gone fishin'

2011-03-28T07:16:00.000-07:00

In my December prayer update I mentioned that we spend a great deal of time in the month of December gearing up and preparing for the spring semester. We do this because Encounter, our Winter conference, produces so much momentum in our students each year that we need to hit the ground running to maintain that excitement and provide platforms for them to implement the things they learned at Encounter.

This year we had close to 30 students representing Eastern North Carolina universities and colleges at Encounter. We wanted to build on the passion they came away with after the conference and held a training session we like to call "Cross Training." On January 22 3 members of our staff team met with 22 students (mostly from Methodist University in Fayetteville) to convey different ways in which they could take the initiative to share the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and watch as God works in the hearts of the people who receive the good news.

As we discussed creative ways to enter into spiritual conversations, I was thrilled to hear the responses of the students. Many of them shared deep ideas, and demonstrated a desire to take what they were learning back to campus with them.

During lunch I cut out to head back to Raleigh, NC where NC State's Campus Crusade for Christ leadership retreat was going on. As part of my role with Destino at NCSU I have been giving guidance to the leaders of that Bible study. Gladys, Yesenia, and Merari represented our Destino group that Saturday.

We took the latter part of that afternoon to discuss a current vision for what Destino could look like into the future at NCSU. The leaders who were there had a firm idea of what they wanted to see and were energized after to the leader's retreat to go out and ver a Dios trabajando en las vidas de sus amigos (to see God work in the lives of their friends).

All in all, our planning in December had already payed huge dividends by January by our accounts! Our students came back to campus with fresh ideas, fresh vision, and plenty of energy to go out and get the the good news of our Savior into the hands of their friends and classmates.

2009-04-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I posted anything. So I figure its time to get back in the swing of things.

I want to go back to the roots of this blog and the reason I named it gone fishin in the first place. Other than my passion for fishing, the analogy quite aptly describes the work we are doing down here in Argentina. We cast the nets wide; reel them in patiently; the mature fish stay in the net while small fries go free to grow larger; we keep the edible fish and toss the other ones back to where they came from.

Casting the nets wide ~ we share the gospel many times per day while we're on campus.

Reeling them in patiently ~ we show people respect, dignity, and value them as we share the love of Christ with them...it's not a race to see how fast I can finish my little gospel tract.

Big fish, small fish ~ some people just aren't ready to accept the gospel. They need time for God to soften their hearts and prepare them for the truth of His love.

Harvest the edible ones ~ In ministry, this factor usually happens on its own. Not everyone who says, "I'm a Christian now," really means it. Not everyone who declares to have faith will live a life of faith until the end. I've seen far to many people go back to living EXACTLY how they lived before they supposedly put their faith in Christ. When true faith begins a person is TRANSFORMED. This process of transformation lasts a lifetime, but its evident that change is occurring.

This year we are casting the nets even wider. As a movement we have adopted a catalytic strategy that will allow us to saturate each of the 14 departments of the UNLP system. Our goal is to plant movements of believers who capture the vision Jesus left his disciples in the Great Commission...in short, go make disciples.

We want to lead people to Christ, and find people of faith in each department who will jump on board with the commandment to go make disciples. If they are committed to doing so, and we can provide them training and encouragement, then we don't necessarily need to be physically present with them all year long. This frees us up to reach other parts of the university we've never set foot on.

So this year as a team, we're putting down the rod and reel and picking up the nets. We're going to throw them far, farther than before and patiently bring them in. The people who are ready to be discipled and disciple others are staying in the boat with us. Those who aren't ready yet, we trust that in God's perfect timing, they will one day understand and believe.

2007-11-29T07:41:00.000-08:00

I shall not forget Your word...

I'm still on a quest to memorize all of Psalm 119, but in the last few months I've come across a roadblock. The last verse in stanza 2 of the psalm says, "I shall not forget your word." I've tried my best to live up to that. In fact, verses 1-32 are ingrained rather well in my memory.

My problem has been, "I shall not remember your word." I can't seem to progress past the first 32 verses. As many times as I read 33-40 they don't stick. I've been wrestling with the possible sources of this stand-still and believe it might be due to a new goal the Lord has for me...to memorize it in Spanish as well.

Perhaps I became proud in how easy it was to memorize the first 32 and God decided to remind me who's in control. Or perhaps He just wants me to know it in Spanish since that is the language I speak down here in Argentina. Perhaps its a little bit of both reasons.

