Fish Much?

I enjoy getting away from the rush and busy that is everyday life, and one place that is a haven for our family is Hume Lake. It is far enough away and up in the woods that there is no cable, internet, or cell service. It is almost like being cut off from society as we all know it, and when we are up there, we fish.

Fishing is an interesting sport to say the least. I don’t really know why they call it a sport, because the amount of physical exertion is minimal at best. Anyway, fishing takes gear, some know-how, and patience. I mention know-how, because if you have ever shopped for fishing gear or bait, there are more choices than books at a local library. Everything from size of gear that equates to the size of fish you are seeking to catch, to every color bait and or lure known to man (and some colors that are not…).

In order to purchase the right equipment, one must know the area where you will be fishing or angling (for those aficionados of the sport), and also the type of fish you will be trying to catch. Once you have purchased the required equipment, you then have to have the know-how to put all the gear together, utilize the best bait for the desired prey, and the approximate best location in which to seek them. All-in-all, it is part work, part guess work, and requires the patience of Job. All this got me thinking this week about something Jesus said in Matthew 4:19:  

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

When I first read this I just chalked it up to the context of the passage and to whom Matthew was first writing, and never thought of it in today’s context. Then I went fishing, and it hit me how relative this application is today. Think about it. If we as Christians are to model Christlikeness, follow His teachings and instructions, then we too should become fishers of men.

One of the most critical aspects of fishing, and a necessary requirement: BAIT. This is what you put on the hook to attract the fish. Only with the proper bait is there a real chance of catching fish. In Jesus’ time, it would have been more about the net. Either way, whether bait or a net, without them, fishing is impossible. But something else occurred to me as well: no matter what you use, it is impossible to make a fish bite your bait or get into your net; you need to be in the right place at the right time.

It is exactly the same with our faith lives. If we are to live out this principle of being fishers of men, we must be in the right place at the right time; then the net or bait can do what it does best. Weird analogy maybe, but as Christians, we have the perfect bait or net if you will: the Word of God. Our job is not to make sure people eat the bait or get into the net, but really just to put it out there as often and as much as possible, so that it is in the right place at the right time. Get it?

We, as Christians, are not “selling” anything, but merely putting His Word out there and letting the power of the Word do it’s work. We are not obligated to convince, coerce, or convict. That job belongs to the Holy Spirit, and Him alone. We just need to get out there and fish.

…just sayin’

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

Believability

Most of us have all heard the story about the boy who cried wolf. If not, it is a story about a boy who lied about being in trouble from a wolf attack to get something he wanted, and then when he needed help because a wolf really did attack, no one came to help as they thought that he was still lying.

Everybody would understand that the best way for people to believe what you are telling them, is to tell people the truth all of the time. But it seems that of late, we spend a lot more time trying to convince people what to believe, instead of just relying on the truth.

One's past experiences and behavior do not seem to factor in as much as one would think or hope for any more. I don't know if it is just because we are so desperate for things to get better, or we want change so badly that our wishful thinking overtakes our common sense, or that we just don't want to believe that people would lie so much.

Either way, truth has become so subjective to one's personal life and belief system,  we are looking for others to explain their truth to us so as not to offend anyone with ours. At best it's super confusing, and at worst, we are in the process of removing absolute truth altogether.

"Above all, my brothers, do not swear–not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned." James 5:12.

Truth is true, so it really needs no explaining. Explanations are often at best, just wordy justifications for what we want to be true. Truth is, if something is true, we can just claim it and proclaim it. I guess it really depends on what your source for truth is. Actually, truth is the only thing that is absolutely true.

I have an idea: instead of letting go of truth slowly so as not to offend, let's hold onto it tighter than ever. Then there would be a whole lot less explaining and a whole lot more proclaiming going on - Amen?!

...just sayin'

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

Push Me-Pull You

Pulled in multiple directions all the time? Find yourself becoming a master of multitasking? Actually multitasking is a myth, and what you are doing is becoming proficient at doing multiple things, one after another or switching back and forth, and doing none of them exceptionally well. We are just pulled in so many directions, we feel like we can never pull ahead anywhere? Can I get an AMEN out there?

Hey, do you remember the two-headed animal from Dr. Doolittle (I think that is where it came from if memory serves me right). Anyway, it was an animal that looked like two llamas that were joined in the middle, and the only way for it to move was for one to move forward while the other moved backward. Problem was they never could agree on which way to go so they were constantly trying to either push or pull the other in the direction the one side wanted to go – hence the name. This made for a lot of arguing and fighting and very little going anywhere.

