Net Gain

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 5, verses 1-11, we read about a divine intervention, where Peter and his partners, James and John, had fished in a spot all night but came up with empty nets.  But then, after teaching the gathered crowd, Jesus instructed Peter to let out his nets again. 

Peter, an experienced fisherman, was certain that there were no fish to be found, a certainty he expressed to Jesus saying, "we have fished here all night and have caught nothing," nonetheless, however doubtful he might have been, he was willing to obey, "yet, because you say so, I will let down the nets."

When he did, his nets caught so much fish, his boat nearly sank and he had to call for his partners to come help with the catch. They saw a net gain from zero to more than they could have imagined. 

What Peter learned that day was that the power of God multiplies the efforts of man to the point of bringing abundance out of nothing. Staying in the same spot, doing the same thing, but now out of obedience to God, gaining a great reward where only emptiness existed before. 

Peter learned that day that it was not the what we do but the whom for which we do it that matters. He learned the power and the blessing of serving God not man,  listening to the voice of the Lord not self, obeying heavenly direction even when it made no earthly sense. 

Peter, along with James and John, all of whom left their nets and their boats to follow Jesus, learned the net gain of discipleship was truly out of this world. Obeying God, no matter what our natural inclinations or the collective wisdom of thers might be, always results in gain. To the point that Paul would later proclaim, "To live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21).  Jus' Sayn. 

Comfort Zone

They were preparing their nets, a job rhey been doing for as long as they could remember, fishing was their lives as it was their father before them and his father before that and so on. They were in their comfort zone, doing what had become second nature to them - they could do this job virtually in their sleep. 

That was about it change, the Rabbi came and called them, "Come follow me" (Mark 1:17).  To be called by a rabbi was to become his disciple, to become a teacher like him. They were fishermen - few occupations had more steps between them than what they were and what they were called to become. 

Talk about stepping outside your comfort zone!  A rabbi would hardly talk to a fisherman. A disciple of a rabbi was normally picked from the best of students and groomed for years before being invited to become his disciple. These men had no background, no pedigree, no training. 

They were called to do what they could not do except for God. They were called to step completely out of their comfort zone and begin to do what had to be mind-boggling to them. And yet, "Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him" (Mark 1:20).

No thinking it over, no testing the water, they were called by the Lord and they followed. So often I have heard Christians turn down ministry opportunities saying, "I'm just not comfortable doing that."  Or, "I've never done that before."  When did comfort or prior experience become a part of God's calling?

Moses said he couldn't speak well enough to be a law-giver. Gideon tried to beg off becoming a judge because he had no standing. Peter told Jesus to leave him alone because he was not righteous enough to be an apostle. God's call stood because he doesn't call the equipped, he equips the called.  Are you beginning to feel uncomfortable?  Come on then, step into it!  Jus' Sayn.  

Right Thinking

When I took algebra in high school, I didn't like it, I didn't really understand it, I didn't see a need for it and it made my head hurt. When I got to college, as a religion major, I didn't like it much better and I still didn't see why I needed to endure it as I was not in the sciences. 

A little later on, when I took formal logic, I understood its application, saw a need for it and began to appreciate it as well. What changed about algebra?  Nothing - I changed as I began to see and appreciate what was beyond me and seemed unnecessary - even unreasonable for me to endure.  

God's ways, how he answers prayer and what he has or allows us to endure, are often like that - beyond us. It is even said sometimes, "Why God would allow such and such is beyond me!"  What we mean is that we don't agree, that we would have done things differently and even expected God to respond or act in a way that made more sense to us or had our stamp of approval. 

So, why doesn't God act more reasonable?  Why does he do or allow things that tend to confound us?  The same reason he shared with Isaiah millennia ago: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways....As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa 55:8-9). 

God doesn't reason like us anymore than we reason like a three year-old. Parents often confuse and confound their children with their logic and their choices. Later on, looking back, the child become adult understands why - but rarely in the moment. 

We can't always understand God's answers to prayer or his reasons to allow events and circumstances. But we can always trust that God is good, that God is right and that God is able. Jus' Sayn. 

The Wheelbarrow

The story is told of a tight rope artist who, at the turn of the 20th century, stretched a cable across Niagra Falls. He wowed the crowd with his courage and his agility. After proving himself to them, he asked if they believed he could take someone across in a wheelbarrow, to which they all said yes. Then he asked for a volunteer - silence.

