Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Hebrews 1-4
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Luke 5:10
Jesus: Don’t be afraid, Simon. From now on, I’ll ask you to bring Me people instead of fish.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
If you’ll remember, Jesus said these words to Simon after Simon told Him he should not be around Him because he was a sinful man. Simon’s words remind me of Isaiah’s vision in the temple when he saw God sitting on His throne high and lifted up. Isaiah knew he was about to die because he was a sinful man and was in the presence of God.
Daniel did the same. John on the Isle of Patmos did the same. Everyone who comes into the presence of the Almighty falls to their face and recognizes their sinful state as they see the purity and holiness of His very essence. Simon felt the same way. He heard Jesus preach from one of his boats that he had pushed off from the shore so He could be heard better by the crowd. It was a common practice for speakers to large crowds in that day. The speech would echo off the water and create an amplifying effect rather than standing in the middle of the crowd where the robes and turbans and tunics would muffle the sound.
Simon was just minding his own business, literally when Jesus borrowed one of his boats. He and this fellow fishermen were mending their nets. But while he was working, he heard the message. He saw this preacher from Nazareth. He heard this man expound on the scriptures in ways he had never heard before. Simon knew there was something different about this man. That’s why he trusted His command to cast his nets into deeper water.
But when Simon saw the evidence that this man was more than just a carpenter turned preacher, he was shaken. Simon knew this man was more than anyone he had ever met before and he had met some important people in his many business dealings. Simon knew this man had a special relationship with the God of the universe. I’m not so sure Simon understood yet that Jesus was God incarnate, but he certainly knew he was in the presence of a holy man with power over nature.
Isn’t it interesting that our first reaction is to get away from the presence of God instead of toward Him when we find ourselves in our sin? Just like Adam and Eve, we want to hide. We want to get away from Him. We don’t want to be in His presence for fear we will experience an outpouring of His wrath because of our sin.
But Jesus tells Simon, don’t be afraid. Come close. Just like God called Adam after his sin in the Garden of Eden. God didn’t want Adam to fall. He didn’t want Adam to leave His presence. That was Adam’s choice because He failed to obey God. But then God instituted ways to get back to Him. He showed us how to get back into a right relationship with Him. He set up a means of redemption with that very first sin.
He says, “Don’t be afraid. I want to restore your relationship with Me. I want to bring you back home. I want to put your life back on track. Don’t be afraid. Come close. I have good news for you and for everyone who will listen. You don’t have to stay estranged from Me. You don’t have to stay mired in your sin. You don’t have to be separated from Me. You can be cleansed. You can be made whole again. You can have your sins forgiven.”
We are so afraid of what other people might think if we go to an altar to ask God to forgive us of our sins. We’re afraid someone might think we are a sinner! Well, guess what? All of us are. None of us escape that title. So the question is really whether you will let someone else’s thought about you destine you to an eternity separated from God or whether you will use some common sense and fall on your face before a forgiving God and beg Him for cleansing from your sin.
It is ironic the response we have when God wants so desperately to bring us back into His kingdom. He created us to worship Him. He created us for a relationship with Him. He even came to live with us in human flesh to show us how much He longs to restore that relationship with us. And when He came, He told Simon and us the same message. “Don’t be afraid. I have a message for you and I want you to give that same message to the rest of the world.”
So will you trust Him like Simon did and do what He says? Or will you continue to do like Adam and hide from Him. As always, it’s your choice. Make the smart one, choose to stop hiding and live for Him.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.