by Rachael Stelzer
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Read Luke 5:1–11
Peter and his brother and friends had been fishing all night. And they had caught nothing all night. These simple men had not even caught enough fish to feed their families, much less enough to sell to make a profit.
And now this stranger, this itinerant preacher, was telling them to try again on the other side of the boat. It beggared all common sense. What did he know about fishing?
And yet, something about the way he spoke drew Peter in. There was something about him. And Peter figured he had nothing to lose. So, he talked the others into trying again.
And suddenly, they reeled in a catch like they had never seen before. So many fish that they were nearly swamped! They called for reinforcements from the other boat, and both almost sank under the weight of the fish!
And Peter knew without a doubt that something more than an abundant catch was being provided here. Peter recognised the power at work in this man. And his own imperfection. And the fear of God moved him to speak.
‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’
But the stranger did not turn away. Instead, he calmly said, with a twinkle in his eye, ‘Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be catching people.’
And Peter was hooked from that moment.
Dear Lord, when we recognise the abundance you bring into our lives and communities, we are hooked. May our lives tell the story of your welcome, your leading and your rich love so that others will also be attracted to the abundant life you offer. Amen.
Rachael Stelzer is Primary Head of Faith and Spirituality at Coomera Anglican College near Brisbane. She is a member of Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Rochedale.
Read: Matthew 21:18-22 Jesus said: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22 (NIV) When we left Loxton, I took with me a big rhubarb plant which had provided me through the years with lovely rhubarb pies, stewed rhubarb and rhubarb yeast cake. It produced abundantly. So I dug it up and potted it. When arriving in Noosa I made a lovely new raised garden bed, planted my rhubarb, fed it, watered it regularly and covered it from the digging bush turkeys. It did well for a while and then stopped producing the lovely leaves. I tried giving it more attention, but to no avail… it perished! I wondered what had caused it to die but dug up the roots and the plant to rework the soil when I discovered the source of the death.
There were huge white grubs chomping on my rhubarb’s roots. The foundation of the plant was literally being eaten. Reading through the miracle of Jesus in Matthew 21:18-22, I couldn’t help but think of my rhubarb. The roots and foundation were gone, there was nothing that could now give it sustenance to produce fruity stems. Jesus discovered this with a fig tree. One thing about a fig tree, if it has leaves it should have fruit. Jesus wanted some breakfast as He was hungry, but as there were no figs, He cursed the tree and immediately it withered. The disciples were amazed!
Faith and trust are the roots and foundation of being a disciple of Jesus. He tells us that even a small amount of faith can move a mountain or wither a fig tree. It is very easy as we live and move through our lives to have this faith and trust eaten away and eroded and doubts begin to creep in. No matter how much we water and feed our faith – if we doubt that Jesus is Lord – our faith and lives will not produce the fruit that God wants us to: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Belief comes from faith and trust!
Prayer: Merciful God, grow faith into my life. Help me to believe you always and know that you are the Lord of my life. In you I trust. Amen.
Read: Matthew 17:24-27 “Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.” Matthew 17:27b (NIV) A couple years ago I started playing social ‘pickleball’. It has different rules and strange terms and uses a type of beach bat and waffle ball. One rule is you need to stay out of the ‘kitchen’ area and the only time you can go in there is when the hard waffle ball bounces in there. To participate in this sport and others, there are rules that need to be followed. When I got my first part-time job I learned about taxes. No one is exempt who is of age, and you give a tax according to your salary for the successful running of the country and society. Jesus doesn’t often talk about money, but there are a couple times when Jesus is asked questions about taxes. This story is one of them. He is in a temple in Capernaum and there they have a temple tax for each person of 2 drachma (this is less than 1c in AUD).
Some temple officials asked Peter if Jesus pays this tax. Jesus turns it back to Peter asking him whether kings get their taxes from their own children or others. When Peter replied, “Others”, Jesus said, “So the children are free?” – referring to the fact that our salvation as God’s children has been paid. Jesus was thinking way too deeply for Peter and so said that they would pay their temple taxes to the officials so that they wouldn’t offend the system. They didn’t have the money for the taxes for them both – four drachmas, so Jesus performed a miracle telling Peter to go fishing and get the coins out of the mouth of the first fish caught. If only paying our taxes were that easy!! But it is this easy. Jesus was the one who paid all our debts for us when He went to the cross for our sake to forgive us all our wrongdoing. We will still have to pay taxes in this life, but our eternal life and freedom has been paid for. Our debt was paid on the cross!
Prayer: My loving Saviour, thank you for paying the debt owed for my salvation. You shower me with blessings every day, please help me to not take the gifts of life and love for granted. Amen.
Read: Matthew 15:21-28 “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.’ And her daughter was healed at that moment.” Matthew 15:28 (NIV) I really enjoy making greeting cards. I love to take a blank piece of card and with creativity and persistence, a card is created for someone whom I love. I think that over the years I have gotten better, and my creativity has expanded as well as all the tools of the trade I have gathered in my little (or not so little) cupboard. I have been to craft shows, workshops and listened and watched friends to gain more ideas and courage to try something different. Because it is something I am passionate about and really enjoy I try to squeeze in time to make them for others. When we are passionate about something, we can become quite persistent and relentless in getting it right. A woman came to Jesus asking for help. She was not a Jewish woman, but a Canaanite woman, who at that time meant she was a pagan and unclean to the Jewish people.
When you read this story, at first, it appears that Jesus insulted this woman when he appeared to call her a ‘dog’. However, in this metaphor, Jesus was at this time trying to explain the priorities in His ministry as well as teaching His disciples. Non-Jews were known as Gentiles and were considered so unspiritual that even being in their presence could make a person unclean. Then Jesus explained that His duty was to the people of Israel and changing this would be like a father taking food from his children and giving it to the pets. Jesus was sent to turn everything upside down. The woman said she understood for that was within the cultural norms but had the persistence to keep asking. She believed Jesus could heal her daughter. Jesus then tested her intentions and her faith in Him. Do we have the faith and convictions in our Saviour to keep asking and to keep persisting in our prayers? Are the things we are asking for something Jesus could do for yours or others well-being? Persistence takes an effort and great faith!
Prayer: Loving Father, keep me asking, keep me searching for your truths in this world. Help me to have the faith that you will answer all my prayers. Amen.