Day 6 – 7-25-2016 (Monday)
9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.
14 This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead. (NKJV)
Interesting…It was morning, probably at the crack of dawn or around that time of day. The fishermen were not far off shore. They saw this man on the shore and when then got up to Him they found a charcoal fire burning with fish on it and He also had some bread. It would seem the fishermen would have seen the glow of the coals when the light was dim as it would take a little time to start the fire and let it burn to the point of glowing coals. Plus, there would be some smoke going up. The Scripture is silent on these details but one would expect those signs would be there. At any rate, the fishermen came up to the shore dragging their net stuffed with large fish and seeing some fish already on the fire ready to serve. Jesus met them and gave them bread and fish, a warm, fresh breakfast, right there on the edge of the Sea. I suspect this alone would be amazing in their sight and gave them something else to try to comprehend. Not only was Jesus standing in their midst, in flesh and blood, but He also had breakfast ready. This was nothing short of miraculous, it would seem. Another display of the Son of God’s deity. Another confirmation that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. I would bet the lessons learned from Jesus as He walked with them for the past three years came back with much better understanding, much like the two disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).
When I think about all the details that took place just in this event described in John 21, I gain a better understanding of the perplexity the disciples were trying to sort through from watching the events in Jerusalem when the religious leaders killed their Leader, their Savior, their Messiah, their Friend. Then Jesus shows up on the shore of the Sea of Galilee with a hot breakfast for them. He just appears…from where? Who knows! He not only shows up but He comes with a burning charcoal fire and a hot breakfast for the men. I think I would be awestruck and at that same time confused all the more trying to put all the pieces together. But, He comes because He loves those men and He gave His life for them and for you and me. He came to bathe us all in His love so we can in turn love Him the way He loves us. As we will see as we continue looking at John 21, Jesus goes on to define just what that love involves.
Have you had a time when God showed up in your day, in what you were doing? He has a way of doing that and many times we miss Him because we weren’t looking for Him. Here on the shore God showed up to the disciples, those tired and hungry fishermen, and it was a dramatic showing that I am certain caught their attention. We aren’t given much detail other than Peter ran to the shore to meet Jesus and the other guys hauled in the huge catch of fish. God showed up and then challenged them to consider…their way or His way. As we will see tomorrow that Jesus (God) pushes Peter and you and me to consider where our love truly resides. The question that has bugged me is what would I do if I were Peter and I suddenly realized that my Lord and Savior was standing in my midst, standing there when I had just landed the biggest catch of my life. If God showed up in the middle of your day, especially when you are doing what you really like to do, and asked you to follow Him instead, what would you do? Think about that.
5:20 am. I didn’t sleep well through the night and I can’t put my finger on exactly why. The bed us comfortable and I was not having any pain. The outside noises were not a problem. Yet, I kept awakening with the only topic on my mind was to pray, especially for my wife, Phyllis, and the family, and to pray for our team here and our work here. So, I spent time in prayer. God showed up as I lay there trying to sleep and urged me to pray. By 5 am I was wide awake and then decided to get up and start the day.
For breakfast Carmen fixed Majado, a combination of cooked smashed green banana mixed with cheese, onions (scallions), and butter. It was fairly tasty. One could add meat if any kind to it. Because of my age I have been taking the advice of my friends in Florida to no buy green bananas any more as I might not live long enough to see them ripen. 🙂 Now I see there is a use for green bananas!
Our devotions were from Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zaccheus. Zaccheus was looking for a Savior and then Jesus showed up. He was considered a sinner by the religious crowd and shunned because of that title. In their self-righteousness they were blind to the saving grace that Jesus came to give to those who were seeking him. Thus they rejected the only way to eternal life. Sad mistake! Zaccheus received salvation having met with Jesus. Scripture does not give us much detail about what conversation took place at Zaccheus’ home but we are given the result with Zaccheus repenting and offering restitution to anyone he may have harmed. The author of the devotional talked about looking for Zaccheus, asking people he would meet if they had any need that he could pray for. We talked about boldness to share the Good News and how we miss opportunities to point someone to Jesus because we are too timid to speak up.
The story of Zaccheus brought back memories of when Phyllis and I went with a group from our church in Florida to the Holy Land. We went to Jericho and there was a very large sycamore tree that was in the middle of the street on the main highway through Jericho. The size of the trunk is huge and the tree was estimated to be old enough to have been alive and growing at the time Jesus walked through Jericho and met Zaccheus.
After devotions we started to work on our various projects. Ted and Howard went to work on the ceiling tiles in the porch of the house and Katie and I started painting two rooms in the old clinic building. These rooms used to be offices and I remember seeing patients with Jane in the one room. They are now used for medical records and a room to see non-ambulatory patients who can’t climb stairs to Jane’s consultation room on the second floor. We painted one room with two coats and moved the stuff back into the room. The other with one has one coat and will get the second coat tomorrow. Barb and Jane worked with the ultrasound all day.
It is now late in the afternoon and dinner will be ready shortly. A thunderstorm just began with lightning and thunder and rain. We have had rain each night but during the day it is sunny. Fortunately, the temperatures have been comfortable as there is always a breeze. The air does not feel as humid as I remember from previous trips.
Father, this has been a productive day. Thank You for that. You give us grace to do the work that needs to be done to help Jane. This allows us to indirectly serve those who come to her for care. Thank You for protecting us and giving us the strength we need. Thank You for the good fellowshipwe enjoy as we work together serving You. Lord, thank You, especially, for allowing us to walk with You. It is such a joy to know You and to share every step along life’s path with You. I pray for the group here, Lord. Help us all to grow in our faith in You. Teach us what You want us to know. Guide us and protect us. Thank You for our families and I ask Your blessing on all the families represented by those here under this roof. Lord, please give them a special measure of Your love today. Thank You, Lord. I pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen
Medical Missions 