. But God’s Word is the best source of all to develop discernment and good judgment.
Three words echo throughout the book of Proverbs: wisdom, knowledge, understanding. God has packed this book with common sense.
Proverbs 11:12 advises restraint: “A man of understanding holds his peace.”
Proverbs 17:27 warns: “He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.”
Proverbs 20:13 is practical: “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty.”
To get more common sense, consult God’s Word—the source of wisdom—daily. — Cindy Hess Kasper
To Gain A Heart Of Wisdom: Ask God for it (James 1:5). Read regularly from the Proverbs. Seek out godly counsel (Prov. 11:14; 15:22; 19:20).
Doing What We Can Description: He who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward. —1 Corinthians 3:8
Sometimes we may get discouraged because what we're doing for the Lord seems unsuccessful. The children in the Sunday school class we teach are restless and inattentive. The neighbors we're trying to reach with the gospel are politely indifferent. The members of our own family are far from the Lord. The world we lift up to God in fervent intercession grows increasingly violent and anti-Christian. All of this can add up to deep soul-discouragement....
Driven By Gratitude Description: READ: Acts 20:22-24 Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. —1 Corinthians 15:58What's the greatest novel ever written? Many readers would vote for Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, which, depending on the edition, can run well over 1,000 pages. Even after his novel was finished, Tolstoy continued to write—often until he was on the brink of exhaustion, unable to sleep, and on the verge of a breakdown.
One day a friend asked him why he kept writing and driving himself to the edge of exhaustion. He reminded Tolstoy that he was a wealthy Russian count with servants at his beck and call, and that he had a secure future.
Tolstoy explained that he kept writing because he was the slave of an inner compulsion and had a consuming desire deep within his bones. He felt that he had to keep writing or else he would go mad.
The apostle Paul experienced a similar compulsion, except that his drive was God-motivated. As he explained to his friends in Corinth, "the love of Christ compels us" (2 Cor. 5:14). His was a burning passion, an emotional fire, a spiritual force that made him share the good news of Jesus and His death and resurrection.
Such dedicated zeal has characterized many of our Lord's followers throughout the years. May a spark of that fire burn in our own hearts. — Vernon C. Grounds
Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God, In every part with praise, That my whole being may proclaim Thy being and Thy ways. —Bonar
Empire Building Description: Bible teacher J. Vernon McGee expressed concern about empire building in the church today. He advised Christian leaders, "Don't try to build a little empire of your church. I started out with that viewpoint, and I had never been more unhappy." He encouraged them to "build into the lives of people" and leave the results to God.
When a church devotes undue energy to statistics, buildings, and programs, pride can enter in and the needs of God's people can be forgotten.
Jesus never forgot the importance of individuals. He invested His time in 12 men (Mark 3:14). Paul discipled Timothy who in turn discipled others (2 Tim. 2:2). God's kingdom grows when we invest in people. —Dennis Fisher
Churches grow when people pray And pastors preach the Word, When love for Christ seeks out the lost To win them to the Lord. —D. De Haan
Poor is the church that values programs above people.
Eternal Perspective Description: In the movie Gladiator, General Maximus Decimus Meridius seeks to stir his cavalry to fight well in the imminent battle against Germania. Addressing his troops, he challenges them to give their very best. He makes this profound statement: "What we do in life echoes in eternity."
Click the link to listen to the entire devotion now.
Forgetting God Description: He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit. —Matthew 13:23
An insightful scholar by the name of A. J. Heschel recounts a story from his days as a student in Berlin. Although he was a devout man, he became so preoccupied by the arts in that glittering culture that one day he failed to pray at sunset, as his custom had been without fail. He admits, “The sun had gone down, evening had arrived . . . . I had forgotten God.”
God Fights Against Us Description: I have learned that if my own heart wanders away from God, I can count on Him to fight to bring me back. If I become proud and self-assured, if reading God’s Word and spending time in prayer seem like a waste of time, God will step in and deal with me.
Keep Praying Description: We prayed. Quietly sometimes. Aloud other times. For more than 17 years we prayed. We prayed for our daughter Melissa’s health and direction, for her salvation, and often for her protection. Just as we prayed for our other children, we asked God to have His hand of care on her.
As Melissa rolled into her teenage years, we prayed even more that He would keep her from harm—that He would keep His eyes on her as she and her friends began to drive. We prayed, "God, please protect Melissa."
So what happened? Didn’t God understand how much it would hurt so many people to lose such a beautiful young woman with so much potential for service to Him and others? Didn’t God see the other car coming on that warm spring night?
We prayed. But Melissa was killed.
Now what? Do we stop praying? Do we give up on God? Do we try to make it alone?
Absolutely not! Prayer is even more vital to us now. God—our inexplicable sovereign Lord—is still in control. His commands to pray still stand. His desire to hear from us is still alive. Faith is not demanding what we want; it is trusting God’s goodness in spite of life’s tragedies.
We grieve. We pray. We keep on praying. —Dave Branon
24Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Losing To Gain Description: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. —2 Corinthians 9:6
When we give ourselves to Christ, it may seem to people as if we're throwing our life away. But He said that it is only as we lose our lives in Him that we find true life (Matt. 10:39).
Come now to the fountain of cleansing, Plunge deep in its lifegiving flow. His mercy and grace are sufficient, His pardon He longs to bestow. —Robinson
No Terror Description: After the terrorist bombing in Bali in 2002, one man reacted by giving up traveling. Three years later, he finally took his family for a holiday in Bali, together with 50 tourists from Newcastle, Australia. The trip ended in tragedy when his family was caught in a suicide bombing at a café on Jimbaran Beach.
From New York to Indonesia, warnings and threats of terrorist attacks continue. Terrorism derives its sting by exporting fear. No one feels safe.
In Psalm 31, David was in the grip of surrounding threats that terrorized both his reputation and his life. He wrote, “Fear is on every side,” and said, “They scheme to take away my life” (v.13).
When everything seemed bleakest, David cried in despair, “I trust in You, O Lord” (v.14). He began to find peace when he acknowledged, “My times are in Your hand” (v.15).
In our world, perfect safety is not possible. But David’s God is our God. Though our earthly security may be threatened, we can never lose God’s eternal, unfailing love.
To those who trust in the Lord, David wrote these hopefilled words: “[The Lord] shall strengthen your heart” (v.24). When we place our times in His hand, we can exchange the fear of terror for peace and praise. —Albert Lee
Peace, perfect peace, Death shadowing us and ours? Jesus has vanquished Death and all its powers. —Bickersteth
Putting your faith in the living God takes the fear out of living.
Refuge Needed Description: Jesus said to the broken people of His day, “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Matthew 23:37). He continues to offer refuge to the hurting hearts of our day if we will but seek His care and trust His heart.
Remembered Description: The redeemed sinners listed in Hebrews 11 are all remembered for one common virtue: “All these . . . obtained a good testimony through faith” (v.39). Long after their deaths, the record of their lives of faith and obedience still inspire us today.
Few of us will be recorded in history books after we leave this world. But all of us will leave behind memories with our families and friends. Those closest to us are watching our response to God through times of testing and blessing.
Are you living in faith and obedience to Him? What will be the legacy of your life?
Scripture in context Description: Some people also claim to have found hidden meanings when interpreting the Bible. Certain cults will cite a verse out of context, only to lead someone into heretical doctrine. Some quote John 14:16, for example, and say that the “Helper” refers to their “new revelation.” When compared with other Scripture, however, the Helper whom Jesus sent to us is obviously the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-14; Acts 2:1-4). Listen to the whole thing.
