Pastor Joynt's Devotionals

Easter Hearts, Week 4, Day 3

JOHN 21:4-6 | MATTHEW 4:18-22

The disciples were fishing at night but had a surprise at daybreak. Jesus set the scene very carefully for this encounter. It is great to know we can meet him in our homes, as we’ve seen earlier, and also in work and recreation settings. But this particular time and location had inevitable memories for the disciples. Jesus had encountered them on the shores of Galilee, plying their trade as fishermen. This encounter was a recall of the earlier moment when they left their nets to follow him and become disciples. They had ventured, abandoning the safe and familiar, to become “fishers of men.”

Can you recall moments where you sensed Jesus’ invitation or answered his call?

Have you ever ventured?

FAMILY TIME—

Did the disciples make a sacrifice to leave their fishing careers?  Or embrace an opportunity? Or both?

Easter Hearts, Week 4, Day 2

JOHN 21:3

There is comfort in the familiar. The world of the disciples ha been turned upside down by Jesus’ death and shocking Resurrection. What did it all mean? How could they follow a Master that was not with them, in the ordinary sense, day by day? How could they support themselves as his witnesses?

So Peter went fishing—back to the familiar routine of sails and boats and tackle, of calculating wind and currents, and guessing the location of fish in the water. Perhaps he even imagined that he was unfit for the challenges to come and the new stage of ministry, after his extravagant promises and after his spectacular failures in the previous week. At least he could fish! But he and Thomas and Nathaniel and James and John and two other disciples caught not a single perch or bass.

Do you have any familiar, comforting practices?

Do you ever doubt your capacity to meet challenges?

FAMILY TIME—

What is your favorite family outdoor activity?