Welcome to 2017.
I’m not so sure we’re all thrilled to be here, but we should be, and here’s why. What with Russia hacking, Trump tweeting, Congress bleating, the media screeching, and the church in large part running the other way, it looks to be a rather dangerous and unstable year. Some people are understandably afraid to even come out of their houses. But that makes it even more important for you and for me.
I met one of my heroes recently. The church I was visiting had a guest speaker I was eager to hear and meet. He has been one of my favorite commentators on Christianity and culture for many years and I have quoted him on numerous occasions. I once wrote him to thank him for being such an important spokesperson for living out the truth in the real world. Here is a man for whom there is no separation of sacred and secular; instead, God has shown him how to think in such a way as to sanctify everything and pass on that ability to others. So it was with great admiration that I went up afterwards to meet him and thank him personally for what his work had meant to me.
I was so focused on this that it caught me off guard when, upon hearing my name, he welcomed me as celebrity, and introduced me to everyone around him as his hero. Apparently my music had had a significant influence on his early years, and that letter I sent so many years ago has been a treasured encouragement ever since. Hearing this made me think of a letter I once received from the late Herb Caen, revered columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, admiring my book that I had sent him because it had a piece about him in it. That was a letter from one of my heroes saying, “Nice job.” I still have that letter in a frame.
So there we were, mutual heroes meeting for the first time.
Does God love only Christians?
Does this question even need to be asked? Unfortunately, yes, because there is an impression out there that that He does. I encounter it in innuendo and assumption. I encounter it in myself and the attitudes caught from a strongly Pharisaical upbringing, and I have found it to be an attitude that is hard to shake.
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:33-37)
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:28-32)
Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans. (Proverbs 16:3)
In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps. (Proverbs 16:9)
Got it? Is everybody clear on this?
Actually, if you read through all those scriptures, you should be thoroughly confused. I am. Following Christ is not always a clear path. It’s nothing like the yellow brick road. These passages all have to do with human plans and God’s direction and they do not always mesh.
Does anybody remember Bill Gothard’s Basic Youth Conflicts? That was a weekend training seminar popular in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. (It later became the Institute of Basic Life Principles from which Gothard resigned in 2014 amidst allegations of life-long issues of sexual harassment of female employees. Proof that knowing all the answers and doing them are two different things.) Actually, I’m one to believe there aren’t answers like that in the Bible. The Bible isn’t an answer book or a manual for life. It reveals God to us and how we can know Him, but it doesn’t have a principled answer for everything in life. That’s legalism, and laws are made to be broken. Just ask Bill Gothard. Live by the law; you die by the law.
Yes the Bible has laws and principles; it is also very clear that no one can live by them. If you could, you’d be doing pretty well. But the law is not a way to righteousness, it’s a way to Christ. The law leads us to the saving grace of Christ by reason of the fact that we can’t obey it. So to turn the Bible into a bunch of principles by which you can live a good and successful life is the most damaging thing you could do with the Bible. It nullifies its central message, the gospel of Jesus Christ for losers.
So what does any of this have to do with New Year’s resolutions? Plenty. It says you can make them, but know that you will break them. That’s why you must not take an oath or swear by heaven, earth or the hairs on your head that you will or won’t do something because you will break that oath, and once you do, the devil will have you in a guilt trap from which you cannot escape. Round and round you will go, vowing that “this time” you will not fall, but fall you will, even harder. And the devil (the “accuser of the brethren”) will say, “Gotcha.”
So make your resolutions (I’m making mine), just don’t trust in the resolutions or yourself. Trust only in the Lord. And make your plans and set goals, just be realistic, and let God guide your steps, and if He leads you somewhere other than your plans, then alter your plans to meet His.
Walk humbly, carry your cross (meaning give up yourself and everything you want) and claim the grace of God over all you are and do. And when you blow it, acknowledge it. Step into the light with the rest of us sinners and receive Christ’s forgiveness. Hopefully, Bill Gothard is doing that now.
A huge THANK YOU once again for everyone who participated in our year-end campaign. Your eager response was so encouraging. We are waiting for our Board of Directors and mail-in contributions to be counted and we will give a full report at that time. IN THE MEANTIME, YOU GUYS ARE TERRIFIC! To everyone listed below … WE SALUTE YOU!
AS YOU WISH!