They believed he could do what he said but weren't willing to risk getting in the wheelbarrow. They were sure he could do it, just not with any of them. Somehow, that didn't seem very certain. 

God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying, "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" (Jer 32:27).  The answer, of course, is no. But what if He asked you to "get in the wheelbarrow"?  

What if God asked you to give up your career, sell your house and take your family to a third-world country?  What if He asked you to  open a shelter for the homeless?  What if He asked you launch a street ministry?  You believe God can and does call people and sustain them in such ministries, but do you believe He could use you?

Can God use people to publicly proclaim Hus Word, witness to their neighbors, open their homes to strangers, teach a Bible class, share lunch with homeless people, love their worst enemy, do what they could not do?  Can He do all those things and more through you?  Are you willing to get in the wheelbarrow?  Jus' Askn

Forgetting God

It is so much easier to remember God when in the middle of a firestorm. You've just lost your job, your house is about to be foreclosed on, you're facing heart surgery, your doctor just used the "C" word, your spouse just walked out on you...  In those moments, the words "Dear God" roll off the tongue so easily. 

But later, after He has blessed you with another job or a better opportunity, when somehow He's provided you with a way to keep your home, after you've recovered from surgery, incredibly you've survived cancer or you've found new life without your old spouse, somehow now you begin to think how resourceful you were or how much stronger you were than you thought. 

When the storm is over and the sailing is smooth again, how easy it becomes to rely on your own nautical skills, as if you were the one that came to your own rescue or that you were the one that calmed the storm. Your cry to The Lord becomes faint and the memory of His hand in the storm fades. God provides and we forget. 

The words Moses originally spoke to the ancient Israelites, are just as applicable today, "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God" (Deut 8:10-11).

One of two things is likely to follow our memory loss: 1) Thinking we were able to control our circumstances, we face the next storm alone and fail; or 2) Forgetting God brought through the last catastrophe, we tremble in fear as the next storm cloud looms on the horizon.  

We forget that we are not in control of life and fail to remember that we don't need to be because God is in control and that He wants to bless us if we will only turn to Him. Jus' Sayn. 

Together

It is early Sunday morning. I've bee awake for a while, worshipping God in prayer and study of His Word. After I finish this writing, I will head to the shower and start getting ready to go an early prayer time with my son-in-law to be followed by worship at the church where he preaches here in Texas. 

But why?  Why am I going to worship as I have already been worshipping this morning - why do I have to go again?  Was my private worship not real worship?  Will the corporate worship be more pleasing to God?

To begin with, it has nothing to do with having to go, it is a choice I make because I have the freedom to go. And, worship is not the primary reason for gatherng with other Christians. It is something we will do but as I've said, I've already been worshipping God, alone, just as Jesus often did, setting an example for us. So, why the collective worship time?

Let me share a passage that adds light to the subject: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Heb 10:24-25).

Did you see the reason for the corporate gathering?  It was not primarily for worship, it was encouragement - to spur one another on.  While we can, and I believe should, worship God privately, we need to come together in worship so that we can encourage each other in word and song and fellowship. I can worship God alone but I cannot encourage or be encouraged when I keep to myself.

Jus' Sayn. 

God Sight

In Philippians 4:6, the apostle Paul wrote, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Thirteen verses later in his epistle,  he boldly proclaims the outcome of such trust: "...my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." (V. 19).

And yet, in-between those verses, Paul said that he had "learned the secret of being content in any circumstance," including being hungry or in want.  So what gives?  Is he saying God will meet all our needs or not?  He is indeed.

However, he is not saying that God will meet all our wants or keep us in comfort and safety every moment of our lives. In fact, difficulties or trials can sometimes be exactly what we need.  As James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, "Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds as they work to bring about perseverance that you may be complete,not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4). 

We tend to see things in the here and now, with the most painful or urgent as having the most value. However, urgent does not equate with important and pain does not equal loss.  A telephone ring is urgent but so often not important at all. A workout in a gym may be very painful but ends in gain not loss. 

We tend to see things from the very limited perspective of time, while God's vantage point is eternity. Let me give you an example of this difference. Suppose you were on your way to an important meeting and a tire blows out. Is that a gain or a loss?  From the perspective of the here and now, it is a loss. However, what if, after you changed the tire and continued down the road, you came upon a multi-car pile up in which several people were killed?  Was your flat really a minus or a plus?

We can't know the final reality of a circumstance but God does.  Question is, "Do we trust him?"  Jus' Askn.