Fishers of Men

George Mwangi, a History Maker in Kenya, in a recent devotional to young HM leaders worldwide  said:

"As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." (Matt 4:18-21)

Long ago Jesus called some simple fishermen and offered to give them a course in soul winning. The disciples followed Jesus gladly, learning from Him the power, the message and the methods of evangelism. They learned from him how to pray, teach, preach, heal the sick, feed the hungry, and to help sinners find God.

A fisherman goes where the fish are. No one knew this better than Peter and Andrew and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. They were professional fishermen. But Jesus taught them how to fish for souls. He took the gospel to the people wherever they were. He showed the disciples by example how to seize every opportunity and share the good news. He did so by using whatever facility was available to help sinners find God. Whether it was a borrowed boat, a home, a courtyard, on the streets or by a village well. He never tired of teaching them how to ‘catch men’.

They learned not only from His methods, but also from His attitudes, His love for God and man, His dedication, zeal, faith and commitment to the will of God. He afterwards filled them with His Spirit and sent them out to be His witnesses beginning from Jerusalem even to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1:8). He promised them His abiding presence as they set out to obey His command. (Matt 28: 19-20)

His command and His promise are just the same today. Indeed, the Spirit and the bride say, “Come! “ (Rev 22:17a)

So, here's the deal Lofters worldwide......

• How about an attitude check?  Are you passionately seeking to share the gospel to everyone who comes your way?
• How about a 'love' check?  How are you passionate about loving others?
• How about a dedication, zeal, faith and commitment to the will of God's check? Are you bi-polar when it comes to your spiritual life?

We are almost at the end of 2008. How are you really doing in your spiritual life?  Thanks, George, for the terrific devotional.

Selah

P.S. - History Makers are impacting the world.  Check out the Movin' On blog for another story of History Makers in action.

A Spirit of Excellence

Joanna Puslecka, co-director of History Makers, recently challenged young emerging leaders who are participating on a HM Journey with the following:

Joyce Meyer once said, "Excellent people exceed expectations." In other words, they go the extra mile, they do more than is asked, and they take extra steps to ensure the highest quality.

 

Daniel exemplified this spirit during his service as a highly regarded administrator in a secular environment. The Scripture says that "he distinguished himself among the administrators . . . because of his exceptional qualities" so much so that "they could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent" (Daniel 6:3-4).

Excellence does not necessarily mean the absence of mistakes, but it does mean the presence of faith and determination. To be excellent at whatever God has called you to do you must first ask for His strength to accomplish the task, and then secondly, His endurance to complete it. Daniel met with obstacles in his endeavor to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, but he remained steadfast to the course of action he believed the Lord had set for him to take.

Are you still excited about your vision? Are you still searching after it? Or are you at exactly the same point you were last year or two years ago?

Maybe God is calling you higher? Are you willing and obedient to follow Him to the higher standards of life that often come with the vision He provides.

Just a short paragraph to remind you about the importance of vision and the need for excellence.

Vision, establishes a standard of excellence.

A vision serves a very important function in establishing a standard of excellence. In fact, a good vision is all about excellence. Tom Peters, the author of In Search of Excellence, talks about going into an organization where a number of problems existed. When he attempted to get the organization's leadership to address the problems, he got the defensive response, "But we're no worse than anyone else!" Peters cites this sarcastically as a great vision for an organization: "Acme Widgets: We're No Worse Than Anyone Else!" A vision so characterized by a lack of striving for excellence would not motivate or excite anyone about that organization.

Vision bridges the present and the future.

God’s vision will get you out of the present, and focus you on the future. It's easy to get caught up in the crises of the day, and to lose sight of where you were heading. A good vision can orient you on the future, and provide positive direction. Do the things you need to do today the best you can; see them as little steps or big leaps that will bring you closer to accomplishing your vision. And most of all do not forget that it is God’s vision for your life. He is committed to you and is calling: ‘Friend, come up higher!’

"You can run into mediocrity accidentally but you have to purpose to be excellent."

Some thoughts----how about it Lofters?  Are you pursing excellence...in your career; your marriage; all your relationships? Let's drill down a little deeper....how is your pursuit of excellence going in spiritual things; how about God's vision for your life?

Maybe....just maybe God is calling a lot of us Lofters higher?  What do you think?  Will 2009 be the year you take the leap?

Selah

What's Your Passion?

I've reprinted below a e-devotional by Martin Durham recently sent to participants in History Makers journeys around the world.

Gary Neville, of Manchester United, is frequently described as being passionate about his football, and particularly, passionate about his team. But where does this passion come from? Does he plan before a game to be passionate? No, something ignites within, something almost uncontrollable; something that sets him ablaze, that propels him in a certain direction.

AD61 (ish) and a letter being penned to the Church at Philippi... In many ways a beautiful letter, with an overriding theme of triumphant joy, and a very clear testimony – “I will rejoice!” It is somewhat intriguing then, that Paul is in prison at the time of writing this letter!

And we see from the first chapter that Paul is in prison for the sake of the Gospel, because of his testimony of Jesus. And if we read on we come to these incredible verses: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!" [Phil. 1:21-22].

Here we get an insight into what it means to be passionate. Oh, that we would live life with that struggle! That the fires would be burning so brightly that we truly become one with Him!

Paul had had a real encounter with Christ…and it had transformed him.

Persecutor to preacher…if you think God is not able to save certain people, then think again! Paul had moved from death to life, and this had altered his understanding of life – only in Christ does he have life.

Is this the understanding of your reality?

“For to me… my whole being, what I’m about, everything within me, heart, mind, soul to live Christ… – There is no “is” in the Greek… a sense of being alive, alive to Christ! Paul did not live for fame or celebrity status (an easy trap for the minister of the Gospel today, and the lure so tempting!)

I remember reading of a young girl named Cassie Bernall. Gunmen entered Columbine High School shooting known Christians and those of an ethnic minority. They came to Cassie and held a gun to her head, asking whether she believed in Jesus. “Yes” was her reply. The gun went off and Cassie was dead. I remember reading of Wilson Fazal, a Pastor in Pakistan, who received death threats saying that he would suffer the consequences if he didn’t stop preaching about Jesus. Wilson continued, and one morning as he was on his knees praying, gunmen burst into the church and shot him dead.

…and to die is gain” – the Greek understanding here is not death in itself, but rather the consequence of dying – continuous fellowship… absence on earth – presence with Jesus!

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” (Jim Elliott)

In his mid twenties, this young missionary Jim Elliott did just that in Ecuador. Slaughtered by a tribe he was trying to reach, Jim Elliott laid down his life for the cause of Christ. Jim had a passion to reach this unreached tribe. But first and foremost, his passion was for Jesus.

*** There is no passion for the harvest without passion for Jesus ***

In my dreams I want to be like Cassie Bernall, or Wilson Fazal or Jim Elliott. But I’ve never had a gun to my head or had a non-believer thrust a spear my way. But, as Cassie’s Mum would say, it wasn’t about Cassie saying “yes” on that horrific day. It was the fact that every morning as she awoke, she said “yes”. Laying down my life, my rights, doesn’t begin with a gun at my head…it begins now. It is Jesus who kindles the fire within, the Spirit of God who fans the flames into a blaze of love for the King of kings, and brings me to that place, no matter what my circumstances, of saying “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!”

That’s the birthplace of PASSION!

Martin Durham, HM International

Lofters, want to know more about History Makers and it's mission?  Visit www.history-makers.org.

Selah