Easter: Thursday, April 26, 2007

Old Testament Lesson

Daniel 5:13-21

We see here Daniel retell the story of when the previous became so prideful and full of himself that he literally lost his mind and was driven into the woods. Now, if we become too full of ourselves, that probably won't happen, but something similar could. We could become so full of ourselves that we lose sight of everything but ourselves. We lose sight of our family, our friends, our church, and our God. And, we when we do that, we may not physically be alone, but on every other level, we will be alone.

Life is not lived just for ourselves and for our wants and for our stuff. Life is to be lived for God, what He wants, and to be lived not in service to ourselves, but in service to each other. And, it is doing that, that we find what life is really all about.

New Testament Lesson

1 John 5:13-21

We see John tell us that those of us in Christ should strive against sin and seek to battle it and should not be content with sin our lives. We must always be working, always be trying to do all that we can to keep ourselves from it. And, it is his last statement in this passage that shows us the clear way forward. Keep yourself from idols. The only way to fight against sin in our lives is to make sure that we are walking with God as we should be. If we are given over to idols, then our walk is not as it should be, and we are more likely to fall into sin.

Or course, by idols I don't mean a golden cafe, but everything that pulls us from God. All those things in our lives that vie for our attention. all those things that seek to pull us away from what really matters. Be on guard, stay close to Jesus, and allow His power to give you strength in the midst of temptation.

Gospel Lesson

Luke 5:1-11

Peter knew what he was doing. He was expert fisherman. He had fished for years. And, here comes this preacher that tells him to do it away that he felt like would not work. When he did it, though, he found that it did work. Sometimes Jesus' plan does not make sense to us. It might not be the way that we planed it. It might not be what we had chosen to do ourselves. But, if we trust Him, then we can trust His plan. For, He really does know what He is doing. We might not know the future, we might not know how things will turn our. But, we know Him. And, He has shown us that we can trust Him.

So, if He tells us throw the nets in a way we would not have done ourselves, let's thrown them. For He knows what He is doing.