I’m so glad my parents were readers. My father always had a magazine rack stuffed full of trade and business magazines next to “his chair”. He usually had some kind of business book on the end table next to his char where the lamp was. My mother was always reading a book or another. Usually non-fiction but sometimes nonfiction. In her house there was a floor to ceiling built-in bookcase filled with books. I used to enjoy looking at the titles. James Galsworthy, Leon Uris, Elaine Pagels…
I spent a lot of time at libraries growing up. As a youngster when it was normal to roam the town alone, myself at the historic building that housed our town library, mahogany checkout desk, marble floors, coffered ceilings. Quietude. Then as a teen in the town we moved to, the modern library with the salt water march out back, where I’d take my sister and we’d feed the ducks under the sun and watch the tide go out.
I enjoy reading of course, but I also like everything about books themselves. Inventorying them, looking at their cover design, arranging them, knowing they are there, friends waiting to be met. Worlds to delve into. Possibilities.
A friend was selling off his theological library and opened it up for anyone to purchase one or more books. I’m in.
This is what I got:
I’m really interested in the Decision-making book by Friesen. So many people these days make decisions by claiming to hear directly from God. Another friend sent me a link to a speech by a Mike Donahey. I hadn’t heard of him. He was talking about God’s will for your life.
He was saying that many people ask him “When did you know that being a musician was God’s will for your life?” He said he’d answer that being a musician is NOT God’s will for his life. The questioner was usually shocked at that reply. But he explained that if he got a brain injury and couldn’t write lyrics, or fingers smashed and couldn’t play guitar, or lost his voice and couldn’t sing, “Would I be missing God’s will for my life?”
Donehey said that God’s will isn’t a career choice. It is the “posture of our heart”.
Indeed, we remember the verse from John 6:40, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
It is God’s will that we repent and believe in the Son, who was sent to die for our sins and be imputed with His righteousness.
I know these books will hold many truths and wisdom that I can benefit from, including the interesting looking book “Decision Making & the Will of God“.
But for now, it is time to dig out my scanner and inventory them in LibraryThing, the at-home, free, online book inventorying system.
Cut to the Chase is a short-form, bulleted list of reasons to avoid a certain Christian teacher or ministry. Today I look at Priscilla Shirer.
1. Priscilla Shirer relies on experience.
In the past, Shirer has said “Mrs Shirer explains that she became sad at the daily ‘chore’ of the spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible study because “He just wasn’t knocking my socks off anymore, and I wasn’t sure why.”’ (source).
“In the clip, she is saying that having a preacher teach the scripture is insufficient and not personalized enough, that it gets stale, old, and is a mark of immaturity to not seek more. In contrast, it is a sign of growth and wisdom to want more than that, and so seek some “revelation” that is new, fresh, and personalized just for you.”
God doesn’t perform tap dances for us for our entertainment and satisfaction. We submit to HIM. If you want more than the Bible, you’re the problem.
2. She sees Jesus as her boyfriend.
Shirer describes her connection with God in ways she says reflect “a feminine heart,” and might scandalize a secular reader. “My God reached down from the heavens, dipped his finger into the depths of my being, and began to rouse in me a desire for a real relationship with him,” she wrote in her most recent book, “One in a Million: Journey to Your Promised Land.” Her account of spiritual stagnation sounds like a marriage on the rocks…” (source). It is also an errant view and the description more than a bit gross.
3. Priscilla Shirer lives a feminist lifestyle in violation of Titus 2 exhortations.
“Mr Shirer spends much of the day negotiating Priscilla’s speaking invitations and her book contracts. In the afternoon it’s often Mr Shirer who collects the boys from school. Back home, Priscilla and Jerry divide chores and child care equally. “Jerry quit his job to run his wife’s ministry. Priscilla now accepts about 20 out of some 300 speaking invitations each year, and she publishes a stream of Bible studies, workbooks and corresponding DVDs intended for women to read and watch with their girlfriends from church. Jerry does his share of housework and child care so that Priscilla can study and write. He travels with his wife everywhere. Whenever possible, they take their sons along on her speaking trips, but they often deposit the boys with Jerry’s mother.” (source).
4. Priscilla Shirer teaches we should hear from God
(Source), (Source), (Source). Shirer is cagey on this one, she has said in interviews she never actually hears the voice of God, but teaches right up to the line and in sound bites continually uses the phrase “hearing God”, like so: “Drawing a clear connection between obedience and hearing God is a critical piece of discerning God’s will and His ways.” Hebrews 1:1-2 says that God spoke (past tense) thought His Son. The canon is closed. (Revelation 22:18). See Chris Rosebrough’s more thorough review of Shirer’s sermon about hearing from God, below.
5. Priscilla Shirer preaches, even Sunday Morning messages to churches.
Priscilla’s circuit includes teaching alongside Beth Moore, Sheila Walsh, Christine Caine, Joyce Meyer, and Lisa Harper. Romans 16:17 says not to do this but instead mark them and avoid. Also 1 Timothy 6:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:6.
Priscilla Shirer os an excellent communicator but what she communicates is not healthy for your spiritual life.
Below you will find a 14-minute collage of 3 clips. Speaking are Justin Peters, Paul Washer, and Gabe Hughes of WWUTT. In different ways, all three men explain from the Bible that modern Apostles don’t exist today. The Bible does talk about ‘apostle’, lower case ‘a’, which means “sent”. Anyone who is “sent” is technically an apostle, as in church planter, evangelist, missionary, etc. But the office of Apostle, capital ‘A’, as described in the Bible, is closed to newcomers. When Apostle John died in 90AD, the final Apostle died, closing that office with it.
The past 2 entries in this 4-part series have discussed both the current Christian milieu of how people seem to view singles in church, and looks at what the Bible says about marriage vs singleness.
Today let’s finish a discussion on how the church views singles before moving tomorrow to famous biblical singles.
It’s often other believers who seem discontent for the content single, a concern that deepens the more the contented single asserts his or her state of unmarried peace. Jesus spoke acceptance of singleness in Matthew 19:12.
For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.
Here, Jesus classifies the 3 kinds of single/celibate persons. There is the one who was born with congenital deformities or other diseases which make marital relations impossible and conceiving children nonviable. Others have been made that way by men. In the Bible times, men were purposely castrated if they were destined to work in a harem, for instance, or as a court administrator, as we read in 2 Kings 20:18, Esther 2:3, or Acts 8:27. The Lord’s care for those who were born or made eunuchs was stated in Isaiah 56:3b-5, where God welcomes all believers, without distinction of persons, under the new economy of salvation-
and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. (Isaiah 56:3b-5)
dry tree—barren (compare Lu 23:31); not admissible into the congregation of Israel (De 23:1–3).(Source: Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, Commentary)
How comforting God is when announcing that those who are not by their own choice unmarried, childless, celibate eunuchs will be given a monument and a name. Their marital and family status were a lament to them but they still sought God’s glory and chose the things that pleased Him. What comfort and care He gives to the person who is made eunuch through no act of their own. What a Godly example given to show that no matter what the physical state of a person or their marital status, one can and should seek the things that please the LORD.
MacArthur explains in his commentary,
Unlike the other two forms, this one is not physical…Jesus is speaking of voluntary celibacy of those to whom the gift has been granted by God (v. 11). In that case, celibacy should be used for the sake of the kingdom of God and be pleasing to Him and used by Him. Paul had the gift of celibacy and strongly exhorted others who had the gift to be content with it and use its obvious advantages for Gods glory. (1 Corinthians 7:32-34).
You may have noticed I shifted from discussing divinely given permanent singleness to the topic of celibacy. That is because the two are entwined. One cannot be without the other. If you are single, you are to be celibate. Outside of marriage, celibacy is a mandate from God. We are NOT to be fornicators. (1 Corinthians 6:9, Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 5:9, 1 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 21:8). Whether young or old, virgin or widowed or divorced, we are to be chaste. (1 Timothy 2:2, 1 Timothy 5:2, 1 Timothy 4:12, Galatians 5:23, 2 Corinthians 6:6
God provides. God sustains. If He gives to some the gift of singleness, would He not also provide the strength to refrain from lust and remain chaste for His name? MacArthur’s commentary again,
Although celibacy us good for Christians who are not married, it is a gift from God that is not given to every believer. Just as it is wrong to misuse a gift we have, it is wrong to try to use a gift we do not have. For a person who does not have the gift of celibacy, trying to practice it brings moral and spiritual frustration. But for those who have it as God’s gift, singleness, like all His gifts, brings great blessing.
Both Jesus and Paul make it clear that the celibate life is not required by God for all believers and that it can be satisfactorily lived only by those to whom God has given it.
Married brethren are rearing children for His name and leading and teaching us, so their kingdom work is equally valuable as mine or anybody else’s! We are a body, each formed uniquely as a snowflake, spiritually given gifts in unique hues to benefit each other and most importantly, Jesus, and this gift also includes the fewer who are gifted to remain single for His name.
God’s care for the celibate, permanent single is obvious from scripture. Singles of any kind are not second class citizens, nor are they in a waiting room for marriage (read: maturity and acceptance). Jesus does not look at us that way and nor should the church. Celebrate His diversity in installing people in the Body from all demographics to labor for His good and glory.
In Matthew 9 there is a passage with a mention of mourners.
Professional mourner was a job in ancient Palestine. In our culture we are self-contained. We don’t sob at the Wake or the Memorial. We try to keep a stiff upper lip and contain the tears at funerals.
In ancient Palestine, it was considered acceptable, even required, to sob loudly, wail, and express one’s self with high emotion upon the occasion of a death. Professional mourners were brought in to help create an atmosphere of bereavement, and they didn’t hold back.
Mourning: The practice of grieving through crying and vocalization, most typically for the loss of someone.
Family members’ mourning typically involved sitting on the ground and trembling, tearing one’s clothes, putting ashes on one’s head, wearing sackcloth, or walking barefoot. Family members on a rotating basis would stay with the body so it was not left unaccompanied. Burial was rapid, as embalming was not a customary practice among Jews.
Until burial, though, during the grieving period, “To enhance the atmosphere of grief professional women mourners would be invited (Jer. 9:17).” Negev, A. (1990). In The Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land.
Professional mourners were usually women, who tend to express emotions more easily and was more socially acceptable for that gender. Professional mourning was actually an acceptable job for a woman in ancient Israel. It was a good way to make money if a woman needed to. The more professional mourners there were the wealthier a family was seen to be. Hired mourners helped the family through their grief and offered comfort.
And when Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, (Matthew 9:23).
The word in the verse, ‘disorder’ is from the Greek thorubeó and it means “to make an uproar”.
Their job was to make a clamor. They wailed, lamented, chanted praises in death songs, played instruments. You can imagine the noise with all this lamentation, crying, flute-playing, plus the regular noise any crowd makes as people talk, cry, and move about.
“These mourners are neither somber nor reserved. “Commotion” is from the Greek root word thorubos which means noise, clamor, and public disorder. “Wailing” is from the Greek root word alalazo. It’s the “alala” sound soldiers made when rushing into battle, similar to what is referred to as ululation.” Source: BibleRef.com.
Jeremiah 9:17 mentions professional mourners, one of many places in the Bible that mentions this job: “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Carefully consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come; And send for the skillful women, that they may come!“
The amount of time spent mourning for the dead varied in the Bible from person to person. Jacob was mourned seventy days (Genesis 50:3); Aaron (Numbers 20:29) and Moses (Deuteronomy 34:8) were mourned thirty days; and for Saul only seven days (1 Samuel 31:13). In 2 Samuel 3:31-35, we have a description of the great mourning for the death of Abner. (Source Christians Answers).
Also Amos 5:16, Mark 5:38 mention professional women who mourn on behalf of a family. Professional mourning as a job was quite common, very normal. Here is a short Youtube clip of some professional mourners in Sardinia, filmed in 1963. This gives you an idea of the ‘clamor and disorder’ mentioned in the Matthew verse above:
Professional Mourners of Sardinia, from “Women of the World”. Filmed around 1963, from the Italian documentary “La Donna Nel Mundo” and is narrated in English by Peter Ustinov. Clip is 1:55. Sardinia is a large Island of Italy in the Mediterranean sea and north of Tunisia.
It also gives rise to a question in my mind. Death came frequently in ancient Israel. Sickness and tragedy were common. In the clip, it was stated that this group of professional mourners left their hired place of mourning at 4:00 am so as to attend another mourning job in a different village. What was it like to spend one’s days crying and lamenting? Was it hard to work up tears after a while? Or easier? Did their natural outlook become depressed and gloomy, since their entire professional career was to express sadness and grief? Did it take a toll on the emotions of the woman after a while?
In any case, the custom of professional mourning women was a thriving job for these women who chose it. It was a job for which there would always be a need.
I long for the day when death will be no more! No more wailing, crying, no more funerals, no more professional mourning industry! What a day that will be.
Funeral passing by below our hotel room, Elba, Italy
Fun fact: the name for professional mourners is moirologists
Satan convinced a third of the angels to follow him and not God. How? He spoke. His tongue seemed like it was a quicksilver miracle speaking truth and beauty. But it was actually a serpent tongue speaking lies and corruption.
That is the second instance in the Bible of how powerful the tongue is. (The first is God Himself speaking the universe into existence, but humans do not have that power). We see the fall of Lucifer was caused by his tongue in Ezekiel 28:16, 18 where satan’s evil beginnings are recounted. He turned from his beautiful, righteous self to a person of corruption and profaneness:
“By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned;” (Ezekiel 28:16).
“By the multitude of your wrongdoings, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries.” (Ezekiel 28:18).
What is this ‘trade’ spoken of? Other translations say “merchandise.” Was satan running a store? He had items to sell? No, obviously.
“One of the elements of Satan’s sin was his widespread dishonest trade. The word for trade comes from the verb rāḵal which means “to go about from one to another.” Source- The Bible Knowledge Commentary.
He wasn’t trading hard goods. Satan was trading suggestions, gossip, and slander. His very name of Lucifer changed to a title, devil, which means slanderer. He is called an accuser in Revelation 12:10.
The Bible warns against sins of the tongue many times. God hates slander, lies, and gossip. This sin is even in one of the Ten Commandments! Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, says Exodus 20:16.
When my Sunday School class was going through Esther, I learned much. One of the notes I took was the difference in speech between Esther, Haman, and Xerxes (Ahasuerus). King Xerxes was known for being rash, mercurial, and inconstant. These qualities were also part of his speech as well. He rashly made a decree at the urging of his serpent-tongued right hand man Haman, to kill all the Jews. Haman also used his tongue unwisely. He grumbled and complained to his wife and friends, he bore false witness against Mordecai, he gossiped and slandered intemperately.
In contrast, Esther held her peace. She considered what to say and when to say it. She listened more than spoke. Esther listened to the advice of Mordecai (Esther 2:10; 20), to the King’s eunuch Hegai and his advice (Esther 2:15), and to King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) (Esther 4:10). When she did speak, her words carried the gravity of God with them.
Queen Esther, by Andrea del Castagno (1420–1457). Public Domain
Speaking quickly often carries with it the layer of our flesh and its desires. That’s when we get into trouble with our tongue. We are warned to speak less than we listen. Listening then speaking deliberately more often carries with it the words and desires of God.
Jesus listened to sinners for the same reason that He spoke to them: because He loved them (Mark 10:21). He conversed even with those who were seeking to kill Him, and even to them He said, “I say these things so that you may be saved” (John 5:34). Jesus did not listen to the musings or even the accusations of sinners in order to quickly formulate a rebuttal that would “put them in their place.” Rather, He listened to them in order to engage them with the good news of His love so they could be saved (John 3:17). Thus, when we grow as good listeners, we are not only reflecting God’s image; we are reaching out with God’s love. From TableTalk Magazine, September 2019.
Even when Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple, He was not speaking rashly. He stopped and made a cord whip first, (John 2:15) thus acting deliberately and considering what His Father would have Jesus say.
We should model our speech after Jesus, who listened first, then spoke words of God to the listeners.
Many people start off in their salvific walk with God well, but end badly. I don’t mean ones like Judas or Demas, who were always bad but hid it well until the end. I mean genuinely faithful men whom the LORD loved, but strayed from the path of righteousness and ended badly. Let’s take a look at the #1 object lesson in this sad state of affairs, King Solomon.
“But King Solomon loved many strange women — Solomon’s extraordinary gift of wisdom was not sufficient to preserve him from falling into grievous and fatal errors. A fairer promise of true greatness, a more beautiful picture of juvenile piety, never was seen than that which he exhibited at the commencement of his reign. No sadder, more humiliating, or awful spectacle can be imagined than the besotted apostasy of his old age; and to him may be applied the words of Paul (Ga 3:3), of John (Re 3:17), and of Isaiah (Isa 14:21). A love of the world, a ceaseless round of pleasure, had insensibly corrupted his heart, and produced, for a while at least, a state of mental darkness. The grace of God deserted him; and the son of the pious David — the religiously trained child of Bath-sheba (Pr 31:1-3), and pupil of Nathan, instead of showing the stability of sound principle and mature experience became at last an old and foolish king (Ec 4:13). His fall is traced to his “love of many strange women.”source (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible — Robert Jamieson at Biblehub)
It would seem that Peter started off well and it seemed his ending was a sad state of affairs. He closely followed Jesus in Jesus’ incarnation for years, was the leader of the group, was the first to say the right things (and sometimes the wrong things, but for the right reasons). But when Jesus was crucified, at the moment when Peter needed to pull together all his strength, he denied Christ.
But that was not the end! It was the beginning! The difference came when the disciples received the Holy Spirit, including Peter. He was endowed with superhuman knowledge and a tongue to preach praises to God in a sermon that stands forever. He became bold, wise, and earnest.
Solomon did not have the benefit of an indwelling Holy Spirit. He had direct access to God. God visited Solomon in dreams, but for daily holy help in resisting sin, following God’s statutes, Solomon relied on his flesh. And we know how that turned out.
We have the indwelling Spirit in us. We still have our flesh, the devil, and the world harassing us, tempting us, and trying to make us swerve from the path. But the Spirit in us is our holy help to stay inside the narrow lanes of God’s statutes and expectations. What Solomon’s experience teaches us is that no matter how wise we are, our wisdom and even our desire to please God is no match for the world. cf: Peter.
Our flesh, our emotions, and our innate weakness cannot withstand sin. Only the Holy Spirit can help us do that, because He transcends sin. He is holy, supernatural, and is present in us specifically to help us grow in Christ’s likeness.
I think of the scene in Acts where the demon-possessed slave girl kept following Paul around hollering about salvation. Even though she was saying what sounded like a true thing, it as just vague enough to please Jews and upset pagans. Paul was mightily aggravated. This is what our flesh does to us, our thoughts, the world, and our own minion demons that might be harassing us in the invisibles. Saying things that sound vaguely true but are false.
Solomon’s failure was incremental. I’m sure the first wife who had proposed setting up an altar to her false god didn’t come right out and say to Solomon, ‘Let’s worship Baal!’ Incremental creep must be nipped in the bud before it grows, settles, and spreads its tentacles. Eve’s failure was listening to the serpent for too long. She should have turned away the moment it said “Hath God said?” He caused her to doubt, then contradicted God’s word, then offered a tempting promise. Three strikes and she was out. So was Adam.
Christ’s grace is sufficient for us. But how often do we rely on it? How often do we appeal to God in our own weakness for His strength?
Peter eventually did. In the Spirit’s strength, Peter became so brave and humble he did not even want to die in the same manner as Jesus did. Tradition says he died crucified upside down.
Reliance on the Holy Spirit will aid us faster and better and more accurately in our pursuit of righteousness in sanctification than our own flesh. Here are further resources on the Holy Spirit. Remember, the very God Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit is inside us, helping us become like brave like Peter end even ultimately like Jesus, and avoid pitfalling like Solomon.
I admire and respect fishermen. I’ve watched the hardy lobstermen of Maine, or the cod fishermen of Massachusetts, the watermen fishing for crabs in the Chesapeake, the shrimpers of the south or the bonefish, sponge, and conch fishermen of the Caribbean waters. Fishing for a living is hard. It is not for the weak or the lazy.
There are no days off, you go out in storms, heat, rain, and ice. You use your body as one with the boat and the sea, drawing from it food and life.
It was no different for the fishermen of Galilee in Jesus’ day. Jesus called four fishermen as His disciples. Simon-Peter and his brother Andrew, and John and his brother James, the sons of Zebedee who was also a fisherman.
Fishing villages along the shore of the Sea of Galilee included Capernaum, where Jesus based much of His ministry, (Mark 2:1); Bethsaida (Luke 9:10); and Magdala, town of Mary Magdalene (Matt 15:39).
The pictures of the Holy Land around 1900 are important because life and traditions in Palestine didn’t change much until after WWI. A photo depicting life in 1900 would be almost a copy of any scene from the time of Jesus. These Library of Congress photos offer a glimpse into not just the recent past of the 20th century, but a peek back 2000 years.
While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. (Matthew 4:18-22).
We learn so much from just these 4 verses.
WHERE: They fished the Sea of Galilee WHO: as mentioned, the two sets of brothers WHAT: They were net fishermen as opposed to hook and line fishermen. They cast from boats they owned and they mended their nets (this shows us they were diligent). WHY: Fishing was hard, but gave a living, generationally, in John and James’s case. The dad was a fisherman. Yet when THE Father called, the men left their profession and immediately followed Jesus.
The Sea of Galilee was also called Kinneret or Kinnereth, and Lake Tiberias. It’s Israel’s largest freshwater lake. A fisherman’s day would begin at pre-dusk, because they fished at night. Why? The nets were made of linen which were lighter colored. They’d be more visible to the fish by day, since the waters were cool and clear. The fish would avoid the nets.
In addition, the fish were more active and feeding closer to the surface at night. You caught fish at night, in shallow water.
So they fished at night. (John 21:3). The men would launch their boat from shore and sail gently into the shallow areas along the shore. They’d cast their nets, which were really a three-walled net of decreasing size mesh holes, into the water. Little weights along the bottom would help the net sink vertically down, and the top would float, since there were little buoys of cork or wood attached.
They might be catching little fish, (Matthew 15:34), a Kinneret sardine, processed at the salting and drying station of the town of Bethsaida (House of Fish). Or they might be catching big fish, a kind of tilapia with white flesh and good to eat. (John 21:11).
If the fisherman wasn’t using his boat or didn’t have one, he stood near shore, casting a smaller net. When Jesus called Simon-Peter and Andrew, they were on the shore throwing out their nets from land. (Matthew 4:18). When He called James and John, they were throwing nets from their boat with their father Zebedee.
One other way to fish with nets was with a dragnet. Jesus compared dragnet fishing to the kingdom of heaven-
Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and caught fish of every kind. (Matthew 13:47)
This is where a net would be laid out in a horseshoe shape from shore, and dragged in, catching many different kinds of fish. The men would then sort the good fish from the bad, tossing the unmarketable fish away and keeping the good.
Dragnet fishing at Sea of Galilee, circa 1900. Library of Congress, LC-matpc-04570
Either way, the fisherman would swim to the center and dive down to gather either the fish or draw up the net. He’d do this naked. (Meaning with only his light undergarment on, not bare-skin naked). Peter was fishing this way when the verse says he put on his clothes to go meet Jesus. (John 21:7). The nets set from the boat could be several hundred feet long and 20 feet high. In Luke 5:6 when Jesus miraculously filled their nets, the huge nets became so heavy that they needed the other boat crew to help drag it aboard, then the nets were breaking, and the boat began to sink as they brought in the haul!
On a normal, miracle-less day, whether from the boat or from the shore, it still was heavy labor to throw the nets out, wait for them to settle, and then circle back by sail or swim back to haul them in. Repeat. All night. Fishermen were hard workers, strong, and were usually peasants and therefore used to a rough life.
In the morning, the fishermen would stop and bring their gear ashore. They’d eat breakfast. Then they would set to fixing their gear. It was time to spread their nets and examine them. (Ezekiel 47:10). Do any of the stone weights along the bottom need replacing? They’d have to gather more stones, drill holes, and tie them to the bottom. Do any of the cork or wood buoys along the top need replacing? Do the nets need re-sewing? Are they rinsed off? Is the debris picked out of the nets?
The same attention needs to be given to the boat. These items were their livelihood. So the fishermen would examine the sails and sew or patch any worn areas. Check the anchor rope and the mast and the underside. Tar or pitch could be heated to cover the planks to seal them. Ropes need to be re-twined and add pitch to the ends to ensure it doesn’t fray.
At the end of their day they would fold the nets and store them in the boat, waiting for the night-time when they’d put out in the Sea of Galilee again.
A day in the life of a Galilean fisherman was hard, but it offered a living. As with any trade, a father taught the son. Joseph taught Jesus carpentry. Zebedee taught his sons James and John how to fish. Net fishing hasn’t changed much in 2000 years. You could see similar scenes as the ones above in Indonesia, China, Viet Nam, Venezuela or any place. What has changed is the incarnation of Jesus, molding these rough outdoor peasant men into gentle, loving Christians, ready to catch men with the net of the Gospel. And as with these men, our spiritual forefathers, they teach us to this day.
And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:10b).
I pray you and I catch many souls with our net of the Gospel and a life well lived through following Him.
Reddit is so woke. I like to lurk in Reddit groups that discuss TV programs. I enjoy seeing other people’s perspective of a character arc, or share details that I missed. I also enjoy reality TV competitive creative shows like Blown Away (glassblowing) Masterchef (cooking), and fashion like project Runway, Making the Cut, Next in Fashion. VERY occasionally, I comment.
Now, I know Project Runway is totally culturally caved in to all the liberal philosophies that exist, but get this. I followed a thread on a new program under Project Runway, “Dress My Tour”. It’s pretty rough & I didn’t finish the series. But early on, someone on Reddit asked-
“Is Vee a man or a woman or trans? Seriously can not tell? I am binging the show.😂.”
I replied to the commenter: “Veejay born a boy. Transitioned to a girl. Still looks like a boy.”
Reddit jumped in. The moderators said they muted my answer and I could not reply or comment for 28 days due to breaking the content rules about derogatory language and slurs.
Mind you, the original question still stands to this day, where the commenter asked which gender that particular contestant was. I messaged the mods and said that the contestant was open about the sex change, even participating in a trans beauty contest. We weren’t outing anyone. I said that it was a fact, V WAS born a boy and V DID transition to a girl. That is what transitioning means, changing from one thing to another thing. It was my opinion V looked like a boy, and that perhaps the transitioning process was not completed yet. I asked for my comment to be reinstated. I was careful to use the contestant’s name only, not a gender (mis)identification of he or she which would violate my conscience.
So then the mods permanently banned me from that subreddit. (But only that subreddit, I can still comment on Masterchef, Burn Notice or White Collar if I want).
I had quit watching the show by then, there were too many cultural excesses to overlook. I had nothing more to say in the discussion about Dress My Tour, anyway. The fashion wasn’t that good (although I liked how the mentors approached helping the contestant) but the emphasis was on drama and backbiting in addition to all the queer and trans lifestyles etc being shown. And skin.
Liberals who hold to the current cultural philosophies are fiercely attached to them. The tentacles run deep and strong.
But the speed and harshness with which the liberal population, an ever-growing one by the way, is in a sense to be admired. The liberal population certainly does defend their philosophies with vigor. Christians in that regard could take a page from their book. Do we defend Jesus as protectively, swiftly, and fiercely?
the-end-time.org 