I don’t like animals in my house. Pets are just not something I care for at all. It was not always like this though. For a period of about five years, starting about twenty years ago, I experimented with all kinds of pets. Like almost everything I do, I went way overboard. At one time I ended up with a dog, two cats, a rabbit, two snakes, two iguanas, five turtles, a newt, four geckos, and two aquariums. Oh yeah, my wife and I also had six kids.
I was out of my mind. I admit to the insanity that I was going through at that time in my life.
The aquariums were the most fun and the remembrance of setting up these miniature landscapes is what led me to write this. The turtles, snakes, iguanas and fish allowed me to be creative in building and establishing the habitats that I designed. It wasn’t as much about the animals as it was those mini creations that I found fascinating.
I learned something about fish, especially goldfish. The aquariums led to outdoor creations called water gardens. I have built four of those over the years. We lived without an abundance of financial resources, as you might imagine, so I looked for ways to do things on the cheap. I found that I could go to Wal-Mart and buy “feeder” goldfish for about a dime in those days. So I would pick up about twenty and put them in one of my little ten gallon worlds and see what happened. These goldfish were not very hardy since they were only bred as food, but some would surprise me and live a while. But they never got very big.
When I constructed my first water garden I did the same thing. I stocked it with about forty of those little fish. It was early spring. By the end of that summer, one of the goldfish that had started out about an inch and a half long had grown to at least eight inches. The kids and I called it Moby Dick. Moby froze that winter and I looked in sadness sometimes at him locked in a block of ice. But the next spring, when he thawed, that fish was still alive and grew another couple of inches before it just disappeared. Probably eaten by a bird, I guessed.
Jesus implied that we are like fish when He called the disciples to follow Him and become fishers of men. The thing that has gone through my mind as I have pondered this brings me to another conclusion about our growth as the church, the people of God. As our focus has become so inward instead of outward we are becoming like those goldfish that are locked in an aquarium.
The reason Moby grew so big was because of his surroundings. When you put fish, especially goldfish in a small environment they stay small. By putting them in a larger one like my water garden they are free to grow like they are meant to. As Christ followers, we are to be fishers of men also. We are to go out into the great big world and grow large as we are fed by the Spirit of God and our mission. But a lot of us are locked into our own aquariums, our church buildings, our programs, our ministries to those in the aquarium with us, and we have stunted our growth.
Let’s get out into the wild, deep waters of the world and become really big fish. We might become big enough to be used by God to even swallow up reluctant men of God and erring prophets like Jonah. And like that first freeze showed me concerning Moby, nothing can stop us.
And one more thing; let’s pray that our leaders become more than just aquarium keepers.
Love you all
Tags: aquariums, Christ, christ followers, Church, Creation, fun, geckos, God, goldfish, insanity, little fish, mission, spirit, wal mart, water garden, world
Anyone, especially anyone a little older, that thinks any and all things new or not done in the traditional sense are the only things being pushed in church that are worldly should watch this video through to the end. Worldliness is not necessarily what you think and could actually be seen as the exact things you might not want to let go of. I hope you take something from this and actually apply it to your thinking.
Love you all
Tags: Love, traditional sense, video, world, worldliness
I want to just say it is time to refocus on the tasks we seem to have been ignoring. Disciple making. Kingdom advancement. Taking out strongholds. Being ambassadors.
Whatever you might think about the current state of the world, this country, the economy, unemployment, the election results, etc., we have a mission. That mission is about things that are eternal and as such have eternal consequences. For you, for me, and especially for those we should be reaching.
Dan has some great thoughts on his blog as usual. I have borrowed some quotes and suggest you go here and read the whole post.
“The only “Change We Can Believe In” is Jesus Christ.”
“…a nation right with God only comes about through the transformation of human lives by Jesus Christ.”
“If we truly want change, God-honoring change, then it begins in our own hearts…”
These thoughts line up with my own and I have been trying to say some of these same things. Thanks Dan for the cohesive display of some valuable truth.
