“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” -Matthew 4:19
Christ promises us that we will become fishers of men when we devote our life to Him and walk upon the path that He has prepared. To walk upon that path, we must first begin to understand the message that Christ was bringing and continues to bring.
I see too many of my fellow Christian brethren who treat their witness in Christ as that of being a hunter rather then a fisherman. A hunter tracks his prey. A skilled hunter needs to practice the art of stealth and spring upon that which is being hunted in order to bring down his prey. That which is hunted when it is aware that it is being hunted, will attempt to flee in terror.
This type of witness seeks to destroy rather then to show a new way. This type of witness goes against the way of Christ. No where in scripture am I able to find a point in time in which Christ sought to destroy another’s faith. Rather, He showed a new way and an inviting way that the glory of God could be seen by all.
A fisherman tries to lure his catch. He tries this by putting something in the path that is attractive and that the fish will desire. Like a hunter, a fisherman needs to practice the art of patience. When the time is right, the fish will bite. The same is true of our witness of Christ. We must practice the art of patience. When the time is right, the right question will be asked and this provides the opportunity for an effective witness.
These past several months, I have been blessed with the opportunity to display the love of Christ to a people group that many in this American culture have rejected. They are viewed as different as they continue to hold onto their culture and customs from their land which they were forced from due to the atrocities of civil war. This people group practice a faith very different from my Christian faith. They all have been raised in the culture of Islam. One thing that I have come to recognize is that they too have that same heart to understand God in a deeper and more meaningful way. As I find myself moving deeper into these lives, I have had more opportunities to openly share my faith in Jesus Christ and I thank God every time that I am able to proclaim His name in their presence. I know that the only effective way that I can be a true witness in the name of Jesus Christ to my new friends is to exercise those principles of being a fisherman in their presence. I always need to exercise those acts of a true fisherman shown by my savior Jesus Christ.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Go Time
Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, event to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:18-20
The Great Commission is the command of Christ to His followers that embodies the faith of those who claim the name His name. I find no ambiguity in what Christ has called us to do in His name.
The first word in His command is simple yet too many of us fail to put that word into action. He tells us to “Go”. We know the calling is to “Go” but we often times ignore it and place those “churchy” things in its place. We profess that we have to pray over it or we have to study God’s word to find our purpose. I am not here to disparage prayer and fervent study of God’s Holy Word; however, I have found some who are more then content spending their time in prayer and study and have in effect made those “churchy” things their idol rather then having a true spiritual metamorphosis and living theirs lives for the being of Christ.
I enjoy sports and what I enjoy most is the act of competition. As I have watched some of the great sports teams of the past, I have noticed that they have their Go Time. That is the time when they take all of their practice and move it out into the field of competition in an effort to explore where they are in relation to their competition. Having personally participated in team sports, I relished that Go Time. I recognized that the practice that a team must endure leading up to that time is necessary to make them successful upon the field of competition. We would never want to invest our time in watching a championship game in which both teams gave it all they had in order to get to the point where they are at for the chance to proclaim themselves champion. A truly successful athlete or team would never think of going into competition unprepared and is willing to pay the price in order to set themselves apart from their competition.
Why then is it that too many who claim the name of Jesus Christ fail to have that same fervor? The mission field that Christ has called each of His followers into is equally competitive. We are going against the principalities of this world who also claim to have the answer. As followers of Christ, we have to understand that anything that fails to include God will always miss the mark and fall short. It is His name that we must take our stand and be prepared to give that answer for our faith. If we choose to simply sit on the sidelines, we will never be able to grasp the ultimate championship prize.
Make this day your Go Time and get into the game and be that champion that you were indeed called to become.
The Great Commission is the command of Christ to His followers that embodies the faith of those who claim the name His name. I find no ambiguity in what Christ has called us to do in His name.
The first word in His command is simple yet too many of us fail to put that word into action. He tells us to “Go”. We know the calling is to “Go” but we often times ignore it and place those “churchy” things in its place. We profess that we have to pray over it or we have to study God’s word to find our purpose. I am not here to disparage prayer and fervent study of God’s Holy Word; however, I have found some who are more then content spending their time in prayer and study and have in effect made those “churchy” things their idol rather then having a true spiritual metamorphosis and living theirs lives for the being of Christ.
I enjoy sports and what I enjoy most is the act of competition. As I have watched some of the great sports teams of the past, I have noticed that they have their Go Time. That is the time when they take all of their practice and move it out into the field of competition in an effort to explore where they are in relation to their competition. Having personally participated in team sports, I relished that Go Time. I recognized that the practice that a team must endure leading up to that time is necessary to make them successful upon the field of competition. We would never want to invest our time in watching a championship game in which both teams gave it all they had in order to get to the point where they are at for the chance to proclaim themselves champion. A truly successful athlete or team would never think of going into competition unprepared and is willing to pay the price in order to set themselves apart from their competition.
Why then is it that too many who claim the name of Jesus Christ fail to have that same fervor? The mission field that Christ has called each of His followers into is equally competitive. We are going against the principalities of this world who also claim to have the answer. As followers of Christ, we have to understand that anything that fails to include God will always miss the mark and fall short. It is His name that we must take our stand and be prepared to give that answer for our faith. If we choose to simply sit on the sidelines, we will never be able to grasp the ultimate championship prize.
Make this day your Go Time and get into the game and be that champion that you were indeed called to become.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)