The Parable of the Big Fish

I had been working for two straight years after graduating from Ambassador University in 1997. I hadn't taken a single sick day nor had I indulged in a vacation either. So when Royal Host pitched the idea of a timeshare to me, I was hooked. I should have known better and followed one of my personal rules: "Never go grocery shopping when you're hungry." Huh? Allow me to digress for just a minute so I can explain. You see, as a poor college student, I would often go to the local Wal*Mart to stock up on ramen noodles for the week. But if I went grocery shopping while hungry, you could never tell what would end up in my cart: party-size bag of nachos, 2-gallon drum of chili, 12 microwavable pizzas ... you get the point. Well the same rule should have applied to this timeshare deal; I was starving for a vacation since I hadn't had one since our honeymoon in Jamaica.

So needless to say, I was an easy target at the timeshare presentation. I was determined to simply eat the free steak dinner, grab the $50 gift voucher, and get out of there with my wallet intact. I forewarned Kristy not to be swayed by the hype. But when the presenter showed one picture of white sandy beaches with crystal-clear blue water, I slapped by checkbook down at the cashier's table and exclaimed, "I'm IN! Where do I sign?" There's more to that story, but I'll save it for another parable.

Taking advantage of the timeshare a few years ago, Kristy and I took a vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. After departing the plane, all visitors are accosted in the airport baggage claim by more timeshare salesmen offering everything from "free" Mexican blankets, to "free" transportation, "free" breakfasts, "free" tequila, you name it. I knew there had to be a catch and I was right. The freebies actually came attached to a 90 minute timeshare presentation that you'd have to endure before the gifts were presented. Since I was sure this time I could say "NO" to purchasing a timeshare, we decided to take one of them up on their offer in exchange for a "free" deep sea fishing charter.

Cabo is well known for their marlin and mahi-mahi so that's exactly what we were angling for. Kristy became sea sick almost immediately and spent the majority of our 3 hour tour in the belly of the 48' fishing vessel. I had fished for small game fish growing up on the east coast, but when a fish finally struck my line in the deep blue waters of Cabo I had no idea what kind of battle I was in for. It felt like my line was caught on the bottom of the ocean floor but the captain assured me it was most certainly a fish. I used my entire body to pull and then reel ... pull and then reel ... for what seemed like hours. But actually after only 45 minutes I was finally able to see what I was fighting for: a large mahi-mahi repeatedly sprang out of the water attempting to spit the hook. But by this time he was starting to tire (and so was I). When I finally got him up next to the boat, the captain knocked him on the head and we brought him on board. We caught a few other fish that day, but this one was by far the largest. See for yourself.

Now you may be thinking this is just another big fish story, but as Christians we have a far more meaningful calling to be "fishers of men". In Matthew 4:18-20, Jesus calls his first disciples, Peter and Andrew, who also happened to be brothers and fishermen. He challenged them to follow Him and become fishers of men by ministering to them and sharing the gospel of the kingdom of God. He presents the same challenge to us as well in The Great Commission.

Later in Luke, Christ used another fishing trip to further illustrate our Christian calling. In chapter 5 of Luke (verses 1-11) the disciples we're calling it a night after a full day's worth of trolling with nothing to show for it. Jesus persuades them to try one more time - in the exact same place they had been trying (and failing) all day! Reluctantly, the disciples agree but have very little faith anything will be caught at all. To their surprise, they catch such a multitude of fish that their nets begin to break and the boat nearly capsizes (they even need help from other nearby boats to keep from going under). What an amazing turn of events! In addition to learning a great lesson on faith, this story also illustrates how we can reach our full potential by answering God's calling in Matthew 28:18-20, "Jesus came and told his disciples, 'I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"

So I encourage you to share your own personal story of how God has changed your life, share your faith, and share hope with the people you come in contact with everyday. Ask God for "spiritual lasik" to see those He puts in your life to minister to; pray for a Godly appointment daily. And one important thing to remember ... a major difference between my fishing trip in Cabo and our "fishing trip for the Lord", is that it's crucial that we don't beat people over the head with our Bibles when we get them along side the boat. Show compassion and patience and in time God will fill your life so full of Christian victories that you too might just be riping at the seams with joy.

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Deep Freeze)

The Parable of the Bubblegum Machine

When I was in elementary school I had a friend named Ronnie Faiella. His family was probably one of the wealthiest I knew in our small town of Sayreville, N.J. The Faiella's lived in a mansion-sized home and inside there were protective plastic covers over everything ... the furniture, the appliances, just about anything a sly 10-year-old could get his grubby paws on. Plus, it was easy to tell where guests were allowed or not allowed to go in the house because there were plastic runners on the carpet leading you like the yellow brick road - step off of them and I was sure spotlights and sirens would go off to warn the homeowners of the infraction.

From time to time I would go over to Ronnie's house after school. It was always a real treat to visit Ronnie because he had his own pinball machines and stand-up arcade video games. But one time, just after his birthday, Ronnie had gotten his own bubblegum vending machine for his room. I remember it vividly ... it dispensed "Dubble-Bubble" bubblegum balls for a nickel. So every time I went over to Ronnie's house after that I was sure to bring a few nickels so I could pop them into his bubblegum machine and hear that distinct sound of grinding gears followed by the anticipated 'clack' when the gum ball dropped into the dispensing slot. I'm sure Ronnie made a small fortune off me (I hope he made it into a very prestigious business school with the proceeds).

But then one day Ronnie let me in on his little secret. You see Ronnie had read the directions that came with the bubblegum machine so he knew how to toggle the little switch inside that made it dispense bubblegum for free. That's right ... no more nickels ... just turn the knob when you wanted free gum and we were set. Of course, I couldn't keep this amazing secret to myself. I had to tell Jim Aleski who had to tell Danny Hassell who had to tell the whole neighborhood. Well you can imagine how popular Ronnie became soon after the secret of his free gum ball machine hit the street.

Maybe you already know where I'm going with this but I can't ignore the parallels this story has with the gospel of the New Testament. God's gift of salvation, communion with Him now and eternal life with Him in His kingdom forever, is free for us to receive. Believe me ... this is far more valuable than gum balls. The reason it's free is because God's only Son, Jesus, came to this earth and paid the ultimate price for us. Sadly, this didn't cost Him a few nickels (or shekels for that matter). Jesus laid down His whole life and took our place on the cross. And after 3 days He rose again. God graciously gives us this gift for free because of Christ's atoning sacrifice and our faith in Him.

Ronnie read the directions to understand how to receive free gum just like we have the directions for how to receive the Holy Spirit and Christ as our personal Saviour. It's called The Holy Bible, the inspired word of God. In 1 Corinthians 2:12 the Apostle Paul reminds us that "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us." Remember how I couldn't keep the secret of the free gum to myself? Well, we're also commanded in Matthew 28:18-20 to share the Good News of the Kingdom of God (this free gift) with everyone on the planet. It's called The Great Commission and in simple terms using my story above, The Great Commission explains that being a Christian is like being a kid who shows another kid where to get free bubblegum. So here's your "bubblegum" ... If you want to accept Jesus as your personal savior just pray this little prayer in your HEART (the words themselves mean nothing; its believing them in your heart that's important) .

"Dear Lord, I believe you died and rose from the dead. I know and confess that I am a sinner and am lost without you. I ask you to forgive my sins and come into my heart. I give my life to you and want to live for you the rest of my life. I thank you Lord and praise you. Please guide me and direct me for the rest of my life! In Jesus name I pray, Amen."

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of the Popcorn Kernel)

The Parable of the Marathon Runner

As many of you know I ran the Dallas White Rock Marathon last week. Officially I ran the race as a member of a relay team comprised of myself, my wife Kristy, and our friends Rob Swagerty, Heather Jones, and Shasta Kalin. But after running the first 6 mile leg I decided to keep running the full marathon. The course is 26.2 relatively flat miles from the American Airlines Center out around White Rock Lake and back.

I hadn't run a marathon since my freshman year in college and I soon remembered why. The first thing you learn about a marathon is that it is a lot more fun telling people you're going to run a marathon than actually running it. I remember standing at the starting line wondering to myself, "Would I be non-chalantly sipping Gatorade at the finish line in a few hours or babbling incoherently on some stranger's front lawn?"

The weather was fairly cooperative -- low 40's, with some wind. While I was shivering at the starting line I met Mike Pluimer, a fellow FCA Endurance member. He was targeting a sub-3:00 race time which I knew was way too fast for me. But I did bump into another buddy, Petrus Booysen, who I had raced with in a duathlon in Tyler State Park earlier this year. It was his first marathon ever and my first after 12+ years so we decided to keep each other company. It's important to team-up with someone when running a marathon ... it certainly helps to pass the miles. We were cruising along at about a 7:30/mile for 16 miles when I finally decided that I couldn't hold that pace for the entire race. So I wished "Peet" good luck and I toned it down a few notches.

I tried to stay hydrated at each aid station and I took regular doses of Hammer Gel to fuel my fading muscles. Even still, by mile 20 my quads were starting to cramp up pretty bad. I kept repeating to myself, "My soreness is a sacrifice to my Savior" (this is part of the FCA Competitor's Creed). The mantra helped and I even shared it with a few other struggling runners. Since you use different muscles when you run and when you walk I resorted to running until I cramped, then walking until I cramped, back and forth until I crossed the finish line. As a result I didn't even come close to the time I was shooting for but just finishing a marathon is a rewarding experience. I had fought the good fight, I had finished the race.

Regardless of whether or not you ever run a marathon, the Bible says we all have a race of our own to run. Jesus challenged us in Matthew 28:18-19 to "... go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The Great Commission as it is called is even more rewarding and challenging than running a marathon. But just like I had a friend to run the marathon with, God also provides us with a friend to help us along in our journey. In John 14:16 Jesus promised to send us a Counselor, a Comforter ... the Holy Spirit to guide us until we "cross the finish line."

I close this devotional with one of my favorite passages from scripture, Acts 20:24 - "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." And believe me ... the reward for completing this race isn't some cheesy finisher's medal. It's everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. Priceless.

Stay the course, finish the race ... AB

(Next Week: The Parable of Mr. Potato Head)