So
Go Down To The Lake And Throw In A Line.
Open
The Mouth Of The First Fish You Catch,
And
You Will Find A Large Silver Coin.
Scripture
Matthew
17
24 On
their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came
to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple
tax?”
But
before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you
think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they
have conquered?”
26 “They
tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.“Well,
then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free!
27 However,
we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a
line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a
large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”
Observation
This
is not a fishing lesson; it is a lesson about faith!
During
His 3 years with His disciples Jesus gave them lesson after lesson to
test and to build up their faith. He does the same thing with you and
me.
And
yes, this week our faith will be tested.
Remember
that Simon Peter was a fisherman. As he went down to the lake to fish
as Jesus had commanded him to do I know that he had to be wondering
about the instructions that His Lord had given him. I am sure that to
a fisherman these instructions sounded totally crazy. He had caught
fish all of his life, but never one with a large silver coin in his
mouth.
He
was to catch a fish and in that first fish that he caught he would
find a large silver coin in its mouth. He did just what Jesus told
him to do and found the coin in the mouth of the fish, enough to pay
their taxes!
So
what is the lesson in this story for me and what is the lesson in
this story for you?
Jesus
Christ has a million, no, Jesus has a zillion ways to take care of me
and my needs and this same Jesus has a zillion ways to take care of
you … you and I just need to be obedient and trust Him.
Application
I
will trust the Lord to take care of my needs. How about you?
Psalm
23
1 The Lord is
my shepherd; I have all that I need.
Philippians
4:19
19 And
this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from
his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Prayer
Heavenly
Father, thank You for putting stories like this in the Bible. Thank
You for showing me that resources are never a problem for You. You
are not limited in ways to take care of us. Help me to walk by faith
and not by sight. I know that I am a slow learner, but I have learned
that I can trust in You even when I can't see where help is coming
from. This story about Peter catching the fish with the coin is its
mouth is an encouragement to me. You will supply all of our needs
from Your glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ
Jesus.
Daily
Bible Reading: 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13; Psalm 68; Matthew 17
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