Monday, 17 April 2017

Final John devotional week beginning 17/4/17 – John 21 Restoration is always available

22:09 Posted by Matthew Beaney No comments

Going deeper week 7 – Personal daily study notes on Jn. 21
Jesus has come to restore us. He has come to give hope to every day and to everyone. Maybe you’ve lost your zest for life and joy in God; you’ve become like the disciples who went fishing because they had no real sense of direction. Jesus comes to them and us and calls us into new hope and fruitfulness. Maybe, like Peter, we’ve messed up. We’ve let God and everyone down, living with punishing guilt. Jesus comes to such people and offers them an opportunity to repent and be completely restored. The resurrection is a message that says that there is always hope for the hopeless!
Monday: “I’m going fishing”
Read John 21:1-3. Why do they go fishing? It seems that, after their initial meeting with the risen Jesus, life is returning to normal; Leon Morris comments, ‘the general impression left is that of men without a purpose’.  They don’t know what to do now and so go back to their habitual way of living. How are your days? Are you coasting and aimless or are you living like Jesus is alive and has a mission for you?
Tuesday: “Come and have breakfast”
Read John 21:4-14. Here we see what happens when Jesus turns up: a miraculous catch, the net doesn’t break and a good breakfast. Life is always better when we obey Jesus and expect Him to be with us; we may have to endure some boring and pointless ‘nights’, but let’s be expectant of joyful and victorious dawns!
Wednesday: “Do you love me more than these?”
Read John 21:15, Matt. 26:33. Jesus is challenging Peter’s pride. In the past he had been self-confident that, “Even if all fall away on … I never will.” He saw himself as more loving, committed and stronger than the other disciples. We can all fall into the trap of pride, feeling superior to others. Such an attitude will, undoubtedly, lead to a fall of some kind! Let’s stop comparing ourselves to others: “I’m better than…” or “I’m worse than…” Instead let’s focus on working on our own love for Jesus.
Thursday: “Do you love me?”
Read John 21:16. 1 John 4:21. A second time, Jesus questions whether Peter loves Him; how might Peter have felt about this public inquiry? Let Jesus ask us again today, do we love Him? How does your life reflect that you love God? Peter is told that to love God he needs to “take care of my sheep”; for us, authentic love for God is always seen in a sacrificial care for His church, so, “Do you love me?”
Friday: “Do you love me?”
Read John 21:17-19, Prov. 27:6. For a third time Jesus questions Peter, “do you love me?” He is clearly emphasizing something essential to Peter, the disciples who are listening in, and to us: He wants us to know that no matter how much we’ve failed God, others and ourselves, He always offers us reconciliation, growth and fresh opportunity to serve Him; failure is never a dead-end! Today, no matter what has happened ‘yesterday’, make a commitment to receive forgiveness, love and serve Jesus.
Saturday: “You must follow me”
Read John 21:20-25. Peter is curious about the future of John. We don’t know Peter’s motive but we can all be prone to comparing ourselves with others, favorably or jealously. Jesus says to us all today – ‘whatever happens to others, you follow me!” He has a race for you to run, gifts for you to use, a Saviour to know and make known. Let’s believe and live!
You can catch up on all the messages in the John series at:

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