I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN

Fishing is a sport that is enjoyed by many people both young and old. It is an inexpensive fun pastime that even puts food on the table, if the fish happen to be biting. Some fishermen will go to great lengths and costs to satisfy their passion – wilderness trips – deep-sea fishing, etc. Then there are those who make fishing their livelihood. That’s the kind of fishermen to whom Jesus said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."(a)

When we read this command in the gospels we start thinking about evangelism and soul winning. We get uneasy feelings that – we aren’t doing it – afraid to try - don’t know how. Look at this verse again. Our primary responsibility is to “follow Jesus” – He promises to make us fishers of men. Many promises in the Bible are “conditional” which means a condition must first be met before the promise can be fulfilled. This is one of those promises. The condition here is “follow Jesus.”

So what does it mean to follow Jesus? It evidently is something beyond just believing facts about Him. It is the kind of believing that causes us to take life-changing action. For the disciples in this passage, it meant leaving their nets - their commercial business. For Matthew it was the same, he left a lucrative tax collecting job to follow Jesus.(b) I am sure this doesn’t mean that everyone who obeys the “follow me” command of Jesus needs quit their job. That would mean there would be no commerce and society couldn’t function. However, I am sure “following Jesus” requires dramatic changes. It demands that we change from doing what we want, to doing what He wants. It’s striving to walk in His footsteps, to do what He would do in every situation of life. It’s becoming more and more familiar with His teachings and putting them into practice. It’s learning to trust Him without any reservations. It’s submitting to His Lordship. This is a life-long journey.

The result of increasingly living a Christ like life will make Him more and more attractive to people around us. Professing “Christians” who do not demonstrate the likeness of Jesus – saying one thing and living another - are seen as hypocrites by the world and actually hinder people from coming to Jesus. Jesus said “whatever the Father does the Son also does.”(c) By the power of His Holy Spirit, our aim needs to be, to follow Jesus in the same way – doing and saying - what His Spirit prompts us to do and say. Peter says, "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:(d )To the degree that we follow in His steps, Jesus promises, "I will make you fishers of men."


Let’s Pray-
Lord, what an awesome promise! Help us to follow you evermore closely – like a little child trying to walk in his daddy’s footprints in the sand. Whatever it costs to “follow you” Lord, we want others to see you in us and be drawn to you.
In your name we pray.
Amen


Footnotes:
(a) Mark 1:17 NIV, Matthew 9:9 NIV, (c) John 5:19 NLT, (d) 1 Peter 3:15,


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SOME DAY- SICKNESS & DEATH - GONE FOREVER

Physical health is a blessing that is easily taken for granted. Those of us who have had good health most of our life haven’t given it much thought, just assumed it would always be that way. But we all know people who haven’t been that fortunate. Some of you reading these words today have struggled with poor health in the past, or maybe that is your experience right now.

James, the half brother of our Lord says, “Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.”(a) All of us know people who have been healed through prayer. And most likely, we ourselves have been healed that way. Without question, prayer needs to be our first course of action when illness strikes. However, we must admit it hasn’t always brought the results we were hoping for.

Why aren’t we healed every time we, or the elders, pray for our healing? We may have all sorts of questions about that. Whatever your thoughts, don’t let some “super spiritual” people put a guilt trip on you by insinuating that you are not healed because you don’t have enough faith or there is some secret sin in your life. Now that possibly could be true in some situations, but that certainly is not the case every time. Even when every known sin is forgiven and prayers of faith are offered, we are not always healed.

When a loving Heavenly Father doesn’t heal us, He has a good reason. Sickness causes us to realize our frailty and makes us think more seriously about eternity. It has a way of drawing us closer to God. He may allow us to go through illness so we can be a help to others going through similar situations.(b) It has a way of uniting us with other believers as they pray for us – send us cards – call us on the phone - stop by for a visit. God brings good, even out of sickness.

If we were healed every time we prayed for healing, we would never die. But we know death will eventually come, and the process can be a most painful one. But the day is coming when “God will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”(c) The prophet Malachi predicts: “the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.”(d) What a glorious prospect is ours when we will forever be with our Lord!


Lets Pray-
Father, thank you for the times you have graciously healed us, and thank you also for the good you brought about in our lives when you in your wisdom withheld healing.
Help us to walk close to you in health and in sickness. Thank you for the blessed hope of being free of sickness FOREVER!
Amen

Foot Notes:
(a) James 5:14-15 NLT, (b) 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT, (c) Revelation 21:4 NLT, (d) Malachi 4:2 NLT,


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WITH THE LORD - WE WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT

At times without even being aware of it, we may be attempting to live our Christian lives and carrying on our ministries in mostly human energy. That happens when for whatever reason we are not vitally relating with Jesus. He says, “If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”(a) It takes the Lord working in and through us to bear spiritual fruit. One would think, most of us should be producing bumper crops on a regular basis, but that is probably not happening for many of us. What could be the problem?

I am sure you are aware there is a spiritual warfare going on. Paul tells us, “we are fighting against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”(b) And these forces are determined to keep us from bearing fruit.(c) They are continually at work trying to hinder love, joy and peace from growing in our lives. They discourage us from practicing patience, kindness and goodness. They make faithfulness, gentleness and self-control seem not all that important.

