Into the Deep With Jesus

You life is not safe with Jesus. How is that for an opening statement? Don't we usually think of being safe with Jesus?

Well, the good news is that that is true. If your anxiety level goes up when you hear this, you are not really hearing. God is not about anxiety. So don't panic. Yet . . . as safe and secure as we are with God, there is an understanding of "safe" and "secure" that can be misleading.

In the story that Luke tells of Jesus and His disciples, and their experience of fishing together, we get some glimpses into what is "safe." If safe for you means things don't change, or that they always happen according to your expectations, or that you are free from surprise . . . then safe is one thing you are not if you are following Jesus. When Jesus gets into the boat with us, almost anything can happen . . . which is why we sometimes resist letting Jesus into the boat . . . because we sort of know that the things we tend to look to in order to make ourselves feel secure . . . Jesus may help us to see them for what they are, and where real safety and security resides . . . and that can turn our world upside down. Jesus has this tendency to take us into the deeper waters . . . and there are things waiting for us there that may surprise us! Amazing things happen when Jesus gets into our boats, and in the midst of it all, Jesus tells us, "Don't be afraid."

That's what Pastor Jon invites us to reflect on this morning as he leads us through this story, and invites us to consider our own.

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Luke 5

NIV

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and 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, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

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