Live to Love Scripture Encouragement

John 21:11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not torn.
It seems that Peter was still in the water and hadn’t yet come on the land because John said that he “went up and drew the net to the land.” Had he been on the beach he would have “gone down.” John thought it was important to note that there were so many fish, 153 to be exact, that the net was not torn. Someone had to have counted them, perhaps John or whoever the accountant was for the disciples. The encouragement to me is that those nets were important to Jesus’ friends, and He, who holds all things together held the net together as Peter drug it ashore so full of flapping fish. Let’s be amazed at this Jesus, the Son of God, the creator and sustainer of the universe.
The apostle Paul described Him this way, Col. 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Today, let us be encouraged by this great reality of who Jesus is. He loves us and cares for the things that are important to us, like He cared for the net which belonged to one of the disciples. He created us for Himself. We exist for God and we exist through Jesus’ purpose, love, and care. As we co-labor with Him, may we trust Him with everything in our lives. This glorifies Him. It’s our way of saying to Him that we know He loves and cares for us. Notice how Peter obeyed Jesus’ directive. It was hard work, I’m sure. We can be sure that he was careful with his net, not to break it. We can trust Him as we work carefully to obey Him and do as He directs us today. That confidence is an important aspect of living to love with Jesus. He will take care of the important things to us.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 21:10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish which you have now caught."
Why did Jesus ask them to bring some of the fish they had caught when He already had fish and bread prepared? I’m not sure, but it does seem like the Lord to bless our labors and then use the fruit of what He provided for His glory. We are in this together, and in a way, Jesus asking them to add their fish to His dignified their work and exemplified His union with them. They were co-laborers and they were to enjoy their work and the fruit of it.
The same is true for us today as we live to love with Jesus. We are co-laboring with Him. We are helpless to accomplish anything of significance, so He supplies what we need as we work. Then having finished our work, Jesus blesses it by uniting it with what He has prepared for us. It’s a wonderful picture that encourages us to surrender all that we are and have to Jesus as Lord. We can know that He will dignify our work by using it for His purposes and glory.
Father, we praise You and love You because of Your gracious care for us. It’s really overwhelming love that You have bestowed on us that we can co-labor with You. Thank you for blessing our labors today and using the fruit of them for Your glory. Amen.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 21:8 But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about one hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.
I imagine us at the end of our lives dragging our nets to Jesus. Each one’s net is full of the people God put into our paths throughout our lives. People whom Jesus loved through us and to whom He ministered. We present them to Him because we know we didn’t catch them. He gave them to us for our joy and blessing and for His own joy and glory.
Lord Jesus, we want to see You manifested in our lives, but are as helpless as Your disciples were to catch fish. Without Your power and presence, we waste our lives. Fill our nets with the souls of many for Your joy and glory.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord." So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.
How exciting it must’ve been for the disciples to see the Lord on the beach. It’s hard to imagine what was going on in their minds, but you know they had to be thrilled. It’s always thrilling when Jesus shows up.
Lord Jesus, we are expectant today to see you show up as we work just like you did that day on the beach at the Sea of Galilee with Your disciples. May we be as excited as Peter. We can’t wait to see you. We need Your presence and power in our lives so we can work with joy and love the people you bring to us. Father, glorify the name of Jesus in our lives, we pray in His name.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com

John 21:5-6 So Jesus said to them, "Children, you do not have any fish, do you?" They answered Him, "No." And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch." So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
It surely must have been a deja-vu moment. Here’s Luke’s account of a similar event.
Luke 5:4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch."
Luke 5:5 Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets."
Luke 5:6 When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;
Luke 5:7 so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.
After this event recorded by Luke, Jesus called Simon to follow Him. It was a life-changing encounter. This also was to be another life-changing encounter as we will see.
As believers in Jesus, we are people of hope. We know Jesus lives and that He can show up anywhere, anytime. Let’s be alert today for the presence of the Lord as we walk by the Spirit in His love.

Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com