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Gone Fishin’

November 2, 2020 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

Peter was good at fishing. He’d spent most of his life on a boat, handling nets and other fishing gear. It was comfortable for him. It was what he knew.

Jesus knew this about Peter (of course, he did, right?), so when He called him to be a “fisher of men,” Peter could easily relate and was eager to get on board. 

Jesus was calling him to a knew life. He used Peters old experiences to shed light on the new, greater experience he could be a part of. Peter immediately formed, in his own mind, a picture of what the end of this new journey would look like. He had no idea where this new life would eventually take him. Along the way, situations arose that caused him to doubt; to believe that this “new life” he had given up everything for was just a dream. Then, after Jesus was crucified, he went back to what was comfortable. He went back to his old life (John 21:3), and found that it was completely unproductive (… and that night they caught nothing.) 

Many times, God calls us out of our comfortable places. He offers us a new experience… a new life. He calls us to something greater than anything we could ever accomplish in our comfortable place. In those times, we often form our own ideas of what the end result will be. And then come the hard times, setbacks and disappointments. When these come, we often go back to what was comfortable instead of pushing forward based on the instruction we received.

Here are some tips to avoid “going back” and forfeiting the destiny and legacy God has planed for us…

1- Allow God to form the vision. Be careful not to allow preconceived ideas and desires to distort the actual plan God has in His heart for you and your life. Jeremiah 29 tells how the children of Israel allowed voices other than Gods own to form a vision of their future which only led to frustration and disappointment.

2- Be careful not to allow current circumstances to cause you to doubt what you heard God say. Luke 7 tells us of John the Baptists doubt and his questioning of Jesus really being who he said he was because of his being imprisoned and sentenced to death.

3- In times of difficulty along the way, remember, if God said it, He will faithful to carry it out in your life. In 2 Timothy 1 verse 12 Paul writes “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” He also writes ta similar statement in Philippians 1 verse 6; “… being confident in this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Can you think of some times when you have lost sight of the vision of God for your life?

How did you get back on track? Or, how did you avoid going back to the “comfort zone” when times got hard on your journey?  

Filed Under: Christianity 101, Uncategorized Tagged With: keep pushing, moving forward, not going back

Boasters Beware…

September 30, 2020 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

Do we really understand Grace?
Do we really understand the Presence of God?

The prophet, Isaiah, said these words in chapter 6, vs 5 “Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”

Isaiah realized that he had nothing to boast of; nothing that could make him worthy to be in the presence of “The King.” He found himself in the very real place of being “UNDONE” before God.
At that point, God sent an angel with a coal of fire that touched his lips and made him clean.

Paul also understood this principle. He states in Galations 6, vs 14 “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gods presence should always lead us to an understanding that we have only one thing to boast of… His Grace towards us. Accomplishments… no. A better life that someone (anyone) else… no. Even morality that seems to be above someone elses… no. Only His grace towards us.

Our cry today and every day should be… “Woe is me! I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips…”

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sins and I will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14)

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Get Down!!! Get Down!!!

July 22, 2017 by Joey Hughes Leave a Comment

I live in Oklahoma. This picture is a common sight in the months of late winter and spring as we experience tornado season. We hear it constantly on weather broadcasts and alerts.

 

“Get to the lowest area of the building and stay in a crouching position until the storm passes!”

Isn’t it interesting that the best way to survive a storm is to get as low as possible?

Most of the time, in this world of “climbing the ladder of success” and “do everything you can to go as high as you can” there’s not room or time for “going low.” I wonder if maybe we’ve missed something.

In the book of Luke, chapter 19, we see the story of a man named Zacchaeus. He was a man who wanted to see Jesus, so he climbed as high as he could. As Jesus passed by, He looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Come down at once!”

In order for him to get face to face with Jesus, Zacchaeus had to come down from where he had worked so hard to climb to.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a low place and we wonder if anyone knows, but that may be exactly where we meet Him face to face!

Be encouraged today!

Filed Under: Christianity 101, Worship 101 Tagged With: Better Life, christianity, encouragement, Hope

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