Daily Devotions
August 31st, 2015 by Pastor SolleyJohn 21:1-12 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
3 Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
4 But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.
6 And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
8 And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
9 As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
A longer reading this morning but we will be in John 21 all week as the Spirit of God allows. This account takes place after the cross, after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the grave. The disciples were taken from a terrible low to a great high spiritually is a few days. They had watched the Lord Jesus Christ suffer and die on the cross, they there was the empty tomb and the risen Lord. What a time that must have been. There was one in particular who was having a hard time, Peter. Peter had denied the Lord three times and now considered himself unworthy to call himself a disciple of the Lord. How disappointed Jesus must be in him, what did the others think of him, how could he go on in the work of the Lord, these must have been the thoughts in Peter’s mind. So the decision was made to go back to the fishing boats. The first thought for the week is how we can have an influence upon outers in our Christian walk. Thomas, who questioned the resurrection of Christ, Nathanael, James and John joined Peter. Were they all joining Peter in a return to the life of a fishermen? What if Peter would have said “I go a praying”, or “I go a witnessing and preaching”? A Christian must realize that he or she does have an influence upon others no matter our station in life. A pastor may have a greater influence, but a factory worker, a housewife, a contractor, a truck driver, they have influence as well. Peter weakened the walk of the others with his actions. Do we do the same?