Sunday, May 27, 2012

Sunday, May 27th

Today's passage from the Chronological Bible In a Year Reading Plan is  1 Chronicles 26-29, Psalm 127
 
Today's scripture focus is John 21:1-14
21 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias.  It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 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.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. 9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. 14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
MacArthur: Carnal, fleshly self-effort, responding to your own will is characterized by disobedience, ends in failure and a loss of intimate fellowship. Spiritual effort characterized by obedience produces success and intimate fellowship with Christ.

In this passage it seems that Peter and the disciples have grown tired of waiting, and they're not sure how this post-resurrection stuff is supposed to work exactly. Is Jesus still going to provide for them?  So, Peter decides to go back to what he knows - fishing.  And some of the disciples go with him.  Without praying about it first.  Self-effort.  Fishing in itself is not wrong, but fishing for fish when you've been commanded to fish for men is wrong. 

And what happens when they disobey and rely on self-effort?  Failure.  God made sure they didn't catch a single fish.   And loss of intimate fellowship.  They're apart from Jesus, and the word for friends does not imply intimacy.  And He has not allowed them to recognize Him.  Loss of intimate fellowship.

But the first step to getting back to intimate fellowship is to admit that the self-effort is a failure.  And when they admit it, He commands them to fish again and this time, when their action and His will unite, they achieve success.  Not just success, overwhelming success!  And the Jesus reveals Himself to them, He cooks for them, He serves them, and intimate relationship is restored.

As soon as you go your own way, do your own thing, it's a decline. You start out: self-effort, disobedience, failure, loss of intimate fellowship. The other option, divine effort, obedience, success, intimate fellowship. And every Christian goes one of those two ways and most of us jump back and forth. And the mature Christian is the one who has the increased frequency on the upswing. You see, the Christian life is a matter of frequency. It's not a matter of perfection, it's a matter of frequency. And the more you grow in Christ, the more frequently you're on the up. It's as you grow in Christ that obedience begins to outweigh disobedience.

Tomorrow's scripture focus: John 21:15-25
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Psalm 111-118

1 comment:

Miriam said...

"It's not a matter of perfection, it's a matter of frequency." Love that.