Dear Readers:
May the Grace, Mercy, and Peace from God our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ be with you today and always! Amen.
And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (Matt. 4:19)
Recently as I was passing a small pond on my bicycle, I noticed that there was a tree that had fallen into the water and was sunken. Because it was a sunny day, I was able to see it and other things on the bottom of the pond. As I thought of this, I remembered when fishing as a youngster that I often would get my hook caught on such things. This was inconvenient and often caused extra work. I would much rather have been able to keep fishing and not have to deal with the tangles caused by the obstructions. Perhaps a nice, sandy bottom with no rocks, sticks, trees, roots, or other obstruction would be a nicer place to fish. I did not know at the time that the fish live where the obstructions are because there they can find food and shelter.
As I continued to ponder this, the thought came that sometimes we would like fishing for souls to be easy as well. We would like all of our plans to go perfectly with no problems or struggles. But this is not reality! When we are true fishers of men, the servants of our Lord Jesus, we quickly find that all is not perfect. The devil places snags in our way to try to stop us, just as he did with the Apostle Paul. As in natural fishing when the fish are hiding under the logs, behind the rocks, or in the fallen trees, the lost souls are found where the fishing is the hardest. These lost souls can be in the slums, in the gutters of drunkenness, filled with evil spirits, or even dwelling near the edge of death. They might be in a faraway place or living close to us.
Dear Christian, do not be discouraged when the going gets tough. That could mean the lost ones are very near. Keep fishing! The fishing is best in the hardest places to reach – that is where the lost souls are found.
If you are not a believer, God is calling you! A Christian is ready to reach out to you in love. May God grant you the desire to repent and turn from your sinful and dead-ended ways. Are you living in the mud of the bottom (dirty) places today? Are you tangled in the deep and dark sins of this world? Perhaps you have started to hear the call and can feel the heat of the sun (Son) already starting to melt your heart. Keep seeking the Lord. The Bible promises that if you seek, ye SHALL find.
Remember in the Bible account when the fishing nets were full, Jesus said to bring Him the fish. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. (John 21:20) Remember to always point to Jesus and lead the sinner to Him. Jesus is the Savior; He keeps calling and calls even today: Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. (John 21:12)
Dear pastors and believers, be encouraged during the hard times and hard work of fishing for souls! The fish are not yours; they belong to the Lord. As believers, we are only poor fishermen beggars showing other poor souls where to find the food, the answer, and the remedy for the pain of sin and shame.
Jesus Christ, yesterday, today and forevermore!
JR
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isaiah 55:1
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Weekly Diner
Dear Weekly Readers! God’s Peace and Blessing be with you this week! Today our article is written by Pastor Wayne Juntunen. Please enjoy what the Lord has revealed to our brother!
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, whoever you are and wherever you are, a word from the Lord has been brought to my mind that He wants to share with you. I pray that it will be written as He desires. The actual words are recorded in Ex. 17:12, “…Moses hands were heavy…”
There was good reason for Moses’ hands to be heavy. Israel was locked in battle against the Amalekites. This battle occurred after the Israelites had left Egypt and were traveling through the Wilderness of Sin. The Amalekites must have first attacked the stragglers—the weak and weary who were farther back from the main body of the Israelites. We read in Deuteronomy 35:17, 18, “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.”
Another battle with them occurred when Israel had pitched their tents at Rephidim (Ex. 17:8). Moses counseled Joshua to choose men to fight with Amalked and he would stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand (Ex. 17:9) Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill with Moses and as long as Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed (Ex. 17:11). So in this see-saw battle that lasted throughout the day, Moses’ hands became heavy. So Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a stone and they “stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Ex. 17:12, 13).
So what does this mean? Let us remember when the Israelites prayed, they lifted up their hands to the Lord. Here are but a few examples—(Gen. 14:22; Dt. 32:40; Ps. 25:1; 28:2; 63:4; 134:2) I believe Moses was in the spirit of prayer during this battle with the Amalekites. And so long as he was praying, Israel prevailed. When Aaron and Hur held up his hands, Israel was victorious! In essence, all three were engaged in prayer throughout the duration of this battle.
This is the word the Lord has brought across into my heart. We cannot expect to win any battle against any foe, no matter how great or small the foe may seem, if we are not faithfully engaged in prayer. It is the spiritual leadership of any family, congregation, mission field, ministry, or religious institution who are to be ceaselessly praying! I have this saying posted on the door of my study—“You can do more than pray after you prayed. But you can not do more than pray until you have prayed.”
