Good evening brethren and Happy Sabbath!

Row, row, row your boat...

...gently up the stream and stop when you get to Canada...  Well, we 're not rowing the entire way, only the last few miles or so, but in essence, that is what my wife and I will be doing starting next Wednesday!  We, along with 6 others will be going on a 'expeditionary tour' for a potential Challenger camp next year. As you may now, UCG has 3 basic groups of camps: Preteen (ages 5-12), Teen (ages 12-19) and Challenger (age 18-30ish).  Our group this year is scouting out an area that we hope to use next year for young adults interested in going on a deep woods canoe trip of the Boundary Waters between Minnesota and Canada.

A good fish story

The gospels contain several stories about the disciples and Jesus in and around boats.  We find one in such occurrence in Luke 5:1-6 (NKJV), "So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."   And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."  We're not told on this occasion how many fish they caught, but clearly, it was a lot! I doubt we'll have that many in Minnesota, but one can hope...

Could you imagine trying to tell this 'fish story' to anyone who wasn't there to witness it? "Oh, you didn't catch anything all night, then suddenly, you caught so many, you nearly sank your boat?  Yeah, right...." I guess it's safe to say, most people would have a hard time believing this story. But just imagine having Christ as your 'fishin' buddy' - there'd be no problem catching your limit!  

Interestingly enough, we're not told about what Christ said while teaching from the boat.  Rather, we're told about the multitude of fish caught afterward - enough to nearly sink at least 2 boats!  Why is this detail in the Bible?

A demonstration of power

While we may not know exactly the reason this detail is in the Bible, it does illustrate a unique element of power that Christ holds: the power over nature.  Peter seemed a bit frustrated when Christ told him to cast out his net. He was a seasoned fisherman who had fished all night and caught nothing. Why would they catch anything now?  He had been fishing all his life?  What did Jesus know that Peter didn't?  The answer, it would seem, is either Christ caused the fish to be in this particular spot, or knew that they had moved into the area.  A 'minor' miracle any way you look at it.  While perhaps not the same as raising the dead, it shows that Christ has power over nature itself. 

For us, this story should serve as an encouraging reminder.  If we face danger from a passing storm, or need protection from some wild animal, or some other threat of nature, we can rest assured that all those things are within the control of God Almighty's hands.  When we face challenges, big or small, we must always be willing to listen to what God is telling us to do, and let down our nets!