When Jesus Calls You Forward
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:18 I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
After restoring Peter, Jesus does something unexpected. He speaks about Peter’s future. He describes a future when Peter will follow Him with faithfulness, even to the point of death.
This stands in contrast to the Peter who once denied Him out of fear.
Jesus is not just addressing Peter’s past. He is redefining his future.
Then He gives a simple command. “Follow me.”
This is the same call Peter heard at the beginning, but now it carries deeper meaning. It is not based on Peter’s strength, but on Jesus’ grace. What Jesus began a few years earlier in Peter, he was going to see to completion. The work God created for Peter was one of Gospel blessings but also persecution for that same Gospel message.
Yet Jesus calls him forward. Peter doesn’t object. He doesn’t run. He doesn’t negotiate. He is ready to follow.
Jesus did not leave Peter defined by his failure. He calls him into a future shaped by faithfulness. The same is true for us. Grace does not just forgive. It sends. It calls us to move forward, to live differently, to follow Jesus with renewed purpose.
It won’t be easy. We may not face upside down crucifixion as Peter did, but our faith will be challenged, our connection to Christ strained, and our loyalty tested. But as Jesus’ grace calls AND equips Peter for the task, so will the Lord Jesus do for you.
Our past does not cancel your calling. Rather Jesus redeems our past and calls us into our future. He speaks over your life and invites you to follow Him, living in and proclaiming his message of grace!
Follow him!
Reflect: What might Jesus be calling you to step into right now? What is holding you back from fully following Him?
Prayer: Lord, thank you that my past does not define my future. Give me the courage to follow you wherever you lead. Help me to trust your call and walk in the purpose you have for my life. Amen.
When Grace Feels Personal
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
One of the most striking details in this passage is what Jesus does before He speaks to Peter. He prepares breakfast. Bread and fish are already waiting when the disciples arrive.
This moment reveals something about the heart of Jesus. He does not begin with correction. He begins with care. He meets physical needs before addressing spiritual ones. He creates space for relationship before moving into restoration.
Grace is not abstract. It is personal. It looks like presence. It looks like provision. It looks like an invitation to come and sit with Him.
“Come and have breakfast.”
This is the same heart we see in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus meets us where we are, not where we think we should be.
For Peter, this meal is not just about food. It is about reassurance. It is about being with Jesus again without fear. It is about experiencing grace before hearing hard truth.
In our own lives, we often expect God to meet us with disappointment. We assume that coming back to Him will feel like facing judgment. But this moment reminds us that Jesus welcomes us with grace.
He knows everything about us, and still invites us to come closer.
Grace is not distant. It is present. It is given to you personally.
Reflect:
Do you tend to expect grace or judgment when you come to God?
How might your relationship with Him change if you recognize His grace more fully?
Prayer:
Jesus, thank you for meeting me with grace. Thank you for inviting me into your presence, even when I feel unworthy. Help me to receive your love personally and to rest in the relationship you offer. Amen.
When Failure Feels Final
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:15-17 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
After the miraculous catch, the disciples come to shore and find Jesus waiting with a fire and a meal. It is a quiet, gracious moment. But beneath the surface, there is unresolved tension, especially for Peter.
The last time Peter stood near a fire, he denied Jesus three times. Now, Jesus brings Peter back to a similar setting. This is not to shame him, but to restore him.
Three times Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” Each question corresponds to one of Peter’s denials. But Jesus does not ask Peter to explain his failure. He does not demand an apology speech. He simply draws Peter back to the core of the relationship.
“Do you love me?”
That question goes deeper than behavior. It goes to the heart.
Peter responds each time, and each time Jesus gives him a calling. “Feed my sheep.” In other words, Jesus is not only forgiving Peter, he is reinstating him.
Jesus wanted Peter to understand his death was for him. He wants Peter to grasp this truth, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1) He wanted Peter to experience Psalm 103:12, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
We often believe that our worst moments define us. We carry them quietly, assuming they disqualify us from being used by God. But Jesus does not define Peter by his denial. He restores him through it.
Failure is real, but it is not final. In the hands of Jesus, it becomes a place of transformation.
The same is true for us. The areas where we feel most ashamed are often the areas where Jesus wants to meet us most personally. He does not avoid them. He redeems them. He assures us we are fully forgiven and then commissions us to feed this same Gospel truth to the sheep and lamps around us!
