Footprints Of The Fisherman

"Simon Peter loved Christ with all his heart—but he loved Him imperfectly because he was human. Although Peter was wholly committed to Christ, he did many things wrong. There must have been days when he wondered if he'd ever make it. I'm a lot like that, and you probably are too. That's why we identify with Peter so well, and have so much to learn from his example."

These words, penned by Carol Ruvolo in her introduction to Footprints of the Fisherman, set the stage for looking at Peter and his relationship with Christ as our guide to relating as fallen but redeemed sinners.

When we first start looking for biblical role models, Peter might not be high on our list. Christ himself, of coarse, is our ideal example, He was a man without sin—a standard that we can strive for but never hope to fully achieve in this life. My next choice would be the Apostle Paul—again a very high standard. God's Word reveals Paul's dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, and the details of God's plan of redemption are made clear to us through Paul's inspired epistles. We know that Paul wasn't perfect because he tells us so when he speaks of his "thorn in the flesh."

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Paul was the converted Pharisee, born in Rome and educated to be a teacher of the law, while Peter was a lowly fisherman. The credentials would favor Paul if you were looking for a rock on which to build a church. Yet Christ said to Peter: "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." I know that there are different interpretations of this passage among Christians, but no matter how you interpret it, Christ gives Peter a major role in the foundation of the church.

So, Christ chose a common man with little education and no qualifying experience; a man who responded harshly and arrogantly to the necessity of the cross. He was a man who loved Christ, but, at first, didn't understand what that meant (John 21:15-19). And he was a man who would deny Christ three times. Today's leadership role model includes qualities like charisma, credentials, and confidence. Peter' chief qualities were humanity, helplessness, and hardship.

The point is not that God doesn't use the attributes he gives us, but that he also delight in being glorified through our weakness. I believe that is why Peter's failures are chronicled in scripture. So that we can see by his example that our failures don't disqualify us for service in Christ's Kingdom, but that they may serve to teach us and humble us, and they make God's glory shine even brighter by showing His power through our powerlessness.

We need not pray that God would make us weak, we already are, but that he will take away our false assumptions about our own abilities. Peter grew in his relationship with Christ after each failure. He was not as quick-witted as some of the other apostles. However, the lesson he learned well that made him more teachable was humility—not a highly prized trait in today's world but one we should pray for. And how can we not be humble if we dwell on the majesty, power, and grace of our triune God who lifts us from our degradation and redeems our souls?

Waiting For the Prodigal Son

This is my first blog that gets personal. It may also be the last—it's much easier to be impersonal.

This story goes back 23 years. Bam! Bam! Bam! The sound from our front door jolted me upright in bed. I tried to make out the digital clock across the room. It seemed to show something after 1 a.m. Bam! Bam! Bam! The pounding persisted.

Vicky was up now. “I don’t think Eric is home yet,” she said.

A chill passed through my body and the drowsiness was gone. As I started for the door I thought, Good news never comes at this time of day.

Eric’s friend, Chuck, was in the house as soon as I opened the door. “You have to get dressed right away,” he blurted. “Eric went down on his bike and he’s hurt.”

The accident happened a few blocks from our house, and we were there in less than ten minutes. The area was unnaturally lit by the flashing lights of two police cars, an ambulance, and a paramedic unit. About a dozen onlookers stood around the edge of the light. As we walked hesitantly toward the lights, I held on to Vicky’s arm. I wanted to comfort her, but I wasn’t sure I had the strength to sustain myself.

The firs thing I saw was Eric’s red, white, and blue motorcycle in a crumpled heap next to the curb. A pool of oil was slowly spreading from the crankcase, and the smell of gasoline was strong. The paramedics were still working on Eric. They had cut away his clothes, attached a neck brace, and were preparing to put him on a board so he could be moved to the ambulance. He was covered with oil, but there wasn’t much blood. I hoped that was a good sign. He showed no recognition when I knelt and tried to speak to him. He was moaning in a loud, low-pitched voice that I had never heard before.

