How do you respond when someone comes to you with a better way, at least better way according to them? Do you get defensive and think to yourself “Who made you the expert?” or do you listen to their advice? Admittedly, there are a lot of armchair quarterbacks who always seem to know the best way to do just about everything. I remember years ago I hired a staff accountant who had just graduated from college a few months earlier. This young man had only been on the job one week when he presented me with a list of twenty things that we needed to improve on. Really? You have got to be kidding me?

Today I want to share a story from John’s Gospel that occurred about a week after Jesus had been crucified, buried, and raised from the tomb, and began to reappear to people in the area. The story begins like this – It is morning and Jesus’ disciples, who are also experienced fishermen, are sitting in their boat on the Sea of Galilee, disappointed that they had caught no fish all night long. (We find a similar story at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, found in Luke 5:1-11.)

Let’s continue the story by looking at the text, found in John chapter 21 – Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your nets on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish (21:4-6).

I am sure that for those seven disciples, this was a “you have got to be kidding me” moment. Who is this dude? Has he ever fished in his life? He must not know that the best fishing occurs at night.

We are told that after hearing this stranger’s voice, John then recognized the voice as that of Jesus (v.7). Imagine with me what that moment must have been like. Standing in the presence of the resurrected Jesus. The story ends by telling us that the men sat on the shore enjoying a breakfast of bread and grilled fish with Jesus. Picture yourself having breakfast with Jesus. What would you talk about? As a side note, in v.11, John tells us the number of fish found in the net, 153, thus giving credibility to this story since he must have been an eyewitness to know the exact number of fish. I encourage you to read this entire account in its context, John 21:1-14.

Unlike the armchair quarterback who always has a seemingly better way, often without any expertise or involvement, Jesus calls us to be faithful and obedient to His way, which is always the best way. He calls us to faithfully cast out our nets, sending us into the world, to change lives, feed the sick, clothe the naked, heal the sick, to love the unloved. We are responsible to cast out the nets. Jesus is responsible for what comes back in.

Today, cast your nets, maybe even in places where fishing doesn’t look too promising, and allow Jesus to work in you and through you. Don’t let it be “you have got to be kidding me.”

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We can gain access to almost anyone or any place in a variety of ways. Very few times is it just one way. You can get to your favorite travel destination using any number of roads. There are most likely multiple routes that you can take, depending upon things like you preferring to avoid toll roads or highways. Do you want the fastest route or one with the least number of miles? Maybe the most scenic.

If you want to talk with someone, and because of distance, meeting them for coffee is not an option, with current technology, the ways to do that are almost limitless. Video Conferencing. Email. Text. Social media platforms. How about the old-fashioned ways of writing a letter or calling them?

While gaining access to people, places, and things can often be done many ways, unlike what some might say, we gain access to God only one way. Christians, which I am one, are often accused of being narrow minded because of our claim that there is only one way to God. Let me first say; we did not invent that assertion. We are only the messengers of a claim found in God’s Word, the Bible. The claim was made first by Jesus. When being questioned by Thomas, the doubting disciple here is what is Jesus said to him – “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

The apostle Paul put it this way – “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

The writer of Hebrews tells us that no sinful person, and we are all sinful, can have access to the Father except through the blood of Jesus (10:19-22). There is language in this passage about a curtain. If you are thinking, “say what?,” maybe one of my previous posts (click here) will be of some help.

While it is true that we gain access to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son, do not be fooled into thinking that you cannot go to God directly. Yes, it is through Jesus our High Priest that we can enter into God’s presence (Hebrews 4:15-16), but I believe Jesus does not want to be our intercessor, speaking to God on our behalf..

What I mean by that is Jesus instructs us to take our requests directly to God. Here are His words to his disciples and to you and me today – “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (John 16:25-27).

So, through Jesus the Son, you can go boldly and expectantly go to God the Father; a Father who loves you, a Father who knows your name (John 10:3), and a Father who has you on His mind every minute of every day (Psalm 139:17-18). I will end with this – “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

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Everywhere we turn these days, no matter the situation, someone says, “that is my right.” Or how about, “I am entitled to that.” Everything is about rights and entitlement. Even when it isn’t.

Where do our rights even come from? There is much debate and discord on this subject. Without desiring to stir up controversy, let me give a broad paint brush stroke of my understanding of where our rights come from.

As United States citizens, we have both constitutional rights (sometimes called fundamental rights) and legal rights. Constitutional rights are protections and liberties granted to citizens of the U.S. by the Constitution, whereas legal rights are laws that protect people, both at the federal and state level. Constitutional rights differ from legal rights in that other laws cannot change constitutionally granted rights. Digging a bit deeper, human rights are universal decency rights that all human beings enjoy while civil rights occur when human rights become laws.

While our rights guide us, protect us, and help us navigate life, what if rather than it always being “that is my right,” we instead, when appropriate, focused on “love my enemies.” What if we put the needs of others first? This is not an advocation for allowing ourselves to be walked on by someone else, but rather, a thought about walking with someone else. Humbling ourselves for the sake of others. This is not an original idea. We get this example from Jesus – “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ lengthiest explanation of how to live as His followers, recorded in Matthew 5-7, we find these words – “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:38-42).

