Episode 884
Beyond Shallow Waters: Embracing Transformation Through Faith
The "Daily Bible Refresh" is presented each day by Rev. Dr. Brad Miller who has a goal of speaking a bit of the bible into two million ears (one million people) in three years (2025-2028).
He is the author of "The A, B, C-1,2,3 Bible Study Guide" Free to you by clicking HERE.
Brad served as a local church pastor for forty years and has a background in radio and podcasting. Moreover, he is a life-long student of The Bible.
He believes in the words of Jesus that “scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21)
The "Daily Bible Refresh" is available seven days a week by 6:00 am ET. The episodes are no longer than ten minutes long and are...
- Understandable: A reading from the New Testament (usually the Gospel) selected from the Revised Common Lectionary using "The Message" translation.
- Relatable: You will have a couple of "points to ponder" from the text which will relate to your life
- Applicable: Every episode includes a way you can take action based on the reading
- A recommended resource to help you go deeper in biblical study and spiritual direction.
- A prayer for your day.
A companion resource to the Voice of God Daily Podcast is the “ABC Bible Study Guide” available by clicking HERE.
The "Daily Bible Refresh" is available every day at VoiceofGodDaily.com on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast directories.
You can help Dr. Brad attain his goal of getting a bit of the bible into two million ears by subscribing to "Daily Bible Refresh" on Apple Podcasts, leaving a five-star rating, and writing a review. More importantly please share with your network of family and friends about the "Daily Bible Refresh".
Please make listening to the "Daily Bible Refresh" a part of your daily life.
Remember… “All scripture is God-breathed and useful”(2 Timothy 3:16)
The discourse centers upon an exploration of the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 5:1-11, which recounts a pivotal moment in the ministry of Jesus. The narrative commences with Jesus addressing a throng of eager listeners along the shores of Lake Gennesaret, where He commandeers Simon Peter's boat to facilitate His teachings. After imparting profound wisdom, Jesus instructs Simon to venture into the deeper waters for a catch, despite the latter's initial skepticism based on a fruitless night of fishing. The ensuing miraculous catch serves as a transformative moment not only for Simon but also for the collective group involved, highlighting themes of faith and the call to a greater purpose. This act of pushing beyond the shallows becomes a metaphor for the audacity required in our spiritual lives, encouraging listeners to transcend their comfort zones and engage with the complexities of their faith.
Takeaways:
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of venturing beyond the comfort of shallow waters, which symbolizes the necessity for personal growth and transformation.
- We are reminded that collective effort is vital for achieving significant outcomes, as demonstrated by the collaborative nature of the miraculous catch of fish.
- Simon's experience illustrates the struggle with feelings of unworthiness, yet Jesus's calling affirms that our limitations do not preclude us from meaningful contributions.
- The episode challenges listeners to identify areas of their lives where they remain stagnant and encourages them to take concrete steps toward deeper engagement.
- Our spiritual journey often requires us to confront uncomfortable truths, urging us to engage in justice work and transformative community efforts.
- The podcast concludes with a call to unity and collaboration, highlighting the need for shared resources in addressing overwhelming challenges together.
Links referenced in this episode:
Transcript
Deep Waters and Radical Transformation A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 5:1 11 on the Daily Bible refresh with Dr.
Speaker A:Brad Miller hello good people.
Speaker A:Welcome to Daily Bible Refresh.
Speaker A:This is the place where we come every day to to get a reading of the New Testament.
Speaker A:We do this.
Speaker A:We take the selected verses from the Revised Common Lectionary.
Speaker A:That's a three year cycle of reading through the entire Bible.
Speaker A:We're in year C of that cycle.
Speaker A:It's the Eastertide season.
Speaker A:We make the reading of the Bible understandable.
Speaker A:We use the Message version relatable.
Speaker A:We give you some points to ponder and applicable.
Speaker A:We give you an action step to take.
Speaker A:We do all that in under 10 minutes and have a prayer to boot.
Speaker A:It's all brought to you by VoiceOfGod Daily, which is our website, the home of the ABC123 Bible Study Method.
Speaker A:Free to you.
Speaker A:Let's get into our reading for Today from Luke 5:1 11 Reading from the Message Push out into Deep Water Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the word of God.
Speaker A:He noticed two boats tied up.
Speaker A:The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets.
Speaker A:He climbed into the boat that was Simon's and asked him to put out a little bit from the shore.
Speaker A:Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd.
Speaker A:When he finished teaching, he said to Simon, push out the deep water and let out your nets for a catch.