In the car, on our way to the hospital, Vicky asked, “Do you suppose this is the answer to our prayers about Eric?” It was a question that had been on my mind as well. We had prayed for about six months that God would send someone or something into his life to change him. Eric was 16, and he had been in a growing state of rebellion for almost a year. He had been released from an adolescent drug treatment program just four days before the accident. By the time he got out, we knew that the program wasn’t the answer.

The ensuing hours and days and months were spent praying and spending as much time as possible with Eric as he began to recover through treatment and therapy. His only injury was a Traumatic Brain Injury that left him with limited use of his right arm and leg. We were encouraged by Eric’s desire to recover, his openness in communicating with us, and the apparent lack of cognitive damage. But the question remained—would there be the changed heart in answer to our most fervent prayers.

Eric is now 39 yeas old and I’m sure you expect me to say that he is now leading a productive Christian life. Isn’t that the way these stories are supposed to end. That’s certainly what I expected, and it’s what I still expect even though Eric is still alcohol and drug dependant.

Not that we haven’t struggled over the past 23 years with the ups and downs that come from high expectations and our own projections on how God should work this all out. But God has now brought us to a place that there is nothing left for us to do but to trust in God’s sovereign grace and to rely on His covenant promises. We still pray for Eric every day, as do many of our friends and fellow Christians. The difference is that we now know that God’s answer to those prayers will far exceed anything that we could devise or project.

The story of the prodigal son has many aspects, and it contains messages for the father and the brother, as well as the prodigal son. As a father, I’m prepared to welcome my son with open arms just as our heavenly Father welcomes all His prodigal sons when we return to Him through faith in Christ.

Freedom To Serve

We hear a lot today about personal freedom, and how valuable it is, but what does freedom really mean? To the prisoner, bondservant, or slave, freedom becomes the primary goal. As patriots, we extol the personal freedoms for which our ancestors fought and died. Freedom has great value to those who have it and especially to those who do not.

What is freedom? Are prisoners truly free when they have served their time and are released? Does a nation gain freedom by overthrowing an oppressive government? Does our quest to “do our own thing” bring freedom? Can we trade freedom for peace and security?

Newspapers often use a quote from Jesus on their masthead and the front of their buildings. It reads, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). This implies knowledge is the key to freedom, and the newspaper sets people free by keeping them informed. However, if we read that passage of John in context, Jesus was speaking of a particular kind of truth; the gospel of Jesus Christ, which frees us from the slavery of sin.

When the Jews asked Jesus to define freedom, He replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).

Jesus speaks of a true freedom that releases us from sin and puts us in a place of honor as adopted sons and daughters in the family of God. He makes it clear that the only way to gain this freedom is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Does this mean that, as Christians, we are now free to the same selfish interests that guided us before salvation? Peter said, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God”(1 Peter 2:16).

We are free indeed, but that freedom comes with an obligation. It is an obligation we would not have the capacity to fulfill without the aid of the Holy Spirit who comes to those who are free in Christ. We are obligated to obey the Word of God, subject ourselves to one another, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. As the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible” (1 Corinthians 9:19).

CHOP

Dr. Stanley D. Gale, founder of Community Houses of Prayer(CHOP), has developed a ministry to teach and encourage the use of strategic prayer to reach others for Christ. CHOP is designed for small groups and individuals to identify and begin praying for those within their personal spheres of influence who haven't been reached for Christ.

The CHOP manual begins with a four-part basic training course that sets the stage for an intensive 12 weeks of weekly study and daily prayer that is individually focused. During the basic training the participants identify the boundaries of their spheres of influence—school, work, neighborhood, family, or wherever you have been providentially placed by God. Then each person chooses someone in each of his spheres to pray for. CHOP seeks to induce prayer that will affect us as instruments of God's will, that will carry out his purposes for those for whom we are praying, and will restrain the spiritual forces of opposition.

Through training and practice, CHOP weaves four strands together: 1. lifestyle evangelism, 2. strategic prayer, 3. personal spiritual renewal, and 4. spiritual warfare The daily prayer guide provides Scripture to facilitate prayer along each of these strands.

