Lutheran Daily Devotional 28th April 2022 || Thursday Message By Lutheran Hour Ministries.
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Topic: Joy and Love
Today’s Scripture: John 21:4-12a
Lutheran Daily Devotional 28th April 2022 MESSAGE
Poor Peter! He is waiting for Jesus to show up, and he’s getting twitchy. He’s not good at sitting still. So he says to the other disciples, “Let’s go fishing,” and they do. They catch nothing all night.
And of course Jesus shows up at sunrise—you knew He would, didn’t you? and basically re-enacts what happened when He first called these men to be His disciples (see Luke 5). Just like the first time, Jesus offers advice, the men do what Jesus says, and they catch a ton of fish.
John is no idiot—he recognizes this story! So he tells Peter, “It is the Lord!”
Well, Peter hears that and he wastes no time. It’s Jesus standing there on the shore—the One Peter almost lost forever—the One who died, but is alive again, and who has already made it clear He forgives Peter all the terrible things he said on the night he denied Jesus. Peter isn’t going to wait till the boat gets to shore—even if that’s just five minutes. He’s going to swim as fast as he can! And he’s not going to do it in his underthings, either. He puts back on all his clothes to show respect to Jesus before he jumps overboard. Who cares if he has to sit around wet all day? Jesus is here!
Just look at the love and the joy and the eagerness Peter has to be with Jesus. These are the marks of a man who has been forgiven—a man who knows he did a terrible thing to the Lord he loved, but Jesus has forgiven him completely and wiped all of that out. These are the acts of a man in love—a man who can think of nothing better than to be with Jesus, the Savior who loves him.
And it continues. Jesus says casually to all the disciples, “Why don’t you bring some of those fish you’ve just caught?” And Peter jumps up, quick as a flash, and goes off to handle the job himself. He doesn’t wait for anybody else. Singlehandedly he drags the net ashore and fetches the extra fish. But even that’s not enough for him. Because it looks like he counted the fish, too. How else did they know there were 153 of them?
This is love. This is joy. These are the actions of a man who knows that Jesus loves him—even to the point of death and resurrection. And we stand in the same place Peter did, because Jesus loves us with that same forgiving, redeeming love. What else can we do for Him but love Him back?
WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, give us the eagerness of Peter to serve and love Your Son. Amen.
Lutheran Daily Devotional 28th April 2022 was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- What is a small thing, even a silly thing, that you have done for love of someone else?
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Did it feel unimportant when you did it?
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How do you think Jesus feels about the small acts of love you do for Him?
Today’s Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 15-16 Luke 20:1-26
Lutheran Daily Devotional 28th April 2022. Lutheran Hour Ministries is a trusted resource in global media that equips and engages a vibrant volunteer base to passionately proclaim the Gospel to more than 150 million people worldwide each week. Lutheran Daily Devotional 28th April 2022