Going Fishing

Jesus had a gift for reaching people right where they were. His first disciples were seasoned fishermen; in Matthew 4:19, Jesus tells them "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." As Christ's ambassadors in the world, we should also be "fishers of men," to bring others to Christ. Different fish require different types of bait to draw them to the hook; what kinds of "bait" could you use to draw your friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors to Christ?

Let it shine

A familiar Sunday School song talks about the "Little Light" that we all have as Christians; we sang that we would "let it shine" everywhere we went. In Matthew 5: 14-16, Jesus instructs his disciples "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We don't have to quote scriptures in every conversation or wear a giant-sized cross to show others our faith; we only have to let our light shine to show the world our life in Christ.

Babes in Christ

As committed Christians, it is only natural to want to teach our children about the love of God and the sacrifice of Christ. In 2 Timothy 3:14-15, Paul encourages Timothy to "continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." Timothy, like many of us and our own children, was raised in church and taught the scriptures from his infancy. When should you teach children about Christ and the Scriptures? At what age is it appropriate to baptize children?

Keep Pressing

At times, living a righteous life can be challenging. Please rest assured, however, that you are not the first Christian to struggle with this faith walk. I assure you, however, that the challenge is worth the reward. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul declares "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." The life that you left behind when you accepted Christ is nothing compared to the life that God promised each one of us through Jesus Christ.

Nothing to Lose

Have you ever been in a situation where you simply had nothing to lose? In 2 Kings 7:3-5, four lepers asked one another“Why should we sit here waiting to die?”...we might as well go out and surrender to the Syrian army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway." The lepers decided to go into the enemy's camp, intending to surrender, but found that the Lord had caused the entire army to flee, leaving their camp full of food, silver and gold; the lepers not only fed themselves, but took the good news back to Israel. The Lord promised to provide for all of our needs, but oftentimes, we have to get up from where we are to receive our blessings.

Make a Joyful Noise

Rejoice and make a joyful noise in praise to God, not because of how you feel, but just because God is worthy of our praise. In Psalm 100:1-3, the Bible encourages us to "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." If for no other reason, praise God today because we are his people, his beloved, and his greatest creation.

Present with the Lord

Death is a universal element that we all must content with; regardless of our faith, culture, or status, the end of our lives is inevitable. For many, the concept of death is a frightening end, but for the believer, it's just the beginning of our life with the Lord. In 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, the Bible declares that "while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." There are only two ways for the believer to be with Lord: death and rapture. Neither of these transitions involve our natural bodies, but both promise our eternal life with the Lord.

Careful, Watch your Tone

Yesterday, one of the nation's most renowned African-American scholars, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, was arrested at his home in Cambridge, MA. He was trying to break into his own home after a trip abroad; he wasn't arrested for breaking and entering, but was arrested for his behavior, described as belligerent, accusing the officer of racial profiling, when the officer began to question him. Could he have avoided his own arrest if he would have approached the officer a little differently, perhaps with a "soft answer" as described in Proverbs 15:1? Was this really a case of racial profiling, or did Gates cause his own arrest by his behavior?

Above All Things

The cares of this world can be so burdensome and heavy that we forget that God is still in control. God is still worthy of our praise, regardless of how we feel or what we are going through. In Psalm 138:2, David declares " I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. " David made a decision to worship the Lord, in spite of all that he experienced, because he remembered that God's name and his word are higher and more powerful than anything that he experienced. Consider some of the things in your own life that need to take a lower priority than God's word and his name.

Walk in the Light

It's amazing how some people can be so confident in their faith and in their walk with the Lord when they are visibly struggling with their strongholds. The truth is that we all have issues; some struggles are visible are visible and obvious, and many struggles are secret, subtle, and invisible to the natural eye. In John 1:6, the Bible declares "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." We all have sin, but we must make a choice not to practice sin, and strive to live a righteous life through our fellowship with the Lord and with one another, and accept the cleansing of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Secret to Success

Hundreds of books a year are published and sold to the millions by people who want to shape themselves into a success. In Proverbs 21: 21, the Bible declares " He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." In Matthew 6:33, the Bible declares "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." The secret to true success has little to do with one's ability to help yourself; it has much more to do with your ability to seek God's will, his righteousness, and his word to achieve true success.

Mark of Christ

DNA is a powerful tool to identify paternity of a child; it's used on talk shows and court television shows, even in reality, to identify the father of children. Determining paternity often establishes the child's rights to financial support until the child becomes and adult; it also establishes a right to the father's inheritance. In Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul declares that " when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him." Instead of using DNA, God marks us as his own children with the mark of Christ, the Holy Spirit.

Faith in Action

It's a frustrating mystery how some people are able to hear the word, week after week, and remain unchanged. James 1: 22, the apostle urges his readers to "not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." Verse 25 declares that "the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does." Simply hearing the word is a start to changing your life, but it's not enough to evoke a change. It's nearly impossible to do what the word says without hearing it, studying it for yourself. When you have heard the word, do what it says, to see the change and blessing in your life.

God's Child

David was truly a man after God's own heart; he loved the Lord with everything that was in him, but he was also a mighty warrior. In 1 Chronicles 22:9-10, God promised David that he "will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. He will be my son, and I will be his father." David's love was not enough to build the temple, but God's love for him, and his family line, caused God to to not only make the promise for his son, but to call David's son his own son, and fulfil his promise from generation to generation.

Joy in My Soul

There is a stark difference between happiness and joy; happiness is conditional, based on circumstances, but God will give you joy regardless of your situation. In Psalm 30:11-12, David praised God for his joy. He says "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever. " David considered God's goodness, mercy, and love towards him, his joy overwhelmed him so that he had to give thanks to God. When you consider all that God has done in your life, it's easy to keep your joy.

It's All About Love

It's easy to say that we love our brother or sister, but showing them our love is more challenging, yet more rewarding. In 1 John 3:18-20, The Bible declares "let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us." Instead of telling someone that you love them, show them not only your love, but the love of Christ.

Beauty's Only Skin Deep

Physical attractiveness is a great advantage to garnering attention from other people, but God looks far beyond the surface of your outward appearance. In 1 Samuel 17:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." David's brothers all looked like kings; even Samuel was sure that one of them would be anointed, but God already selected David, the least likely, to be king. Regardless of what your outward appearance seems to be, God is more concerned with with who you are inside instead of what you appear to be on the outside.

My Refuge

When most people think about refugees, the mental image is hardly ever positive, based on the image that our culture has formed in our imaginations. However, we are all in need of refuge from time to time. In Psalms 18: 2, David declares"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." We seek refuge from our burdens and cares of this life, and we can always find that refuge in our quiet time with the Lord.

Talk is Cheap

Most people have known at least one person who is all talk and no action. They have grand schemes and ideas, but they are not willing or able to invest the time, money, or labor that is needed; they lack the action to push their dreams to the next level. In Proverbs 14:23, the Bible declares that "in all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty." Of course, God will give you a vision, but you have to do the work to manifest your dreams into reality.

Spiritual Diet

One of the easiest ways to determine how you are maturing in Christ is to recognize what you are able to digest of the word. In Hebrews 5: 13-14, Paul says that "Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." The word of God is food to the soul and necessary for growth; just as a child cannot grow without proper nutrition, the Christian cannot grow in the faith without a consistent study of God's word.

Kingdom Gifts

God has blessed each one of us with at least one spiritual gift; how we use it is up to us. In Romans 12:7-8, Paul encourages his readers to use their gifts with the faith that God has given them. He says "If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly." Paul's message still applies to us today. Discover the gift(s) that God has blessed you with, and use them to the fullest to advance his kingdom.