Either way, I'm going to start memorizing it in Spanish now. I haven't settled on which version in Spanish I'll go with, but it'll probably be La Biblia de Las Americas (NASB) or Nueva Version Internacional (NIV). Both of these versions are similar to how we speak here. The King James versions in Spanish use very formal spanish that I haven't learned yet, and aren't similar to the version I'm memorizing in English.

So this marks the beginning of a real test. I know for sure that I will need to pray more over the memorization of scripture in spanish. I'll have to make supplications before God for the verses to stick in my memory...and I imagine that's what God wants. This will not be a casual adventure to occupy my time and make me feel like I've spent sufficient 'quiet time' with God each day. This will be a true battle for my attention, my desires, my surrender to His will.

2007-09-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

Looking Back at Old Times has Caused me Great Sorrow

I've been looking back at pictures from my first and second years in La Plata while I was an intern with Campus Crusade and the pictures I saw just made me more and more bereaved. Bereavement, by the way, often refers to a great sadness associated with the death of a loved one or dear friend.

Death is the very thing I've been mourning, but not the physical death of anyone I know, rather, the many spriritual deaths I've witnessed in only 2 years of ministry.

I've watched people walking around lost, empty, depressed, hopeless...Jesus isn't even on their radar. They have no idea of the beautiful relationship He desires them to enter into with Him; how He longs to save them by His faithful love.

Even more sadly I'm reminded of those who have appeared to walk with God for a time, and then have departed from fellowship with other believers, stopped seeking God, and have returned to the habits and sins they were prone to before they heard about Christ.

I'm left wondering what happened to these folks. Is it just like the parable says and they've been choked out by the temptations and pressures of the world? Did they never really entrust their lives to Christ, the author and creation of their very existence? Might they have truly trusted Him and are in deep rebellion...in need for someone to lovingly and graciously lead them back to a life of faith?

As I get ready to head back to Argentina I'm not comforted by memories of who I'll see when I get there...I'm saddened by the reality of the absense of the people who I used to worship with, minister with, and study the Bible with...many of whom do not do those things anymore.

2007-05-31T22:13:00.000-07:00

times of joy, times of trial

Last Sunday I had some time on my hands in the afternoon. I was praying as I waited and got around to praying and meditating over Psalm 119. That marked the first time I was able to say 119:1-32 word for word fluidly without great pauses. Well, without unintentional pauses. There are some places in the psalm that cause me to pause and think and reflect on whether or not I can truthfully say the words of the psalmist apply to me. I can usually identify with him on the repentant aspects when he implores God to revive him according to His word. I have a harder time saying 'I cling to Your testimonies' because its not always true. Furthermore the action of clinging shows a necessity and desperation of the action that has drawn me to think about my desire for God and His word more than just my actions. My actions will never be marked by consistent obedience and the ability to say "remove contempt and reproach from me for I observe your testimonies" if my first desire isn't God and His word.

The speed of my progression has slowed down somewhat, but its allowing me to reflect more on what I'm reading. The pace of life has picked up too, so that's made it more difficult to devote as much time to memorization. But the key is I'm still moving forward...as long as I don't forget what the Lord has allowed me to store in my brain, and don't stop making SOME progress each week I'll be happy.

A few of the verses have actually come in handy in conversation lately, so that's definitely a praise. I don't think God wastefully urges us to know the Bible...He has plans for the scripture we store in our hearts and heads. He desires for us to use that knowledge for His glory. Just imagine how much more effective our lives' testimonies would be if we all read from the Bible daily and shared some of that truth with people who need to hear it daily. Imagine what God could do through that...ok, now stop imagining and make it a reality :)

2007-04-30T06:10:00.000-07:00

Your Testimonies Also are My Delight, They are My Counselors: a Psalm 119 update

Fitness experts often use the resting heart rate as a measure of health. Quoting a Runner's World online article, "one of the best barometers available to runners and coaches in determining both health and fitness is the resting heart rate."

I've found this to be the case with memorizing this psalm as well. The most accurate memometer readings I'm getting are in the waking moments of my day. As soon as I'm coherent I try to recite the passages that I've already memorized and the new verses from the stanza I'm working on. This has been the best way for me to tell if what I'm trying to memorize is being retained.

I'm also finding that I have a harder time remembering the earlier stanzas if I don't consistently read through it and say it each day. So, the key for me is consistency.

So far the first 3 letters have been stored. This week I'm working on the fourth letter, Daleth.

