There is a great Bible Story that seems to illustrate the fallacy of thinking that church is always about getting something. Think for a few minutes about the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand found in John 6. What normally is the focus of our attention in this story; why it’s the miracle of multiplication. Jesus took five loaves and two fishes from a little boy and blessed it. The disciples dutifully started passing it around to feed the hungry masses who had chased after Jesus. To their amazement they never seemed to run out of food and furthermore they collected twelve baskets of leftovers after the people were satisfied.
What does that story have to do with the attitude of the Sunday morning parishioner? Let’s examine this story a little closer. Who is never mentioned in the story? The person who labored to prepare the loaves and the fishes to begin with, probably the little boy’s mother. Out of five thousand people at least one person was proactive and made preparations to go see the Savior. An act of motherly love is the first and unseen essential element of this story. The next act that appears in the story is the unselfish nature of the little boy. I’m sure he was hungry. Don’t you think he thought about quietly slipping away to the sideline and consuming his meal? But that was not his response. He gave all he had that others would benefit.
Now don’t you think its funny (i.e. interesting funny not humorous funny) that Jesus gets all the attention for this “miracle.” Rightly so that the Savior gets the attention but the primary role of Jesus was to bless the gift and honor the preparation. At this instance He wasn't passing out something that He brought with Him.
Let’s relate this to our weekly worship. What do you think it would be like if we would spend the week before preparing for the time? Maybe the preparation is acts of service or kindness to others or maybe it’s simply making our personal quiet time a time of daily worship. Wouldn’t it be great if the Holy Spirit could during our corporate worship look around to see who came prepared, and collected the unselfish gift, and presented it to Jesus so that He could bless it. Can you imagine what worship time would be when God’s instruments (e.g. the Preacher, the singers, the musicians, etc.) passed out the shared blessings so that everyone was stuffed? You know the neat thing about that way of worship? The leftovers! What do you think happens with the leftovers? Why we take that with us and share it with those who weren’t there.
Here’s our challenge for the week. Will you be the one to prepare for worship this week? Will you be the one to bring something that can be a blessing to someone else and unselfishly offer it up for the benefit of everyone? God will be there. He wants to bless something. Will we have anything to offer?
When you think about this story in the future I want you to remember two components that hardly ever get mentioned; 1) somebody prepared the meal, 2) the satisfaction didn’t end with the meal; the leftovers kept on giving. These are not everyday leftovers. Leftovers from the master are better than the finest human cuisine that has ever been prepared.
See you in worship Sunday. Let’s bring something with us!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
A New Way of Fishing
It’s the only life they had known. They had learned the trade at the foot of their fathers who had learned it from their fathers. It was reinforced by the geography of the land where they had lived perhaps for generations; a region dominated by one of the natural geographic wonders of the world; a large fresh water lake that sits over 200 feet below sea level. Simon, Nathanael, Thomas and the Zebedee brothers were commercial fishermen working amongst a fleet of over 200 boats that derived a livelihood from a seemingly never-ending supply of fresh fish. The only interruption to this idyllic existence was the last few years when they left to join nomadic lifestyle of a charismatic leader.
The allure of this Leader had enticed them away from the only life that they had ever known. And then as suddenly as He had appeared on the scene, He was violently taken from them. In a panic they scattered – probably because the government was the culprit behind the disappearance. Most gravitated back to their prior existence. That’s why these four soon found themselves on the Sea of Tiberias in the middle of the night; when fishing was best. But this was no normal night. Every trick of the trade had been tried; yet no results.
Can you imagine the frustration as some guy on the beach seemed to be taunting them; “Catch any fish? Try the other side of the boat!” How ludicrous, that’s not the way fish work. They knew this lake like the back of their hand. They knew what worked and when it worked. Change sides of the boat, who is He kidding. I don’t know what motivated them to give it a try but soon they pulled up their nets and sunk them on the other side of the boat. Their indignation turned to surprise when the net immediately began to fill with fish. Not only was the net full but it tore as they attempted to haul the catch into their boat because it was so full. As they turned their gaze back to the Taunter on the beach, a huge smile covered His face. Wait, could it be? Yes, it is. . . No it can’t be. Why hadn’t we noticed? It was their Leader.
Many of you by now recognize this story as a contemporized paraphrase of John 21. The Leader is Jesus and the fishermen were the disciples. Now let’s cut to the chase. Jesus was not trying to help them catch fish. He was probably disappointed that they were even back on their old job. He had recruited them and poured His heart into preparing them for a much more important role. Jesus was masterfully using their old life and their old skills as an object lesson to yank them back to the reality of their new life. Jesus intended for them to passionately pursue their newly appointed life of “fishing” for men and women. The lesson from John 21 is that fishing for men is a God thing. We’re called to it but there is absolutely nothing within us that we can call on to know how to do it. The instruction manual for “man fishing” comes from God. He knows where the catch is; all we do is follow instructions.
What a celebration that morning when they realized, probably for the first time that everything Jesus told them was true. He really was “the Master.” Once you meet the Master your life is never the same. Wanna have that experience for yourself? Jesus extends the same invitation to you that He extended to His early gang.
