And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.  They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

John 21:6

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.  They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

John 21:6

God is the God of the miraculous.  Throughout the ages we see the Biblical records of His performance of miracles.  He is free to work without ordinary means and methods, over them, or even against them.  Having said that, we often observe Him using means and methods to work His miracles.  We have one such instance before us today.  Christ appeared to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias after He had risen from the dead.  They had been fishing all night without success.  Christ called to them from the shore, asking them about their night’s work.  They replied, without realizing Christ’s identity, that they had caught nothing.  Christ advised them to do something unorthodox by telling them to cast the net on the opposite side to which they were accustomed.  Suddenly, their nets were full.  Christ had done the miracle of filling their nets, but He had used them under His direction to employ ordinary means with unusual methods.  We want to be wise as we seek to follow Christ.  He will do the miraculous, and He may even use normal means, but He may direct us to employ unconventional methods.  What is important is that we are sensitive to His leading and direction.  This will lead us to see Him do far beyond what we ever would have conceived.

Our Wonder-working God,
we rejoice that You are able to do the miraculous.
We praise You that even though You can work without us,
yet, You choose to include us,
that we may bring You glory.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

What is Missing from the Bible?

And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

John 21:25

As John closes his Gospel, he passes the remark which serves as our text for today.   What John is telling us is that Christ did so many more wonderful things that it would be nearly impossible to record them all.  So, what is missing from the Bible?  The answer is, nothing that we need to know.  Why does the Bible have the accounts that it does?  Because everything which God has revealed in His Word is entirely sufficient to show us Christ from Genesis to Revelation.  He is the Word, Who was in the beginning.  He is the Seed of the Woman; in the protoevangelium.  He is Melchizedek to Abraham and his Visitor in the plain of Mamre.  He is the Burning Bush to Moses, and the Fiery, Cloudy Pillar to Israel.  He is the Captain of the Lord’s Host to Joshua, and the Messenger of Jehovah to a host of others.  He is the Son of God to the three Hebrew children in the burning, fiery furnace.  He is the King upon His Throne to Isaiah.  He is the Suffering Servant of Jehovah in the 53rd Chapter of that same book.  He is the Babe in the Manger of Bethlehem; the Holy Youth in the Temple; the Carpenter of Nazareth; the Preacher with Authority; the Worker of Miracles; the Healer of the sick; the Raiser of the dead; the Suffering, Crucified Savior; the Risen Lord; the Root and the Offspring of David and the Bright and Morning Star.  All we need to know of Him in Holy Writ, we find in the pages of this Book.  Herein is Christ revealed.

Our Glorious Living Christ,
We rejoice in the Divine Message of this Holy Book.
We praise You that there we behold You, the Living Christ,
from the Beginning to the very End.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘What About This Man?’

Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

John 21:21&22

We often have a hard time minding our own business. Peter was no exception. After Christ had dealt with the issue which provoked the awkwardness between them, and given Peter the explicit instruction to ‘Follow me,’ Peter followed with what serves as the first portion of our text for today. He looks at John, and then asks Christ, ‘what about this man?’ Christ responds, ‘“If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”’ In essence, Christ says, ‘Peter, you do not need to concern yourself with the plans I have for someone else. You follow me.’ Here is the plain fact as it related to Peter and as it relates to us. Following Christ is a full-time job. If we are keeping our eyes upon following in His footsteps, we will have much less time to concern ourselves with what plans He has for other people. Much harm occurs in Christendom because we are much more concerned about what Christ has for someone else, than we are about simply following Him. Following Christ will absorb our time, our attention, our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. If we are concentrating on following Him, we will have precious little time to do anything more than to mind our own business. Today, let us be wise enough to learn from Peter, not just what to do, but also, what not to do. Let our time and attention go toward this one great command from Christ, ‘Follow me.’

Our Holy and Wise Savior,
we rejoice that You are most Gracious, even when we are least gracious.
We praise You, that You show us how to be wise
in our behavior, that we might truly glorify you.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

‘Follow Me’

This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

John 21:19

Christ had dealt with the issue that had strained His relationship with Peter. He had told Peter what his future was. Now, before He would leave the subject entirely, Christ gave a simple command to Peter. He said, ‘Follow me.’ What a limitless volume of spirituality lies in these two words. They are as instructive for us as they were for him. ‘Follow me,’ and go about doing good. ‘Follow me,’ and love the unlovely. ‘Follow me,’ and give of yourself for the sake of others. ‘Follow me,’ and be despised and rejected of men. ‘Follow me,’ and leave steps of light on the dark paths, so that others may follow them to eternal rest. ‘Follow me,’ and make the City of God your home. ‘Follow me,’ and sit with the broken, weeping ones. ‘Follow me,’ and be gracious in the face of humiliation and oppression. ‘Follow me,’ and return love for hatred. ‘Follow me,’ and see the eternal prize beyond the temporal pain. ‘Follow me’ and lift up the fallen. ‘Follow me,’ and support the weak. ‘Follow me’ and comfort the brokenhearted. ‘Follow me’ and work while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work. ‘Follow me,’ for all your days, and when you have arrived at deaths’s dark door, look up, for I am waiting for you; and step across the river to the place where you have followed Me.

Our Gracious Master and Our God,
we rejoice that You have left us a clear path by which we may follow You.
We praise You, that throughout all the days of our life,
we may see You ahead of us, and follow You until we see You face to face

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning