GREENE STREET LETTERS: Fishing My Way....Or Fishing Jesus' Way

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Fishing My Way....Or Fishing Jesus' Way

Luke 5:4
When He (Jesus) had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the DEEP and let down your nets for a catch.

I think maybe this is a word for me this morning.
"Launch out into the deep".....
Go to the place you've been afraid to go to...
That place inside your heart that you've tried to hide from God for a long time.
Maybe it's a place of bitterness....
It might be anger, or jealousy....
Who knows...it might be unforgiveness.
But it is the deep place where the Lord wants me to drop my nets and then pull up the catch.

This entire episode we read about in Luke 5 is one of my favorite portion of Scripture.
I love Simon, soon to be Peter, and his response to what Jesus has told him to do.
But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at YOUR WORD I will let down the net."

Did you catch that?
Simon said that him and his crew had been fishing all night.....
And they had bumpkus to show for it.
Not even a minnow.
That would represent me trying to do everything in my own strength, power and ability.
I have nothing to show for my toil and effort.
But Jesus comes along and gives specific instructions.
"I know you've been out all night".....Translated into my situation..."I know you've been working in dark places in your life......But tell me, how's that working out?"
Well, to put it bluntly...it ain't working out.

Jesus gives the instructions, it is my job to follow them.
Could it be anymore simple than that?
"But Lord, you don't understand...I've been trying to stop my addiction"
"I've been trying to forgive that person who hurt me really bad."
"I've been trying"....."I've been trying"....."I've been trying".
Well, with Jesus there isn't any "try"....
There is simply "Do"...
Launch out once more into the deep water...don't hang around the shallows...
And let down your nets.
Why?
Because there is a catch waiting to be hauled in.

Maybe that is the word for today...
Launch out into the deep one more time.
Launch out and let down your nets...
Jesus knows that if we follow Him, at some point we are going to truly have a divine fish fry.
Now this is something you can hang your hat on....
Believe I will!

God on you...
mbb

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Looking At The World Through Cracked Lens

As ol' Paul wrote in his Corinthian letters.."We see in part and we know in part." Now what piece of this bit of wisdom do we not get? I wish to not run around acting and trying to be some sort of Biblical G00-Ru (I meant to spell it wrong). Or a sage of sages.

I simply want to be able to communicate some of what God has given to me. Why? Do I think what I get is better than what you may have received from Him? Nope. But I do think encouragement comes when we share our daily story of struggle and victory in an effort to encourage each other.

Thanks for letting me share.

Time to soldier on..

mbb

Our Statement of Faith

We believe that God is the eternal king. He is an infinite, unchangeable Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, goodness, justice, power and love. From all eternity He exists as the One Living and True God in three persons of one substance, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit equal in power and glory. we believe that God created mankind in His image, male and female, for relationship with Himself and to govern the earth. Under the temptation of Satan, our original parents fell from grace, bringing sin, sickness and God's judgment of death to the earth. Through the fall, Satan and his demonic hosts gained access to God's good creation. Creation now experiences the consequences and effects of Adam's original sin. Human beings are born into sin, subject to God's judgment of death and captive to Satan's kingdom of darkness. We believe that Jesus, God's Son, was sent to this world, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, Mary, fully God and fully man in one person. He is humanity as God intended us to be. Jesus was anointed as God's Messiah and empowered by the Holy Spirit, ushering in God's kingdom reign on earth, overpowering the reign of Satan by resisting temptation, preaching the good news of salvation, healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. Jesus' atoning death on the cross took God's judgment for sin which we deserved as law-breakers. Jesus' resurrection and ascent back to heaven opened the door for those who received salvation to begin a relationship with God.

Little Nets Into Deep Waters

Fishing nets were designed for one purpose only. To catch fish. Nets are no good if they stay on the boat. Nets serve no purpose if they are never used. I think maybe God sees us this way. We are all created for a purpose (by the way, the creator gets to define what our purpose is). Any other use besides the one we were created for does us no good. But when the creator places His hands upon us, casting us out into those scary, dark places with deep waters, it is then we can see the reality of our purpose. He knew there would be a catch waiting for us. I think I will be the net God has called me to be.

The Twelve Steps

As a community of people in recovery, we affirm that our higher power is Jesus Christ. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. Just as God told the children of Israel He was going to give them a promised land, He has revealed to us that He desires to give us a "Promised Life." When Israel got to the promised land, God instructed them to go and in a possess it, fight for it and claim it. In recovery, the 12 Steps are the directions given to us on how to fight, possess and claim this promised life.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Fishing My Way....Or Fishing Jesus' Way

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THE REALITY OF THE NAME OF GOD