Use My Boat, Lord

Gospel of Luke Chapter 5: 1-7 There is such a need today to hear the Word of God. Where ever Jesus walked, He looked for opportunities to teach the
Word. And on one particular day as the people
pressed upon Him to hear him speak, He stood by
the lake called Gennesaret and saw two boats
sitting empty, for the fishermen were gone out of
them and they were washing their nets.

On that day Jesus entered into one of the boats
which belonged to Simon, and asked him to push
out a little from the land. And there He taught the people from the boat.

He used Simon Peters fishing boat that day as
a pulpit to preach the Word. I wonder what some
of the things are that we may have, that Christ may want to use for His work. We all have prayed
Lord use me, but what about our boats?

If Jesus were to pass by our way today, would He
find something that we own that may be sitting
empty or idle, just like the empty fishing boats?
Could He use them as an opportunity to preach
the word of God? Would we be willing to let Him
have those things that we own for His work?

Fishing was their business and way of making
a living. They worked hard at their jobs; they
owned other boats and had hired servants in their
employment. Yet on this particular night they
had toiled all night long and had caught nothing.
I wonder if you have ever felt that way in your
line of work. I could only imagine how discouraged
the fishermen must have been that day. I can remember a few times myself fishing all night long
at the lake, and not catching anything. And I know
how disheartening it was to return home
empty handed.

As Jesus left the boat and was finished speaking
to the crowd, He turned to Simon and said, "Launch
out into the deep, and let down your nets for a
catch". Now Simon answered the Lord and said
"Master, we have worked all night long and have
caught nothing". This sounds a lot like the answer
I probably would have given the Lord, especially
after the kind of night they had. Remember they just finished washing their nets and were putting them
away for the day. They were tired from being up all night long and were feeling pretty discouraged
because they had not caught any fish. And here
comes Jesus asking them to go back out into their boats again and to let down their nets for a catch.

I like what Simon replied next saying, "Nevertheless
at thy word, I will let down the net". Here Simon
had a need to catch fish and he was feeling
pretty bad that morning, yet he obeyed the
word of the Lord. He went back out into the boat and let down his nets, and caught such a great multitude
of fish that the nets began to break! They actually
had to call their partners who were in the other
ship to come and help them, and they came and
filled both boats so that they began to sink!
Now that's a lot of fish!

There was nothing out of the ordinary about Simons fishing boats. He used them to catch fish. There
was something different about that morning when
Jesus walked by. Simon allowed the Lord to use his boat as a pulpit to preach from. He lent it to the
Lord for His work. And when He was finished the
Bible tells how the Lord blessed Simon and his
business with such a great multitude of fish
that they could not even hold them all!

What made the difference from when Simon fished
all night long and had caught nothing, to when
Christ said, Let down your nets for a catch? The
difference was Jesus had gotten into the boat and
He used it to preach the Gospel! Let Jesus come
into your boats today! Allow Him to use what ever
you may have, so that someone today will hear
the Word of God, and watch the difference He
will make in your life!

Today, Jesus may be walking by your way. He knows
all about you and your needs, just like He knew of Simons need. He is looking for disciples who are
obedient unto His Word and those willing to let
Him use the things that you have, for His work.
Like Simon, it may be your boat. It may be your
home; your business; your car.

What ever you have, will you give the Lord the opportunity to use it to further His Kingdom? Invest into Gods work with your substance, and give
the Lord first place in all you have. I promise if
you do when He is finished, He will not only
meet your need, but He will fill it so full that
you will not have enough room to contain it!

~~Rev. James A. Lewis~~

The "Handkerchief" has been anointed and prayed over by several believers who care about you and want to help you realize your full potential in Christ Jesus Our Lord.

~The Ten Commandments~