Deciding to move in a direction doesn't take a lot, and we can change anytime we want to, right? But what direction do we move in? There is so much to choose from, and so much we want to do. The problem really isn’t in the directions, but about the leadership. When we follow a strong leader, we have confidence in where we are going and what we are doing. This is where our faith comes in.

When we accept Christ, we should be doing more than asking Him to be our friend, we are asking Him to lead our lives. When we allow Christ to lead us, we then can have the confidence we are moving in the right direction. This doesn’t mean moving where we want to, or that everything will go the way we think that it should.

So often in my life, and you might be able to relate, I would find myself digging my heels in trying to change the direction my life was going. When I was first married, we decided to raise our children in the Christian faith and go to church. But I was always looking for a way to avoid the Sunday morning hassles of “having” to be at church. Yea, I was a real gem. I just believed church was good, but that I had better plans for my family on Sundays…like sleep.

You see when it comes to our faith, most of us have a push me-pull you relationship with God. We don’t want to be pulled in a direction we don’t want to go in, so we either try to pull harder or push the way that we want to go. This kind of faith life is simply exhausting. We end up fighting God so much, we decide it would easier just to stop, and we do. We simply decide that faith is for special occasions and the once in a while Sunday…no more fighting, problem solved. Really?

Of course not! What we have solved is usually a direction choice that leads us places we said we would never go, and until we realize this, we are really just heading down a road that leads nowhere. The issue is all about leadership – you will either trust God to lead or you won’t. And what does it take to do this? The same thing that would have given the push me-pull you the ability to move with confidence…one side needed to surrender to the other.

We need to surrender to God’s leading. We need to stop pushing and pulling things to go our way, and surrender to Him. Then you know what happens? We are no longer so exhausted…because when we follow God’s lead it takes a whole lot less of our own strength, and He will sustain us along our journey of life.

…just sayin’

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

FLUTTERING SAILS

Fact: your direction determines your destination. You can run as fast and hard as you want, but unless you have some place you are going, you are just running fast and going nowhere, using your own energy.

Running requires energy, and ours has a limit. No matter how hard we try, there is a limit to how much energy we can expend, and at some point, we run out. We use our energy to pull us, but that will get us only so far. Have you ever sailed? Sailing is amazing, and it uses the wind for its energy. No wind, no energy. When there is wind, in any amount, sailboats can sail.

Funny thing about sailing is that, although the amount of wind you need to sail is minimal, you need to be on tack. I am not sure of all the technical terms of sailing, but I know that you can sail into the wind, harnessing its power, by switching the sail back and forth, filling it with wind. It is amazing, fun to watch, and unbelievable to experience.

But you can't just point and go. You have to be pointed in just the right direction and "wump!" the sails fill and off you go. Move a little in either direction and the sails will flutter and you lose the power of the wind. Know what controls the direction of a sailboat? The small piece on the very back of the boat called a rudder. It might be one of the smallest elements of a sailboat, but it is critical for direction.Without it, a sailboat has no ability to turn. At all...it becomes directionless.

Our faith lives are very similar to a sailboat. We move best under the power of the wind, and we need to stay on course. There is an energy source that can push us like a sailboat is pushed by the wind, and it is the Holy Spirit. When we are pointed in the right direction, our sails can be filled and "wump!" off we go, under the power of the Holy Spirit. But direction is everything, and unless we are "on tack", our sails could flutter and leave us with no power to move forward. We, too, need a rudder.

The rudder controls the direction of a sailboat, so then we need a rudder for our lives. The Bible is that rudder for us. We need to be using it for our direction, otherwise without it we could become directionless, and then who knows where we might end up.

...just sayin' 

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

I GET IT!!

When it comes to who you depend on most, if you are like the majority, it's you. You are the most dependable person you know, right? As kids, when given the opportunity, we would call out, "I got it!", right? We still do this as adults...especially us men. Or maybe primarily us men...

Car problem - Don't worry I got it!

Marriage problems - Don't worry I got it!

Money problems - Don't worry I got it!

What do you got? Most of the time, it is a knee-jerk reaction that is somehow supposed to keep us from feeling desperate or from panicking, when all the while, we are really just holding on to the idea we can or will fix it.

Know what is scary? That for most of us, and a lot of the time, we make it work or we get by, and over time, we become completely self-reliant. Our lives become all about what we have "got", so that we can be prepared for any situation that might come our way.

All I know is that if you are going to depend completely on yourself, then you are going to let yourself down, and others in the process.

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28

Peace does not come from what you have "got" in your hands, but from whose hands you are in.

...just sayin'

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat