SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: My name is Hoyt, and I'm so glad you're here with me today.
SPEAKER_00: There is a quiet moment in the Gospel of John that has always felt sacred to me.
SPEAKER_00: It happens after the resurrection, after the fear, after the failure, and after the long night of doubt.
SPEAKER_00: The disciples are back on the water, back to fishing, back to what they knew before everything changed.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, he meets them there.
SPEAKER_00: Not with thunder, not with correction, not with disappointment.
SPEAKER_00: He meets them with breakfast, a charcoal fire, bread, fish, and the simple invitation.
SPEAKER_00: Come and eat.
SPEAKER_00: I love this moment because it shows the heart of Jesus in a way nothing else quite does.
SPEAKER_00: The risen Savior of the world standing on a quiet shoreline, cooking breakfast for tired, confused, imperfect friends.
SPEAKER_00: No lecture, no shame, just presence, just love.
SPEAKER_00: And if I'm honest, this scene feels very close to my own life.
SPEAKER_00: There have been seasons where I felt like I had failed God, seasons where doubt crept in, seasons where sickness, exhaustion, and long stays in the dialogis chair made everything feel small and fragile.
SPEAKER_00: And in those moments, I didn't need a sermon.
SPEAKER_00: I needed a Savior who would meet me gently, quietly, personally.
SPEAKER_00: A Savior who would say, Hoyt, come sit down, rest.
SPEAKER_00: You're still mine.
SPEAKER_00: That's what breakfast on the beach really is.
SPEAKER_00: It's restoration without humiliation.
SPEAKER_00: It's forgiveness without a speech.
SPEAKER_00: It's love that has nothing left to prove.
SPEAKER_00: Because Jesus already proved everything on the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we think we have to climb our way back to God, fix ourselves, explain ourselves, earn our way to the shoreline.
SPEAKER_00: But the gospel tells a different story.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is already there, fire already burning, meal already prepared, grace already given.
SPEAKER_00: All that's left is to come and eat.
SPEAKER_00: And maybe today that invitation is for you too.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're tired.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you feel like you failed.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're just quietly wondering if you still belong.
SPEAKER_00: Listen closely to the shoreline of your soul.
SPEAKER_00: You might hear him say, Come and eat.
SPEAKER_00: No conditions, no shame, no distance, just Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And that is enough.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I wonder how many quiet breakfasts Jesus has prepared in my life that I almost missed.
SPEAKER_00: Moments where nothing dramatic happened, no thunder, no great revelation, just a quiet sense that I was not alone.
SPEAKER_00: Sitting in a dialysis chair, watching the sun come through a window, feeling tired in my body, estrangely peaceful in my soul.
SPEAKER_00: Those are shoreline moments.
SPEAKER_00: Places where Jesus doesn't explain everything.
SPEAKER_00: He simply stays.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm learning that His presence is the miracle, not the fixing, not the changing, not the removing of hardships, just Him being there.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe that's what restoration really looks like.
SPEAKER_00: Not going back to who we were before the storm, but discovering He never left us in it.
SPEAKER_00: And if that's true, then even the hardest seasons of life are still held inside His mercy.
SPEAKER_00: Even here there is breakfast on the beach.
SPEAKER_00: Even here there is peace.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, thank you for meeting us in quiet places.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for your shoreline moments where you do not condemn us, but welcome us.
SPEAKER_00: For every tired heart listening today, prepare a place of rest.
SPEAKER_00: For every soul that feels far away, let them hear you gentle invitation.
SPEAKER_00: Come and eat.
SPEAKER_00: Teach us to trust that your presence is enough.
SPEAKER_00: Your grace is enough, and your love will never let us go.
SPEAKER_00: We give you our failures, our doubts, our sickness, and our long nights.
SPEAKER_00: And we receive instead your peace in your holy name, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me on the Spray United Methodist Church podcast.
SPEAKER_00: If you do not have a church home, we invite you to worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at eight oh three Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.
SPEAKER_00: We are a loving family who loves God and loves people, all people.
SPEAKER_00: And until next time, peace be with you.