In a world filled with violence, division, and fear, it can be hard to know just how God wants us to do his work today. How is God calling us to grow in relationship with him while leading others to know and love him?

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Shownotes

What is your alabaster jar that you’re holding onto that you’re not allowing God to break open? What holds you back from giving everything to God? He calls us daily to leave everything and follow him.

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Shownotes

This week, we reflect on the Gospel story where Jesus calls on Simon Peter and his fellow fishermen to put out their nets and become “fishers of men.” We read it in the first part of Luke 5:1-11.

Some points I share about this passage include:

1) We are called to leave everything and follow Jesus.
What does that look like? What can that mean to us today?

2) God calls on us to work, sometimes without seeing results.
Before he can work miracles in lives, God calls on us to trust in him and put in our own work first. Simon Peter fished all night without catching anything before Jesus asked him to lower his nets one more time.

3) God rewards our trust.
When we trust in God, he rewards us with an abundance of good things (so many fish they were sinking the boats!), greater knowledge of ourselves and of him, and an a greater understanding of our mission.

4) God wants our help.
Of course God does not need us, but he makes himself weak by becoming human because he wants to need our help. He wants to connect with us through our shared humanity and allow us to help him accomplish his work in the world.

5) We resist God’s calling.
Just like Peter, who protested that he had not caught anything, we too reject God’s calling sometimes. It’s OK to doubt and it’s OK to hesitate, but let’s make sure we follow those thoughts up with action, as Peter did, saying “at your command I will.”

6) God wants friendship with us.
As Jesus tells Peter to not be afraid, he calls each one of us to draw close to him, to trust in him, and to not hold back because of our own unworthiness. He knows who we are, he knows our weakness, and yet he calls us anyway.

This week, I share about the upcoming Catholic Marriage Summit from Joyful Ever After that Dan and I are going to be a part of June 11- 13. It is a free online event, but you do need to register. Go here to sign up! There is still time to register.

I also share about a new book I have coming out with Dan. The Manual for Marriage is a beautiful resource for every couple. In it, Dan and I share reflective essays on marriage and family life, but it also features a large collection of prayers, Scripture passages, hymns, and stories from the saints that will encourage and support you in your married relationship.