2007-04-09T08:43:00.000-07:00

I took this picture in downtown Dallas, Tx.

From the Cover of LIFE Magazine: "Americas Coolest Churches"

I read a depressing article this morning from one of our nations prominent magazines. The title was "America's Coolest Churches." This is now their second annual edition of the topic. I hope, I pray, the article is more a reflection of The author's perspective than the churches' perspectives on the purpose of the church.

My immediate response to the article was "how do you list and describe the ten 'coolest' churches without mentioning the name of God or the Bible?! The word Christ appears twice...but only because its in the name of the church.

There were a few redeeming points. I know some of those ministries are earnestly trying to carry out God's will. For instance, they included a write-up about Cross Brand Cowboy Church in Tyler, Texas. I've been to a Cowboy Church and I know they preach the gospel and stick to biblical teaching. I was excited they made the list! Transport for Christ, International, a mobile ministry based out of 18-wheelers, was also featured. It was started by former truckers who realized the great spiritual need that wasn't being met in the transport community... awesome!

Then there were some disturbing ones. The Dog Chapel stands out in my mind: A chapel built not to revere our relationship between mankind and God, but mankind and dog. In his own words, the designer and builder of this structure, "wanted to build a chapel, one that celebrated the spiritual bond we have with our dogs." www.dogchapel.com ...I'm done talking about that one. It hurts my heart to see how lost this person is. He's traded the guide, protection, and leadership of God for that of dog. But, so as not to knock him over with the plank in my own eye, I'm going to reflect on how I do that in my life. I know I'm not exempt from idolatry...it lurks even in my life and needs to be erradicated.

So, after I've had some time to simmer I'm glad I read the article. Hopefully my indignation towards the skewed view of what the church is, since the church is actually the members of Christ' body (people not buildings) who are called to worship Him (not nature and dogs), will lead me to expose areas of my own life where I'm distorting the Truth about God, and not giving Him the honor due His name.

2007-04-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You...

I heard an average sermon in the car the other week. The preacher wasn't delving into a difficult text or tackling challenging theology, but he made a point that rang home. And that is precisely what I needed to hear at the moment.

To paraphrase, he said, "too often we Christians say, ' I oughta read my Bible more, or 'I oughta pray more, or 'I oughta help someone in need today,' but then we never actually do it." Far too often our good intentions, if they're even good, get tossed to the wayside by the pleasures and distractions of the here-and-now.

Upon hearing this I remembered a dream, a goal rather, of mine which I hadn't realized...yet. Many times I've said to myself, I want to memorize Psalm 119. Not to impress people with my amazing holiness or anything like that, but because I know it would take an immense amount of discipline to do it. It would require me to be very disciplined, and to desire to know God's Word enough to sit down and each day memorize a chunk of it for at least a year probably.

I came up with this goal because I've known for a while that I lack discipline. And as a result of lacking that, I hadn't begun to memorize Psalm 119 until I heard the sermon the other day ;)

So I'm finally starting into this journey of memorizing the longest chapter in the Bible. How long will it take? I have no earthly idea! But I feel like I OUGHTA do it, and so I'm GONNA do it.

The psalm is naturally divided up into segments; each segment pertaining to a letter in the Hebrew alphabet. I'm currently up to verse 12 which is under Beth...the 2nd letter of the alphabet. So I have my work cut out for me to reach verse 176. But it sounds easier if I think about it as only having to memorize 20 more letters.

I'll post some progress reports here and there. I think this is going to be a fun adventure!

2007-03-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

I just realized that today, March 5, 2007, marks the one year anniversary of me shattering my patella while I was playing soccer with my teammates and the Vision Team that came down to visit us in Argentina.

It didn't occur to me at first that this was the date of my accident. It didn't even occur to me yesterday as I was riding along on a rugged rocky and root-covered trail on my bike for 2 hours.

But today as I was walking along a foot trail near Falls Lake I recalled that one year ago I was sitting on sandy fake turf holding my leg as close to me as I could, feeling very weak and helpless...scared of what the future would hold as I gazed into the crater-like depression where my kneecap used to be.

I thought about that as I was walking half a mile back up the trail with my bike over my shoulders because it was a foot-traffic-only trail and I thought I should obey the rules. I don't mention that to toot my own horn. I say it as a testimony to how completely God has healed me!

