Fishers of Men

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”-Matthew 4:19

Remember when you first became a Christian and you were so excited about outreaching and getting everyone you know to come to church.   Often we only get excited about reaching out to others after a retreat. Most of us normally don’t excited about our relationships with God because we fail to cast a vision, and don’t see the big picture of who God is and how much he loves us.

Instead we need be excited!  

We're not just attending Bible Studies; we're preparing to impact our generation for Jesus. We're not just doing a little service project; we're changing our world. 

We need to build our vision and watch the excitement of it grow in our families, friends, schools, and community.

So what is our vision for our: personal lives, youth group, church, schools, and community?  How will put our vision into place?

Are you blind?

Many times in ministry we walk through things blindly.  When we get to new churches, we have no clue what tradition, retreats, annual events, translation of the Bible is acceptable, which rooms the youth are not allowed in, and so forth.  Many times we just go with the flow.  But just like in life, we cannot survive long if we do that.  




“…the Lord Jesus…has sent me that you may receive your sight…” Acts 9:17   


Paul received his sight, he also received the Holy spirit and insight of God and Christ.  From this point on in his life he was filled with the Living God.  Paul never again allowed anything to hold him down and take his focus off of telling others about Christ.  We must learn to maintain a strong will and determination so that we have a new focus and that our vision stays strong on Christ.


We must take the time to discern and see what God is calling us to do in our ministry and in our life.  We must take off our seminary, workshop, daily blog, mega church, YS, Group, or Simply shaded glasses and allow God to give us His sight to see and discern where He is calling us.

Identity

”I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Seven years ago, Mandy Moore was interviewed about her role in the movie “Saved.”
She said, “I have faith. It only becomes cultish when people start to think that their way is the only way.  I feel bad for Hilary Faye (Mandy’s character in the movie) ——her whole identity is her relationship with Jesus.”  (Teen Vogue, May 2004, p. 118.)

Wow.  I hope someone can say that about us.  Think about someone might say,  “Their whole identity is in their relationship with Christ.”  Wouldn’t that just been awesome for that to happen.  But sadly that isn’t how we sometimes live and if we do we don’t let others see it.
It saddens me to think that sometimes nobody sees our relationship with Christ is not part of our identity.   Instead it is our favorite music band, our favorite sports team, or our hobbies and all their accomplishments.  And we don’t show an ounce of Christ in our identity.

Is our identity in Christ, or in ourselves?

The world thinks we’re crazy, fanatical, even “cultish” to be so wrapped up in Christ.  My prayer is that the world doesn’t see me, but Christ in me.

Doubting?

“…But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it. John 20: 25   

Just like Thomas, we all feel at times we need more evidence of who Christ is and what He did for us.  Many of us go through life, asking God to give us this big sign that says, “HEY I’M GOD, AND I’M HERE, BELIEVE IN ME!”  


But the majority of the time God doesn’t have that big sign for us.  He has little road signs that say, “I love you unconditionally.”  We are too lazy to stop, or we are too busy looking for that big billboard on the side of the road.  


If you have a doubt, like Thomas, pull up your Bible and read on of the gospels, or go see the depiction of the crucifixion in the movie the Passion of Christ, so you can see it first hand.  God is all around, and has a constant and endless love for us.


Have you seen it lately?  


Have you shown it lately?

Define

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."  Matthew 16:24-25

     How do we define ourselves?  Some of us do it with the company we keep: I'm so-and-so's friend or I'm my parent's kid.  Others of us do it by what we do: I'm an Athlete or I'm a Band Member.  But is that how*God* defines us?

     When Jesus tells us in the verse above to deny ourselves, that means we have to give up the titles and recognition and familiarity that we have and become what God wants us to be.  God called Moses

to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  Moses was shocked!  He didn't define himself as a "Leader."  But that

didn't matter--God did.

     In fact, throughout the Bible very few people were called to do God's work in the field that they thought they were meant to serve in.  People had to deny themselves, leave their old lives, and often take

on symbolic new names to show their new path in life.  Sometimes we aren't immediately told what the new path is.  God just decides to take away a gift, like speaking ability or physical prowess or singing ability.  Then we have to sit and wait and pray for our new assignment to be revealed to us.  Either way

we've got to be ready for any change of plans that God gives us and set out on that new path.

Dirty Dishes

"Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of salvation, and uphold me with your free spirit." Psalm 51:10-12

I hate doing the dishes. I mean, I really hate doing the dishes. I suppose I could come up with some deep psychological reason why I hate doing the dishes.  Frankly though, I think that the problem is more simple than that. I think that I simply hate doing the dishes. I only do them after either after I run out of creative ways to cook a meal with the pots and pans available or I get tired of eating out!

Our relationship with God is like doing the dishes. Everyone has those little "things" that we don't do for some reason that we should have done or things that need to be done and we don't do them.  Eventually, these "things" that are left undone begin to accumulate. Instead of a mountainous pile of plates and cups, a weaker relationship with God develops, because of those "things" that are in the way.

The awesomeness of God is that God washes away these dishes, if you ask him to.  The dishes are washed away and the counter is clear. Your relationship came beg in again.

What are your "dishes" that you need to have cleaned away by God?

The Mom Song

Happy Mother's Day!