John Fischer The Catch

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is the way to find out if they have the Spirit of God: If a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ became a human being, that person has the Spirit of God. (1 John 4:1-2 NLT)

God becoming human is the true message of Christmas. It is a cataclysmic event – a pivotal moment in the history of planet earth. It is without question the single most important event in human history apart from Creation. This is the reason for the star, the wise men and the angelic hosts – God’s way of celebrating and signaling what He was up to, while, at the same time, keeping it pretty much a secret except for a small crowd of lowly shepherds and a few kingly stargazers.

Paul the apostle wrote that if Christ was not raised from the dead, we who believe are of all people most miserable. It all rests on this. And for Him to be raised from the dead as a human being He had to be born as a human being. The birth was a miracle. The death was payment necessary for salvation. The resurrection was another miracle opening the pathway to heaven for the rest of us human beings.

And it all started in Bethlehem, O little town of.

This is why we celebrate all this. This is why we wrestle from Jack Frost, roasting chestnuts, sleigh rides, reindeer and Santa, the real point of the season: God became a human being. It’s so important it becomes the litmus test of a false prophet.

God became a human being and entered the world He created through the womb of Mary, a young girl at the time, engaged to Joseph of the line of David. It all ties together in a brilliantly orchestrated plan. Just dust off the fake snow and you’ll find it. No one need spoil it for you. They are all trying to find it, though they may not understand the full portent of what they seek. Who can? Such a thing defies reason. Thus the magic.

And prophets are determined by it.

I have seen the Son of Man
In the human caravan…
Rejoice!

An accidental fireworks explosion in San Diego that is oddly familiar.

I’m sure we all know someone who combs ten inches of hair over a wide, shiny bald dome and actually thinks he is hiding something. This hopeless cover-up is similar to whatever we think we are hiding that in reality everyone else sees. The problem is, most people, out of common courtesy or more likely fear of embarrassment, don’t tell us what they see. Like talking to someone with bad breath or food on their face, they let us go on to offend or amuse some other unsuspecting soul. The first thing about standing in someone else’s shoes is that you see yourself for the first time without all your blind spots and cover-ups.

It’s virtually impossible to get another view of yourself by yourself. Just like we need at least two mirrors to see the angles most other people see of us, we need other people to tell us who we really are.

Whenever I get my haircut – which is about once every two months, whether I need it or not (and I always do) – the hairdresser always hands me a mirror when he’s done and swivels my chair to where I can hold the mirror up to the mirror on the wall behind me and marvel at the job he did on the back of my head. I hate that view.

People can serve as our character mirrors, and we need to be vulnerable to what they tell us. My wife and children think I look silly when I get mad. My anger obviously is not having the effect on them that I envision. I think they should be cowering, and they are laughing. I interpret their laughter as disrespect, when, if I could really see myself — if I could stand inside heir shoes — I might laugh too.

We need to have people around us who can tell us the truth. This is one of the most valuable elements of the recovery group model. By simply showing up you are forced to encounter a different view of yourself than you have been holding most or all of your life. In a recovery group, you are putting yourself among people whom you might have formerly judged as lower than yourself. This is why showing up is the hardest part. You walk into a room full of individuals who all have a problem, and you immediately say to yourself, “I don’t belong here. I’m not really this bad. These are the people who have hit bottom and have nowhere else to go. Me… I’m different. I’m only experimenting with this. I’m just checking it out; I won’t need to be here long. After all, these are all old bald guys.”

Eventually you discover that God has a special spot in His heart for old bald guys, and that by His Spirit, He can empower them like anyone else.

Are you praying for something? Are you waiting for an answer? Does it seem like God is taking His time getting to you? Well this is one time when getting His perspective might help your faith.

God’s time frame is a little different than ours, like about a thousand to one… years to days, that is. One day for God is like a thousand years for us (2 Peter 3:8). It’s in this context that Peter is able to point out that “The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise.” And though I think this perspective on time applies to all God’s promises, in this passage it applies to God’s promise to return – to close out the history book on the earth as we know it. Peter puts it: ” The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise to return, as some people think. He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so He is giving more time for everyone to repent” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT).