Speaker A:Simon said, master, we've been fishing hard all night and we haven't even caught a minnow.
Speaker A:But if you say so, I'll let out the nets.
Speaker A:It was no sooner said than done.
Speaker A:A huge haul of fish straining the nets past capacity.
Speaker A:They waved to their partners in the other boat to come help them, and they filled both boats, nearly swamping them with the catch.
Speaker A:Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell to his knees before Jesus, master, leave.
Speaker A:I'm a sinner and can't handle this holiness.
Speaker A:Leave.
Speaker A:Leave me to myself.
Speaker A:When they pulled in that catch of fish, all overwhelmed Simon and everyone with him.
Speaker A:It was the same with James and John Zebedee's sons, co workers with Simon.
Speaker A:Jesus said to Simon, there is nothing to fear.
Speaker A:From now on you'll be fishing for men and women.
Speaker A:They pulled their boats up on the beach, left them nets and all, and followed him.
Speaker A:Well, a wonderful story and today we're going to explore this story about stepping out into deep waters, challenging our assumptions and reimagining what's possible.
Speaker A:Let's get into some points to ponder.
Speaker A:The first one is going beyond the shallows.
Speaker A:Jesus called out to push out into deep water.
Speaker A:That's what the scripture says.
Speaker A:And it isn't just about fishing.
Speaker A:It's an invitation to move beyond comfortable certainties and do spaces of risk and transformation.
Speaker A:In our time, this might mean moving beyond surface level thoughts and prayers to a deeper engagement with justice work, or pushing past comfortable theology to wrestle with challenging questions about inclusion, empire and liberation.
Speaker A:The second point is about collective labor.
Speaker A:Notice that the miraculous catch still requires collective effort.
Speaker A:They wave to their partners in the other boats to come help and this challenges individualistic spirituality and reminds us that transformation work requires community.
Speaker A:The boats nearly swamping suggests that abundance can be overwhelming without collective support and shared resources.
Speaker A:A third point is about reimagining Worth.
Speaker A:Simon's response was I'm a sinner and I can't handle the holiness.
Speaker A:This reflects internalized sense of unworthiness, but Jesus immediately counters this with affirmation and calling.
Speaker A:This challenges religious systems that weaponize shame and suggest that our perceived inadequacies don't disqualify us from justice work.
Speaker A:Here's your action step.
Speaker A:Identify an area in your life or your community where you're staying in the shallows.
Speaker A:Choose one concrete way to push out into deeper water.
Speaker A:That might mean moving beyond some performance type of thing to more substantial hands on action to some area in life that you are passionate about or examining how the institutions that you're a part of could share resources more radically or join others in deeper engagement with challenging justice issues.
Speaker A:Remember, like the disciples, don't try to handle the catch all on your own.
Speaker A:Work together in community.
Speaker A:We'll come have a time of prayer here in just a moment.
Speaker A:I always want you to let you know that we have a resource for you called the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible study method.
Speaker A:It's just a few bullet points that are going to help you to have your own daily Bible study.
Speaker A:Use it in coordination with what you hear here on Daily Bible Refresh and it will help you.
Speaker A:Just go over to voiceofgoddaily.com and there you'll find it.
Speaker A:It's free to you pick it up please.
Speaker A:It's called the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible Study Method.
Speaker A:Here's our prayer.
Speaker A:Oh God, you are the divine challenger.
Speaker A:We often prefer the safety of shallow waters to the risk of the deeper, but help us find courage to push beyond comfortable certainties into spaces of transformation.
Speaker A:When we feel inadequate, remind us that you call us despite and perhaps through our limitations.
Speaker A:Guide us in building communities that can handle abundance together.
Speaker A:Show us how to move past surface level engagement to deeper justice.
Speaker A:Work in hope and courage we pray.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:It's with hope and courage that I will be with you again tomorrow.
Speaker A:Here on Daily Bible Refresh.
Speaker A:We bring you the voiceofgoddaily.com which is the place where we bring you the audible word of God every day.
Speaker A: ion ears, a million people by: Speaker A:Help me do that.
Speaker A:Help me accomplish that goal if you will.
Speaker A:Please.
Speaker A:I'm asking you to be here tomorrow and to invite a friend here and I'll be here.
Speaker A:Remember till that day, friends, remember My name is Dr.
Speaker A:Brad Miller and I'll be with you.
Speaker A:Please remember that God's loyal love doesn't run out.
Speaker A:His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new every morning.