It amazed me to think that there is nothing God cannot fix. He can restore broken bodies, broken hearts, broken spirits. Our God is in the business of restoring things to a condition which is better than their original state. "Behold, I make all things new," He says. When God goes to work on a person who has been broken by sin, He comes to completely restore that person. His sanctification will produce holiness and repair in any aspect of their life that needs to be fixed. "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philiappians 1:6)

Just a year ago I sat on the floor weak, helpless, broken. Today I marched out of the woods strong, renewed, and perserverant in the power of the Lord. Praise be to God, amen.

2006-12-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Calchaquies Valley Winter Missions Project

July 2006

Stories from San Carlos: Dante

I first met Dante during my first mission trip to the Calchaquies Valley in 2005. Caserola, as they called him for his bowl (caserola, like a casserole dish) shaped haircut, was an average 13 year old who used some curse words here and there, had a temper, and was in need of a father figure to truly love him.

Throughout our 3 week project one of our students, Sebastian Mantz, shared the gospel with Dante and led him to Christ. On the day we left I rummaged through our supplies to find Caserola a Bible so he could grow in his new faith in the Lord. Dante gave me his address so that I could send him letters but by the end of our 28 hour bus ride home the flimsy paper had dissentigrated and his address was illegible. Ere go I was unable to contact him that year.

So I was filled with anxious wonder about Dante's spiritual state and growth when I returned to the Valley this year. Sure enough, he showed up about 4 hours after we arrived in San Carlos this past July. I quickly noticed several differences in his character. He hadn't just grown a year older in maturity...God had grown in him in a way that set him apart from the other kids who were his age in that town.

This boy seeking after childish things had turned into a youth seeking after the Lord. He read chapters in his Bible almost every day for a year. He actually missed two days because he was sick and his mom said it was ok to not read those days...impressive discipline for a 14 year old. He prayed for each of us by name every night before he went to sleep. He also recruited two of his friends to read their Bibles and become more active in their church. Its amazing what God can do in the character of an individual in the timespan of 1 year if they're willing and available to let Him change them!

This year Dante showed up every day and wanted to learn more about God's Word and his personal faith. Our project team leader, Charly Salinas, and my teammate/campus partner, Cassandra, went through several (4 or 5) of the follow-up discipleship materials that we use with our college students throughout the course of 2 weeks. Dante helped us each night as we set up for our outreach activities. He would show up early and ask what he could carry, or what we still needed to set up for the Jesus Film. His attitude has also changed. He's much more patient, he doesn't cop an attitude with people when he's playing soccer, and he doesn't use foul language anymore. I praise God for the true change I've been able to see in Dante's life. I think its safe to say Dante is starting to understand God's immense love for him and the result is obvious. San Carlos needs more children, youths, and adults who have the faith God has put in Dante. Please pray with me for this lost city to turn their hearts to the truth of God's Word just as Caserola has.

2006-12-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Calchaquies Valley Missions Project

July 2006

The pictures are of: panoramic shot-me sharing the gospel with the guys of San Rafael. Top-Kerri going through the gospel with an elderly woman. Bottom right-this little girl was adorable...and needed a bath. Left middle-Jesus on the big screen.

Stories from San Rafael: not just an average day at school

One day during our first week on the Calchaquies Valley project we went to a town you'll probably never find on a map. San Rafael is scarcely a blur along side the dirt and gravel road leading away from San Carlos, our base town. This community fortunately has a school located in the center of 'town.' We set up shop that morning with toys for the kids, and many boxes of donations for the moms to come look through. Although some folks say 'tis better to give than to receive' I believe the recipients appreciated this time more than we did. Giving out donations is a rewarding, yet harrowing experience. In open areas its very difficult to control or regulate the crowds of single moms, married mothers, and grandmothers who flock to the donations like hawks circling over a freshly run over squirrel. There simply weren't enough donations to give generously to each mother. So, if one person got enough for their family and then circled back to the end of the line after handing off the clothes to someone else to take them home...someone would end up walking away shorthanded at the end of the day. It was the desire of our hearts to give to these woman who DID need clothes and supplies to cope with the harsh climate and lifestyle, but we wanted to accomplish this with fairness and equity to all who were in need, not just those who were crafty enough to cheat the system. Having to regulate this process so carefully takes some of the joy out of giving.

But there's a blessing in disguise to this as well...it also lends to spending more face-to-face time with the people in line and by the end of the day the ladies on our team had shared the gospel with all the women who came to pick up donations!

