No Fishing With Nets

We had some unusually warm weather for the end of December today. So nice that a thaw was visible as the cold made way for the warmer tempatures. It may be only a temporary peek at the coming release from the winter cold, but it is a great reminder that though the days are cold and dreary, yet soon the spring will reappear and we will be liberated from the icy chill.

I sit in my car during lunch often, many times in the same spot. Today this sign posted beside the pond caught my attention. It said 'No Fishing With Nets'. I had probably saw this sign dozens of times before and paid no particular attention. Today, this sign's words seemed to capture my heart.

The warm weather had begun to thaw things out. The ice was breaking on the pond. Somehow my heart too was thawing after an overly long period of icy coldness. Months had past without a prayer, without a desire to hear the Gospel preached, without a desire to worship and praise God with my church family. Never has there been such a long, cold, spiritual freeze in my life. There did not even seem to be an ember in my heart for the Savior or the Gospel. Prayer! Glorious commune with the Father. Joy at the sermon on my car radio. And guilt and sadness over the lost time with God and the joy that I missed while my heart was frozen. God thawed my cold heart. Christ still loves me. Joy is still found in the Gospel.

Now, what about the sign? In the depths of my own spiritual deep freeze, the joy had gone out of my heart and my desire to tell others of the wonderful saving work of Christ was lost. I had not cast a net into the water to fish for the soul of another for so long now. But cast the net I must do. It is my Savior's command. It is my privilege. It's time to take the sign down and throw out the nets. Fishing for men. The gospel is the net and the duty to work and serve is ours. Tell men and women everywhere of God's love for sinners and the Grace and mercy that is found in Jesus Christ.



Luk 5:1-11
(1) On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,
(2) and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
(3) Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
(4) And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."
(5) And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."
(6) And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.
(7) They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.
(8) But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."
(9) For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,
(10) and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."
(11) And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

I Looked For Love In Your Eyes- From Tim Challies blog

As the 1 year anniversary of this blog has come and gone I am reflecting on the past year. After much time without a post... I have been wasting time on fruitless endeavors... I am sad about the loss of time and the many opportunities to serve Christ that have been squandered. This poem found on Tim Challies web site brought tears to my eyes. I realized that there are many avenues of service and many sins to be fought, in my own life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I do not normally post whole articles from other sites, but this one is worth your reading whether you are a wife, mom, dad, son, daughter or friend of another who has struggled or may struggle with the sin of lust in their lives.

I Looked For Love In Your Eyes Tim Challies
12/18/10
68
A few days ago I received an email from a reader of this site, a woman who was responding to some of the articles I’ve written on the subject of pornography. She shared a poem, a bit of free verse she had written in the midst of her husband’s addiction. I wish I could say it was the only email I’ve received from such a woman. Sadly it’s not; not by a long shot. That same day I received another email from another woman looking for resources for dealing with the wife’s response to a husband’s sin (rather a gap in the available literature right now, I think).

Anyway, I thought I would share this poem. It’s a little bit graphic, but only so far as it needs to be. I think it’s particularly heartbreaking in drawing out the clear connection between pornography and violence. And it’s just a realistic look at how so many men are damaging and destroying their wives and families. It’s reality.

So here it is, “I Looked For Love in Your Eyes.”

I saved my best for you.
Other girls may have given themselves away,
But I believed in the dream.
A husband, a wife, united as one forever.

Nervous, first time, needing assurance of your love,
I looked for it in your eyes
Mere inches from mine.
But what I saw made my soul run and hide.

Gone was the tenderness I’d come to know
I saw a stranger, cold and hard
Distant, evil, revolting.
I looked for love in your eyes
And my soul wept.

Who am I that you cannot make love to me?
Why do I feel as if I’m not even here?
I don’t matter.
I’m a prop in a filthy play.
Not an object of tender devotion.

Where are you?

Years pass
But the hardness in your eyes does not.
You think I’m cold
But how can I warm to eyes that are making hate to someone else
Instead of making love to me?

I know where you are.
I’ve seen the pictures.
I know now what it takes to turn you on.
Women…people like me
Tortured, humiliated, hated, used
Discarded.
Images burned into your brain.
How could you think they would not show in your eyes?

