evangelism

Catch Anything? Part 2

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Part Two – The Other Side of the Boat

Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.  John 21:6 ESV

When I was a teenager om Summer nights some of us would dive into the river from a bridge on a dare.  Now we had to be careful which side of the bridge to dive from because one side had deep water  and the other did not. It was a terrifying 20 feet to the water but the thrill of surviving the plunge and swimming to the shore was worth it!

As the disciples discovered; just five minutes of fishing with Jesus was better than an entire night without Him! He knew where and when to throw the nets. When we invite Him along on our fishing trip we need to be prepared to cast our nets at unexpected times and places. The momentary fear we will feel when we take the plunge of obedience to share His message will be drowned out by our shouts of joy. Our long night of failure will be ended by a morning of  nets bursting with fish and our hearts filled with praise for Him!

fish net on gray surface

Photo by Bedis ElAcheche on Pexels.com

Knowing Jesus

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What do any of us have more precious than knowing Jesus? But will we live today with our treasure buried like a pirate’s treasure chest? Will people need to be like Indiana Jones trying to decipher our words in order to discover who Jesus is? Maybe we’re worried about how they would react if we simply shared the good news of salvation and forgiveness with them. In the long run though it will nor matter what they think about us, but rather what they think of Him. I can still remember the man who first told me about Jesus as I was walking through an inner city neighborhood in Boston one night. He simply said, ” I want to tell you about Jesus…that’s J…e….s….u…s. He loves you!” As he spoke I felt the power of Christ for the first time in my life. I have no idea who he was but when I meet him in heaven I will thank him for taking telling me about the greatest treasure. Because I heard and experienced the message of God’s grace I one day prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord, Savior and closest friend. Who can I tell today about the wonderful riches of knowing Him?

Working Alone

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“I work alone!” Mr. Incredible

This Summer we can hardly wait to see The Incredibles 2. Okay so we’re grandparents but hey we’ve watched every kid movie for the last 16 years thanks to our 7 grandchildren!

In the first movie a young man named Bob also known as Mr Incredible proudly tells his young fan Buddy to get lost. Mr Incredible is in a hurry and has no time to slow down. He’s sure his abilities will be enough to save the day…alone. Later on in the story after he is imprisoned he learns he is not so invincible. He wonderfully discovers that his greatest strength is his family and not his super powers.

In our mission to serve Jesus some of us (or is it only me?) have acted a bit like Bob. We start out feeling super but when we fall into difficulties or temptation we find we are not so strong after all. That is when Jesus” promise to be with us takes on a deeper meaning. He hasn’t promised just to follow us around in case we get in trouble. Jesus has called us on mission to share His teachings with everyone, everywhere, every day. That’s an incredible and impossible job unless we realize that we have all the resources of the universe by our side. The incredible Savior who walked on waves is not just commanding us to go. He is inviting us to dare to walk out on the waters with Him!