New Beginning

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. -John 3:3

I realized that "Going InShane," while familiar to people and catchy, was not an appropriate name for this blog.  As I mature as a Christian, I must continue to leave behind things of the past because God has new things planned for me.  Jesus said that a person must be "born again" to see the kingdom of God. To become born again is to become a new creature in Christ, dedicating your life to God and away from sin. One must put away their old life, becoming "dead" and being "reborn." After all, one does not pour new wine (the Word) into old bottles (my previous blog title).

The title "Fishers of Men" is derived from Mark 1:16-17 where Jesus came to Simon and Andrew while they were fishing and offered them an opportunity. They made the right move by going with Jesus. The passage reads...

Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

What does that mean: fishers of men? Does it mean we're going to hunt and eat humans? Haha! Ridiculous. To fully understand this, one must think about how one fishes. First, you need to find the right bait. Then, you need a nice way of presenting the bait to the fish. Then, you need a whole lot of patience. And you don't always catch a fish. Sometimes, you're left high and dry. But like the old saying goes, "A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work."

Now, let's think about what Jesus did. Jesus was a preacher and a teacher. He spoke to masses of people and did his Father's work. He spread the Word of God. But not everyone was receptive the first time around; it required patience. Jesus had to try different ways to draw people in and present the Word of God to them. That's why he spoke in parables. Often, Jesus found himself left high and dry having to flee. But it never stopped him from casting his bait out.

I'm a fisherman

Yes, I'm a fisherman. I like to go out on party boats and try my luck from the surf. I go here to there to everywhere when I fish. As a Christian, my job is to do just that when spreading the Word. God has drawn many parallels in my life to the Bible. Between building my faith and building my body at the gym, and between gathering the patience to deal with unruly children at my summer day camp job and understanding that's how God feels about us, and between fishing and spreading the Word of God...the Lord has taught me more in the past year than anyone or school ever has prior.

Keep in mind, we all have a purpose in this life. Look to God to find your's.

God bless and may be peace be multiplied unto you. Amen.


***Editing Note: This entry was edited for content in regards to validity and accuracy on 3-12-2012, 3:29 PM EST.