Love you all
Tags: ambassadors, Believe, Election, eternal consequences, God, Jesus Christ, King, Kingdom, Lie, Love, Thanks, world
Today is the day we find out if the world ends. That dreaded election that has most everyone upset thinking that there is actually no good choice. Be that as it may, I choose to ignore it myself. I will be checking in here and watching a TV show and reading my bible. Whatever happens, I will still serve the Lord.
Saying that, I expect less response today for this Town Hall discussion because most will be glued to their favorite news channel, experiencing all the ups and downs that make them feel alive and involved. If only Jesus made us feel that way?
This may be a little fun and a little easy today. But for those who want to participate, I hope it will be interesting.
Let’s discuss alien life. Some people are adamant in their belief that there is life on some distant planet. Others disagree vehemently. What do you think?
Do you believe that there is intelligent life out there in the vastness of the universe or did God only place life here?
If you do believe in alien life, how do you reconcile it with the gospel?
And finally, just because of what day it is, which candidate would you want to be POTUS in the case of a visitation from outer space?
And a thanks again to Pink Floyd for the title.
Okay. Have at it.
Love you all.
Tags: alien life, Belief, Bible, candidate, Discussion, distant planet, Election, fun, intelligent life, Love, outer space, pink floyd, POTUS, Self, town hall, visitation, world
Tomorrow, some of the people in this country will vote. Whatever candidate wins will bring about a new direction. He will be placed in office by the ones who bought into his rhetoric the most. Whoever has motivated the most people to follow his empty promises will win.
I have not tried to use my space here to push any agenda except the agenda of Christ. I sincerely do not believe that any political party has His agenda in mind. And that is okay. Jesus knew the worldly kingdoms would never seek to merge with the Godly Kingdom. Instead, He warned repeatedly about the danger of trying to merge His Kingdom with the worlds.
I do not think that any politician on the national scene is concerned in the least about the things of God. I wish this was not so. And I wish the people of God would realize the seriousness of forsaking our mission, which is personal, and relying on government to do it for us.
Being absorbed with “self” is nothing new. It was there in the beginning. But it just seems to be so much more powerful today. Is there anyone out there concerned with the destination of lost souls? Is there anyone out there concerned with fulfilling our mission of making disciples? Is there anyone willing to sacrifice on a personal level instead of relying on government?
I don’t know if I am doing enough. I surely don’t know if you are. I am tired of sounding so pessimistic and it feels like all I write is words of warning.
I watched the people of God for so many years to see the faults, the hypocrisy, and the reliance on anything other than God. I am now one with you in this great Kingdom. And I see it as great only because of our King, not because of us.
I know that almost every election is looked at as the one that is the most important of all time. This one is shaping up to be that one, for real. We are either going to vote in a man who will not really get anything done, or we will vote in a man that could take this country further down the path to destruction. You decide who’s who.
The pessimism is not my heart though. I am optimistic because I know to whom I have given my life. I have given it to Jesus Christ, my King. No matter what happens in this nation, in this world, I know my destination. I am safe, secure and will be taken care of.
My heart grieves though for those that are deceived. Those that do think they are voting in a change for the better. I do not pretend to be prophetic but, I will say this, no matter who is elected tomorrow it will not be for the better.
Do not rely on this world, or its leaders, or its policies, or its agendas for your joy and peace. Become a citizen of the only eternal Kingdom. Then you will have peace.
So, as far as tomorrow goes, vote if you want. Then let God have it. If enough are aligned with His precepts and principles, He will work it all out the way it needs to be. After you vote, let it go. Don’t give in to letting it become the obsession for the day. Whoever gets the most votes will win and after you are done voting, you have no more say in the matter.
So why not give the rest of the day to God and go talk about Jesus to someone rather than talking about Obama or McCain.
Love you all
Tags: Beginning, Believe, candidate, Election, God, Government, Hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, King, Kingdom, Lie, Life, Love, Personal, Power, rhetoric, Self, Sin, Vote, War, warning, Work, world
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