When You Disagree with God. Part [8] 06/23/2024 (Morning thought)

Luke 5:7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

This leads us to the main subject matter which we’ll try to unpack today. God was just about to deliver Israel from Egyptian slavery, and God was looking for a particular king, with a particular mindset that would fit the bill, without God forcing him to do that which he would not otherwise have done. In other words, He needs a stupid, stubborn king on the throne, at such a time as this, and lo and behold He finds a knuckle head, who is in the habit of not listening to anybody.

This particular pharaoh would not listen to God, he will not listen to Moses, and he does not even listen to his own magicians. But, believe it or not, this is actually the kind of person God is looking for, to fit the bill, and, even though God would give him, equal opportunity just like anyone else, this pharaoh will use his freedom of choice to resist, and resist, and resist. Egypt will be brought to ruins, the land will be devastated, and yet, he will continue to resist.

Exodus 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!

When You Disagree with God. Part [7] 06/23/2024 (Evening thought)

Luke 5:1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and asked him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

So, here comes Jesus, asking Peter to move his boat a little offshore, so that the multitudes could be fed with the written and Living word of God. It is worthy of note that the very same boat Peter used to make his living is the one that Jesus now uses in bringing souls to God. This shows in unmistakable terms that the priorities of these disciples were, at the very least, partially inverted at that time, with work and family coming first, and the interests of Christ’s kingdom coming second.

This inversion of priorities is currently to be found in most Christians today, as some become consumed with paying the bills, supporting their families, and fighting off inflation. Therefore, as Jesus arrives on the scene, He gently seeks to correct their inverted priorities, and He begins to preach to the multitudes, who were then pressing upon Him to hear the word of God. There were more important matters at hand, other than working for their daily bread, and thus, Jesus rose to the occasion and deals with that which must be of the utmost importance to the you and me, in the here and now.

One of the reasons why some Christians may fish all night and catch nothing, is because of the inverted priorities in their lives, where the interests of God’s kingdom are an afterthought, and working for your daily bread, absorbs your best energies. So, again, to the casual reader, it may seem as if The Son of God is oblivious to His disciple’s failures, and instead of first dealing with their temporal concerns, He addresses that which is most important in life, the salvation of souls. Remember, our first passage says My thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways, my ways.

Luke 5:4 Now when he had finished speaking, he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: never-the-less at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net broke.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!