Prayer Practice
Prayer Journal – To begin
your daily worship today, grab a pen and paper and write out a prayer to God.
Not sure what to write? Try using ACTS to frame your prayer. Begin with
adoration for who God is. Then move on to confession – being real about where
you have fallen short in the last day or two. Give thanks to God for all that
He gives (including forgiveness for the sin you just confessed!). And then
finish with supplication – with your prayer requests to God. When you are done,
tuck this away somewhere (so you can read it later and see how God has answered
your prayers) and then move into hearing from God through His Word.
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Help in the Kitchen
by Mary McGinnis
Several years ago, a Pastor shared a story with us at a women’s retreat that I will never forget. He told about how he loved cooking, and preparing delicious meals for his family was one of his passions. He would go to great lengths to get the best ingredients, the proper spices, the perfect combinations of things, and take ordinary things, like meat and vegetables, to create an amazing family dinner.
He also had two young,
grade school age daughters. They would
often come into the kitchen while Dad was cooking and shyly ask, “Daddy, can I
help?” He would pull up the kitchen step
stool and invite them to take their place at the countertop, and the fun would
begin. Before long, the kitchen would be
full of chaos - flour dusting the countertop like snow, puddles of spilled liquids
on the floor - well, you get the picture.
At first Dad, would find himself a nervous wreck trying to orchestrate it all, but soon he just learned to go with the flow.
He learned something from those times together with his girls. It would have been much easier if he would have shoo’d them out of the kitchen so he could DO IT HIMSELF!
Instead, he found JOY is inviting them into the creative process, leading them to share in his passion for cooking. In the end, even through all the mess and chaos, a delicious meal resulted. And how excited they were to share it with the family when the meal was ready!
Do you have a sweet memory like this from your life?
That is what came to mind today was I read today’s story. Jesus had been preaching and gathering large crowds around Him. His message was powerful, and even life changing. Jesus asks Simon to partner with Him, first by providing his boat as a pulpit.
If that were not enough, Jesus then asks Simon to launch out into the deep for a “catch.” This word catch means “a haul taken in hunting or fishing – the booty or prey.” Simon Peter does what Jesus asks, and the booty haul of fish was SO GREAT, Simon had to summon his partners, his fellow fishermen, asking for help to bring in the overwhelming catch.
Jesus then tells
Simon, “Don’t be afraid, from now on you will catch men.”
This second word for “catch” that Jesus uses means to “take alive.” Wow! Jesus was inviting them to leave behind the overwhelming plunder of their fish catching business (in which the fish die) for something better: God’s mission of providing LIFE to all human beings. Life eternal through His sacrifice for us all on the cross.
Why did Jesus choose these simple, unschooled fishermen to join Him in His mission? He could have done it BY HIMSELF - alone. He is God after all, the Divine Master, the Creator of the heavens and earth!
Yet, God delighted in
calling these, His first disciples to share in the mission. Can you hear Him calling you too? Do you feel the stirring of Him calling you and I into becoming active participants,
partners with Him? We may make a mess of
things sometimes, and life may seem chaotic. But God is the Master designer,
and He will bring it all together into His Divine Master plan, His lifesaving
plan for our world.
Thank You Lord Jesus, for inviting US to participate and become a part of all You are doing to “catch alive” all people who need Your life-giving message. Help us to seek out others in whom we can partner and share the joy of Your mission! Amen!
