Life Lifters | Lakeshore Community Church

May 17 8:00 AM

When Weakness is Strength

May 17 8:00 AM

Monday, May 17, 2021

I want to talk to you today about when weakness is strength. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is be weak.

Monday, May 17, 2021

2 Corinthians 12:9

I want to talk to you today about when weakness is strength. Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is be weak. You say that doesn't make sense, but think about it. Sometimes, the strongest thing you could do is not get in a fight. When somebody tries to pick a fight with you, whether it's physically, emotionally, or relationally, sometimes the strongest thing to do is walk away instead of engage in battle. I've been told that when dogs fight each other, when one dogs feels like it is going to lose it will roll over and expose its bottom, making itself vulnerable. It's my understanding that some dogs will quit - probably not a pitbull, but maybe some other breeds will quit, because the weaker dog already surrendered. That is when weakness becomes strength. Instead of getting beat up more, you're making yourself weak, and then you're going to be strong because you won't be beat up.

I get that idea because the Apostle Paul found that weakness was strength too. How did he find that weakness was strength? Well, in 2 Corinthians 12, the Bible says that God gave the Apostle Paul a thorn in the flesh. Nobody knows what the thorn is, but everybody speculates what it is. It could have been Paul's vision getting worse, as he got older, which we know likely happened. It could have been some other physical ailment. We don't know, but whatever it was, God gave Paul a thorn in the flesh. Three times, Paul asked that the thorn in the flesh -whatever this ailment was- be removed from him. God said no, and Paul said these words in Second Corinthians 12:9a, 'Each time, he [God] said to me, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.'

My gracious favor is all you need. Grace is God's divine power. It is undeserved favor. His gracious favor is all you need. God says his power works best in your weakness. That's when weakness is strength. If you want God's power to work best in your life, stop trying to muscle up, stop trying to be strong. When I was in high school, there were three kinds of wrestlers. There were those that stunk, and two types of good wrestlers. There were the guys that were strong, but not really slick with their moves. And then there were those that were slick, and not necessarily strong. Of course, if you had both, you're in good shape. But what do you think was better, strong or slick? Every time slick always beat strong. You don't have to be strong, you have to be slick. If you want to be slick, stop trying to muscle. You can't muscle your way through a wrestling match against the good opponents, and you can't muscle your way through life. You have to be weak. God loves to empower the weak. If you're strong, God says, "Well, you got this" -wink wink- but you really don't. So, sometimes if you want to see God's power in your life, you have to be weak to it and say, "God I can't do it." By the way, we're all really weak. I don't think Paul is saying that we need to decide to be weak. I think we need to acknowledge that we're always weak. When we're always acknowledging our weakness, and always acknowledging God's greatness, God gives us his strength for our weakness, and that's when weakness is strength. Are you trying to be strong, trying to muscle your way through life, when you need to be slick and look to God? Maybe it's time you take a weakness approach. How about that? I'm going to be more weak. Yep. If you're strategically weak and simultaneously looking to God during this strategic decision to be weak, he'll give you his strength. There's nothing better than that. It worked for Paul. Paul said, "I'm going to gladly boast about my weaknesses." That is God's opportunity to show his strength in me.

Father, I pray that you'll help all of us know and learn how to be appropriately weak seek you through our weakness, so that we can experience your strength in our life. Whatever people need, help them to be weak in it, so that you can be strong through them in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

May 14 8:11 AM

A Spiritual Gut Check

May 14 8:11 AM

Friday, May 14, 2021

Today, I want to ask you to do a spiritual gut check.

Friday, May 14, 2021

Psalm 139:23-24

Every year, some of our 14 or 15 staff members go through an annual evaluation. Our staff are evaluated on five criterion, which I'll save for another time. They are evaluated in these five criterion by fellow staff members, by people they work with in their team focus group, and by me as well. Then, every year, they get a review based on the evaluations. It's really important because sometimes we need to see and hear things from others that we just don't see in ourselves. However, I've always tried to operate by a certain philosophy. I know many of our staff follow this philosophy, and maybe you do, too. It is that I'd rather be tougher on myself than have others be tougher on me. I'd rather have somebody else say, "Hey, that was a pretty good job." I would rather say of myself, "You know, I could have done a lot better." I would rather throw a little shade on myself and underestimate my performance, because I know that will help me get better and better. I never want to have a high view of myself, and have people say, "Whoa, horsey, calm down. That wasn't that good." I think this idea comes from the fact that sometimes we need to do a gut check.

Today, I want to ask you to do a spiritual gut check. In other words, I want you to not worry so much about what others say. That is still important - I just said it was. But I want you to hold yourself to the highest standard you can. Do a spiritual gut check. I get this from a verse that I think about very, very often, like many other scriptures that roll around in my head. It comes from the very end of Psalm 139, verses 23 to 24. I want you to take it in, because I think it just says what it means, and means what it says. It doesn't need a lot of explaining, but it does need a lot of applying in many people's lives. David says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Search me, O God, and know my heart. In other words, what's in my heart? Try me. In all my mind, what am I thinking about? See if there is any offensive way in me. That refers to your actions. Lead me in the way of everlasting life - in other words, lead me the right way. David is saying that sometimes we need a gut check. Sometimes we let things slide in our life that we shouldn't let slide. Sometimes we have anxious thoughts that we have no business being anxious about. Sometimes there are things in our life that are character slippage. If you let character slippage go on too long, your character will change. I don't know what's going on in your life, but one of the most challenging prayers is to say, search me, O God and know my heart. Ask God to look into your heart, look into your mind, look into your actions. Those are the three things David calls out. Say, "God, what do I need to change?"

