Are you fishing?

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CURRENT RADIO SERIES Songs of Encouragement   CURRENT TV SERIES Songs of Encouragement

And he [Jesus] said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” --Matthew 4:19 It’s amazing to me that there are some Christ-followers who never share their faith, who never give to the work of Christ, and who never get involved in the ministries of the church. Let me tell you why these activities are so important. One day, you and I will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ and we will give an account for what we did with our lives. Many Christians will stand naked before the throne of God with nothing but the charred embers of a wasted life to place in his nail-pierced hands. You need to know this. No one gets a free pass to live however they want! As followers, we’re accountable to tell others about his love and what he has done for us. In fact, we should be utterly compelled by his mercy and forgiveness to share Christ. If God has changed our lives, we should make certain that we don’t go to heaven alone! Let’s take as many people with us as possible… starting with our own family and extending to the whole world that we can touch for Christ. Let me challenge you today. Jesus called us to be “fishers of men.” If you’re not fishing, it’s because you’re not following! Share Christ with your world today! NO ONE GETS A FREE PASS TO LIVE HOWEVER THEY WANT. Rich toward God by Dr. Paul Chappell “And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:18–21 Vance Havner told the story of missionaries who were sailing to Africa to begin their work for God. The captain of the ship was not a Christian, and he regarded their sacrifice as foolish. At one point he laughed at the missionaries and said, “You’ll die over there.” One of the missionaries responded, “Sir, we died before we left.” This life is fleeting at best, yet all around us are people, including some Christians, who are living as if this world is all that matters. The popular bumper sticker reads: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Though we know that philosophy is flawed and erroneous, too many people are drawn away by the temporary rather than focusing on the permanent. The Christian life is lived in this world, but to please God, it must be lived by the values of the next. The size of our barns—our bank accounts, our houses, our cars, our savings—does not determine whether our lives are right or wrong. Wealth does not necessarily mean God’s blessing, and poverty does not necessarily mean His disfavor. The important thing is the direction of our heart. Are we focused on God and His kingdom, or on the temporal? We can start out well, but not finish well, as Paul noted concerning Demas: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…” (2 Timothy 4:10).   Today’s Growth Principle:  Rather than planning our futures with an eye on this world, we should trust God’s will and focus on eternity.