I never grow tired of hearing this about the heart of God. In fact I often check this passage just to make sure it hasn’t changed in translation. But in each new version the truth comes through loud and clear: God is waiting for more people to be saved because He gets no joy out of sending anyone to hell.

Hell is up for discussion today even among those who believe and teach the scriptures, though I find it hard to believe you could have your Bible and not have a hell in it without taking the scissors to it pretty drastically. But outside of that discussion, it is perhaps even more important to know that hell is a place God doesn’t want anyone to have to go to. And so He waits. Therefore count His patience as mercy. “The Lord is waiting so that people have time to be saved” (2 Peter 3:15).

As you go out, look at the world this way. As long as God waits, there is still time, and time is merciful.

Marti had a root canal yesterday. Just the sound of it grates on me. Root canal… It sounds to me like a cross between a jackhammer and a pile driver. I remember trying to remove tree stumps with my dad when I was a kid where the taproot goes so deep you have to keep digging down around it until you can free it. The larger the tree, the more impossible this becomes, especially with a pick and a shovel. I think now they drill the root out from inside the stump – making a big canal inside it – which is exactly what a root canal seems like to me, only inside my mouth.

Marti has had similar operations like this before (she was not blessed with good teeth. If I had checked out her teeth like they say you should do on a horse before you buy it, I might not have married her) and each time I expect her to come home in great pain. I try to prepare myself for this and what I can do to pick up the slack around the house – sort of remind myself to enter into her pain, and yet each time, she comes home just fine. Business as usual.

I’m not sure whether this is due to newer technology, but I have a feeling it’s related more to the fact that Marti chooses to have a high threshold of pain. And the more I live with her, the more I get a sense of why this is true. She chooses to ignore her pain because she lives for her family. She lives for me, for Chandler, for the opportunity to be with Christopher and Beth or Annie… it’s what makes her tick.

So I call her because I wasn’t home when she got home and she sounds cheery and energetic. If it were me, I would be milking every moment of this for myself. She picked up Chandler from school, helped him with his homework and then did some work for me on her computer, and still had enough energy to give me time when I got home later in the evening. (I suck up a lot of her time.) She didn’t skip a beat. And all that on two Tylenol.

All this to say that Marti lives for others. She is always setting her needs aside for someone else. And I now realize that if she’s living for me that makes two of us, and that is one too many.

I remain with Daniel’s influential place in court of Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Babylonian empire, during a time when the children of Israel were in captivity there. I find this similar to the place a follower of Christ has in the marketplace today. As believers, Christians are in exile in a foreign country since their true home is in heaven, yet, while on this earth, they are required to take part in the “secular” culture in which they find themselves – to “build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:5-7 NLT).

And when, in the course of living in an environment sometimes hostile to their faith, Daniel’s example would be to remain true to his God whatever the cost. In Daniel’s case, that’s what got him famously thrown into the lion’s den, where his survival impressed the king, making him respect not only Daniel, but Daniel’s god, and causing the king to put him in a place of high influence in his empire. At all times Daniel conducted himself with humility and respect for those around him – looking after their welfare as he would his own. These were pagan people following pagan gods, and though they were hostile towards him at times, he was never hostile towards them.

Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with Daniel and Daniel’s god (I use the lower case “g” to indicate the king’s perspective) that he named him Belteshazzer, a name after his own god, and claimed “the spirit of the holy gods is in him” (Daniel 4:9). This is Nebuchadnezzar putting Daniel and Daniel’s faith into terms he understands. And Daniel does not appear to resist this. Why should he? If anything, it’s a compliment, and Nebuchadnezzar will find out for himself whose god is God in due time.

Christians of recent years have tried to gain ground in society through confrontation, in some cases creating animosity and then claiming “persecution” over the reaction that animosity engendered. I do not find this to be in keeping with the way God works. Daniel’s approach is much more suited for representatives of the kingdom of God who are living in and taking part in the secular culture in which they find themselves.

Daniel never tried to turn Babylon into Israel. At all times, he operated without compromise, remaining true to his God while respecting the people and the religion of the nation to which he was exiled.