To ceaselessly pray means we must begin our day with prayer. This time of morning prayer is to be given to spending time with the Lord. It is during this time that we are enjoying his presence. It is basically what James tell us in his epistle—“Draw nigh to God and he will draw night to you” (Ja. 4:8). This is a time of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving, confession, reading and meditating on God’s Word, letting him speak to us through his Word to receive food for our soul, a time to spend in intercession for others, and making our requests know. Then throughout the day, we need to be briefly requesting the Lord to guide and help us in every conversation, every task that needs to be done, every emergency that comes up, every need that we may have. Thus throughout the day we are in constant communication with our Lord.
So long as our hands are lifted up; that is, we are praying, the Lord will be in charge and we can be resting in him for “in quietness and confidence will be your strength” (Is. 30:15). There will never be revival in our own hearts, our families, congregations, or ministries so long as we are unwilling “to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name” (Psa. 29:2).
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, begin now to spend more time in prayer! The radiance of Moses was due to the 40 days he had spent on the mountain with God. But that radiance was disappearing in time. But in the Acts of the Apostles, we read that when Peter and John had been arrested for preaching about the resurrection from the dead through Jesus, that Annas and Caiaphas and many of the family of the high priest “took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:1-13). It is as plain as the nose on our faces, that the more time we spend with Jesus, the more he will become visible to others. Help us, dear Jesus, so that your love for us will radiate through us to draw multitudes to you!
May God Bless your week!
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, whoever you are and wherever you are, a word from the Lord has been brought to my mind that He wants to share with you. I pray that it will be written as He desires. The actual words are recorded in Ex. 17:12, “…Moses hands were heavy…”
There was good reason for Moses’ hands to be heavy. Israel was locked in battle against the Amalekites. This battle occurred after the Israelites had left Egypt and were traveling through the Wilderness of Sin. The Amalekites must have first attacked the stragglers—the weak and weary who were farther back from the main body of the Israelites. We read in Deuteronomy 35:17, 18, “Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.”
Another battle with them occurred when Israel had pitched their tents at Rephidim (Ex. 17:8). Moses counseled Joshua to choose men to fight with Amalked and he would stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand (Ex. 17:9) Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill with Moses and as long as Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, but when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed (Ex. 17:11). So in this see-saw battle that lasted throughout the day, Moses’ hands became heavy. So Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a stone and they “stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword” (Ex. 17:12, 13).
So what does this mean? Let us remember when the Israelites prayed, they lifted up their hands to the Lord. Here are but a few examples—(Gen. 14:22; Dt. 32:40; Ps. 25:1; 28:2; 63:4; 134:2) I believe Moses was in the spirit of prayer during this battle with the Amalekites. And so long as he was praying, Israel prevailed. When Aaron and Hur held up his hands, Israel was victorious! In essence, all three were engaged in prayer throughout the duration of this battle.
This is the word the Lord has brought across into my heart. We cannot expect to win any battle against any foe, no matter how great or small the foe may seem, if we are not faithfully engaged in prayer. It is the spiritual leadership of any family, congregation, mission field, ministry, or religious institution who are to be ceaselessly praying! I have this saying posted on the door of my study—“You can do more than pray after you prayed. But you can not do more than pray until you have prayed.”
To ceaselessly pray means we must begin our day with prayer. This time of morning prayer is to be given to spending time with the Lord. It is during this time that we are enjoying his presence. It is basically what James tell us in his epistle—“Draw nigh to God and he will draw night to you” (Ja. 4:8). This is a time of adoration, praise, and thanksgiving, confession, reading and meditating on God’s Word, letting him speak to us through his Word to receive food for our soul, a time to spend in intercession for others, and making our requests know. Then throughout the day, we need to be briefly requesting the Lord to guide and help us in every conversation, every task that needs to be done, every emergency that comes up, every need that we may have. Thus throughout the day we are in constant communication with our Lord.
So long as our hands are lifted up; that is, we are praying, the Lord will be in charge and we can be resting in him for “in quietness and confidence will be your strength” (Is. 30:15). There will never be revival in our own hearts, our families, congregations, or ministries so long as we are unwilling “to give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name” (Psa. 29:2).
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, begin now to spend more time in prayer! The radiance of Moses was due to the 40 days he had spent on the mountain with God. But that radiance was disappearing in time. But in the Acts of the Apostles, we read that when Peter and John had been arrested for preaching about the resurrection from the dead through Jesus, that Annas and Caiaphas and many of the family of the high priest “took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:1-13). It is as plain as the nose on our faces, that the more time we spend with Jesus, the more he will become visible to others. Help us, dear Jesus, so that your love for us will radiate through us to draw multitudes to you!
May God Bless your week!
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