John Fischer The Catch

In spite of the cold

Posted on February 7, 2019 by jwfisch

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It’s 46 degrees outside right now. Here in southern California, you have to realize, anything under 50 is arctic. We are having a cold, wet winter. Actually, I should say we are having a winter. That’s rare. On my calendar, spring training is right after the Super Bowl. Whatever falls in between the two is probably winter but it rarely amounts to much. I realize those of you in the Midwest are having a devastatingly cold time of it, and we shudder for you and pray for those who are in danger. You may surely laugh at me now.

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Posted in grace turned outward | Tagged grace turned outward, politics | 2 Comments

Hot or cold

Posted on February 6, 2019 by jwfisch

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“Oh ‘spew thee out of my mouth!’”

Marti chose one of my favorite biblical phrases to write about yesterday. Growing up on King James English, at least where the Bible was concerned, this used to be one our favorite sayings among my Christian friends: “Oh ‘spew thee out of my mouth!’” We used it when we were not happy with someone. It’s a phrase that definitely gets your attention. I understand this at a visceral level. I’ll drink coffee hot or iced, but coffee that’s been sitting there for a while and is now at room temperature, or even partially warm, I’ll get it in my mouth and just spit it out. I used to think this verse was about regurgitation, but I think it’s more at an introductory level. God’s relationship with someone with a mediocre commitment is not going to go very far. I think that’s the picture here.

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Posted in discipleship | Tagged discipleship | 3 Comments

Outside your comfort zone

Posted on February 5, 2019 by jwfisch

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[Marti weighs in with this one.]

by Marti Fischer

One of the more important messages for us today as believers can be found in the words of Jesus to the seven churches that take up the first few chapters of the book of Revelation. They are words of warning and instructions.

One of the churches, the one in Laodicea, Jesus describes its body of believers as “warm,” meaning comfortable. Warm being a comfortable state of mind where we have false securities, beliefs and ideas of where we stand with God. And Jesus warns that since these believers are neither hot nor cold, He will “spew” them out of His mouth. This is a very harsh description of rejection and abandonment.

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Posted in discipleship | Tagged discipleship | 5 Comments

Super apology

Posted on February 4, 2019 by jwfisch

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Well everybody, after all is said and done with Super Bowl LIII, I think I would have rather had church.

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Posted in sports, Worldview | Tagged sports | 13 Comments

Losing my religion

Posted on February 1, 2019 by jwfisch

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With grace, you just have to learn to let a lot of things go — things you trusted in before that don’t matter anymore.

Yesterday we talked about what was scary about grace, and we found out that there is quite a lot, especially for those who have spent a lot of time in evangelical circles. When you start to think of all the comfort zones and the controls built into Christianity in America, you can see why grace can be very scary. We just scratched the surface.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

What’s so scary about grace?

Posted on January 31, 2019 by jwfisch

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What’s so scary about grace? Plenty. First off, we don’t receive very well. It’s an affront to our pride. Like two men fighting over the bill, it’s all about pride. You lose that battle, you feel like you’re the little guy and he’s the big guy. You have to be pretty low to have no choice but to receive, but that’s why Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor” (Luke 6:20). The Luke version doesn’t add “in spirit” like Matthew does. It’s the stripped down version: just the poor. The poor can only receive; they have nothing to give, and since that’s the only way grace comes, they are therefore blessed. It’s the only way to be blessed, through the poverty of pocketbook, or the poverty of soul, otherwise, you don’t understand grace. That’s pretty scary.

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Posted in grace | Tagged grace | 8 Comments

Why grace is so hard to believe

Posted on January 30, 2019 by jwfisch

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Let’s face it: grace is hard to believe. Why is that the case when it’s so easy to get? Well that’s actually one of the reasons right there. We are all taught that to get anything valuable, you have to work for it. It’s part of human nature. So for salvation to come as a free gift runs counter to our nature. We want to earn it because we want credit for it. Like the Pharisees before us and within us, we want control. Grace comes without controls, and that bothers the heck out of us. We’re not in charge of who gets it and who doesn’t; we are only in charge of receiving it and giving it out to everyone as freely as it was given to us.

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Posted in grace turned outward | Tagged grace | 11 Comments

Not the strong man

Posted on January 29, 2019 by jwfisch

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Those who are indwelled by and dependent upon the Spirit of Jesus are humble and self-effacing. They are deeply touched by the weakness and suffering of others. They are gentle and kind. They long for goodness in themselves and in others. They are merciful to those that struggle and fail. They are single-minded in their love for Jesus. They are peaceful and leave behind a legacy of peace. They are kind to those that ill-use them, returning good for evil. – David Roper

This description of a Christian based on the teaching of Jesus from the opening Sermon on the Mount starting in Matthew 5, should be a common, well-known description of a Christian by now — a couple of centuries after it was delivered. We should have this down pat. People should see someone like this and immediately recognize a Christian. The fact that this is clearly not true is an indication that other factors contribute to modern Christianity and the attitudes of Christians besides the scriptures, and more importantly, the words of Jesus.

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Posted in kingdom of God | Tagged kingdom of God | 3 Comments

Character, not conduct

Posted on January 28, 2019 by jwfisch

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For far too long, Christianity has been defined by behavior. We love keeping spirituality on the basis of what we do and don’t do, because then we are in control of it. We can demand certain codes of conduct for our families and our Christian institutions. It’s plain and simple: a Christian looks like this, and we can hold up a model of behavior as a standard. So students at Christian colleges sign a pledge, as do staff members of churches and Christian businesses, that guarantees a certain code of conduct. That way pastors and administrators can assure a uniformity of Christian behavior, and keep the money flowing in from wealthy constituents who want to make sure everything looks good on the surface.

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Posted in 12 Steps, grace turned outward | Tagged grace turned outward | 8 Comments

Away in a manger — far away

Posted on January 25, 2019 by jwfisch

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It’s gone. Christmas is gone. The only signs that indicate Christmas may have stopped by recently are a pretty sad-looking partially-shriveled poinsettia by the fireplace and a dry Christmas wreath on the front door. Marti was playing with the idea of keeping up the whimsical Santa and his reindeer set she likes so much, but in the end it came down too. At some point you have to move on. Our point just came late this year — later than ever. Most of you are thinking, “Christmas? Is he still talking about Christmas?”

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