And in the end, after recovering from a period of insanity during which he lost everything (something also predicted in a dream Daniel interpreted) Nebuchadnezzar claimed, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud” (Daniel 4:37).

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

I received an insight from my reading today from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament when Daniel went before King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to explain the meaning of a dream he had that none of his wise men could solve.

(Personally, I believe the stories in the Old Testament about the children of Israel in captivity are rich with illustrations about how God would have us behave as representatives of His kingdom on earth. For instance, in this case, the king was about to execute all his wise men for not being able to interpret his dream and Daniel pleaded for their lives. “Don’t kill the wise men,” he said. “Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream” [Daniel 2:24]. I am sure this group of wise men included those who were diviners and sorcerers – followers of all sorts of black arts and enemies of the true God – and yet Daniel cared about them.)

“The revealer of mysteries has shown you what is going to happen,” Daniel told the king. “And it is not because I am wiser than any living person that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wanted you to understand what you were thinking about” (Daniel 2:29-30 NLT).

What struck me about this is Daniel’s humility and how he turned the focus off himself and onto what God wanted the king to understand about his dream and his troubled thoughts surrounding it.

In relation to what we know about God in the world, we are only messengers of what God wants others to know about Him. We are carriers of the gospel not for our own benefit but because God wants a relationship with everyone. The importance is the message. It’s important for us to get lost in the message and in what God wants others to know. Whatever insights we have to give are for someone else’s benefit, that they might understand better what they are thinking about when it comes to their own spiritual journey.

Daniel took no joy in seeing judgment befall the wise men of Babylon. This was not a contest; it was an opportunity for more people to come to know the true God.

God is constantly revealing His truth to people. We are merely pieces of the puzzle. The point is God wants to get through to people, and whatever we can do to aid in that process should be our joy.

Daniel could have seized the day for himself here. He could have gained notoriety for himself and he could have taken revenge on his enemies (remember they were in captivity). He did none of these. His goal was to help the king sort out his thoughts about God. Our joy should be in helping those around us to do the same.

With a new daughter-in-law in the family, this will be our first year balancing in-laws over the holidays, and unacquainted as we are with this process Marti inadvertently invited us all over for Thanksgiving dinner. Assuming all three families would be together, she just jumped in when she found out our in-laws were planning dinner out with the newlyweds. “What a great idea!” she had said over the phone. “Where are we going?” It wasn’t until after the conversation that she realized we might not have been on the original agenda.

What compounds this situation is that the Fischers for Thanksgiving is an ever-expanding proposition. Our seats at the Thanksgiving table are never really solidified until the moment arrives.

For instance there’s the single man Marti is working with whom she found out is not in a relationship right now and has no where to go for Thanksgiving. There’s one more. Then there’s the woman from a homeless shelter who’s company we have enjoyed. Then there is Annie’s friend who has nowhere to go whom we want to have even though Annie will be spending Thanksgiving in E.R. and sorely missed. As the life of our parties, I wonder whose table she’ll be gracing tomorrow. That’s potentially two more seats. And then, would you believe Marti ran into our godson and his family in the shopping mall, which is a little unusual since they live in Idaho! Add four more. See what’s happening? That’s three Fischers plus seven.

I feel for our in-laws who no doubt wonder how this happened.

It comes from a history of doing this at our house. Marti just has a way of finding out who is alone for Thanksgiving, and it doesn’t matter what your lifestyle is or if you are homeless or off the street, if you don’t have a family you can go to for Thanksgiving, well… you do now.

It just never occurred to her to check in first about this. This is simply an “of course” about Thanksgiving dinner. I’ll never forget the year I drove into San Francisco when we lived nearby and picked up an eclectic homeless gentleman with his terrier (they both had identical hair) because we always like to talk with him when we were in the city. I wondered if I would find him there, and though the streets were empty at the time, he was right where he said he would be.

