Did you know that following Jesus brings great rewards.
My scripture today is: He called out to them, "Friends,
haven't you any fish?" No," they answered. He said, "Throw
your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some." When they
did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
John 21:5-6 (NIV)
How many of you have ever gone fishing? Do you enjoy fishing? I have heard some
people say that they enjoy fishing even if they never catch a fish. They say
that they just enjoy the peace and relaxation of fishing. I will have to
confess, it doesn't sound like much fun to sit in a boat holding a fishing pole
without ever catching any fish. How about you? Imagine that you have been
sitting in a boat fishing all night without catching a single fish. As the sun
begins to come up you can see someone standing at the edge of the water.
"Hi!" he calls out. "Have you had any
luck?"
"I haven't caught a thing," you answer.
"Well, if you would put your fishing pole on the
right-hand side of the boat, you would catch a lot of fish."
Would you try it, or would you say to yourself, "That's
the craziest thing I've ever heard. What difference does it make which side of
the boat I am fishing from?"
Well, that is almost exactly what happened in our Bible
lesson for today. Several of Jesus' disciples were gathered beside the Sea of
Galilee. The group included Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, and James and John,
the sons of Zebedee.
Suddenly, Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll
come too," the others said. So they got in the boat and they fished all
night, but caught nothing."
As the sun came up, Jesus was standing on the beach, but the
disciples couldn't make out who it was. Jesus called out to them, "Have
you caught any fish?" "Not a thing," the disciples called
back. "Throw your nets on the
right-hand side of the boat and you'll catch some!"
Did they do it? Yes they did! Did they catch any fish? They
caught so many fish that they couldn't even pull the net into the boat!
Then the disciple that Jesus loved said to Peter, "It's
the Lord!" When Peter heard that, he jumped into the water and headed for
shore. The others stayed with the boat and dragged the loaded net to the shore.
When they got there, they found Jesus cooking breakfast -- fish over a charcoal
fire and some bread. "Bring some of
the fish you've just caught," Jesus said. Peter dragged the net to the
shore and there were 153 large fish. "Now, come and have some
breakfast," Jesus said. Then Jesus served them fish and bread.
How cool is that….. Breakfast on the beach with the risen
Lord! What would have happened if the disciples had refused to throw their nets
on the right-hand side of the boat? They would have missed out on a wonderful
breakfast on the beach with Jesus. What happens when you and I refuse to do the
things Jesus has called us to do? We miss out on the wonderful blessings that
he wants for us!
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