Without a close relationship with our Lord we are not going to win too many victories over our enemies. It takes a real partnership with Him - abiding in Him and He in us. Abiding means “living with” – not just coming for a visit once in a while. To have that kind of a relationship requires a continual focusing on Jesus – faithfully feeding on God’s Word – praying without ceasing – doing everything as unto the Lord. Such a life can’t be lived by human effort. It takes our full reliance on God’s power working within us, and we must be consistently obeying the Holy Spirit’s prompting. It’s a partnership! “With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.”(d) Our enemies are our own human nature, and evil forces, which hinder us from having a close relationship with the Lord. Facing these foes by our-selves ends in defeat over and over again, but when we team up with the Lord, He gives us the victory. Without Him, we are fruitless losers, but with Him we are fruitful winners!



Let’s Pray –
Lord, thank you for making it possible for us to partner with you so we can bear much fruit. At times we act as if we were able to do it by ourselves. Forgive us for such foolish pride. Please help us to remain in you.
Amen.


Footnotes:
(a) John 15:5 NIV, (b) Ephesians 6:12 NLT,
(c) Galatians 5:22-23 NLT, (d) Psalm 60:12 NIV,


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Honoring Mother - Blesses Both Her And Us

Mother’s Day is observed in many churches by recognizing the oldest Mom, the youngest Mom and the Mom with the most children. Carnations are worn – a colored one signifies that our Mother is living and a white one indicates that she has died. One way appreciation is shown to mothers on Mother's Day is to take her out for a meal. After birthdays, Mother's Day is the next most popular dining-out occasion.

Anna M. Jarvis was responsible for the first official Mother's Day celebration May 10th 1908 (in honor of her departed Mother) at Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had the people wear white carnations which was her Mother’s favorite flower. By 1909 forty-six states were holding Mother's Day services. In 1912 West Virginia became the first state to officially recognize Mother's Day, and in 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed it into national observance, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. So tomorrow we celebrate Mother’s day.

My mother was in her 50’s when I was born. Long after she had gone to be with the Lord I learned from my oldest sister that I was an unwanted, unexpected addition to a family of ten children. It wasn’t easy for my aging mom, but she showed me nothing but love. In my mind I can still hear her weeping and pleading before the Lord for my salvation, as I was heading down the wrong path of life. I am eternally grateful for her love and prayers.

You all have your own story of memories of Mother. For most people the story is filled with warm memories; though imperfect, she endlessly poured out her life for you with deeds of sacrifical love, and your heart overflows with a deep sense of gratitude. For some of you, memories of Mother may not be all that pleasant, and you feel like you are missing out on something special which a lot of people take for granted.

Whether she is or was a “Perfect Mother,” or whether she, for the most part, failed at mothering. Mothers should be honored every day and not just on Mother’s Day. She conceived us, carried us, and through pain brought us into this world. She gave us life!

To honor mother is the right thing to do, not only because it has become a custom in the land, but because it is God’s command. “Honor your father and MOTHER.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and MOTHER, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”(a)


Lets Pray -
Father, thank you for the nurture of a loving mother. It reminds us of your unconditional love for us. Forgive us for our youthful foolishness which caused her pain. Help us to live our lives in a way that will honor her and you.
Amen

Footnotes:
(a) Ephesians 6:2-3


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Tempted? - There Is A Way Of Escape!

Giving in to eating some sweets is one thing, but yielding to something the Bible calls sin, is quite another matter. However, all temptations start the same way. James tells us, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions.”(a)

As members of a fallen human race we all are capable of desiring sinful things and such desires opens the door to temptation. Being tempted is not sin, it’s yielding to it that is sinful. We can’t get away with trying to shift the blame and claim – “The devil made me do it,” or “I just couldn’t help myself.” If we did it, we are responsible, but the good news is, we don’t have to yield!

Hebrews, speaking of Jesus, says: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”(b) Jesus is God, and as such it is impossible for Him to sin, but He is also human, therefore sinning was possible (else His temptation would have been meaningless). After fasting for forty days and nights, “the devil came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But Jesus told him, ‘No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”(c) He didn’t sin, by not yielding to the temptation.

We may have heard of someone doing some terrible thing, and we thought to ourselves, “I would never do that!” Who knows what would happen, if we were in the same situation, with a similar set of circumstances. Paul warns us, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.”(d)

All of us are tempted by something. It may be a spirit of criticism, judging, holding grudges, stretching the truth, etc. It may be abusing drugs or alcohol. Or it may be indulging in immoral fantasy - whatever. Each of us is aware of what we personally are struggling with. At times we may try to ignore or cover up our failures, other times we are griped with guilt and shame.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.(e) What a liberating promise!! Our faithful Father limits the power of the temptations He allows, so we will be able to handle them, by taking the way of escape He shows us. The bottom line really is, we must want to escape the temptation more than yield to it. The choice is ours.


Let’s Pray-
Lord, you have made every provision for us to be victorious over temptation. But at times we foolishly follow our own sinful inclinations and don’t take the way of escape. Please forgive us! Help us to be more like you and say “No!” to sin.
In Your Name, Amen


Footnotes: (a) James 1:14-15, (b) Hebrews 4:15, (c) Matthew 1:1-4, (d) 1 Corinthians 10:12, (e) 1 Corinthians 10:13,


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