Today's Passage:  John 21

John 21 is a passage that gives me hope.  Peter, with all his bad decisions....turning his back on Jesus, lying, hiding...is once again offered the call to ministry.  Remember, Jesus knew that Peter would do all these things when He called Peter the first time!  None of this was a great surprise...yet to restore Peter, to give him freedom from guilt and shame, Jesus restores him to a place of service.

It's certainly a great story of hope, but that's not the one I want to focus on today.  I want to focus on the beginning of Chapter 21 and the simple story of Peter out fishing.  It amazes me how quickly Peter just settles in to his old life again...right back into the comfortable, the familiar.  It amazes me the shock Peter has when the nets are pulled out of the water...didn't we do this before?  And it amazes me that it takes them so long to figure out that it is Jesus...didn't they learn anything in three years?

It can be so easy to forget all we know and return to old habits...comfortable, familiar, and often destructive.  When the events of life get in the way, the thoughts of kingdom work quickly fade to the background.  We can forget the power Jesus can have in our life, or the call we have to serve him.  We must be diligent in our walks and stay sharp!  We must forget what is behind us and press on towards the goal...Christ Jesus!