Fishing Anyone?

And He saith unto them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets and followed Him. Matthew 4:19-20

Jesus knew how these men, who were chosen in advance, were put together and he spoke to them from common ground. In a very short time they would discover that the man they followed was the King of the Universe, the Son of the Living God. The fact that He called them to do something that they knew how to do, would give them courage as doubt crept in.

  Jesus called them to fish, to seek, to search, to catch men. This was something that they knew how to do. From the earliest age they had fished. Now they were called to use those same skills but no longer for cold blooded prey meant for food but warm blooded souls; to seek the lost and reel them into the family of God.

How has Jesus called you? What are your experiences and passions? It is written in the scriptures that God has prepared good works for you in advance. Are you ready to preform those good works? God will lead you to individuals that you were created to minister to. Look for God in every situation, don’t see with your eyes see with your faith. There are souls that need you. Go and make disciples.

God Knows

 

O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.  Psalm 69:5

I believe there comes a time in everyone’s life when all of the good we have done seems to be swallowed up like a sinking ship in the deep dark abyss of our failures.  Often when we are overwhelmed by guilt, it is attributed to the father of lies, condemning us as if we should be flawless. Even if the guilt comes on the heels of an earth-shattering failure, there is no cause for the Christian to leap into the pit of despair. King David knew firsthand the bitter sting of sin that brings the numbing absence of the presence of God. All through the book of Psalms we hear the anguished cries of a man whose failures and terrible choices threaten to crush him and remove all trace of his existence.

 Romans chapter seven shows us the day to day failures of someone caught in a vortex of wanting to do right, even knowing what is right but doing the opposite. Paul ends the torment of constantly doing wrong by asking the question, “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” The Answer burst forth with a resounding chorus of Halleluiah, and thankfulness; Jesus Christ our Lord and savior delivers us from the law of sin. God knows who we are. He knows the scope and depth of our incompetence. Coming face to face with our foolishness and sin brings us to the place where God wants us to be. When we honestly admit that without Him we are nothing we become something God can use. Romans 8:1 says “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit”.  

On the drive to church Sunday morning when everything inside points to glaring failure; when doubt threatens to turn the car around and head for the nearest coffee shop, and when you can’t imagine that anyone would want to be greeted by you, remember God knows. He covers us with his warm loving arms and says, “I love you and have forgiven you of all”. There maybe someone whose path you will cross this day that needs to know God loves them and accepts them exactly where they are. They need to know that there is a place to go where sin and guilt can be left behind. The beauty is, you know exactly where to take them, take them to Jesus who knows.