Its easier to develop credibility and relationship with the guys. We just put a soccer ball out in the middle of their field of rocks and we played soccer for about 2 hours. The heat of the afternoon couldn't dampen our spirits as we ran up and down the hill of rocks with makeshift goalposts at each end. No joke, they had to play soccer on 'field' with a 15% incline consisting of mostly golfball sized rocks and smaller gravel. After the game I sat the guys down, ranging in age from 8-18, and shared the gospel tract we had with them. We distributed these tracts to them and asked them to read along before we asked how many of them could read...that should have been my first question. I think 2 kids out of the 10 listening could actually read. They were an attentive group, but I'm not sure how deeply the message of Christ sank in to their hearts and minds.

When the sun began to set we began to set up the Jesus Film equipment and invite all the town to come watch it with us at the school. I'd say a good number of the residents where there to watch it with us. Most of them had heard the message of Christ earlier that day, now they could visualize the things we shared with them. Hopefully, prayerfully Christ's love impacted them and many will come to truly believe in Him as their Savior.

2006-09-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

News Flash:

You cannot bring cheese into Argentina from Uruguay.

Customs man: We think we saw a bottle of wine and something that looks like cheese in your bag sir. Would you mind removing them.

Me: Certainly

Customs man: You can't bring cheese into the country

Me: (slightly confused, not enjoying the moment) what, why? No one told me this before I got on the boat.

Customs man: there's signs everywhere!

Me: (in my head) But the only sign I've seen in Argentina or Uruguay is right next to you!

So, not wanting to be labeled as part of the whine and cheese club, I dutifully handed over my wheel of aji and perejil adobo cheese and proceeded to La Plata.

2006-08-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today I was reading and meditating over John 1, as I often do because its a powerful passage, and I decided to check out the Greek construction of verse 1. I am not a Greek scholar, nor profess to completely understand the simple notes I found about the parts of speech each Greek word represents. However, I found some definitions of what the words can mean in certain contexts and I greatly enjoyed this section.

John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. "

In Greek the equivalent to Word is logos. One of the definitions for logos captured my attention and reads as follows:

In John, denotes the essential Word of God, Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world's life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man's salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth conspicuously from His words and deeds.

That is the Jesus I'm growing to know. And I hope the evidence of His presence in my life becomes conspicuous as the Holy Spirit manifests His words and deeds in me.

2006-03-13T21:32:00.000-08:00

My heart is free. No more wondering, no more holding on to what if. There is reconciliation. Half a world divides me from the man who had a grand dream and the man who faced reality. Tonight I'm free to press on. I will start anew. There's a subtle wind of change testing the sails here lately. At least I know which way the wind is blowing, and it doesn't show any sign of calming in the near future. There is great love to be found. Maybe I will hike a few more mountains before finding it. I'd much rather hike a few more mountains with the one I'm finding it with. Maybe I'll spend a few more bachelor nights down by the lake with stinky-bait catchin' catfish. But I'd much rather sing "you and me go fishin' in the dark, layin' on our backsides n' watchin the stars" with someone who doesn't sing bass or tenor. There are still albums of dramatic photos to take. But they're so much more elegant and breathtaking with that special girl in the foreground.

All this to say, God's grace remains sufficient for me now, tomorrow, and the next day. And if He sees if fit in His all-surpassing grace, one day He'll introduce me to one of His daughters and say to us 'lets go explore the world I've made, there's many people for you to meet on the way, and they need My love.'

2005-10-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Easy Homemade salsa recipe! This is my favorite stuff to make.

Ingredients (everything estimated, or to taste):

8-10 pear tomatoes...ripe and ready
1 big onion or 1 1/2 normal onions
2-3 cloves of garlic
15 leaves of cilantro with stalks too
1 banana pepper
1 cayenne pepper
1 chipotle pepper
1 other small orange pepper( I use some that we have in Argentina)
1/4 cup of vinegar(preferably alcohol vinegar or white wine vinegar)
Juice from half of a lemon, lime is great too
2 tablespoons of salt
multispeed blender
skillet

Preparation:

Peel and quarter the onions and garlic
Roast onion quarters, garlic and whole tomatoes in skillet on low or medium heat rotating each item so they're equally cooked on all sides...the onions are finished when they've browned or are somewhat charred. The tomatoes are done when the skin starts to peel off and the skin is blackening.
Cap the peppers and toss them in the blender with 1/4 cup vinegar, cilantro leaves, and one of the tomatoes. Blend them on high speed until its a very fine mixture(you don't want someone getting a huge chunk of pepper!).
Add remaining contents and blend at lower speed or pulse to make the salsa chunkier, or higher speed and for more time to make the salsa finer. You'll probably have to add the rest of the tomatoes and onions in shifts because it won't all fit in the blender at once.
Allow to sit at room temp. for a few hours(this helps mingle the flavors and give it more robust flavor).
Store in fridge.
Add more salt to taste afterwards if it needs more

To me, the salsa tastes better a few days later than it does right away. The recipe yields enough to keep ya chompin' away for awhile. If anyone tries this and figures out some more ingredients to add to improve it let me know!!!

