I love having breakfast with friends… just to sit, chat, eat, drink, laugh, cry, and spend precious time together. It’s a great way to start my day.

And I also love spending time with Jesus… doing all of the same things! It’s ALSO a great way to start my day!

So recently I thought I’d try something new: have breakfast with you AND with Jesus at the same time!

I began a few weeks ago recording a few episodes of what I’m calling “Breakfast on the Beach.” The idea is to just have breakfast together (or coffee or lunch or dinner, whatever time and meal it may be for you when you watch it as I know this message goes all around the world).

You can watch the first episode at the link below, or read the transcript of the episode below that. It’s just an unscripted, casual time where I share stories, read the Bible, listen to music, and pray for you and me.

Today, I’m having avocado toast with poached eggs and turkey sausage. What’ll you have? I’d love for you to join me! Pull up a chair, and let’s eat!

You’ll also learn why I’m calling this “Breakfast on the Beach.” Hint: it’s scriptural!

And if you’d like to share your thoughts with me and with others, just click the “Comment” button at the end. You’ll be able to post your comments where I and others can read them. I’d love to hear from you!

Here’s the link to the episode…

And here’s the transcript…

Hi guys, good morning! This is Eric Elder, and I’m calling this “Breakfast on the Beach.” I’m not actually on the beach, and there’s snow on the ground outside here, but I’m on my porch and just having a little breakfast—two eggs, a little avocado toast, and some turkey sausage. I enjoy having friends for breakfast, I enjoy just hanging out with friends, and so I would love to just spend some time with you here, sharing a little about what’s going on with my week and encouraging you in yours.

I’m up early, and I’m going to take a bite or two because I haven’t eaten anything yet. One of the reasons I’m calling it “Breakfast on the Beach” is because Jesus had an encounter where He met His disciples on the beach as well.

If you remember, they were fishing all night. They had seen Jesus before, risen from the dead, but now they were on their own, trying to catch some fish. They couldn’t catch anything. They had been out all night, and then a man on the shore yelled to them and said, “Have you caught anything?”

They said, “No.”

And the man said, “Throw your net on the other side of the boat.”

They threw it on the other side, and all of a sudden, the net was filled with so many fish!

One of them said, “It’s the Lord!” as they had seen Jesus do this when they had first met Him. Peter, hearing it was the Lord, jumped out of the boat and ran to Jesus.

Jesus was there on the beach, cooking fish for them. He said, “Bring some of the fish that you’ve got too.” But Jesus was already there on the beach, making breakfast for them. He had breakfast prepared– even though they’d been out all night and hadn’t caught a thing.

I just love that idea of having breakfast on the beach with Jesus and how wonderful that would be.

Here’s the passage as it’s recorded in the Bible in John, chapter 21:

Later, Jesus appeared once again to a group of His disciples by Lake Galilee. It happened one day while Peter, Thomas (the twin), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Jacob and John, and two other disciples were all together. Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.” They all replied, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and fished through the night but caught nothing.

Then at dawn, Jesus was standing there on the shore, but the disciples didn’t realize it was Him. He called out to them, saying, “Hey guys, did you catch any fish?” “Not a thing,” they replied.

Jesus shouted to them, “Throw your net over the starboard side, and you’ll catch some.” So they did as He said, and they caught so many fish they couldn’t even pull in the net.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Peter heard him say that, he quickly wrapped his outer garment around him, and because he was athletic, he dove right into the lake to go to Jesus. The other disciples then brought the boat to shore, dragging their catch of fish. They weren’t far from land, only about 100 meters.

When they got to shore, they noticed a charcoal fire with some roasted fish and bread. Then Jesus said, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Peter waded into the water and helped pull the net to shore. It was full of many large fish—exactly 153—but even with so many, the net was not torn.

“Come, let’s have some breakfast,” Jesus said to them. And not one of the disciples needed to ask who it was because every one of them knew it was the Lord.

Then Jesus came close to them and served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples after the resurrection.

I love this story because it talks about that time when their beloved Savior had left, was gone, but He said, “I will come again.” He also said, “I’ll send my Holy Spirit to be with you.” And then He even appeared to them there on the beach, served them some bread and fish, and they had a rich time.

It was not long before this that Peter was at another charcoal fire and had denied Jesus three times. This time, they’re at a different charcoal fire, and Jesus restores him three times. It’s a beautiful contrast and beautiful story of redemption for any of us.

As I eat some and have my coffee, you can also enjoy the music that’s playing in the background. This is from my son, Bo Elder’s, beautiful, new piano album called For Your Glory—featuring relaxing instrumental piano. I’d love for you to check that out too! Just look him up on any streaming service—Pandora, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music—wherever you listen to music. You can look for Bo Elder.

You can watch the rest of the podcast where I talk about some prayer magnets I’ve been painting and how special that has been both for me and for those who are receiving them. I’ve shared those stories in my emails a couple weeks ago, but you can hear more about the stories behind the stories in the podcast.

I pray this new podcast encourages you. I want to give you confidence and strength to go on with your day too. Here’s the link again in case you want to watch.

And if there’s anything you want me and others to pray for you, just post it in the comments! I’d love to hear from you and see how God is working in your life as well.

Thanks for spending this time with me. Enjoy the music, the sunshine, and the simple joys God gives you. May God bless you!

Eric Elder writes for page, stage & screen to glorify God’s name so Christ may be seen! Use this link to subscribe or unsubscribe.