Would you give your boat to Jesus?

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,  the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.  He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.  He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.    When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,  “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”    Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”    When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.  So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.    When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”  For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,  and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon,  “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”    So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:1-11 NIV)

Notice in this story how Simon Peter told Jesus that they had worked all night long fishing and had caught nothing, but when Jesus asked him to put out his nets one more time they were so full that he needed help from another boat and even then there were so many fish that both boats almost sank! So what happened? Was the moon just now right for fishing or was the wind out of the west now?  No! Peter was a professional fisherman and had probably been fishing since he was a young boy.  He knew how to catch fish if there were any to be caught......but still he had come up empty handed after an all night fishing expedition.

To understand what happened here you have to look at the beginning of this story in verses 1-3.  Jesus was drawing a large crowd so He hopped into Simons boat and asked him to go out a little way onto the lake so he could use the water like an amplifier to speak to all the people. Interestingly, Simon did as Jesus asked without question, even though he was not yet one of Jesus' disciples. It was only after Simon gave his boat to Jesus to use that he received his record and net breaking catch!

Are you hoping for a record breaking catch, but unwilling to let Jesus have your boat?  Are you praying for God to bless you, but you are unwilling to trust him with everything you have including your finances?  God wants to bless you, but can He trust you? Would you give him anything He asked for?  Would you give Him your boat?

God has asked for my boat several times in my life and I have learned to say yes without hesitation......well at least with very little hesitation :-).  Just recently He asked my family to give away all the money we had in savings, and also give away my truck. I'm not telling you this to brag on my family, but rather to show you that I'm not just all talk. I can put my money where my mouth is as the saying goes. This was the first time God has asked us to give all of our savings. We have given away a vehicle before, but never all of our "financial security".

So am I worried about how I will save that money back or how we buy another vehicle?  No, not at all!  I know that whatever I give to The Lord is blessed and will multiply beyond what I could imagine!  I know our "nets" will be overflowing! That first time we gave away my truck the Lord gave me a truck that was nicer than the one we gave away! It really was a miraculous provision from  God! Now I'm not saying that you should go give away all your possessions so God will give you newer nicer "stuff". Receiving is not a bad thing, but it is not the point I want you to see here. It's not about "stuff", its about trusting the Lord and believing that he knows what your needs are.

Is He asking you to take a step of faith? Is He asking for your boat, your car, your savings, your house??? Be careful my friends to not put your faith in the things of this world as they will all fail to satisfy your soul. Trust in Jesus. He loves you. He knows what you need. He will provide for you. Let Him have your boat.........It truly is more blessed to give than receive!

Jason Farris

One for the husbands...

I am a visual learner, so I usually like to have a picture to help communicate the main point of my posts.  Today, however, I am going to have to do my best with words only.  I looked and looked, but there is no picture I can find that would do this post justice.  You see, yesterday I was meditating on this verse: "This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends." John 15:12-13

What a powerful statement for those of us who have placed our faith in the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.  I have many people in my life that I call my friends, but yesterday only one of them was on my mind....my best friend- my wife, Jennifer Farris.  As I was meditating on this verse and how it related to my role as a husband, I realized that so often I fail at serving my wife.  I mean, as a husband, this should be my number 2 priority in life next to serving Jesus, but I find that often times I am more self-serving than anything.

As husbands, you and I have a huge responsibility to love and serve our wives, to train our children in The Way, to lead our families with gentleness and tenderness.  There is no example to follow except that of Jesus.  No one has sacrificed more, lived more self-less, and loved more than Him.  As I learn to receive His love more and more each day, I also learn more and more how to give this self-less love to my wife.  You see, you cant give what you dont have.  If I am not able to receive true self-less love from Christ, I have none to give to my wife.  It takes intentional time with Jesus to know and receive His love.  The simple word for that is "relationship".  A friend once told me that the best thermometer of your relationship with Jesus is your relationship with your wife....is your marriage cold, lukewarm, hot, or boiling???

Do You Remember?