Did you ever imagine,
The first time you picked up a dirty picture
That you were dooming all intimacy between us
Shipwrecking your marriage
Breaking the heart of a wife you wouldn’t meet for many years?

If it stopped here, I could bear it.
But you brought the evil into our home
And our little boys found it.
Six and eight years old.
I heard them laughing, I found them ogling.

Hands bound, mouth gagged.
Fisheye photo, contorting reality
Distorting the woman into exaggerated breasts.
The haunted eyes, windows of a tormented soul
Warped by the lens into the background,
Because souls don’t matter, only bodies do
To men who consume them.

Little boys
My little boys
Laughing and ogling the sexual torture
Of a woman, a woman like me.
Someone like me.

An image burned into their brains.

Will their wives’ souls have to run and hide like mine does?
When does it end?

I can tell you this. It has not ended in your soul.
It has eaten you up. It is cancer.
Do you think you can feed on a diet of hatred
And come out of your locked room to love?

You say the words, but love has no meaning in your mouth
When hatred rules in your heart.
Your cruelty has eaten up every vestige of the man
I thought I was marrying.
Did you ever dream it would so consume you
That your wife and children would live in fear of your rage?

That is what you have become
Feeding your soul on poison.

I’ve never used porn.
But it has devastated my marriage, my family, my world.

Was it worth it?

James Taylor The Water Is Wide

Andrew Peterson - Dancing in the Minefields (Official Video)

Rich Mullins & Mitch McVicker - Brother's Keeper, live acoustic on The E...

Roby Duke - Right On Time

New Parish Psalms - Great new hymns

I am interested in this new CD featuring modern compositions of the Psalms of David.

My Cry Ascends Greg Wilbur from Compass Cinema on Vimeo.

My Cry Ascends is a graceful collection of new Psalms and hymns for the church composed by Greg Wilbur. The music is recorded in a folk tradition with elements of Celtic style and southern harmony. Listeners will enjoy the hardy musical instrumentation: piano, viola, flutes, tin whistle, acoustic guitar, mandolin, bagpipe, hammer dulcimer and percussion. Rich biblical texts and expressive tunes feature the singing of Michael Card, Steve Green, Wes King, Katy Snow, Nathan Clark George and Bruce Carroll. The songs were written with congregational singing in mind, and it is our hope that this CD will bring these wonderful pieces into wider familiarity as an appropriate offering to the Most High God as He calls His people into worship.

Keith & Kristyn Getty "In Christ Alone"

Here is perhaps one of my favorite songs. It packs so much truth in such a beautiful tune.

Your Name - Paul Baloche - Acoustic Set

An Urgent Letter. - Mike T.

Rom 1:1-7 ESV
(1) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
(2) which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
(3) concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
(4) and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
(5) through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
(6) including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
(7) To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you ever sat down to write a letter to a friend or a relative or even a prospective employer? There is a purpose, a reason, an objective to your effort. What you mean to say is important and needs to be heard clearly and persuasively. There is a struggle to find just the right words, just the right argument, just the right thoughts. You want the one you are sending the letter to understand you clearly and favorably respond to your proposal or your request or point of view. Your heart agonizes in the struggle to find the perfect words and sentences to obtain the reader’s attention and win their favor or commitment or support.

And have you ever received a letter like that written from the heart and addressed personally to you by one who loved you or desperately wanted to gain your support or favor or commitment? The words can be compelling and forceful and draw you in. You find your opinion changing or your heart breaking or melting at the author’s plea.

Paul set out to write just such a letter to the Christians in Rome. It is from his heart and full of compassion and concern and he really desired to compel them to believe his words. He wanted them to know what he knew and to move them to a commitment to his message. Like any letter where the writer pours their heart and soul into this letter to the Romans couldn’t help but elicit a response from the ones who received it. It is packed with truth after truth and rich with meaning.

As I began to read it this evening I was captivated. I wanted to understand this Paul’s message and why he was so passionate about this gospel message. If only I could write with such passion and with such a heart for those I have written to or will write to in the future. This book of the Bible which is this letter that the apostle Paul wrote the Christians in Rome contains truth and salvation and I want my family and friends and any one else I can tell to understand its message.

