While gathered in Peter’s boat, fishing all morning for breakfast, the disciples were becoming increasingly hungry and frustrated. As they were gazing at their empty nets, the resurrected Jesus appeared on the shore, telling them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat, and as soon as they did, they caught a net full of fish.
It’s comforting to know that in our most frustrating moments, Jesus is still with us. He wants to take us through each day, one day at a time.
This has been His formula for peace of mind and is also God’s message all along. We have daily bread to receive, so we share this first part of the day and our heart with Him.
When the disciples arrived on the shore, Jesus surprised them by having a charcoal fire with a complete breakfast of cooked fish and bread. He exceeded their expectations with a fully prepared breakfast picnic.
The hungry, tired disciples could now just sit down and eat, spending time in fellowship with Jesus. It’s the best way to start each day. There is a time to labor and work hard, a time to plan and resolve problems, but the start of the day is set apart to have breakfast with Jesus. He is inviting us to give Him the first thoughts of the day so that He can sanctify the rest of our day.
We never know what to anticipate, but we can be certain that God is always for us and will never leave us. He left us His example of breakfast with His disciples because He also wants to start each day with us and exceed our expectations.
Being the Lord of today, Jesus has something new to give us today, that wasn’t there yesterday, and it won’t be there tomorrow. He calls us from the shoreline saying,
“Come and have breakfast!”
Lord, we will meet you each morning for breakfast, a sacred time spent in your word, your presence and to share our heart with you. Thank you for preparing something new for us each day. Amen
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Proverbs 18:21 ( RSV)
Life and death is truly in the power of the tongue, and I often catch myself saying negative things when something doesn’t go the way I expected. I say things like, “story of my life,“ when it’s actually not the story of my life.
The story of my life is God’s miraculous pursuit in seeking, finding and bringing me home to my faith in Jesus. The story of my life is His merciful intervention in my life, through His lovingkindness which I never deserved. Therefore, I really shouldn’t say things to frame myself in a way that God doesn’t agree with.
What we say to ourselves and to others can influence our future as well as each other’s. If we pray for something and then speak negatively as if it’s never going to happen, I think we disappoint the Lord, who says numerous times throughout the scriptures, that He is searching to find faith on the earth, and without faith it is impossible to please him.
“For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
If we speak as if we expect something good from God, we can expect Him to reward our faith. The way we speak to others also affects how they will respond in faith to God. God satisfies those who are hungry for Him. Our words not only affect our lives, but also the lives of those who listen to what we say.
We never know how something small and simple that we say, can spiritually inspire someone else. People will present their hunger for God in the most unexpected places and times.
I believe the Holy Spirit roams about looking for the hungry hearts to fill at any time and any place. An example of this is related to a meditation I once wrote last year, entitled “The Jesus Budget.” I wrote about how I was able to have my cable bill drastically reduced, and still keep my favorite Christian TV channels. After reading that meditation, one of my readers asked me which christian cable stations I receive because she was in the process of changing her own cable package.
I was running errands when she texted me so I couldn’t respond right away. Hours later, I felt prompted to quickly look up those stations on my TV guide as soon as I returned home. I did just that and sent her the names of the four christian stations in my cable package, in a text message form.
What I didn’t know, is that she was already on the phone with a customer service person from her cable company at the time I sent the text. While she was telling the lady on the phone that she wanted certain Christian channels in her package, the customer service lady began sharing her own faith story with my friend. She told her how she had just committed her life to Jesus, and was sharing all that God was doing in her life. She said she was a new mom and hoped to raise her baby in the faith as well, so she asked my friend what those Christian stations were, so that she could order the same ones in her own cable package.
It was at this exact moment in their phone conversation that my text with the four stations, arrived to my friend’s phone. She received the text information just when she needed it, and shared it with the young lady from customer service.
A newly devoted Christian was blessed in sharing her faith, while doing her job, and my friend was blessed by listening and sharing with a total stranger on the phone that day.
No one could have coordinated the timing and the connection of that customer service lady with my friend, along with my text message, other than the Holy Spirit.
God knows who is hungry for Him and who is willing to speak about Him. How beautiful it is that the power of the tongue can bless and change our own lives and the eternity of others. God works in wondrous ways when we are willing to tell others of His goodness.
“With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord; And I will praise Him in the midst of many.”
(Psalm 109:30)
Lord, thank you for reminding us to let your praise flow from our mouths. Anoint our words to all who we speak to today, and make us a blessing to others. Amen
