Unshakable

Posted on November 22, 2021 by jwfisch

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“Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens…” so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. Hebrews 12:26-28

Is anybody feeling a little shaky these days? Like things are a little unstable? We’re talking about what creates instability, nervousness, and dread. In America, the democracy we always thought was so stable is suddenly looking very shaky. Our economy? Shaky. Getting over the pandemic? Shaky. Conservatives and liberals getting along together? Shaky. Politics? Shaky. Elections? Shaky. Job security? Shaky. News sources we can trust? Shaky. Churches, pastors, denominations? Shaky. The future of a healthy planet earth? Shaky. Social stability? Shaky. Racial harmony? Very shaky. Nuclear disarmament? Shaky.

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The race isn’t over until it’s over

Posted on November 19, 2021 by jwfisch

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So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it! Hebrews 12:12-13 MSG

Lest you think this is our own manipulation of the word of God in order to wake everyone up, it’s not. It’s from Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible known as The Message, and what he is trying to capture here, in modern vernacular, is not his own interpretation, but the essence of what is in the original manuscripts. These verses harken back to the opening statement of this chapter which urges us to jettison any excess baggage and run with perseverance the race that is before us. (That would be the race of our lives.) 

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Thank you Veterans

Posted on November 18, 2021 by jwfisch

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We cleared our desk today to examine how best we might acknowledge our gratitude for the generous contributions to the Catch Ministry. If we worked with paper, the floor would be littered with sheets that had crumpled beginnings such as …

  1. “You’re the best.”
  2. “You knocked us off our feet!”
  3. “Our hearts are still smiling.”
  4. “Your thoughtfulness is a gift we will always treasure.”
  5. “We are touched beyond words.”

There is simply no way we can thank you for your heartfelt support — except, maybe to say we are humbled by your graciousness.

We stayed with the word “humbled,” trying to express what humble means — and then we remembered:

Of all the gifts to the Ministry, one gift stands out. It was given anonymously in honor of two Veterans who are no longer with us.

Please, dear Catch community, allow us to introduce to you the late First Lieutenant Charles Gilman Kelley and the late Officer Doris Arlene Stephens who both served in the World War II effort.

First Lieutenant Charles Gilman Kelley left his family in silent service as he piloted the A-26 Douglas “Invader” medium bomber in the WWII European Theater of Operations in 1944. He flew 49 missions behind German lines, targeting communication systems such as bridges, railroad lines and yards — and singled out weapons including German V1 buzz bomb launch sites and V2 missile launch sites. Similar to playing a game of pool, getting “behind the 8 ball” bombardier nose generally meant the enemy was in a tough situation and unlikely to escape. Take a look:

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An American poet, Maya Angelou spoke often in support of our Veterans with enthusiasm and is quoted as saying: “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”

Stop for a moment and join us as we recognize Officer Doris Arlene Stephens and celebrate her service in the World War II effort as a Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or “WAVES” who performed her duties in support of the US Navy’s stateside war effort in the Pacific. In memory of Officer Stephens:

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Let it be known that our flag does not fly because the wind moves it, it flies from the breath of each serviceman and woman who protects it.

So this evening as you read this brief “Catch,” we encourage you, as we are trying to learn ourselves that when attempting to put into words our expression of gratitude to you and for the Veterans, I bet Lieutenant Kelley and Officer Stephens would look down at us with appreciation if we not only try to find the words but if we lived by them … as they did.

Special thanks for your anonymous gracious contribution.

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Grace interrupted

Posted on November 17, 2021 by jwfisch

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See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God. Hebrews 12:15

How can you fall short of the grace of God? I can understand falling short of the law of God, since we all do that, but God’s grace is a free gift. It can’t be earned. So how can you fall short of it? 

I have a couple thoughts about this. The first is, you fall short of the grace of God by going back to the law. Indeed, Paul wrote about this in Galatians 5:4. “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” Trying to erect a system of works in order to be justified before God is to take you away from God’s grace. To make yourself right by any means other than the grace of God is to fall short of that grace. You disqualify yourself from grace by making it unnecessary. 

