As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
At once they left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them…
God has prepared good works for us to do. He is not so cruel as to give us a longing for a purpose, without actually having a purpose for us. When Jesus calls us to Himself, like He did the first disciples, He also has a purpose for us. In their case, He was going to “send them out to fish for people.” Our purpose might involve us…
- righting specific wrongs in society and on earth.
- renewing and re-imagining facets of creation and culture.
- serving our faith community through our gifts.
- reaching and discipling certain people.
- making unique contributions to the common good.
But God does more than merely prepare us for these good works…
He prepares and equips us for our calling and purpose in the same way the disciples on that beach were “preparing their nets” — tightening the knots, cleaning off debris, repairing what is broken, weaving in new thread—before throwing them out for a catch. Fascinatingly, the Greek word for “prepare” (katartisai, also translated as “equip” in our English Bibles) is used in several other places for how God…
- equips us in what is lacking in our faith (1 Thessalonians 3:10).
- equips us for doing every good work (Hebrews 13:21).
- equips us under the tutelage of Jesus so we can become like Him (Luke 6:40).
- equips us so that we may be strong, firm and steadfast (1 Peter 5:10).
- equips us for good works so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:12).
One way that He especially equips us, getting our nets ready for our callings, is through the Bible: “All Scripture is God-breathed … so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
For that reason, for the next 6 weeks, we daily draw wisdom from God-breathed Scripture in such a way that we are more equipped for the good works He prepared in advance for us to do.
At the end of each day, write down and complete the two prayers—this will help you to distill what it is God highlights to you from that day’s reading, as well as allow you to look back afterwards and track how He has spoken to you throughout this period.