Grace, Dallas, Texas
Terri, Reedley, California
John, Tecumseh, Kansas
Doug
Chris, Placentia, California
Laura, Campbell, California
David, Wernersville, Pennsylvania
Robert, Nassau, Bahamas
Gloria, Brooklyn, Michigan
Markus, Köln, Germany
Chri, Columbia, Maryland
Nina, Jefferson City, Missouri
Robert, Lake Stevens, Washington
Brenden
Herb, Blue Mountain, Mississippi
Jim, Calgary, Alberta, CANADA
Jeffrey, Menlo Park, California
Carol, Melrose, Massachusetts
Judith, McMinnville, Tennessee
John, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania
Lynn
Annette, Waldorf, Maryland
Kristin, Chesterfield, Missouri
Linda, Warwickshire, U.K.
George, Barefoot Bay, Florida
Garry, Ozark, Arkansas
Renee
Jennifer, Wesley Chapel, Florida
Clyde, Aliso Viejo, California
Gary, Apache Jct, Arizona
Rick, White Rock, British Columbia
John
Linda, Bainbridge Island, Washington
Jaymi, Nebraska City, Nebraska
David, Lakeville, Minnesota
Steve, Seaside,Oregon
Paul, Wayne, Pennslyvania
Michael, Tucson, Arizona
Margaret, Midland, Texas
Darin, Cozad, Nebraska
Amanda, Visalia, California
Tom, Oakland, California
Mark
Rebecca, Cullman, Alabama
Steve, Nashville, Tennessee
Charles, Washington
Chan, Hong Kong
Bob, Venetia, Pennsylvania
David, Tauranga, New Zealand
John, Belmont, Australia
John, Coralville, Iowa
Priscilla, Spencerport, New York
Tom, Wetumpka, Alabama
William, Tucson, Arizona
Doug, Maple Valley, Washington
Tim, Wahpeton, Indiana
Bill, Seattle, Washington
Paula, Decatur, Alabama
Alan, Twyford Reading, U.K.
Kent, Bryan, Ohio
No wonder they call it grandaddy. It’s been going on for 103 years and yesterday’s installment of the Rose Bowl game was one of the best ever — certainly in my lifetime, and I’ve seen almost all of them I’ve been alive to see. It was one of those classic games that never seemed to end. 52-49? Thirteen touchdowns? You try to remember some of those early touchdowns and they seem to be from another game. It started in the early afternoon and played well into the night. The game was so long that guys got injured and had enough time to heal up and get back in it. And even if they didn’t heal, they came back anyway, because, well, this was the Rose Bowl and you had the rest of your life to heal.
Click to Donate; Don’t Delay!
Click to Donate; Don’t Delay!
It is exceptionally difficult to create a series of requests for generosity in these last hours of the year when you have graced us with your lives, involvement, encouragement, and financial support throughout these last 8 years!
Together we have faced into and come out the other side on so many stands we have taken. The Catch Ministry and its volunteer teams are teaching the proven Biblical worldview we preach in countries around the world with tremendous success.
In support of the Ministry’s Boots on the Ground, you and I have healed the sick and cared for the wounded and prayed mightily over individuals among the troops.
It is grounds for throwing a party to celebrate you and all you have accomplished!
We salute you and stand ever ready to continue this ministry as you wish…as you wish… as you wish. Oh, Lord… AS YOU WISH!
Our year-end, carefully calculated target is $48,000, of which we have recently asked several Catch members with the capacity to give a collective $16,000, leaving you and me to raise $32,000. AND … toward the $32,000, we have already raised $4,000.
As the Man in Black said when confronting the Princess’s pain,”Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
Here at the Catch, we step into the pain and suffering of many Catch citizens within the worldwide Catch Community. And we can assure you, we are not selling anything, but giving what has been graciously given to us – Grace, God’s Grace – given to you and me so that we might turn it outward to many, many, others. And that, our dear friends is truly worth celebrating!
So…….
In appreciation for your generous year-end
Tax-Deductible Donation
Please accept a free gift of
Reluctant Warrior:
Encouragement from the Life of Gideon
Pre-released for Catch Members Only and
dedicated to the
Catch Ministry Community
by John Fischer
(Gideon and his 300 have started out to arrange an ambush.
But not all will go smoothly on the way to a happily ever after…)
Click to Donate
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
At the end of broken dreams, He’s the open door.
People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
When will we realize, people need the Lord?
It’s a song written and recorded by Steve Green and covered by numerous Christian artists. It quickly became a standard in middle-of-the-road contemporary Christian music. It’s one of those songs that is over-obvious. When you first hear it, you are sure you have heard it before. But if you try and put it down, it keeps popping up, because it’s a song that has captured beauty in simplicity that states a dead-on truth.
You’ve heard of Secret Santa. Well now that Christmas is over I want to encourage you to consider being a Secret Jesus. Think about introducing hope to the hopeless and watch the power of Christ come alive as God did that first Christmas.
John Fischer The Catch 