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Making room for the Spirit

Posted on November 16, 2021 by jwfisch

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We’re having a revival. Why? Because it’s revival time? No. Because in your “Your Participation Matters” comments, enough of you asked for it in as many words that we figured we’d better pay attention. “Revival.” “Fresh move of the Spirit.” “An awakening.” Those were some of the words you used. There was a sense of disengagement, sleepiness, partial involvement going on. “I’ll raise my hand but please don’t call on me.” Kind of half in, half out — the lukewarm spiritual fervor that Jesus said would make Him throw up. As if grace had gone dormant. 

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Lighten the load

Posted on November 15, 2021 by jwfisch

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Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2

Here’s what I’ve learned after our retreat to seek God’s will, and the conclusions of our “Your Participation Matters” questionnaire that resulted in an assessment of the emotional well-being of the Catch community:*

It’s not about me.

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What does God want you to do?

Posted on November 12, 2021 by jwfisch

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By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. Hebrews 11:31

Listed with all those greats of the faith is a prostitute named Rahab. There were a number of strikes against her. She was a prostitute, she was a pagan — a Canaanite — and she was a woman. Strike three. But that didn’t matter. She had faith. She had heard how God was with the children of Israel — how they had been freed from Pharaoh through a series of miracles including crossing the Red Sea, and they had already had military success on this side, and word was getting out that they were to be feared. Certainly their God was more real than her gods who had done nothing for her. So she had put faith in God and hid the two spies that had entered Jericho. For that she and her family were spared when the walls of her city fell down. 

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Faith is …

Posted on November 11, 2021 by jwfisch

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Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Faith is:

     A. Spiritual exertion

     B. Mustered up feeling

     C. A choice to believe

     D. A strongly held belief

     E. None of the above

The answer is “None of the above.” Faith is not something you or I come up with. Faith is not what we bring to the party. Faith is the thing itself. Faith is self-evident. Faith is faith. You have faith because you have faith. If you didn’t have faith, you wouldn’t be able to believe. If you don’t have faith, don’t try to exert yourself, or tell yourself to believe. That’s because faith doesn’t come from you. If you don’t have faith, and you desire it, then you need to ask for it, because faith comes from God.

Hebrews 1:1 describes faith in solid terms. The words “substance” and “evidence” describe something solid. Faith is a thing. It is the substance of what you hoped for because you can’t see what you hope for but you can “see” faith. You can “see” faith because you can believe. And again, it’s the evidence of what you can’t see, because things you can’t see, like God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and heaven, can be known by faith because you have faith. You know God is real because you have the faith to believe He is. 

I know this sounds like a lot of double-speak, but that’s because faith, even though you can’t see it, is there, because you “see” it with your inner eye. You know it to be true. You have it because you have it.

Hebrews 11:6 says “he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” In other words, He who comes to God is in possession of what it takes to believe that He exists. He (she) is in possession of the God-given faith to believe it. So it comes down to faith — you either have it or you don’t. 

So the conclusion of all this is: if you have faith, be grateful for it and use it. Find out what the Lord wants you to do. Be one of those “by faith” people. “By faith George or Sally did this or that.” If you have it, apply that faith to your life, and to serving those around you and fighting the spiritual battles in your midst. If you have it, apply it to praying for revival. Pray to receive more of Him. And if you don’t have faith, ask for it. “[God] is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” If you earnestly desire to know Him, He will never turn anyone away. He will give you the faith to believe He exists. And then you will have what you hoped for, and what you can’t see will become real to you because you will have, in your faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

HAPPY VETERANS DAY

Vanguard Veterans Mike High and Pat Klever would like to invite you to help close the gap on our fund-raising campaign by giving a gift in honor of a Veteran. Be sure and include with your gift the name of the Veteran you would like to honor and we will include your name and his/her name in tomorrow’s Catch.

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So how are we doing?

Posted on November 10, 2021 by jwfisch

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All these people were still living by faith when they died. Hebrews 11:13

This is my new favorite verse from Hebrews 11. It tells us something incredible. I think of the Old Testament characters as those who had the Spirit of God come upon them only for certain tasks such as the ones mentioned here in this famous chapter on faith — like crossing the Red Sea, smiting the Midianites, shutting the mouths off lions, conquering kingdoms, administering justice, enduring torture, etc.. But we rarely think of them as living or walking by faith all the time. This indicates that their faith continued even after their mighty acts, so that they were able to “live by faith” all the time, and did so right up until their death. They lived by faith even though they did not have the Holy Spirit as a permanent possession. Now that’s something. How much more are we, who have the eternal Spirit of God living inside us, able to experience the power of God in our lives continually? Continue reading →

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The Hebrews Eleven Hall of Fame

Posted on November 9, 2021 by jwfisch

As a member of the Board of Directors, I wish to thank everyone who made a contribution to the Catch Ministry’s Fall fund-raising campaign and, at the same time, wish to encourage those who have yet to contribute.  We are so close to goal with only $2,170 yet to go.  Together with other Catch citizens, your gift or perhaps your consideration to provide an additional gift can take us over the top!  (Click here)

We are grateful for your participation in introducing the Gospel of Welcome – Grace Turned Outward –  to everyone, worldwide.  

Mike Boland

The Catch Ministry Board of Directors

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By faith Abel …

By faith Enoch …

By faith Noah …

By faith Abraham …

By faith Sarah …

By faith Isaac …

By faith Jacob …

By faith Moses …

By faith the people …

By faith the walls of Jericho …

By faith Rahab …

By faith Gideon …

By faith Barak …

By faith Samson …

By faith Jephthah …

By faith David …

By faith Samuel and the prophets … (Hebrews 11)

Did anyone do anything that was worthy and lasting without faith? No. Has anyone since? No. Whatever we do by faith is going to be done in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why we need a revival of the Holy Spirit, because it is the Spirit who enables all these acts of faith. 

If you were on this list, how would your entry read? Complete the sentence. Come on, I’m serious. Is there one particular thing that stands out for you? In our Vanguard group last week, we studied Deborah and Jael (Judges 4) and how Jael drove a tent peg through the head of Sisera, the leader of the Canaanite army while he slept in her tent. All week we’ve been thinking about the one thing we will be known for. Jael is still known today for what she did. “By faith Jael …”Write out yours. Put it down on paper. See what it looks like. Put your name there and complete the sentence. What do you need to do by faith?

By faith John …

By faith Michael …

By faith Marti …

By faith Elizabeth …

Almost always it’s something difficult. These people were not mighty heroes. They were fragile human beings like all of us and easily intimidated. Moses stuttered. Gideon hid behind a winepress. Sarah laughed. Samson had a weakness for women. David was an adulterer and a murderer. But they did something great for God when called upon, and they did it by faith, trusting in God through the Holy Spirit to empower them. They did it by faith. Remove the faith and they could not do it.

Notice that all these things are actions. It’s not that we reach some spiritual pinnacle by faith. By faith I became a great Christian. No. That’s useless. It’s by faith I accomplished something for the kingdom of God that I am incapable of doing on my own, but God through His Spirit enabled me to do it by faith. And it’s something that He wants us to do.

Now the big thing you are known for may not make you famous. It may be big for you because it’s dealing with a weakness or difficulty unique to you. It may be easy for someone else, but for you it’s like crossing the Red Sea. But when you meet it by faith, you can do it, just like these men and women before you have done what seemed impossible for them. It’s the Spirit. It is the breath of God. “Breathe, oh breath of God, now breathe.” 

So complete the sentence: By faith (Your name here) did what? 

Mark it on your calendar for the week, Thursday night, 6pm Pacific for our Zoom Revival Meeting.

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