March 1, 2023

Luke 5:1-11 (HCSB)
1 As the crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear God's word, He was standing by Lake Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats at the edge of the lake; the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, which belonged to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the land. Then He sat down and was teaching the crowds from the boat. 4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch." 5 "Master," Simon replied, "we've worked hard all night long and caught nothing! But at Your word, I'll let down the nets." 6 When they did this, they caught a great number of fish, and their nets began to tear. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them; they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, because I'm a sinful man, Lord!" 9 For he and all those with him were amazed at the catch of fish they took, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's partners. "Don't be afraid," Jesus told Simon. "From now on you will be catching people!" 11 Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed Him.

Jason Ricciardi
I remember one period of my early ministry that was exceptionally tough. I desperately tried to fix problems I didn’t create. I tried to meet the demands placed on me. I struggled for years in a harsh environment with little visible success...until I came to the place that I was ok with doing whatever God wanted me to do. Once I got to that place and I was obedient just once more, God changed everything. I think that may have been a bit what the first disciples felt that day Jesus called them. They had worked on a problem–nothing. They tried to meet demands–nothing. They struggled–nothing. They were obedient once more...and everything changed! What if Peter hadn’t been obedient just once more? Might he have missed all the blessings that came from following Jesus? Would he have experienced more difficulty until God got his attention? In my situation, after I was obedient just once more, God changed everything. He sent me to seminary and prepared me for His plan. What might your obedience “just once more” lead to? What might you miss if you don’t submit? What might you have to go through if you go another way? I promise you it’s always in your best interest to be obedient!