Bible Study: Acts 4, 1 to 12 and John
21, 1 to 14.
Is it possible to succeed at any venture without Jesus? If God has
called you to be a fisher of men, can you succeed at something else other than
the ministry to which God has called you? Can we disobey the will of God for
our lives and still be successful? Or can we possibly ignore God’s words,
disregard his commandments and still hope to achieve our dreams and aspirations
in life?
Dear friends, any decision that we take without bringing in Jesus,
without praying about it, without first checking if it is in line with the will
of God for us or without checking if it contradicts any of God’s instructions
to us is surely bound to fail. At times we fail even before we venture into
such decisions all because we are trying to push God aside.
Peter was already a successful fisherman when Jesus called him. Even though
Peter did not go to theology school, Jesus saw a quality in him that made him
qualify for his team and that was his natural ability to lead by influencing
people. Jesus knew he was a natural born leader and a future Pope but to get
him away from fishing, Jesus made him understand that he has something greater
than fishes to catch.
One night, Peter and his fellow fishermen worked all through and caught
nothing. The following morning, Jesus used his both to preach afterwards, he
asked him to put out a little from the shore and Peter protested: “Master, we
worked all night and caught nothing…” Luke 5, 5. Eventually, they netted such a
huge catch that they had to call other fishermen to help them. Peter said to
Jesus: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” Luke 5, 8.
Today, that same Peter haven been with Jesus for three years, haven
witnessed the resurrection and even after Jesus had appeared twice already to
them said to the fellow disciples: “I am going fishing.” And what happened, the
others followed suit. Dear friends, if they had succeeded that night, if they
had caught even a single fish; that would have been the end of their evangelization
and probably the end of Jesus’ message.
But look, Jesus did not allow them to succeed. The same thing that
happened in Luke chapter 5 happened again in John 21. They toiled all night and
caught nothing. The following morning, Jesus was standing by the shore and he
told them to cast their nets right there and behold a great catch; one hundred
and fifty three big fishes all at once!
Dear friends, at times, it is good for us to experience failure so that we
may have the opportunity of asking ourselves certain very serious questions. “Am
I just trying to make money or am I doing what God brought me to this life to
do?” “Am I obeying God’s voice for my life or am I trying to be independent?”
This experience had another profound effect on Peter. It made him
realize that the God who called him was the creator and director of everything
in this world. And it made him totally fearless knowing that with God on his
side, no human being can threaten him. It is this fearlessness that we see in
Peter in today’s first reading. Consider the boldness with which he spoke to
the Chief priests and leaders of the Jews: “Let it be known to all of you, and
to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good
health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God
raised from the dead. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the
builders; it has become the cornerstone.” Acts 4, 10 to 11.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, I place my trust in you. May
I never take any decision in life without first consulting you. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be
Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy new month and
welcome to April.
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