I probably should call up the in-laws, assure them they will not be picking up the check for these folks, and warn them that there is still 24 hours to go and there probably will be more; should we check and see if they have banquet facilities at this restaurant? That’s why, when Thanksgiving’s at our house, Marti always has me get the largest turkey we can fit in our oven because you never know who’s coming to dinner. And that’s why, for the last three years, I’ve cooked a 28-pounder in our Weber barbeque because that’s the only place I can fit it.

I used to cringe at these developments, wishing to have more of a quiet intimate time with our own family, but I have since learned that these “uninvited” guests are indeed our family. How like heaven to keep adding to the numbers. How like God to want more. How like the Gospel of Welcome to keep welcoming.

As for an update on the status of our home (many of you have been asking) we are still in it… for now. I will share more details with you over the weekend. In the meantime, we so appreciate your prayers.

The picture I chose to accompany yesterday’s Catch on the difference between doubt and questions was of a skydiver jumping out of a plane. Let’s think about that person for a moment. Better yet, I’m going to think about my wife, son and daughter who all went on their first skydiving experience a couple years ago and lived to tell about it.

From listening to their stories, I could tell they had a lot of questions. Questions like: Can I do this? Do I really want to do this? Will the chute open? How hard will I hit the ground? Does the professional diver I’m attached to know what he’s doing? How many times has he done this? What about the plane? It looks a little old. Is this a reputable outfit? Did anybody do research on these guys?

We could probably come up with any number of questions and fears they had up to the point of jumping, and maybe even some afterward, as they are falling, but at the point of jumping, all doubts are off. Sorry. You can talk about doubting but that is no longer you. The doubter is still in the plane. The believer is falling. You have to believe at that point, because you jumped.

Faith is like that. Faith is jumping out of the plane. There’s no turning back. This either works or it doesn’t. You will either die trying, or land with one of the most exhilarating experiences of your life, but the issue of doubt and belief is over as soon as you leave the plane.

That’s what my friend was trying to tell me. He jumped out of the plane. He put his faith is God and His son, Jesus Christ. He’s no longer wondering about it, and even if he were, it wouldn’t make any difference, because he jumped. He’s in the air. He’s falling.

It’s almost as if there’s a difference in the questions. There are questions of doubt and questions of faith. But once you leave the plane, all doubts are off.

So there are tons of questions on either side of faith, but the real question is: “Have you jumped out of the plane?”

I was speaking to someone recently about where he stands with God. In the course of the conversation he related that he had had a real experience with Christ that touched him deeply. I could tell it was a real experience by the emotions that overcame him even as he told me about it. I couldn’t help but think about the seventeenth century mathematician turned religious philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who had such a profound experience with Christ that he wrote a poem about it and had it sewn into the lining of his cloak which he had with him at all times until he died. It sounded like my friend had had a similar experience. Then this friend told me something I thought was remarkable, and might express the place many people are in so I share it with you. He said, in relation to God and His son, Jesus Christ and what he has done for him on the cross, that he had no doubts anymore… “Tons of questions, but no doubts.”

Many questions; no doubts. I bet a lot of us could say that. And it occurs to me that there may be a number of people like this who think this might not be enough. That in order for them to truly believe, they have to have no doubts and no questions – all doubts and all questions resolved. Well all I have to say to those with questions is “Welcome to the club,” or better yet, “Welcome to the family.” Every believer can say this; indeed, every believer should be able to say they have lots of questions. If someone has no doubts and no questions, I would wonder if they truly believe, or I would want to know what it is that they believe.

The truth is complex. The truth is complicated. The truth is paradoxical. And lets forget the truth for a moment and think about God’s will for us, which for most of us is perplexing to say the least. What is God doing with my life? Why am I here at this place? Why did such and such happen to me or to my loved one? The questions go on and on, and they should, because faith doesn’t erase one’s questions. For most of us faith alleviates our doubt, but leave lots of questions.

Faith relieves doubt because it is the substance of what is hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is solid. The reason we know we have it is because we have it. Faith is self-evident. But to a man or woman of faith, questions remain, and that, in fact, is what makes it interesting. If you don’t have questions, I would wonder if you are taking your faith seriously.

We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair… (2 Corinthians 4:8)