Why do we read God’s Word Daily? Reading our Bible daily teaches us how to have an intimate relationship with our Savior.
Luke 5
As I read Luke 5, Jesus chooses his first disciples and begins teaching and healing others. In verses 1-11, I see that Simon Peter worked all night and caught nothing. If I were Peter, I would have been tempted not to wash my nets but to sell them; after spending an entire night fishing, I had caught nothing. These verses speak to me! Like Peter, I may come up empty in ministry, empty in what I put my hand to do; I’m not to sell my nets, I’m not to turn back, and I’m not to give up because, like Peter, I don’t know what will happen right around the corner.
Peter was washing his nets because they would rot if they weren’t washed and stretched. Every time it was used, a net would have to be washed with fresh water and stretched to remain useful. So, too, as fishers of people, we are nets that must be continually washed with the water of the Word and stretched by the Spirit if we are to remain useful. You may be thinking, why should I get washed and stretched? The Lord isn’t using me. Why bother? But like Peter, you don’t know what will happen tomorrow. When the Lord wants to use someone, He doesn’t find the one who’s rotten and brittle. No, He uses the one who’s been washed in the water of the Word, stretched and disciplined.
Catch verse 3 when Jesus asks Peter to take Him out in the boat. Why would He need Peter to take him out? The Lord has you teaching Sunday groups, parking cars, or working in the nursery for the same reason. Part of the reason the Lord wants us active in service is because He knows if we’re not, we won’t be where we can hear the Word. Does the Lord need to use us? No. But we need to be used by Him so that we might be in a position to hear from and grow in Him.
I know that God has me serving every Sunday so that I will be at church to fellowship with other women who encourage and lift me up. I can’t quit, even when I see no fruit, because, like Peter, I don’t know what tomorrow brings. I know from life experience that when we are faithful, the fruit is abundant!
In Verse 7, Jesus performs a miracle, and Peter catches more fish than they can handle. Think of the profit and the possibility of expanding their business. But that is different from what Peter and his friends did. They left everything to pursue Jesus passionately. Is there something or someone in your life you need to walk away from to pursue Jesus passionately?