Paul most likely dictated this letter. He addressed it to the Christians in Rome who he had longed to see face to face, but circumstances kept him from traveling to them. He was driven to tell them this message and to persuade them to believe what he had to tell them. As I read it today, the urgency of his words strikes me. What did he have to say that was so important? So necessary?

He had so much to say, but he started out magnificently, packing in the first seven sentences an opening statement that lays the foundation for all that he wants to say to these people, some no doubt he knew personally and others he desired to encourage and foster their faith. What he says had to draw them in and make them desire to hear more.
Today as I read these same words, translated to the English language, the message that he wrote those Roman Christians still holds meaning and urgency though separated by more than two thousand years of changes in culture and environment and circumstances. Paul’s message is timeless and its truths and power remain forceful, meaningful and life changing.

Paul begins telling them that what is first and foremost of importance to him is that he is a bond slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. He valued this above being a Roman citizen and his credentials and everything else. And he describes himself as one set apart for the gospel. It is equally important for us to understand what we are for as well. We are for two things… to come to Christ and submit to His Lordship and to go for Christ to take the message of the gospel into the world. As he addresses his audience and sends his greetings to them he provides a quick encapsulation of the message to come in verses 2 to 6. In these 5 short opening verses he gets right to the heart of the matter with a brief outline of the gospel message to come in the rest of his letter.

• The gospel is not a novelty. Paul talks about its advance preparation. This gospel is not plan B. The gospel is plan A from the very beginning. God had established the gospel and proclaimed it through the Old Testament prophets. He says that it is woven throughout all of the scriptures.
• Jesus, the Son Of God is the center of the gospel. The eternal Word took our frail flesh upon himself as the form of a servant and the likeness of men. Paul describes both the humanity and the divinity of Jesus Christ. He says that Christ was born of the seed of David. Appointed to be the Son of God in Power by the Resurrection from the dead. Jesus uniquely fulfills the promise of God in scripture and the resurrection for the dead clearly demonstrates its truth.
• Then Paul says that the goal of the gospel is to produce the obedience of faith. The indication that the gospel is mine is that I have been brought to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not my profession, it’s not my words, it’s not my ability to explain the gospel. The gospel changes lives and brings me to the obedience of faith.
• The Gospel is for everyone. Because it is for the sake of Christ name among all the nations we should be compelled to want to share its message. Called to belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus established the church on earth having prepared and appointed the apostles for the purpose sending forth this message of grace and hope.
• Its effect is that I belong to Christ and in Him belong to God.
• Its motivation is for the sake of His name. Paul knew what he was for. This one thing can transform your life through all of its changes and difficulties. Simply knowing that you are for the sake of His name.

In a nutshell Paul wrote Roman’s to tell us of the wonderful plan of God promised and woven throughout the Bible’s great message of hope that God came to earth and took on human form, rose from the dead in power to triumph over death and sin bearing the wrath due to all mankind that we might belong to Him in faith and obedience as the One who saved us for His glory. How can one not want to read the rest of Paul’s letter to learn more of this Gospel message. It is a message of hope and grace and mercy. It is a message for everyone. To belong to a loving redeemer, king and to praise His wonderful name, for His name sake. AMEN.

Jesus Loved The Unlovable - by Mike T.

Some time ago I wrote an article on Jesus's encounter with Zacchaeus. The compassion of Jesus and His love for the lowly, unrespected, imperfect amazes me everytime I read about it. I love this story. How thankful I am that the Gospel is for sinners. Remember what you were when you were saved and the mercy and grace of Christ freely given while you were still a sinner. Then be sure to bring that same grace and mercy to others in need.


Do you remember the day you were saved?
If you are a Christian, do you remember the day when you were saved? Does it rate up there among the most memorable days of your life? Perhaps the most important day ever? What happened to your heart that day? Were you changed forever? Does it still hold significance for you? Was your life changed on that blessed day? Do you still feel the same? Do you rejoice with the Psalmist saying, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (Ps 42:1-2)? Do you share the Psalmist’s refrain shouting “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (PS 73:25-26)? Did your decision to follow Jesus cost you anything? Did it change your heart?

