Shalom,
Psalm 144:9:
9 I will sing a new song to You, O God; upon a harp, an instrument of ten strings, will I offer praises to You.
This verse tells of David's desire to give praise and worship to the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! DAILY praise, worship, fellowship, study and mediation in the Word, and fellowship with like-minded believers is needful for the believer who REALLY wants to grow up in the things of God, and become one who is able to handle the meat of the Word, and not just feed on the milk, like a baby! BE ONE of those!
John 21 records the third time that Jesus had appeared to His disciples after the resurrection. I really LOVE the aggressiveness of Peter! It is so much easier to help slow someone down who moves too fast than it is to try to jump-start someone who won't move out in boldness! That being said, this trait in Peter DOES sometimes cause problems for him! Verse 7:
7 The the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord! Simon Peter, hearing him say that it was the Lord, put (girded) on his upper garment (his fisherman's coat, his outer tunic) -- for He was stripped [for work] -- and sprang into the sea.
So here is Peter, with his shirt off, working to pull up all of these great fish! Then, when he is informed that this is Jesus, he puts his coat back on, in order to jump into the water and swim to shore! Do you think he was wet when he got there? Meanwhile, verse 8:
8 And the other disciples came in the small boat, for they were not far from shore, only some hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.
When they got to shore, Jesus asks them to bring Him some fish, so Peter does this, verse 11:
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, 153 of them; and [though] there were so many of them, the net was not torn.
It would have been so much easier for Peter to wait and come in with the boat and haul the fish to shore! What this DOES reveal about him, though is his eagerness to be near Jesus! Do YOU go so quickly and boldly into His presence? Or does everything have to be perfect BEFORE you spend time with Him in YOUR secret place? Being organized is a great way to be in position to move quickly, like Peter did, when the Spirit of God leads you to do something! Get YOUR life in order and stay ready!
In 2 Chronicles 36 and in Jeremiah 27 we see King Zedekiah being warned by the prophet about what God was doing and how he was to submit to Nebuchadnezzar. He refused and it did NOT go well with him after that! Things will not always look like we think they should, but if God is in control, then we can trust that His every decision is FOR our benefit! Remember that God is ALWAYS on our side! The questions is, are we (you) on HIS side? If not, GET THERE! There is no safer and more rewarding place to be than right in the center of HIS perfect will! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
