"What a crazy ride it has been!"
In these words I sum up twenty years of my Christina walk. I never dreamt that God would take me around the world preaching the gospel when I said yes to Jesus. I never dreamt that God would have me pioneer ministries, teach in a Bible College or pastor at one of the greatest churches on the planet (which I believe is the greatest but I am a little biased). I never dreamt that God would bless me to have the family that I do. I look at my wife and children in amazement.
All of this is not to brag. All the praise goes to God. I couldn't have done any of this by myself. At best I would have been playing guitar in a coffee shop somewhere hoping someone would like my version of an old song and they would give me a tip with paper money rather than coins. How miserable.
Every morning I wake up with the words 'thank you' on my lips. I think God smiles when we say thanks. He knows He is good but loves a grateful heart. The words 'be thankful' occur on several occasions in the New Testament. I guess we have to be reminded. If you look around you will see the hand of God on your life.
I could tell stories of how I should be dead. How people on my street pulled guns on me and my friends while we were playing basketball. I could talk about car accidents that never happened and I don't know how they were avoided. To be honest there was one time in San Timoteo canyon I closed my eyes when a truck crossed over the double yellow lines on to my side of the road and when I opened them again I was just fine. Or when I rolled my car in Reche Canyon and told God on the way over "Here I come!" (That accident did happen but I was fine. Maybe I should stay away from the canyons?!)
As I look forward to the next twenty years I wonder at what God will do. What victories are in store and what tragedies will be avoided or withstood with grace and joy? No matter what comes good or bad I do know that two words will be on my lips; "Thank you!"
What has God done in your life since you said yes to Jesus? How grateful are you?
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Day 256 - Casting the Net
"There was one salvation at church but two girls came forward so maybe both got saved today."
We give altar calls at every church service we hold. In any church service there will be the uninformed, the unbelieving and the believer. So we fish for souls and cast the net. The neat thing is that we are not at it alone.
There were two times in Jesus interaction with the disciples where they were fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus showed up and gave them instruction on how to cast and they were able to bring in a supernatural catch. First of all he told them to launch out into the deep. We shouldn't be afraid to engage people on a deep spiritual level. Shallow connections may bring people to church for a while but without a deep connection they won't stay. On the second occasion he says to cast on the right side. When we do things out of a pure motivation, the way God would have us to we will find we get the right results.
Finally, Peter gives us one more tip. He says to Jesus in the first encounter that they had toiled all night and caught nothing but at His word he would cast out for a catch. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it is the right time or place for fishing for souls. But when we are obedient God moves on our behalf. We have preached on finances and had very stale and informational messages that we didn't think anyone would respond to an altar call. If we were led by feelings we would have skipped the call and dismissed because we would have thought "Who is going to respond after that?" To our surprise we have had huge responses afterward. We were obedient and God blessed our efforts.
All Christians are called to be fishers of men. Don't go at it alone. Do it God's way, listen to His voice and follow him. Cast out for a catch.
Can you think of some people right now who you can share the gospel with? When and how will you share with them?
We give altar calls at every church service we hold. In any church service there will be the uninformed, the unbelieving and the believer. So we fish for souls and cast the net. The neat thing is that we are not at it alone.
There were two times in Jesus interaction with the disciples where they were fishing all night and caught nothing. Jesus showed up and gave them instruction on how to cast and they were able to bring in a supernatural catch. First of all he told them to launch out into the deep. We shouldn't be afraid to engage people on a deep spiritual level. Shallow connections may bring people to church for a while but without a deep connection they won't stay. On the second occasion he says to cast on the right side. When we do things out of a pure motivation, the way God would have us to we will find we get the right results.
Finally, Peter gives us one more tip. He says to Jesus in the first encounter that they had toiled all night and caught nothing but at His word he would cast out for a catch. Sometimes it doesn't feel like it is the right time or place for fishing for souls. But when we are obedient God moves on our behalf. We have preached on finances and had very stale and informational messages that we didn't think anyone would respond to an altar call. If we were led by feelings we would have skipped the call and dismissed because we would have thought "Who is going to respond after that?" To our surprise we have had huge responses afterward. We were obedient and God blessed our efforts.
All Christians are called to be fishers of men. Don't go at it alone. Do it God's way, listen to His voice and follow him. Cast out for a catch.
Can you think of some people right now who you can share the gospel with? When and how will you share with them?
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