Dear Friend:
I was on the beach this past week in Florida for Spring break. Yes, it was beautiful! My husband and his friends were so in to fishing this year. Can you believe that they caught two 6 foot sharks? It was after 10pm at night and many people that were on the beach stopped to watch the 10 or 15 minutes it took to get the big shark in on the beach. The adrenaline rush for the fishermen was so awesome. At first they had many sharks bite their bait and then break the line and get away. My husband got information from the locals and they talked about what kind of line and hooks he would need to keep the shark on the line to bring it in. After successfully making, I think 9 hooks; they had a plan and were ready to do some serious shark fishing. They did not keep the sharks. They just cut the line and let them swim back out.
There were many times that Jesus helped the apostles catch fish. Maybe you remember the stories. (You can find the stories in John 21, Luke 5, and John 6) Jesus used fish to teach of His deity. He did this by multiplying the fish for food for large crowds to eat. He demonstrated to the Apostles that they were sinful men and with Jesus they will not only catch fish, but catch men. When Jesus returned to the earth after His death the Apostles were going back fishing , which is what they were doing before Jesus. But they did not catch anything until Jesus appears and fills their nets with 153 fish.
I was on the beach and felt led to read Psalm 78. It starts out by saying “oh my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old- what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the NEXT GENERATION the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. To teach their children, so the NEXT GENERATION would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. “(Please read Psalm 78)
We will probably pass these Shark pictures down and tell of the great stories of how they were caught. How much fun! But I guess I want to ask you , do you do the same thing with the word of God and the stories of Jesus' life? There are so many times in the bible when the Israelites found the book of God had been buried and full of dust in their churches. Our responsibility is not to let it depart from our mouths. Will you read and renew your mind with the life of Jesus and pass it on? Do you rely too much on the church to do this rather than yourself?
Here is another thought I had. The Psalmist wrote this many years before Jesus even came to earth. He was well known for telling parables to teach. God was already at work telling His people how they would learn from Jesus.
Let’s pray: Father in heaven thank you for Jesus and what he did on the cross. Thank you that he came to give us life and give it to us abundantly. Please let me remember and pass it on to the NEXT GENERATION. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Passing the message on,
Elaine