2005-10-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday. Every Thursday in La Plata there is a protest in front of the Governor's house which is located directly across the plaza from us. Being one of very few planned cities, La Plata is organized in a very precise manner. All of the provential government buildings are located in a line stretching from around Avenida 1 to calle 12 in between calle 51 and calle 53. There is no calle 52 because all of these buildings occupy the entire space of these blocks. There's some neat parks in between the buildings as well so its a neat looking set up actually. We happen to live on Calle 53 between 7 and 8...right across from the legislative building and caddy corner to the governor's house. Soooo, every Thursday we get the full brunt of the disruption from these protests.

Protests include people camping out, setting off fireworks, playing their drums, a guy speaking throw a megafone in an annoying monotone voice, and some kind of explosion that sounds like a bomb going off unexpectedly and scaring the mess out of us.

However, something strange happened today. We awoke to the sound of...nothing. As we looked over the balcony we saw rows of police officers cutting off the major streets between 51 and 53. On further inspection they had cordoned off both 'manzanas' (that's what they call the huge city blocks) to prevent the protestors from entering the 10 block circumference near our apartment. It was hermoso (beautiful) !!!! The silence is beautiful. They're not even letting individuals pass through unless they live inside the policed area. It has never, never been this quiet in the city. I felt like I was hiking through the forest when I crossed the plaza because there wasn't anybody else there. This was certainly a welcomed respite from the noise and hurriedness we're accustomed to. There weren't even any hippies smoking pot and selling hemp necklaces in the plaza...couldn't hardly believe it.

For the first time in ages I feel like I can think...like I can get away from the droning of cars and buses and dogs barking at scooters. Usually I have to leave the city to experience some freedom of mind, but today the peacefulness of the country came to me.

Bueno, I'm gonna take advantage of the silence and read in the plaza while the law is protecting this tranquility

Where and why is Justin out fishin' ?

2005-10-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Fishing, as everyone close to me knows, is an adventure of which I am curiously and avidly an enthusiast. Fishing is more than a manly quest to prove one's domination over small water-dwelling animals...I actually wouldn't call that fishing at all (that's angling). To me, it really is an adventure; a pursuit. Anyone who has ever gone fishing knows you don't always catch a fish in each expedition. If that were the case, it would be aptly named 'catching'. But, because the sport is rightly named fishing there is an implied dedication, diligence, perseverance involved. These attributes are only obtained through patience. And as far as I understand the world in which we live; patience is only a product of having a resounding, steady, unchangeable HOPE. If hope is unchangeable and steady, it must be based on the principal of TRUTH. If something is true and steady, you can base your hope in it without being disappointed. The only pure truth I know comes from God and is God. But how would any of us know Who or what God is unless He chose to reveal Himself to us.

By now you might see where I'm going with this logic sequence. Yes...I admit it...I believe there is a God; that He has revealed Himself to us through the Bible and the person of Jesus Christ; and that I and everyone else who obediently clings to Him with the type of hope I mentioned on the basis of faith in the TRUTH of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins can personally, intimately, and profoundly know God. One of my favorite passages in the Bible has a clear explanation of this run-on sentence I just wrote. Titus 3:3-7:

3For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

I love these verses because they make it clear how God wants to save us...not because of anything 'good' we've done to please Him, but because He is good and wants to save us. The passage also illuminates our need for salvation in the way it speaks of how we are 'led astray' and 'slaves' to all the malicious characteristics in the list until we accept the grace God is offering us through Christ' payment of the penalty for our wrongdoings instead of us paying for them.

That, my friends, is why I'm fishing. I want to know the God who wants to know me, and I want to know everything about Him that He will allow me to learn. But don't be mistaken, I do love strollin' out to the fishin' hole and wettin' a hook ANYTIME I'm given the opportunity.