Liberty not law

Attached is a brief summary of the principles that should cause us to set aside our rights for the benefit of others, such as the weaker brother principle and the “winsome” witnessing principle.

In 1985 I was working for the US Congress and I had the idea to rename 14th St. SW to Raoul Wallenberg Place. 14th St. was one block long and had only a future building facing it. the other side of the street faces the Jefferson Memorial. The only building to get the address of Raoul Wallenberg was to be the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. The legislation passed and Elie Wiesel dedicated the street. The government added the street signs but the first one made had Wallenberg’s name misspelled! Recently retired Congressman Bill Lowery (the legislation sponsor) gave me the misspelled sign!

For those of you who are interested, the next two Mondays we will be watching Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ and discussing it.

Many of you have seen the movie and discussed it casually, we will evaluate it carefully to see what parts are scriptural and which parts are not. I’m looking forward to the experience of discussing it with you.

So next Monday at 7 PM in the fellowship hall we will begin our two evening study of the passion of the Christ.

This past Monday was our last session discussing the book Fearless by Max Lucado. This coming Monday will be the final session of all the groups at Maranatha Chapel and concluding the Max Lucado study.

I would like to know how many of you who have been attending the fearless study or other friends of mine from Maranatha Chapel would be interested in attending a session or two, where we would show the movie Passion of the Christ produced by Mel Gibson and then discuss it. My proposal would be to do this during the same Monday night time-slot as we’ve had till now.

If you would attend such a viewing of the movie and discussion please respond to this comment by clicking thee like button below.

Fishing For Men and Women

Remember when Jesus said “come with me and I’ll teach you to be fishers of men”? Remember what kind of fishermen he was talking to?
These were not sportsmen who struggled with a rod and reel trying to pull struggling fish into the boat. Nor did they patiently wait for the fish to be attracted to the bait on their hook or did they expect the fish to just jump right into the boat. They were commercial fishermen who tirelessly and endlessly cast their nets and tried to fill the boat overflowing!
Evangelism is casting the net, praying to God for a really whopping catch, trusting God to fill the net, and then giving him the glory when he does. Get those fish in the boat and then cast the net again, each time praying to God for a good catch and completely trusting him to fill the net.
It isn’t evangelism just to be patiently waiting for the fish to be attracted to you by your living a good life but without ever opening your mouth to spread the Good News. At some point, you got to say something.
What about motivation? If a fisherman is assured by God that his net will certainly catch fish, is his fishing motivation eliminated? Who has more enthusiasm and motivation, the fisherman assured of success or the one who believes his productivity is truly uncertain, perhaps reliant not upon God but on his skills as a fisherman?

But if we fail to cast the net, from where will the fish come? Paul truly said “‘How can they believe if they do not hear?’ but also Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me…And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He as given me, but raise them up at the last day.”

So then, should we sit around and wonder if the fish in the net were predestined to be in the net or not? When we pull up the net and see the fish, should we wonder excessively whether or not they are truly fish? Whether or not they got caught in the net by accident? Or whether they are sea snakes in fish disguises? Should we put them through a lengthy investigation of their inner workings and motivations before accepting them as fish?

No, how ludicrous! What fisherman would ever do that? That would be crazy.

Rather, get those fish in the boat and then cast the net again, and again, and again, but each time praying to God for a good catch and completely trusting Him to fill the net.

We must cast the net, but God will fill it.

Casting the net is our duty and privilege, but trusting God to fill it is our duty and right.
My witness is to a sovereign God who first loves you, pursues you and catches you in His net. Even if you’ve been swimming the other way. And that’s so wonderful, who can bear not to share it?