In speaking those words, Jesus turned the law of retribution on its head. Mosaic law did teach an eye for an eye (Exodus 21:23-25). This Old Testament law was intended to prevent escalation. The penalty for a crime was to be equivalent to the offense. But here we see Jesus telling us not to exact revenge. Jesus is pushing back against the world’s system of justice. He is calling his disciples, and his followers today, to seek opportunities to serve those around us, even those who wronged us, even our enemies, rather than looking for ways to seek revenge under the letter of the law.

Imagine how different the world could be if instead of seeking to assert our rights, whatever those rights may be, we instead, give up our rights, as Jesus did, and look for opportunities to serve others. Love trumps hate. It isn’t always about rights.

I do want to end with this – if you are being abused in any way, physically, emotionally, verbally, or otherwise, do NOT turn the other cheek. Get away from your abuser and seek protection.

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In life today plenty of people and activities are competing for our time, and it is often hard to be fully invested in any of them. We often run from thing to thing and do not have time or energy to be fully engaged in any of them. Because we are stretched so thin, we sometimes do what is minimally required to get by rather than really pouring ourselves into whatever it is we are doing. Or put like this, we are only “skin deep” involved rather than it being a “whole body” involved.   

Our relationship with God is often only “skin deep.” We do all the right things, we say all the right things, but it is nothing more than checking the right boxes. You know the drill – went to church✔️, tithed✔️, small group✔️, morning devotions✔️, served at the local soup kitchen✔️, didn’t cuss out the guy who cut me off in traffic✔️. None of those things is bad, in fact, they are all really good things, but a life-changing relationship with God is not about checking the boxes, it is about allowing ourselves to be transformed by Him through a personal relationship with Jesus. And that transformation only happens if we worship God with every ounce of our being, a “whole body” kind of worship. Real worship, real praise, is a visceral thing, a gut thing, not simply a superficial “skin deep” thing.

King David, in Psalm 63, gives us a beautiful picture of this “whole body” worship of God. David wrote this psalm while in the Desert of Judah. It was in that barren land that David cries out his devotion to God.    

(Purple bold font added by me for emphasis.)

Verse 1– You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

2 – I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.

3 – Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

4- I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

5- I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

6 – On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

7 – Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

8 – I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.

9 – Those who want to kill me will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth.

10 – They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals.

11 – But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Notice what David’s worship is so real and so personal and so deep that it allows him to be in the presence of God (see verse 2). If you look closely, you will see David’s craving for God (1-2), his high regard of God (3-4), his contentment in (5) and togetherness with (6) God, his dependence upon God (7-8), and finally, David’s assurance of his own safety (9-11).

So, today, I ask you this – are you earnestly seeking after God or simply checking the boxes?

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Do you have too much to do and not enough time or energy to get it all done? Most of us, maybe all of us if we are honest, would answer yes to that question. We work ourselves to the bone, often neglecting proper diet, exercise, rest, and sleep, soon finding ourselves worn out and unproductive. I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to have much needed quietness and rest. And even when I am seemingly quiet or at rest, I am not truly quiet or at rest. Does any of that sound familiar to you?

Not only do we need down time to refresh and recharge our body and mind, our soul need rest as well. Our culture regularly tells us, sometimes subliminally and other times in not so subtle ways, that we need to be busy all the time, that idleness is laziness, that idleness is weakness. However, Scripture tells us there is great benefit in times of quietness and rest. In Isaiah 30:15 we read these words – “In quietness and trust is your strength.”

The classic novel Moby Dick written by Herman Melville gives us a wonderful example of the importance of being productive when we need to be productive and being idle when we need to be idle. If you are not familiar with the story, let me quickly summarize the storyline of the book. It revolves around a wandering sailor named Ishmael and his voyage on the whaling ship “Pequod,” commanded by Captain Ahab. On a previous sailing voyage, an elusive and ferocious white whale named Moby Dick destroyed Ahab’s boat and bit off his leg. The story is narrated by Ishmael and tells us of Ahab’s pursuit for vengeance against Moby Dick.

In the chapter titled “The Dart,” the Pequod is in hot pursuit of the whale. This chapter gives us insight into the activity that is taking place on the deck as the captain and his crew rapidly sail out into the raging sea to kill the whale. The entire crew is focused on the task at hand, tensions are high, and by all indications, there is a lot of energy being used, even being wasted.

One member of the crew is charged with killing the whale. That person is the harpooner, and Melville tells us that even when the harpooner is exhausted, he is still expected to “drop and secure his oar, turn around on his center halfway, seize his harpoon from the crotch, and with what little strength may remain, he essays to pitch it somehow into the whale.” Melville goes on to say this, “No wonder, taking the whole fleet of whalemen in a body, that out of fifty fair chances for a dart, not five are successful.” And finally, Melville gives us his reason for such a low success rate, “If you take the breath out of his (harpooner) body how can you expect to find it there when needed most!”

On most whaleboats, the harpooner is actively helping the other crew members, but on Ahab’s boat, the harpooner is relaxed and quietly waiting. The chapter ends with these words; words that speak loudly to us (or at least to me) in this go-go-go culture – “To ensure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to their feet from out of idleness, and not from out of toil.”

So, make it a priority to balance the rhythms of work, play, and rest in your life. Doing so is not only wise, but also healthy, and it will help “ensure the greatest efficiency” in carrying out your God-given purpose for being on this earth.

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