He Said, She Said -- September 5, 2008

Go away, Lord! -- He Said

“When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.” - Luke 5: 8-10

- Listen to Go away, Lord! - by Eddie Jones

“Go away, I hate you!”

Even as the lanky man tried to console the boy his son ran off crying, “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!”

It’s hard to cut your own son from the team, especially when he’s tried and done his best. But ball clubs are built to excel and win games, not make players feel good. At least, they were when I was growing up.

To be rejected by God, though, to be told you’re not good enough for His team… that is the deepest cut of all. Lately, I’ve felt as ifI were standing on the other side of the fence looking on God’s field of dreams, waiting for Him to wave me over, but hearing only the crack of the bat. I suspect I’m not alone.

That’s why I’m bothered by the story of Peter and the miraculous catch. The incident may lead you to conclude that success is guaranteed when Christ calls but that hasn’t been my experience. I understand that Jesus can do anything, that He’s all powerful. But what happens when He doesn’t bless the catch? What happens when he commands us to put out from shore, let down our nets and we catch a bad case of sunburn instead of fish?

What happens when we put our hope in Him and He says “no” to our prayers?

A few months ago a friend contacted me to say; “I've stopped working on our book project. Today my youngest daughter was killed in a car crash. That morning my pastor and I prayed for her safe travel. I have to say I'm not in the mood to write to or about God right now. Eddie, I'm sure you understand.”

I did and I do. “Go away from me, Lord!” said Peter. There are days when, as a sinful man, I want to scream at God; “Just go away, okay? Leave me alone!”

In a broken world, sin opens the door and pain rushes in. Today someone will learn that the cancer is back, their job is gone or that their spouse has left. Somewhere a prayer for provision and protection will be answered with a resounding “no.”

But the love of Christ is not measured in “yes” prayers; it is shown in how much He loves us during our pain. If God has said “no” to your prayer, if you find yourself in a time of testing, then ask him to join you in the midst of your problems. He always says “yes” to that prayer.

Christian Devotions

Abundance in Obedience -- She Said

- Listen to Abundance in Obedience -- by Cindy Sproles

"For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners."
– Luke 5:9-10

Monkey Bread. Have you ever had Monkey Bread? I hadn't, and honestly, it wasn't something that sounded especially appetizing. I've had friends offer me a "start" numerous times and politely declined. After all, what kind of bread requires "being fed?" There's something innately wrong with that.

My face must have spoken volumes when my friend offered me the start and the instructions. She said, "Trust me, you'll love it. The result is abundant." She grinned a mischievous grin.

The batter came in a one - gallon zip-lock baggie. It was to live in my refrigerator for a week — me adding flour every other day and "punching" down the batter on the off days. Something should have clued me when words like "punching," "feeding," and "start" came into play.

On day three, I opened the refrigerator and nearly fell over. The batter had inflated and was hissing to be free of the confines of the zip-lock bag. Abundance was an understatement. It had tripled in size. If one cup of flour tripled the batter, what would happen if I kept feeding it? We'd not be able to close the refrigerator door.

The day Jesus called Peter to follow Him, He'd given him a command. "Take me out from the shore so I can teach." Peter obeyed. Next Jesus sent him into deep water to cast his nets and fish. Even though Peter was tired from a day of fruitless fishing, he still obeyed Jesus — the reward was more fish than he could handle. More fish than his buddies could handle as well. Abundance!

When we are a servant — when we obey, God rewards us with abundance. His rewards will be more than we can heap into our boats. He loves caring for His children.

My Monkey bread dough tripled, then quadrupled, and then…well, you get the idea. One "start" yielded ten gallon-bags of batter. And that was what I could retrieve before it began literally running all over my refrigerator. There was so much, I couldn't give it away.

God does the same for me in my Christian life. When I give, when I obey—He blesses me to the point that I don't know what to do.

Has Jesus called you to obey? Did you ignore Him or did you obey and receive His blessings?

There is abundance in the Lord. Don't pass on the opportunity to receive the joys He offers.

Serve Him with an open heart and your Monkey bread will grow, and grow, and grow.


Christian Devotions


Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles
author the He Said, She Said
Series.