The Second Week of February
We Read…
Have you ever needed God to do a new work in your life? Maybe you’ve needed God to do something but haven’t realized it until after it’s done. This week, a theme in our readings is recognizing the need for God to work in our lives. Isaiah sees that he is unclean and doesn’t deserve to be in the presence of our Holy God. He is touched with a glowing coal to remove his sin, and his immediate response is to tell God that he’s willing to be sent! We often have the same response when God does a new work in us.
Psalm 138 and 1 Corinthians 5 both show responses to God’s work: praise and sharing the good news with others. When God works in our lives, we can see where we were before and where we are now, and we can thank God for that movement!
Luke 5 tells us a story about some fishermen who didn’t know that they needed God to do a new, big work in their hearts. They were going on about their normal days when, suddenly, a strange teacher hopped into their boats and tried to tell them how to do their jobs. How would you feel in this situation? But for some reason, Simon agrees to Jesus’s request. Probably just to get him to leave them alone! None of them expected this to work - but it does! And their response is to leave everything behind and follow Jesus.
Sometimes, it’s obvious when we need God to work in our lives. Sometimes, we see that we have messed up, or we can feel like we’re drowning, and we call out to God. The good news is that God hears us in these moments. But sometimes, we don’t even know that we need God to do something big or new in us. Sometimes, we’re just going on about our normal lives when, all of a sudden, Jesus jumps into our boat! Like the disciples, we’re called to listen and be willing to let Jesus do something new. And when this happens, our response is to follow him.
Isaiah 6:1-13
In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a high and exalted throne, the edges of his robe filling the temple. 2 Winged creatures were stationed around him. Each had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two their feet, and with two they flew about. 3 They shouted to each other, saying:
“Holy, holy, holy”
is the Lord of heavenly forces!
All the earth
is filled with God’s glory!
4 The doorframe shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 I said, “Mourn for me; I’m ruined! I’m a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips. Yet I’ve seen the king, the Lord of heavenly forces!”
6 Then one of the winged creatures flew to me, holding a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips. Your guilt has departed, and your sin is removed.”
8 Then I heard the Lord’s voice saying, “Whom should I send, and who will go for us?”
I said, “I’m here; send me.”
9 God said, “Go and say to this people:”
Listen intently, but don’t understand;
look carefully,
but don’t comprehend.
10 Make the minds of this people dull.
Make their ears deaf
and their eyes blind,
so they can’t see with their eyes
or hear with their ears,
or understand with their minds,
and turn, and be healed.
11 I said, “How long, Lord?”
And God said, “Until cities lie ruined with no one living in them, until there are houses without people and the land is left devastated.” 12 The Lord will send the people far away, and the land will be completely abandoned. 13 Even if one-tenth remain there, they will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, which when it is cut down leaves a stump. Its stump is a holy seed.
Psalm 138
1 I give thanks to you
with all my heart, Lord.
I sing your praise before all other gods.
2 I bow toward your holy temple
and thank your name
for your loyal love and faithfulness
because you have made
your name and word
greater than everything else.
3 On the day I cried out, you answered me.
You encouraged me with inner strength.
4 Let all the earth’s rulers
give thanks to you, Lord,
when they hear what you say.
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s ways
because the Lord’s glory is so great!
6 Even though the Lord is high,
he can still see the lowly,
but God keeps his distance
from the arrogant.
7 Whenever I am in deep trouble,
you make me live again;
you send your power
against my enemies’ wrath;
you save me with your strong hand.
8 The Lord will do all this for my sake.
Your faithful love lasts forever, Lord!
Don’t let go of what your hands have made.
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
15 Brothers and sisters, I want to call your attention to the good news that I preached to you, which you also received and in which you stand. 2 You are being saved through it if you hold on to the message I preached to you, unless somehow you believed it for nothing. 3 I passed on to you as most important what I also received: Christ died for our sins in line with the scriptures, 4 he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the scriptures. 5 He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, 6 and then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once—most of them are still alive to this day, though some have died. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me, as if I were born at the wrong time. 9 I’m the least important of the apostles. I don’t deserve to be called an apostle, because I harassed God’s church. 10 I am what I am by God’s grace, and God’s grace hasn’t been for nothing. In fact, I have worked harder than all the others—that is, it wasn’t me but the grace of God that is with me. 11 So then, whether you heard the message from me or them, this is what we preach and this is what you have believed.
Luke 5:1-11
One day Jesus was standing beside Lake Gennesaret when the crowd pressed in around him to hear God’s word. 2 Jesus saw two boats sitting by the lake. The fishermen had gone ashore and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus boarded one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, then asked him to row out a little distance from the shore. Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he finished speaking to the crowds, he said to Simon, “Row out farther, into the deep water, and drop your nets for a catch.”
5 Simon replied, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing. But because you say so, I’ll drop the nets.”
6 So they dropped the nets and their catch was so huge that their nets were splitting. 7 They signaled for their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They filled both boats so full that they were about to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw the catch, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Leave me, Lord, for I’m a sinner!” 9 Peter and those with him were overcome with amazement because of the number of fish they caught. 10 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, were Simon’s partners and they were amazed too.
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on, you will be fishing for people.” 11 As soon as they brought the boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
We Think…
What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?
How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or the church? What are you considering?
What questions come to mind?
What does good news mean to you?
How do these passages point us to the good news of Jesus?
Why did the disciples leave everything to follow Jesus?
We Feel…
What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?
Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?
What has God made new in your life? In your heart?
When have you called out to God? How has God answered you in these moments?
How would you feel if you were the fishermen in Luke 5?
Would you have let Jesus into your boat and trusted him?Would you have been suspicious? Would you have been shocked when it actually worked?
We Believe…
God’s holiness is often connected to fire in the Bible. We might think of fire as destructive (which it can be), but it also purifies. The picture of the burning coal in Isaiah 6 is very striking and a little scary when you imagine being Isaiah. But this coal, glowing directly from the altar, makes Isaiah clean. Sometimes, becoming more like Christ isn’t easy. Pain can involve giving up our old life, learning a new life, and admitting that we have wronged others. Yet through this, God makes us new, clean, and ready to respond to God.
We Practice…
Practice praying Psalm 138 today, using the actual words or the flow of the passage (thanksgiving to God, remembering where God has worked in your life, praising God for all God has done and who God is, acknowledging where you need God and that God will be with you in the future). Make this your prayer, even if you aren’t sure you believe everything it says. Use these words or this structure to connect with God in your individual prayer time or with a group.
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