Reflect: What failure do you tend to believe defines you?
How would your life change if you truly believed Jesus has restored you?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you that my failures do not have the final word. You see me fully and still call me your own. Restore what has been broken in me and help me to live in the freedom of your grace. Amen.
When Jesus Shows Up Unnoticed
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
Early in the morning, Jesus stands on the shore, but the disciples do not recognize Him. That detail is both surprising and deeply relatable. Jesus is present, yet unrecognized. He is near, yet unnoticed.
The disciples are doing what they know how to do. They are working, thinking, moving through the motions of life. It is in that ordinary moment that Jesus appears. He does not interrupt with spectacle. He simply stands there and speaks into their situation.
This is not the only time this happens. In Luke 24:16, the disciples on the road to Emmaus walk with the risen Jesus and still do not realize who He is. It reminds us that the issue is not always Jesus’ absence. Often, it is our awareness.
Jesus asks a simple question. “Have you caught any fish?” It is a question that invites honesty. It is also a question that exposes their emptiness. Then He gives a simple instruction. “Throw your net on the right side of the boat.” When they obey, everything changes.
There are moments in life when we are waiting for God to show up in dramatic ways, but He is already present in the ordinary. He speaks through Scripture, through a quiet conviction, through a timely word from someone else, or even through circumstances that do not make sense at first.
Consider how often we move through our days assuming God is distant, when in reality He is already at work. He may be inviting us to trust Him, to take a step of obedience, or to see something differently.
Recognition often comes after obedience. The disciples act on His word, and then their eyes begin to open.
Jesus is closer than we think. The question may be, are we paying attention!
Reflect:
Where might Jesus already be at work in your life that you have not recognized?
What small step of faith might He be inviting you to take today?
Prayer:
Jesus, open my eyes to see you in the ordinary moments of my life. Help me to hear your voice and trust your leading, even when I do not fully understand. Give me a heart that responds in faith so that I may recognize your presence more clearly. Amen.
When You Drift…
Devotions this week are based on Week 3 How Would You Answer (WATCH HERE)
John 21:1-3 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Peter’s words are simple. “I’m going fishing.” It sounds harmless, even practical. But beneath the surface, something deeper is happening. Peter is returning to what he knows, to what feels familiar, to what existed before Jesus called him. Perhaps it would be harsh to say this is open rebellion, but perhaps it would be accurate to say it is a quiet retreat.
Drifting rarely feels dramatic. It often feels reasonable. Life becomes heavy or confusing, and instead of pressing forward in faith, we slip back into what is comfortable. Old habits. Old mindsets. Old identities. The calling of Jesus still lingers, but it feels distant compared to what we can control. It feels uncomfortable and uncertain compared to what is familiar and comfortable.
The disciples follow Peter, and together they fish through the night. Yet they catch nothing. Bad luck? Or does the emptiness of their nets mirror the emptiness of returning to life apart from the clarity of Christ’s call. Maybe. The drift is not always obvious. It is subtle and it is a picture of what Hebrews 2:1 says, “We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
What is striking is not just that Peter drifts, but that Jesus does not let the story end there. Before Peter makes his way back, Jesus is already moving toward him. The drift may feel like distance, but it is not the end of the relationship.
We often assume that drifting disqualifies us. We tell ourselves that we should have known better or done better. But this moment reminds us that drifting is not the same as being abandoned. The call of Jesus still stands, even when we drift away from it.
Take a moment to consider where you tend to drift when life becomes uncertain. It may not look like running from God, but it might look like neglecting time with Him, relying on your own strength, or retreating into distractions. The question is not whether drift happens. The question is whether we will recognize it and turn back.
Jesus does not begin this story by confronting Peter. He begins by showing up. John 21:4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.” That is where hope begins for us as well. Jesus shows up in our drift.
Reflect:
Where do you tend to drift when life feels uncertain or heavy?
What is one step you can take today to turn your attention back toward Jesus?
Prayer:
Lord, you see the quiet ways I drift. You know the places I return to when I feel uncertain or weary. Thank you that you do not leave me there. Draw my heart back to you. Help me to recognize your presence and respond to your call. Amen.