Fish Net Casting

There is a Parable in the Bible about casting a fishing net. The meaning of Parables can be challenging even for those with ears to hear. As a minister, pastor, speaker, teacher, often the challenge is to get folks to listen and be engaged. If an individual has a hearing difficulty it is easy to understand why they might not always hear everything being said. Whereas, if one has ears the perception is that there are no hinderances. The Bible often encourages those with ears to hear so this makes sense right? I have never been much of one for fishing. I just don't have the patience to sit there and wait for a bite. On the other hand I have been fishing enough to know that just because you are going bass fishing doesn't mean you won't catch some other type of fish. The fact of the matter is when it comes to casting our nets for fishing often times we will pull things in that have nothing at all to do with fishing. Have you ever gone fishing to only reel in a tree branch? There could be a book written about those experiences not to mention all the times our line was just hung up and after pulling, casting, jerking, we just decided to cut the line and cut our losses. As Christians who are suppose to be casting our nets because we are fishers of men. The option for us to accept the attitude of defeat and surrender by cutting our losses is not one of our options. In every protestant denomination that I am aware of, the yearly reports of professions of faith, baptisms, and church membership continues to decline. There are lots of reasons denominational leadership will provides to explain the lowering numbers year after year. My personal observation is that while denominations are declining in memberships and individuals identifying themselves with particular faiths continues to decline there are ministries where their numbers are growing. One of the keys to this growth in particular churches is that for the most part, these churches and ministries are not focused on the numbers. The focus is on people, not numbers. There is nothing wrong with counting those in attendance, or maintaining a membership role. The disconnection for most church is in the practice of the Parable regarding casting our nets. The next disconnection is not liking what we are discovering in our nets! In the Parable of casting a fishing net Jesus was reminding us that when one goes fishing we should be prepared to see all kinds of things in our nets, including things we have no intentions of catching. As a Christian and follower of Jesus we cannot become discouraged by the things of life and give up on our task, duty and responsibility to cast our nets. Even in the harvest activities of life there is much work to do. Christians must become vigilant in all things relating to casting our nets. We must be aware of rips and tears in our nets that require maintenance. We must keep an eye on the weather reports so we don't get caught up in a storm unprepared. We must also listen to what others are sharing about locations and techniques they use to help them become successful in fishing. All the while, the biggest key is to keep on casting our nets. As Christians we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others because we are active in the practice of casting our nets. The real opportunity of the harvest is not knowing what we are going to catch but rather that we just keep casting our nets. The final practice of our faith with respect to casting our fishing nets is our faith that Jesus is the perfect person to do the sorting when we pull in our nets. Don't become distracted by difficulties or the catch. Rather be encouraged that if we do our part, Jesus will absolutely do His. Happy Net Casting! Until then

The Controversy over Jesus Christ

What was controversy over Jesus really about? Why did his critics want Him put to death and lead the people to cry out for his crucifixion? If we are totally objective about the situation Jesus found himself facing, we need to create a list for those that were confused but didn't necessarily want to see Him put to death. The list of confused would include the disciples too. Their confusion was about the Kingdom, people and even defining the reason why Jesus came. Yes, they had heard of the coming Messiah but putting all the pieces together was a new discovery and a learning curve against all the tradition they had heard of or been taught by the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus presented new ideas of salvation to the disciples, followers and those that were just observers of his ministry. Jesus was not actually presenting new ideas. The prediction of the coming Messiah was ancient and as old as the earth herself. The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy. Jesus was the answer the world had long waited for but Jesus would also be the answer rejected then and that fact continues to remain true today. He was rejected why? For loving people-Yes. For forgiving people-Yes. For teaching truth-Yes. Jesus was a controversy because the answer folks had long waited for had arrived and they were not ready. Today people reject today because they too are not ready. We want answers, but not willing to hear them. We want solutions but not willing to believe them. We want help but don't want to consider other options than the one we like or know. The disciples were fond of telling Jesus what people were saying about Him and how they were describing Him. Jesus wasn't interested in what the masses had to say. Jesus was interested in what you and I as individuals had to say. Jesus asked the disciples one question. Who do you say I am? Jesus Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly. The answer is not in an abundance of physical things or material things. The answer was an abundance of grace and mercy. Understanding and faith. Forgiveness and hope. These are the things that matter and these are the things that make the difference that changes life and changes lives. When we are seeking answer it is easy to become confused. Don't be deceived. The answer is often the one we have discarded. Jesus Christ came to end the controversy over sin, and He did it. Until then

Defining a Christian

If you were to ask a Christian what their duties are you might a get a long list of things that Christians are suppose to do, from them. The list might resemble something like this: Go to church; Pray; Give a tithe; support missions and do what the preacher says; Certainly in talking with some Christians everything except "do what the preacher says" will make most everyone's list, and for many in the Bible Belt doing what the preacher says will absolutely make the list. When talking about the duties of a Christian and making a list, you are more than likely going to quickly begin to get a list of don'ts. Such as: Don't drink; Don't smoke; Don't cuss; how is that for a top three? The job description of a Christian is really not very complicated at all. According to the Bible Christians should: 1) Love God with all their heart 2) Love people - Because He created them in His image and He loves them 3) Go and make disciples These three points sum up Christianity really fast, yet for some reason many individuals focus on things that define you as religious and do not define you as a Christian. According to the Bible Christians are suppose to go a second mile with folks who ask them to travel one mile. Christians could easily be defined if we carried one another's burdens, as scripture says, thus fulfilling the law of Christ. Christians are suppose to be a giving and forgiving people because the grace of God has been freely given to us. These few highlights alone would make the world a different place if we just did these things mentioned that Jesus did. The main duty and key to being a Christian is to do what Jesus did. If Christians, me included, acted on the positive of following Jesus Christ I am persuaded the impact on others will be life changing. Who do you know today that needs to see demonstrated what Christians are suppose to do? Find just one person you know, show them by your actions and see the change that occurs. Until then