I was meditating on Psalm 103 today, and had a revelation I have had before but had forgotten oddly enough.  David, as he often does, starts off this psalm in an attitude of praise and honor saying, "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name."  I think it is always important for us to start any time of prayer and worship with our acknowledgement of God's holiness and our desire to honor Him.  It is what he does next, though, that is really powerful.  In verse 2 he says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-".  Then David goes on to list all the ways the Lord has been faithful and blessed him- forgave all his sins, heals all his diseases, redeemed his life from the pit, crowned him with love and compassion, satisfies his desires with good things, renews his youth, and on and on verse after verse David REMINDS himself of the Lords faithfulness in his life!  I call this encouraging yourself in the Lord.

I know that life can be tough.  That it can hit hard and fast.  I know it is easy to get overwhelmed by our circumstances.  But when life hits hard, the best and most effective way to hit back is with an attitude of gratitude!  How can we have an attitude of gratitude in the midst of our desperate situation?  We absolutely must remind ourselves of God's faithfulness!  Last year, my wife, Jennifer, and I realized our need to remember the miracles, blessings, and opportunities God has given us.  So, we stole an idea from our mentors, Sheri and Tracy Yates, and started a Book of Miracles.  It is a journal where we record all that God has done in our lives- healings, financial blessings, answered prayers, etc.  Why?  So we can remind ourselves of God's faithfulness.  As a matter of fact, I probably need to remind myself today.  Do you remember God's faithfulness in your life???

Day by Day

Great post from day 4 of the Lead Like Jesus reading plan on Youversion...

Everyone seems to have an agenda for our lives—bosses, team leaders, clients, co-workers, friends, our children. Even Jesus had to work to maintain His focus in the midst of training followers, meeting needs, public speaking, demanding crowds, and a busy travel schedule. How did Jesus maintain His focus? He regularly made time to get away with His Father to talk things over. How do you maintain your focus?

At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them.—Luke 4:42

Prayer: Jesus, if You needed to take time with God to stay focused, then I know I need to make a point of spending time with God, too. Thank You for this reminder today. Help me to keep time with You at the top of my priorities. In Your Name, Amen.

It's Easy

But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.” (Mark 5:36 NLT)

Jesus was saying, "I've got this. Why are you worried? Just believe." We make our problems so big and insurmountable in our own eyes, but Jesus is still saying, "Don't be afraid. Just have faith." It's that easy. What is keeping you from trusting Him?

Check your "Self"

Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. (1 Peter 3:9 NLT)

Self wants to defend. Self wants to fight. Self wants what's best for self. We can choose to serve self, or we can choose to serve Jesus. Jesus always serves, always loves, always gives. He is never about self. He is always about you and me. We have to make the choice every day....to choose self, or to choose Jesus...what is your choice today?

What will be your story?

Moms and Dads, whether you realize it or not, you are writing a story for the world around you to read. Every day you add a page to this story that tells something about you, even the things you would like to be kept secret. Sure, you may be able to put on your poker face and fool most of the people in your life, but you are still telling the story and you may not even realize it. You are telling your story through your children. Your young children do not have a poker face. How we live, think, act, believe, respond, and choose will be directly reflected in the lives of our children. If we are harsh with our children, they will be harsh with others. If we are selfish parents, we will have selfish children. If we are irresponsible, we will have irresponsible children. In the same regard, if we are kind and gentle parents, we will have kind and gentle children. If we love others, our children will love others. If we are generous, our children will be generous.

 Some call this story we write our legacy. About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to reflect on what kind of legacy, or story, I was writing. I saw that it was one of perfectionism, harshness, selfishness, and results…and I didn’t like what I saw. It was not only affecting me, but the people I cared about the most. It was time for a change. As a husband and father I realized I must follow the example of Jesus if I was to leave a story worth reading. I must lead like He led. I must love like He loved. I wasn’t sure how to do this because I only had a surface level relationship with Him. My life had been decaying because I had not been feeding on the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" I started to consume His words and let them penetrate my heart. I started to see life being breathed back into my story. I saw that results were not what was important, rather it was relationships that mattered the most. You get to write your own story. What do you want your story to say?