A Man’s Memorable Encounter with the Savior
Luke tells us the story of a man who surely remembers the day that He accepted Christ as Savior. This is a simple story about an encounter with the living God… the God who saves. A man came to see a prophet along the roadside. His heart was fertile. The Savior came along and called to him and his life was changed forever. He became a new man inside and out. Is this your own story as well?

We are told that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. He was a very rich man and in charge of the tax collectors for the region. Tax collectors had an extremely bad reputation with the Jewish population. They were notorious for ruthlessness and using extreme measures to obtain the taxes. They were given a quota that they were required to collect and anything in excess of that amount that they collected they were able to boast to their profit. Because they obtained their wealth by extracting the profit from their fellow Jews, they were seen as traitors to their own people. A verse from Mathew shows that tax collectors were held with the lowest regard. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” .MT 18:17 Luke also shows that tax collector’s ranked at the bottom of society’s barrel.

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and `sinners'?" LK 5:27-30

Tax Collector’s and Pharisee’s
Because of that notorious reputation, the tax collector is represented in the Bible as an example of those that the Jews, particularly the Pharisees and teacher’s of the law regarded as outside the Kingdom of God. The Jewish leaders saw themselves as righteous because of their religious lifestyles and they labeled as “sinners” those who were not Jewish and those who were guilty of gross transgressions of the law like the tax collectors. Careful review of the texts where a tax collector is labeled a “sinner” it is interesting that it is the tax collector who comes out as righteous. The Bible turns everything around on its head.

The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' Lk 18:11-13

The Bible on numerous occasions uses the illustration of the Pharisee’s self-righteousness and the tax collector’s humility and repentance before God to drive home the point of the sinner’s need for a Savior. Just such an illustration becomes evident in our scriptural text from Luke 19. The Lord Jesus calls upon Zacchaeus the tax collector and draws criticism from the mostly Jewish crowd. Those who rely upon their own efforts and religious activity for access to God are given a lesson that true righteousness does not depend upon effort, but upon a Savior that changes hearts.

A Fertile Heart
Jesus had developed quite a following at the point that Luke relates the story of Zacchaeus. No doubt word of the miracles He performed and His teaching had spread. He had healed the lepers and recently a blind man’s sight was restored. A large crowd followed Him wherever He went. We are told that Zacchaeus was a short man and that he wanted desperately to see Jesus. So much so that he ran ahead of the crowd on the road that Jesus was on and climbed a sycamore-fig tree. This wealthy man with the notorious reputation had a desire to see this prophet that was passing by. Why Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, the story does not tell us. We can’t speculate too much about why he was there, but we could probably imagine a few reasons why we might have been there along that road to catch a glimpse of Jesus ourselves. Perhaps there might be simple curiosity to see what all the commotion about Jesus was about? Maybe even it could have been possible we heard Jesus speak on a previous occasion and want another opportunity to hear him again? Perhaps others had been talking about Jesus and the words they shared with us were intriguing? Perhaps even a very real misery exists in our own hearts. We might know that there is something wrong with the way we are living. Maybe we met another who was forever changed by this Jesus of Nazareth who couldn’t stop talking about how He forgave their sins? It is even possible that we have been very religious all of our lives and faultless in observing and following all of the traditions and rules. Perhaps we never miss church and we tithe 10% and we are sure to try and live a good life? We might know that we harbor wicked thoughts in our minds and despite of all our religious activities we are still empty inside and really don’t know God? This Jesus was known to cut through to people’s hearts and remind them that they need a personal relationship with God to save them and not a religion. Perhaps as Zacchaeus clung to the branch of that tree and waited on Jesus to come down the road he also hoped that something about this prophet who attracted such a following really could liberate him from this miserable guilt and sin?

No Time For Excuses
Whatever it was that drove Zacchaeus to the tree along that road, he was ready when Jesus called him. Zacchaeus’s heart was fertile for the gospel. Jesus passed by, stopped and looked up and called Zacchaeus by name. God uses a variety of circumstances and people to get us to the place and time where he calls us by name. He sometimes uses trials and difficulties to drive us to our knees. He may bring the witness and testimony of others to soften our hearts. The most powerful tool is the preaching of His Word and the Gospel message to tell us the truth about our sin and the salvation offered by the cross of Jesus Christ. The witness of the Holy Spirit is working constantly to call people unto the Savior. Jesus told Nicodemus this truth in the book of John.

