BBD 04.02.08 In the Right Place
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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04.02.08
In the Right Place
After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of
Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the
Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of
His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing."
They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and
immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. - John
21:1-3.
Can you imagine being an elementary student on a school bus and after a turn
the driver falls out of her seat and hits her head? The school bus is then
driverless and out of control! Every kid on the bus was probably screaming.
It happened on a school bus in California and could have been very tragic if
not for a 15-year-old girl who would not normally have been on the bus.
Amanda Rouse, the 15-year-old, jumped into the driver's seat and hit the
brakes stopping the bus. The bus did hit a couple of parked cars but
thankfully no one was injured other than the driver who had hit her head.
Amanda had been feeling sick and asked the driver to take her home. Since
she had not received the proper permission to leave school Amanda was
rewarded with detention on Saturday. Amanda's grandmother said about the
situation, "I can't help but believe that she (Amanda) was where God wanted
her to be."
It is a wonderful thing when you know that you are in the right place at the
right time. Amanda, in spite of receiving detention for her heroics, knows
that she at least at that one moment in time was exactly where she was meant
to be.
Sadly, Peter and six other disciples were not in the right place at the
right time. Peter had apparently decided that it was over, Jesus was dead,
and he might as well go back to his old career of being a fisherman. Six
other disciples followed Peter. Jesus did not call them to catch fish as He
said to four of them in Matthew 4:19, "Follow Me, and I will make you
fishers of men." Jesus had called them to win souls for the Kingdom of God
and He had not changed His mind. The result of they're being in the wrong
place at the wrong time was that they caught no fish.
Peter and his friends had begun to look back to the good old days of when
they were fishermen. Those days were not complicated and the only
uncertainty was whether you would have a good catch or a bad catch of fish.
Sometimes the weather would be good and sometimes the weather would be bad.
However, you did not have to worry about Roman soldiers crucifying you for
fishing!
In John 21:4 the next morning the risen Lord Jesus comes to find them and
reissues His call upon their lives. Jesus addresses some questions that were
apparently on the heart of Peter and his friends. They are questions that
often loom in the hearts of those serving the Lord. One of those questions
is about what reward is there in that service. After demonstrating that He
is Lord and the disciples haul in a huge catch of fish; Jesus says to Peter,
"Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" Jesus was speaking of
the fish that had just been caught and that they had eaten for breakfast. It
is a decision that must be made in following Jesus. Do we love Him or do we
love the world?
Peter had one more question that often is a question that hinders servants
of the Lord. "Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved
following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, "Lord,
who is the one who betrays You?" Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, "But
Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain
till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me (Matthew 21:20-22)." You
must not compare yourself to others or worry about how God is working in the
lives of others in comparison to how He is working in your life. Jesus had a
plan for Peter and He had a plan for John. Peter and John followed the Lord.
He has a plan for your life too. Will you follow Him?
You can be in the right place at the right time by fearlessly following your
Lord, putting Him first in your life above the treasures of this world, and
by praising God for how He works in the lives of others instead of being
jealous.
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