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matt. 4:19
When’s the last time we saw a bumper catch? Maybe we’re fishing on the wrong side of the boat!
The allure of this Leader had enticed them away from the only life that they had ever known. And then as suddenly as He had appeared on the scene, He was violently taken from them. In a panic they scattered – probably because the government was the culprit behind the disappearance. Most gravitated back to their prior existence. That’s why these four soon found themselves on the Sea of Tiberias in the middle of the night; when fishing was best. But this was no normal night. Every trick of the trade had been tried; yet no results.
Can you imagine the frustration as some guy on the beach seemed to be taunting them; “Catch any fish? Try the other side of the boat!” How ludicrous, that’s not the way fish work. They knew this lake like the back of their hand. They knew what worked and when it worked. Change sides of the boat, who is He kidding. I don’t know what motivated them to give it a try but soon they pulled up their nets and sunk them on the other side of the boat. Their indignation turned to surprise when the net immediately began to fill with fish. Not only was the net full but it tore as they attempted to haul the catch into their boat because it was so full. As they turned their gaze back to the Taunter on the beach, a huge smile covered His face. Wait, could it be? Yes, it is. . . No it can’t be. Why hadn’t we noticed? It was their Leader.
Many of you by now recognize this story as a contemporized paraphrase of John 21. The Leader is Jesus and the fishermen were the disciples. Now let’s cut to the chase. Jesus was not trying to help them catch fish. He was probably disappointed that they were even back on their old job. He had recruited them and poured His heart into preparing them for a much more important role. Jesus was masterfully using their old life and their old skills as an object lesson to yank them back to the reality of their new life. Jesus intended for them to passionately pursue their newly appointed life of “fishing” for men and women. The lesson from John 21 is that fishing for men is a God thing. We’re called to it but there is absolutely nothing within us that we can call on to know how to do it. The instruction manual for “man fishing” comes from God. He knows where the catch is; all we do is follow instructions.
What a celebration that morning when they realized, probably for the first time that everything Jesus told them was true. He really was “the Master.” Once you meet the Master your life is never the same. Wanna have that experience for yourself? Jesus extends the same invitation to you that He extended to His early gang.
“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matt. 4:19
When’s the last time we saw a bumper catch? Maybe we’re fishing on the wrong side of the boat!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Tension - A Good Thing?
DateLine (9/13/07)
I hate pressure but it seems that I can never escape it. Whether its schedule or responsibility or relationships or life in general I’ve never had the opportunity to live on “easy street.” A few weeks ago I was in the middle of one of my DIY projects which involved using a skil-saw. Since the work was finish work that would be seen by others I was concentrating on making sure that the cut was straight. Now I don’t know if you’re ever tried doing finish work with a skil-saw but it does require a slight amount of skill. And since I don’t do this type of work on a routine basis it took a few cuts before I regained the “touch” required.
One of the tricks that came back to me in the midst of my project was the need for tension. If ones applies just a little bit of downward force on the base of the skil-saw with the other hand it’s easier to keep a straight line and the rate at which the saw slices through the wood can be maintained more consistently. Right in the middle of one of my cuts it dawned on me that life is a lot like making those tricky cuts.
While I detest the pressure that occurs when too much tension is flooding into my life, a little pressure (i.e. tension) is a good thing. For the bodybuilder or health enthusiasts tension is what builds muscle. Tension is the feedback that tells us the undertaking is working.
Got doesn’t promise us a life free of tension. He doesn’t even promise us that we won’t have pressure at times that tempts us to faint and draw back. What He does promise is that there is a purpose to the pressure; it makes us stronger. Want to get stronger? Don’t give up; push back.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I hate pressure but it seems that I can never escape it. Whether its schedule or responsibility or relationships or life in general I’ve never had the opportunity to live on “easy street.” A few weeks ago I was in the middle of one of my DIY projects which involved using a skil-saw. Since the work was finish work that would be seen by others I was concentrating on making sure that the cut was straight. Now I don’t know if you’re ever tried doing finish work with a skil-saw but it does require a slight amount of skill. And since I don’t do this type of work on a routine basis it took a few cuts before I regained the “touch” required.
One of the tricks that came back to me in the midst of my project was the need for tension. If ones applies just a little bit of downward force on the base of the skil-saw with the other hand it’s easier to keep a straight line and the rate at which the saw slices through the wood can be maintained more consistently. Right in the middle of one of my cuts it dawned on me that life is a lot like making those tricky cuts.
While I detest the pressure that occurs when too much tension is flooding into my life, a little pressure (i.e. tension) is a good thing. For the bodybuilder or health enthusiasts tension is what builds muscle. Tension is the feedback that tells us the undertaking is working.
Got doesn’t promise us a life free of tension. He doesn’t even promise us that we won’t have pressure at times that tempts us to faint and draw back. What He does promise is that there is a purpose to the pressure; it makes us stronger. Want to get stronger? Don’t give up; push back.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
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