God Loves Fishermen And Calls Us to Be Fishers of Men
We are all like the fishes. When it is all finished, we will either go to the big pond or the frying pan. I want to see you there in the big pond.
The apostles called Jesus by His Hebrew name, Yeshua. Yeshua is the Hebrew word which means Salvation. When you read the Scriptures, every time you see the word salvation it is Yeshua, the Messiah (Jesus the Christ).
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. We will be counted righteous by God the same way that Abraham was. We believe God.
Exodus 34:6-7 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth [generation]. Some people don't know God's personality. God loves us more than we can understand. God is good. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows the number of hairs on your head. God, in this verse, tells us about His personality.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. There is only one true God. If we really knew Him we could not help but love Him with all of our heart, soul, and strength.
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean [thing], and all our righteousnesses [are] as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Many people think that if they do more good things than they do bad things that they will go to heaven. That is not true. All of our righteousness is self-righteousness. Self-righteousness stinks. Well, if the good that we do can't make up for our sins, how can we get to heaven?
Psalms 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence [is] fulness of joy; at thy right hand [there are] pleasures for evermore. The big pond, heaven, is where we want to go - not the frying pan of the lake of fire. We know that heaven, in God's presence, is fullness of joy. We also know that God loves us. We know that our good deeds are self-righteousness, which stinks to high heaven. God does have an answer for us all to find our way to heaven.
Isaiah 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. God answers the deepest question of our soul for us. God Himself solves our sin problem for us. God sent his only son Yeshua. Wonderful Yeshua. Our perfect counsellor, advocate, mediator, or attorney is Yeshua. Yeshua, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace, came to make the way for us to know with absolute certainty based on the integrity of God's Word that we are going to heaven. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. We are all in the same leaky boat. We have all sinned. Sinning big or little is just a matter of degree. The truth is that we are all sinners. Our righteousness, self-righteousness, can not solve our sin problem. So God sent Yeshua, His only Son, and laid the burden of all of our sins on Him. Yeshua paid the price for all of us that none of us could pay ourselves.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Yeshua, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Does it sound too good to be true? This is not my idea. This is the Word of God. The only thing God can't do is lie. If you will confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead - You Shall be Saved! Just like Abraham believed God and received righteousness, we too are given righteousness by God through our faith in Yeshua.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Messiah liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Yeshua was crucified in my place and your place. He paid the price of my sins and your sins. He paid the price for me. I am no longer my own man. Yeshua owns me. I want to do things His way. Can you relate to this?
John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. This is FANTASTIC! God loves you and me so much that He sent Yeshua to die in our place. It is the only way it could be done. My self-righteous good works stink to high heaven. I owed a debt for my sins that I could not pay. Yeshua paid it for me. He paid it for you too, if you will not be too proud to accept it. It is humbling for me to know that my sins caused Yeshua to be nailed to the cross of Calvary. Focusing on that truth, of the price God paid for my sins, is the only way I can overcome my pride and allow Yeshua to become the Lord of my life.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Yeshua was with God from all eternity past in a closeness that our human minds cannot understand. Hell is to see God, and know how wonderful and magnificent and majestic He is, and to hear Him pronounce - Have it your way, apart from me, forever. Yeshua actually paid the full price of hell for all of us. Because of His infinite closeness with God the Father from all eternity past, when He died on Calvary and was separated from God the Father for the 3 days before He rose again from the dead, He literally paid the full price of hell for all of us.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. When Adam sinned, this natural inclination to sin became part of every human being. The blood comes from the father. Yeshua was born of the virgin Mary by the Holy Ghost. Only His blood was not tainted by sin. He was the spotless perfect Lamb of God who took away the sins of the whole world for everyone who would believe God as Abraham did. Immanuel means God with Us. We can have God with us, Immanuel, Yeshua giving us the power to quit trying to be our own god and live a life of glory to God in righteousness, peace and joy.
Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Yeshua, Immanuel, God with us, is truly God in human flesh.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. It is so amazing that, even before I knew who He was, when sinning was as natural a breathing for me, Yeshua died to pay the price for my sins. How poorly I respond to such a great love.
Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. A fishing guide is not a great profession. However, if I could by means of this little thank you note, guide you to a closer relationship with God, than I am doing the most important work in the world. Seek His righteousness. Our righteousness is vanity and it stinks. When God declares you righteous, when you have His righteousness in Yeshua Messiah, than you have everything you really need.
Romans 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Yeshua Messiah our Lord. Can you relate to this? Can you consider that you have God with you in Yeshua? I don't have the power to resist any temptation. If Yeshua is with me; however, I can do anything with the help of His Holy Spirit. When I think about what He has done for me, I can usually find the way to do things His way and not my own way. What would Yeshua do? His way is usually just the opposite of the way I would do it without His help and direction.
If you are not absolutely sure that you would go to heaven if you were to die right now, would you pray this prayer? I want to be sure that I will see your face in heaven. Prayer - Lord Yeshua, I agree and confess that I am a sinner. I believe that you died on the cross to pay the price for all of my sins. I believe that you rose from the dead and can give me the gift of eternal life and righteousness from God. I do here and now confess you as my personal savior. I thank you for forgiving my sin. Come into my life and be my Lord.
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I John 5:13-14 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
II Timothy 3:16 All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
When we pray we talk to God. When we read the Bible we give God a chance to talk to us. What can we tell Him that He doesn't already know? What can He tell us that we need to know? If you have never read the whole Bible let me give you a Bible reading schedule that will take you through the Bible in the coming year with 20-30 minutes per day. Contact me for a Bible reading schedule that will give God a chance to tell you just what you need to hear from Him every day. Disciples are disciplined ones who allow God to give them direction every day.
Return to Great Joy in Great Tribulation