Try, Try Again

This morning I started reading through the book of Acts. The book of Acts covers the 30 years after Jesus was taken up into heaven. 

As we recall Jesus’ last days on earth leading up to the book of Acts, we remember one of His disciples, Peter. Peter appears to be a confident man when he tells Jesus, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). Jesus answers, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me” (Luke 22:34).

Sure enough, Peter denies the Lord three times before the rooster crows. Upon hearing the rooster crow, Peter remembered the words of Jesus and he “went outside and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62).

Imagine the shame and regret Peter must have felt in that moment. 

But he didn’t lay down and give up.

Luke, who recorded the above story, is also the author of the book of Acts. He begins the book of Acts by bringing Peter back into the story. He doesn’t give us a recap to remind us of Peter’s denial of Jesus. It’s as if Peter’s identity is no longer wrapped around his moment of shame and regret—because it’s not! 

When the day of Pentecost came “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4).  There were God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem at this time. They were amazed and perplexed at what they were hearing since they all heard the disciples declaring the wonders of God in their own tongue. 

Guess who stood up, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd? You know it—it was Peter.

He wasn’t in a back room missing out on the promised gift of the Holy Spirit because he felt unworthy due to his earlier betrayal. He was probably MORE able to understand the mystery of the love of Jesus BECAUSE of his betrayal. He was very aware that without Jesus and without the Holy Spirit, he had nothing to offer. He was also able to recognize that WITH the Holy Spirit he could do great things for God.

In real life, we experience times of failure. Times when we don’t represent our Lord as we ought to. It’s when we acknowledge our sins and failures and weep bitter tears of repentance that we are restored and strengthened by the One who never fails. Our gracious Father doesn’t rub our noses in our failures but rather uses them to grow us more into the likeness and character of His Son.

Peter went on to reach many people for the Kingdom of God. He suffered and lived his life fully devoted to the works of his Lord. I’m sure he failed again and again in his humanity but he never gave up. His final breath was one of a martyr who had given ALL for his Lord.

Many have not yet heard the Good News. There is no time to waste sitting in our self imposed prisons of shame and regret. This same Holy Spirit that was promised to the disciples is also promised to each one of us.  “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call'” (Acts 2:38 & 39).

Stay the Course…

Sheila

Git Yer Feet Wet

A few days ago my husband and I took a spontaneous trip to Seward Alaska. Not being fisher-type folks, we had no idea that our timing and our camping spot would land us smack dab in the middle of hundreds of silver salmon that were being caught with snag hooks from shore by dozens of people. 

Combat fishing at its best.

I had an instantaneous personality change as I stepped out of the camper the next morning and saw people catching fish all up and down the shoreline. “Wake up, Babe!” I shouted as I peaked my head back inside the camper. “People are catching fish—get down there and get me some fish!” At first he thought I was kidding. Especially since we knew nothing about catching fish. 

Eventually we gathered up the recommended necessary gear and made our way to the shoreline. 

After a long stretch with no fish, an old man approached me. I was sitting on a rock taking in all the sights in this strange new world of fish madness we had entered. “Great day, isn’t it?” he asked. “Yes, it would be even greater if my husband caught me a fish!” I jokingly replied. 

“Want my fish? I don’t need it.”

“Umm…ok.” I slowly replied, not sure if he was serious. “Well, reach down there and git him off my line and put him on your string.” he stated very matter-of-fact. Simple enough except that it required touching a fish, and putting string through a still somewhat-alive fishes mouth with what looked like sharp little teeth in it. I was more afraid of the old man than I was of the fish so I did what he told me to do.

Later that afternoon the old man appeared again. “Hey, aren’t you the lady that I gave a fish to this morning?”  “Yes I am.” I replied somehow knowing that he wasn’t going to continue walking down the shore.

“Tell you what” he stated “how about I hook ‘em and you reel ‘em in? I don’t need any more fish and it looks like you do.” Before I could convince him that I was happy taking in the experience from my perch on the rock, he had walked through about 10 feet of water to cast his rod on the other side of me atop a rock. I held my breath hoping he would become so engrossed with fishing that he would forget about me. Only a moment passed when he yelled above the crowd, “Hey Lady! Git over here and reel this fish in!” All eyes turned to see who the old man was yelling at. 

I stood in my dry shoes staring at the water I would need to walk through to reach the old man and his fishing rod, which by all appearances had a fish attached to it. “Git yer feet wet and git over here. Hurry up!” He seemed oblivious to the fact that dozens of onlookers were being amused by his blunt command.

A group of women laughed as me and my wet feet ran past them to grab the reel from the old man’s hands. 

When we had caught our limit, he taught us how to fillet the fish at the cleaning station. Exhausted and cold (thanks to the wet feet) I thought we were saying a final goodbye when he stated that he would be down at the shore around 8:00 the next morning and would look for us there.

Sure enough the old man was back in the morning. A string of snot dripping off his nose from the brisk morning wind. He wouldn’t let me relax on my rock, but was determined to turn me into a fisherwoman. I told him very firmly that I wasn’t going to get my feet wet this time around. He pretended not to hear me. 

Somewhere along the way, I’m not sure when it happened, I realized I was having more fun than I had remembered having in a long time. I thought about absolutely nothing except fish. The cantankerous old man and I learned how to work very well together.  Mostly because I did whatever he told me to do. The seasoned fisherman knew a thing or two about ruling over the fish of the sea. I learned that his life had not been an easy one yet his face radiated with each cast of the rod into the ocean. His eyes sparkled even when his mind forgot where he had last placed his rod.

I hesitated leaving behind my new world of fishing, the ocean, the old fisherman with the drippy nose, the amazing people we met along the shoreline, and the beauty of nature. Our spontaneous trip gave me new insights and new appreciation for both man who is made in God’s likeness and man’s ability and gift from God to rule over the fish of the sea and everything else He created.

Just as we gleaned from the old man how to be a fisher of fish, God’s Word teaches us how to be fishers of men. Eternity is at stake. We can all do our part, as we put ourselves out there, to share of His goodness to those within our reach. We don’t have to be well-groomed evangelists, or preachers. We don’t even need to go anywhere. 

We simply need to get off our secure rocks and point people to the One True Rock.  Our unique individual personalities allows each one of us to reach the lost—those who know nothing about our God— if we are willing to share what we know. Even if we only know a little.

Now git out there, git yer feet wet, and start acting like the true fisher-person you were created to be!

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Stay the Course…

Sheila