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8

To put it simply, the Holy Spirit is mysteriously, perhaps invisibly, active in the world calling hearts to God. The Spirit’s activity is clearly visible as God’s saving grace is manifest and people are saved by the call of the Gospel. We know that the Spirit is present and active not because we know who or where or how God saves, but that in fact sinners are indeed being saved. Zacchaeus answers just such a personal call. When Jesus calls, He calls each of us personally. Though Zacchaeus was there in that tree, it was Jesus who initiated the encounter. Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down immediately while stating that He must stay at Zacchaeus’s house that evening. There was no hesitancy on Zacchaeus’s part regarding the forthright request that Jesus made. Luke says that Zacchaeus came down and at once and welcomed Jesus to his house gladly. He could have offered excuses. “The house is really quite a mess. Maybe another time after we get a chance to clean up a little?” “No, I don’t think you really want to be seen with me. Don’t you know what others will think?” “Love to have you, but really my wife doesn’t like it when I bring home strangers without calling ahead.” Zacchaeus offers no such attempts to put off the Lord’s demands. He offers immediate hospitality and does so graciously and with joy.

Has the Lord called your name? Did you receive Him immediately with joy? Or did you begin looking for excuses why now wasn’t a good time? Did you put off His call to come to you? Did you have more pressing matters? Did you want more time to prepare? Did you want to wait for a better time? Did you ask Him to come back later? Were you afraid that He would find what you were trying to hide from Him? Were you afraid of what might be exposed if you let Him into your life? Could it be that you were afraid that He might not like the company you keep? If you chose the excuses over His call, when will you heed His voice and come to Him? Is your heart fertile? Has His Word penetrated its stony depths? Are you ready to come quickly? Do you know that Jesus is your Lord and Master? Are you ready to serve Him? Do you desire to honor Him? Do you seek to please Him? Zacchaeus was such a person. He heard the Master’s call and came quickly and served Him joyfully. This was day to remember in Zacchaeus’s life.

Reaching the Unreached - by Tim Chester

Tim Chester shares some notes he took at the second Reaching the Unreached conference on his blog today. The last part of the article chimes in well with a theme I have been hearing over and over again lately. It is part of the passion that drives me to continue my own blog. I keep coming back to Zacchaeus the tax collector and the other gospel stories where Jesus heart for the lost was right there having dinner with them and talking with them and showing compassion for their needs. You can read the whole article at Tim's site but I am sharing the conclusion here for those not inclined to follow links.

Implication: the Missionary Heart of God


Nothing of this is new to us. But what are the implications?

1. There is one gospel for all people

Peter said: ‘“Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.’ (Acts 10:47-48) What happened to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem in Acts 2 has happened to Gentiles here in Acts 10. It is the same gospel for a respectable corporate lawyer, a hard-working single mother, a teenager toying with petty crime and so on.

2. The gospel is made for outsiders

In Luke-Acts there is a disproportionate number of people who are outsiders: Gentiles, prostitutes, tax-collectors, lepers – people who sins and failures go before them. The people who would attract ‘tuts’ in many churches. Jesus takes outsiders and brings them in and says, ‘Look what I’m going to do with you.’ Jesus is not the Messiah that the world wants. He did not use his power for his own ends. He gave it away so he could help those who are weak. He saves by serving and losing his power. And I get his salvation not by being strong or pure or accomplished, but by admitting I have none of these things.


If our churches do not communicate this then we are not being revolutionary enough. If outsiders do not feel welcome then we are mis-communicating the grace of God.

3. The gospel is not too hard for anyone

Many people in our area do not want to come through the church door because they view it has self-improvement. The first time one friend came to church he would not go inside. The next week he sat in the entrance lobby. The third week he sat by the door. It took four weeks to get him to sit in a pew.

Many people in our area look at the church and say, ‘I can’t be like them.’ They have understood a message, but it is not the gospel. If they hear the message of grace then they will think, ‘I can do that!’