Participants often remark that CHOP not only taught them the importance of strategic prayer, but how to pray evangelistically. It is being used by a growing number of churches to introduce new Christians to evangelism as well a focusing seasoned prayer warriors on expanding the Kingdom of Christ. The CHOP Manual is available at www.deovolente.net and you can find out more about the CHOP ministry at www.CHOPMinistry.net.

More on Christian Fiction

I want to talk about the problem of sin. No, not the the usual straw-man argument that atheists think disproves the existence of God. This is the problem that Christian writers have in portraying sin in their fiction.

This problem first came to my attention a few years ago when a novel, that was written a member of our church, was mentioned from the pulpit. Another member protested because he thought the novel was too graphic in the way it depicted sin and shouldn't be implicitly endorsed. This got me thinking about this dilemma and how difficult it can be to reach the right balance between good writing and causing offense.

One of the first principles that writers get drummed into their skulls is "show, don't tell." The goal is to make the reader feel like he is actually seeing the scene not just reading about it. You may choose to solve this problem by minimizing or ignoring sin in their story. Or you can make your description so vague that it is left to the reader's imagination, then if your reader is offended it's his own fault.

Of course these solutions are not only bad writing, they are dishonest. I believe that we, as Christian writers, have to work harder to find ways to show sin so that it can be recognized for the insidious problem that it is. I believe we can do this without being lascivious or generating any emotion other than revulsion.

What do you think?

What is a Professing Christian?

I was disturbed but only a little surprised at the Pew Forum poll results that found 57% of professing Evangelical Christians believe that Christ is not the only way to salvation. It makes me wonder what it really means now days to call yourself an evangelical or a professing Christian. It's clear that it no longer means that you adhere to the objective standard of an inspired, Holy Scripture a a rule of faith. To me, when Christ, said,"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6,ESV), he didn't leave the door open, not even a crack, for other means of salvation.

So, how can so many who profess Christ deny this basic teaching? Is it reaction to our cultural mandate that exclusivity just isn't cool? I'll admit, Solo Christos, or through Christ alone, can be one of the harder things to accept, but it is equally hard to deny its truth. Or maybe it's not that the teaching is being denied, but that it's not being taught.

At one time, most churches had a confessional standard. It was required to be taught to and affirmed by potential congregants before they joined the church. The confessional standard was not intended to supplant Scripture, but to lay out the essentials of Christianity in a systematic form. Some churches still have confessional standards, fewer still hold to them.

My sad conclusion is that calling oneself an evangelical or a professing Christian doesn't mean very much in itself. When I consider a manuscript for publication, I ask the author for a written statement of faith. Sometimes this helps, sometimes not. I'm an advocate of confessional standards in churches, more discipleship, and stricter examinations for church membership.
Let me know what you think.

Christian Fiction

What do you think about Christian fiction? Some might think the term is an oxymoron. After all, Christianity is about truth. Others insist that Christian fiction must follow a formula: a Gospel presentation, somebody gets saved, then on to a sin-free life.

On the issue of truth, I believe that stories are an effective way to portray and teach moral truth. The parables of Christ are the foremost example. Of course we don't know for sure if the events and characters in the parables are factual or metaphorical, but it does it really matter? The truth is revealed in the message either way. This is true of all enduring fiction whether it is secular as from the ancient Greek classics or from our beloved Christian writers like Tolkein or C.S. Lewis.

We know that the story of redemption is the greatest truth in the history of man, but the story goes beyond the moment when the Holy Spirit enables us to accept the Gospel truth. It includes the the denial of sin before salvation and the struggle with our remaining sinful nature afterward. This is why we can't restrict our stories to the Gospel—salvation—sanctified life formula.

I'm in the experimental phase of publishing Christian fiction. It's difficult for a small publisher with limited resources to promote. We have tree novels in print: PROWL by Gordan Runyan, a Tom Clancy type military adventure; LOST PULSE by Bill Shumaker, an historical fiction set in Nazi Germany; and THE ALBUQUERQUE AFFLICTION, by L.L. Byars, a murder mystery set in the modern southwest. I would appreciate some honest reviews. www.deovolente.net/ChristianFiction