“What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit”
That was said by Paul to the people of Corinth (1 Cor. 4:21). I certainly hope as far is it goes between God and me that I’m going after the latter ;-). But how much in the world could be made better by love and a gentle spirit rather than force and anger? Just about everything.
Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets (Luke 5:5)
That’s the essence of faith, and they are great examples of the kind of faith we should place in Jesus Christ. Trust him, even when you don’t have reason to. And then, just as it does in the following paragraph, if you do, you may just find yourself rewarded with even more than you asked for. “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break”. Just because you haven’t seen the results yet, doesn’t mean you should stop believing. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains.
“…crowds of people came to hear him and be healed of their sickness. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:15)
Okay, now that verse, that was just for me today. You NEED time to yourself [for prayers, journal writing] to stay strong and able to do your work–its being like Jesus, wow! And I’ve certainly never seen anything in there that gives any hint to say emulating Jesus would be a bad thing.
“When Jesus saw their faith he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven'” (Luke 5:20) All you need is a little faith…and perhaps persistent *encouragement* (which is different from harassment btw) from friends and family who want so badly for you to experience in your life the kind of joy and happiness and strength against their problems that they feel in their own.
“Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, or to say ‘Get up and walk'” (Luke 5:23) Heh, so much easier to say do something than to forgive in any case even more general than just sins)
“Jesus answered to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” Luke 5:31-32–that’s just one of my general favorite verses. Not a call to perfection, but a call to healing. And why churches are not full of perfect people. They’re full of the “sick” who need the medicine of Jesus. But don’t we all need that medicine so badly–the cure for all our emotional crises…I just hope I’m willing to take the medicine so I don’t have to suffer unnecessary pain 🙂