Luke 5:1-3
I don’t believe in coincidences, and neither should you. God is always at work, and what is happening in your life is part of his master plan, even if you are trying to ignore it. Over the years, I have told my kids that God has this plan for their lives; “are you willing to obey it when he unfolds it?” The Holy Spirit is bigger than anything that we can imagine!
One of the greatest examples of God working is through my preaching when I have “no idea what someone needs spiritually!” I have had people come up to me after the message and say: “How did you know? You were speaking straight to me? I felt like I was the only one in the room!” Recently in a message, I joked that it’s because I hire “private investigators.” Everyone enjoyed a laugh, but let’s be honest, I have no idea! That’s the omniscience (all knowing power) of our great God!
Think about our story. Jesus, once again, is teaching the crowds about the Kingdom of Heaven. This time the crowd is so large, he needs to create a type of amphitheater so that people all around him can gather to hear. So, he steps into a boat, has it pushed out in the water a bit, and he begins to teach. Surprise, surprise, he chose the boat of a guy you may have heard of - Simon Peter. Was this just a coincidence? No way! You see, Peter had an encounter with Jesus previously, then, he went back to fishing. Jesus wasn’t “through with Peter,” so he decided to perform a miracle right in front of his eyes to get his undivided attention (keeping reading the devotions throughout the week to hear more).
It’s so important to understand that God is using people, places, things, and ideas to shape our lives. The big question - am I paying attention? Sometimes what God is using is going to be exciting; sometimes what God is using is going to be painful. All in all, he is working for his glory and your spiritual benefit. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
I think about how I came to be the pastor of Emmanuel Church. Several years ago now, I knew that God was “changing my heart” when it came to ministry. I had been a youth pastor for almost 17 years, and I loved every minute of it, but God was reshaping me. I started to pursue other opportunities as I knew that God wanted me to be a lead pastor. One such opportunity seemed like the perfect fit. I was able to get through the first stage of the interview process, but eventually the church “turned me down.” I was very frustrated about it, and my pride kicked in! This church was actually smaller than my youth ministry, and I could not imagine why they would not give me an opportunity to pastor them.
Remember, there are no coincidences with God! So, I visited Emmanuel Baptist Church on Richfield Road. You have probably heard of the place ?! I set up a meeting with the pastor. Originally, the funny part of that story is that he didn’t want to meet with me, so he tried to pawn me off to his youth pastor - Dan Thorpe. I didn’t want to meet with Dan ?, so I pressured the lead pastor to meet with me, even if it was for just a few minutes. I proceeded to tell him my story, and that I was looking for an opportunity to be a lead pastor somewhere. My intention was for him to give me some ideas, maybe a church to contact, and at the very least to share my name when opportunities did arise. After he heard me share my heart, he looked at me and proceeded to tell me that he was going to be retiring in a few months! What!? Wow!? I had no idea! There are no coincidences with God! The rest was history…that was August of 2012! God is ALWAYS working!
One of the greatest examples of God working is through my preaching when I have “no idea what someone needs spiritually!” I have had people come up to me after the message and say: “How did you know? You were speaking straight to me? I felt like I was the only one in the room!” Recently in a message, I joked that it’s because I hire “private investigators.” Everyone enjoyed a laugh, but let’s be honest, I have no idea! That’s the omniscience (all knowing power) of our great God!
Think about our story. Jesus, once again, is teaching the crowds about the Kingdom of Heaven. This time the crowd is so large, he needs to create a type of amphitheater so that people all around him can gather to hear. So, he steps into a boat, has it pushed out in the water a bit, and he begins to teach. Surprise, surprise, he chose the boat of a guy you may have heard of - Simon Peter. Was this just a coincidence? No way! You see, Peter had an encounter with Jesus previously, then, he went back to fishing. Jesus wasn’t “through with Peter,” so he decided to perform a miracle right in front of his eyes to get his undivided attention (keeping reading the devotions throughout the week to hear more).
It’s so important to understand that God is using people, places, things, and ideas to shape our lives. The big question - am I paying attention? Sometimes what God is using is going to be exciting; sometimes what God is using is going to be painful. All in all, he is working for his glory and your spiritual benefit. Remember the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
I think about how I came to be the pastor of Emmanuel Church. Several years ago now, I knew that God was “changing my heart” when it came to ministry. I had been a youth pastor for almost 17 years, and I loved every minute of it, but God was reshaping me. I started to pursue other opportunities as I knew that God wanted me to be a lead pastor. One such opportunity seemed like the perfect fit. I was able to get through the first stage of the interview process, but eventually the church “turned me down.” I was very frustrated about it, and my pride kicked in! This church was actually smaller than my youth ministry, and I could not imagine why they would not give me an opportunity to pastor them.
Remember, there are no coincidences with God! So, I visited Emmanuel Baptist Church on Richfield Road. You have probably heard of the place ?! I set up a meeting with the pastor. Originally, the funny part of that story is that he didn’t want to meet with me, so he tried to pawn me off to his youth pastor - Dan Thorpe. I didn’t want to meet with Dan ?, so I pressured the lead pastor to meet with me, even if it was for just a few minutes. I proceeded to tell him my story, and that I was looking for an opportunity to be a lead pastor somewhere. My intention was for him to give me some ideas, maybe a church to contact, and at the very least to share my name when opportunities did arise. After he heard me share my heart, he looked at me and proceeded to tell me that he was going to be retiring in a few months! What!? Wow!? I had no idea! There are no coincidences with God! The rest was history…that was August of 2012! God is ALWAYS working!
Posted in Devotional