Beginning tomorrow, March 28, John and Marti are taking a week of rest followed by a retreat, where they plan on creating a series of workshops they hope you will embrace. They will return on September 11.
While they are away, the Catch Ministry will continue its operations and services through the very capable hands of its ministers. Please feel free to call on any one of the following with your needs, questions, concerns, and recommendations.
One of our readers has written about her husband’s non-believing perspective when asked about his perception of Christians. Part of his response includes:
We (Christians) are naïve; we have a need to believe…
We have submitted to mass hypnotism, not only religion. We are not free thinkers.
We are wasting a lot of time and money when there are other organizations that do good for people without putting a lot of money into large buildings and “shrines to our God.”
Natural disasters such as the fires in Hawaii and the rains in California have disrupted normal life for so many. I tried to remember the places I knew that were on fire and decided to check the internet to be more accurate. (See the map above.) I discovered making a list was impossible. The whole world is on fire. And of course the most devastating is the loss of life which in Maui is currently at 114 known dead with 1,000 people missing. Truth is, the fire burned so hot that most of these people may never be found.
The return of Christ is imminent. Tell me you haven’t had a thought about that lately with the planet warming and unprecedented wildfires in Canada, Europe, Washington state, California, and Maui, and the first major hurricane to hit the west coast of the Americas and reach into California in 84 years, not to mention earthquakes, wars and rumors of war going on. These are the signs of the times, and they mean something. Jesus told us to pay attention to the signs and purify ourselves in the hope of Christ’s return. The first Christians were anticipating this event probably even more than we are despite the fact that they were a long ways away from its fulfillment. That’s because they had seen Him go, and the angel said He would return in the same way. It was real; they had seen Him, heard Him, touched Him. And He was coming back.
Some might say Marti’s DNA is all about relationships. But working together in pairs and groups is a part of all of our DNA. Relationships provide the support we need to thrive. They are always based on the connections that hold us all together.
Looking to understand what’s keeping “spiritually open non-Christians” away from church, Barna Research gave this non-Christian demographic a list of statements pertaining to Christianity and the church to discover which statements resonated most. Barna’s data reported: “The most popular response by far was 51% of U.S. “spiritually open non-Christian” teens and adults completely agreed with the statement, ‘I prefer to distance myself from the politics of the Church.’”
George Barna’s research group recently did a study on “Spiritually Open Non-Christians.” Why is this important? Because people come to a religious discussion currently with lots of preconceived ideas about Christianity and Christians. With non-Christians, one mustn’t be naive and fail to realize that being a Christian today comes with a good deal of social, political, religious, racial, even economic baggage. So studies that help us understand what non-Christians are thinking helps us know where and how to begin the conversation. It’s like listening first to determine where someone is coming from. Of course these are broad generalizations we’re listening to, but they give us an idea what people are thinking.
I’m sure you have seen pictures of the devastation wrought by the wildfires that swept through the historic town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Someone said the destruction in some areas was similar to pictures of the aftermath of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nothing left standing. It’s hard to imagine that kind of devastation in an area usually known as an island paradise.
Yesterday’s Catch, “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this,” deserves more scrutiny. It’s a feeling of astonishment that should permeate all we do, if, in fact, we are walking with Jesus. It’s a statement common to living a life of grace, and if it doesn’t strike a chord, then maybe we are living a life short of what it could be.
Think about Gideon charging down the mountain with 300 men, a torch in one hand and a horn in the other, reaching the camp of 120,000 Midianites who, by the time they get there, are already almost all dead from killing each other in widespread panic. Can’t you imagine him looking at his horn and his torch and all these dead Midianites thinking, “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this.” Or how about young David, after felling Goliath with a stone from his slingshot, and grabbing Goliath’s sword that he could barely lift to lop off his head thinking, “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this.” Or Samson killing a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. Or Daniel, lying down in the den of lions burying his head in the soft mane of the king of beasts who should have been having him for lunch, thinking, “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this.”
Marti counsels people all the time with amazing insight into their problems and just what is needed to break free of their bondage, and I know she often thinks, “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this.”
Don’t you think you are getting away with something when God’s Holy Spirit empowers you beyond your natural abilities? When are you sure you are over your head in His gifting? This is how we know that our faith is not in vain.
I am outside while I am writing this on our brick patio when I look down and see a sprig of ivy lying there. I reach to pick it up, only to discover it is not just lying there as I thought, it is rooted there, growing up between the bricks (see picture). If that little sprig of ivy could talk, you know what it might say: “I can’t believe I’m getting away with this.”
“When you feel like the luckiest guy around, you don’t get sour.”
Is this the comment of someone who just won the lottery? Or a sports team that just won the World Cup by a millimeter? No. It’s the comment of our friend, Dan Russell from last week’s BlogTalkRadio interview, on how he feels every day of his life. Having survived a massive stroke in miraculous fashion, he merely thanks God for every day.
John Fischer The Catch 