CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -"Stop Being Afraid" -Continue

 A crowd was pressing in on Jesus, eagerly taking in his every word. Hemmed in by them, Jesus got into Peter's boat and asked him to pull away a bit from land. With his voice carrying clearly over the water, Jesus taught the crowd. Peter listened with rapt attention, as did those ashore. He never tired of hearing Jesus developed the central theme of his preaching-the Kingdom of God. What a privilege it would be to help the Christ spread this message of hope throughout the land! But would that be practical? How would Peter feed his family? Perhaps Peter thought again of the long and fruitless night behind him. -LUKE 5:1-3.

When Jesus finished speaking, he told Peter: "Pull out your nets. Surely the last thing he wanted to do was lower them yet again-especially now when the fish would not even be feeding! Still, he complied, likely signaling to his partners in a second boat to follow them. - LUKE 5:4, 5.

Peter felt an unexpected weight as he started hauling in the nets. Incredulous, he pulled harder, and before long he could see a great mass of fish wriggling within the mesh! Frantically, he motioned to the men in the second boat to come help. As they did, it soon became apparent that one boat could not contain all these fish. They filled both vessels, but there were too many-the boats started to sink under the weight. Peter was overwhelmed with astonishment. He had seen Christ's power in action before, but this instance was so personal. Here was a man who could even cause the fish to enter the nets! Fear welled up in Peter.  He sank to his knees and said: "Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord." How could he ever prove worthy to associate with One who wielded the very power of God in such ways.? - Read LUKE 5:6-9.

Next time: CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE -"Stop Being Afraid" - Conclusion

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