[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Sunday, January 27, 2013

[Paul]

Hello and good morning, afternoon or evening wherever you are.  Sorry that this might be a little early, but because of the fact that these good night messages and morning quotes have to be shared with another group that can't be added to my distribution list because it's on another email address, I have to type the messages twice.  Thank God, I don't have to type the nine or ten groups and/or individuals for each one.  My fingers would sure wear out.  Anyway how is your day today? I hope good, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.  For us in North America, how was your Lord's day in the Lord? Mine was good; in fact, I just might sojourn with one of the deacons in my new church to a very expensive steakhouse here in Baltimore, at his expense.  Hope I don't make a fool of myself.  This won't take place till Friday lunchtime.

John Heille, a retired pastor from Fairmont MN provides the article for today entitled "Take a Risk, Go Fishing," rendered as follows:

Each of the four Gospels tell unique stories about the first people to follow Jesus.

Matthew says the first two, Peter and Andrew, were out on Lake Galilee fishing with nets in the water when Jesus called to them with His invitation, "Come, be My disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" And they left their nets at once and went with Him (Matt. 4:19-20 NLT).  A little later, walking along the shore, Jesus saw two other brothers, James and John, mending their nets and He invited them to come along, too.

Matthew tells of no prior relationship between Jesus and these men.  John 1:35-42 tells us that Andrew had been one of John the Baptist's disciples and that he'd heard the Baptist announce Jesus as the Lamb of God, but Matthew doesn't give any such information.

In Matthew the invitation comes as a surprise.  There's risk in accepting Jesus' surprise invitation to go fish for people.  Listening to the story and hearing this invitation to leave it all seems risky; but who better could Jesus have found than fishers to understand risk.  For them, risk is just a part of daily activity.  Fishers go out to sea putting everything they need to make their livelihood at risk.

The boat is always at risk if the weather turns.
The nets, traps and lines are always in danger too.
If a net is dropped and a line breaks while pulling, the net is gone, along with its catch.
When a buoy breaks away from a trap, it's lost to the deep.
When hooks break from the line, a fish (and all the effort to land it) is lost.

Fishers live with personal danger every day on the water.  Even recreational fishers have stories to tell about wading in too deep or nearly falling overboard.  These very first disciples to follow Jesus knew risk every day.  His invitation to fish for people is real for us too; it doesn't matter if we are risk averse or whether we thrive living on the edge.  His invitation is to leave the old behind and come with him and fish for people.

And there you have Pastor Heille's article.  I wonder, in this modern day and age, if our livelihood was fishing, if we would take the risk to follow Jesus? Or should the word be a gamble? For me, I don't know, as I never was a fisherman professionally, but perhaps some of you were before you lost your sight.  Anyway, just something to think about.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul