Clever Free Methodist

  The Apostle Paul wrote a very powerful statement from of all places, prison . His final word to the Church is Ephesus states in Ephesians 6:19 , “Pray for me also. Pray that I might open my mouth without fear. Pray that I will use the right words to preach that which is hard to understand in the Good News.” Wouldn’t that be a tremendous prayer for all of us to include daily? Perhaps it could be added as a doxology to our devotional time? It seems that today is begging more and more for Christians to tell them about the Good News of Jesus Christ. The more often we speak up and speak out, we’ll soon find it isn’t quite as scary as the first time. Each opportunity presented to us will become easier to “say something” and it will grow more natural and stronger the more often we respond.  If we stay prepared, continually study, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, it will be as Paul said that we will always be in a position to “use the right words.” Matthew 10:19 also testifies

I find Luke 5:3 very interesting as it describes the boat that Jesus “got into.” It wasn’t a rental. It wasn’t “just docked there” for anyone to use. It was “the one belonging to Simon.” I think this is where Matthew 6:21 also shows up to challenge us. “ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. That was Simon’s boat! Yet, it wasn’t just any boat. It was his livelihood and source of income because he used it to go fishing. The boat was meaningful to him and he placed great value in it. Yet, Simon, was willing to welcome Jesus in to be a part of his passion, profession and area of expertise. Jesus had touched Simon by His ministry in Simon’s home and workplace. However, what converted Simon was when Jesus showed His absolute and miraculous lordship over what was most important and the greatest love of Simon’s work. Simon was a professional fisherman and Jesus, a Carpenter (Mark 6:3), was not. When Jesus convinced Simon by the miraculous catch of fish (Luke 5:6

  St. Anthony the Great is attributed as saying ““A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying: ‘You are mad; you are not like us.’” It is obvious that the truth is offensive to those who abhor its existence and noise to the ears who don’t want to hear it in their presence. This is nothing new. It shouldn’t be surprising. Since the dawn of humanity, those who choose evil and darkness have made it there passion to silence truth. History tells of many stories of people who wish to rid the world of those who sought to do good …name combinations such as Lincoln/Booth, Kennedy/Oswald, and King/Ray. Besides the obvious crucifixion of Jesus, resistance to the truth was no different for those written about in the Bible. Stephen who was the first martyr of the Church who was stoned for refusing to deny his faith (Acts 7:54-60). John the Baptist was beheaded for his message (Matthew 14:1-12). James was killed with a sword (