Are there things in your heart that you need to change? An attitude toward a person, or things in your mind? The things you think about a lot, or things in the way you're living, where you're going, what you're doing? Search me O God, and know my heart. I know this is a very humbling, sobering thought, but it's an important one. The best thing in life is when you challenge yourself more than anyone else in the world does. When I challenge myself, I hold myself to the highest standards, and I know when I do that, I'll be the best Christian I could be, the best husband I could be, the best person I could be. I hope the same is true for you.

Let's pray. God, I just pray this prayer, search me and search all who are reading this. Search us, O God, and know our hearts. Try us in all our mind, see if there is any offensive way or action in us, and lead us in the way of righteous, everlasting life. God, just help us see where we need to grow and help us work on changing it. In Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

May 12 8:37 AM

Time to Elevate

May 12 8:37 AM

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Sometimes, we have to elevate our lives above the level of mediocrity, elevate it above the level of problem solving, to a level where we soar above the problems, pains, persecutions, and pressures of life.

Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Isaiah 40:29-31

Today, I want to talk to you about soaring above life's problems. Or, if I can put it another way, sometimes we just have to say, "It's time to elevate." For example, a team will play a tough opponent, and the coach will say all week, "We have to elevate our game this week if we're going to beat these guys. We have to elevate our game." Sometimes, we have to elevate our lives above the level of mediocrity, elevate it above the level of problem solving, to a level where we soar above the problems, pains, persecutions, and pressures of life.

That's what I want to talk to you about, today. I want to read a very famous passage in Isaiah 40:29-31. If you are familiar with the Bible you may have heard this, but I'm going to add some insight that I hope will help you appreciate it even more than you already do. The prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of the Lord, says this, "He [the Lord] gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Are you weary? God will give you strength. Are you weak? God will give you power. He says even youths grow tired and weary. In other words, people who are young can get burned out. Then he says that young men stumble and fall. Young men are the next stage above youths, and they stumble and fall. He's saying this problem is a problem for all of us. But look at the solution. Even though youths grow tired and weary, young men stumble and fall, those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Let's stop right there. "Those who hope in the Lord." Another translation says, "Those who wait on the Lord." Another translation says, "Those who rely on the Lord." All those ideas are present there. Hope requires that we wait and rely on God. If you will hope, wait, and rely on God, he will renew your strength.

Then, Isaiah talks about eagles. He says, "They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not be faint." It says they'll renew their strength and then soar like an eagle. Eagles are interesing. They have a long lifetime, and are very vigorous, strong, and vibrant. They are extremely long-living birds, and what's interesting is that even when eagles get older, their feathers will come out, and they'll be replaced by new feathers, even in their old age. The new feathers replicate the feathers they had when they were young. This goes along with the idea of renewing your strength, and has the idea that that your old feathers, which have served you so well all these years, get replaced by new, young feathers. How would you like to have a new, young you? A new, young lower back. A new, young left shoulder? I'd like to have one of them new, young lateral LAD arteries. I would get rid of these four stents. But anyway, God will renew your strength like he does for an eagle. Then, Isaiah says, "They will soar on wings like eagles." You know, eagles fly higher than virtually any other bird. They fly so high to avoid all their adversaries. Here's what I want to say to you: instead of being under your problems, why don't you fly over them? The Bible says that if you wait, hope, and rely upon the Lord in your difficulties and problems, you can elevate and soar above mediocrity. Maybe it's time for you to elevate today.

Let's pray. Father, help us to elevate above our problems. Help us not to sit, soak, and sour in them. Help us to do it by waiting on you for your perfect timing, hoping and expecting you'll do something great. Let us not rely upon ourselves. Do all this for anybody who is weary and tired, whether they're a youth, an older person, or a middle-aged person. Help anyone who is just stumbling, struggling, and weak. Give them the strength when we do what you ask us to do, in Jesus' name, amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

May 10 8:03 AM

Let Go, Let God

May 10 8:03 AM

Monday, May 10, 2021

Sometimes we don't want to let go because we don't know what God's going to do with it. Sometimes we don't want to let go because we just would rather go with the familiar even if it's painful, than the unfamiliar even if it's pleasant.

Monday, May 10, 2021

Matthew 11:28-29

Have you ever heard the old saying, "Let go and let God"? The whole idea is very simple. You need to let go of whatever it is you're trying to run, manage, etc., and you need to give it to God and let God do it. Now, that sounds so beautiful, and it sounds so nice, but it's not always easy to do when there's lots of reasons why we don't want to let go. We don't like to give up control, do we? Sometimes we don't want to let go because we don't know what God's going to do with it. Sometimes we don't want to let go because we just would rather go with the familiar even if it's painful, than the unfamiliar even if it's pleasant.

I want to talk to you about a passage that, to me, screams "let go and let God" like none other. And it has to do with those of us who are weary. You know, we live in an age where people are just tired. Work asks for more from you. Life asks for more. I honestly just had a week where I feel that weight. It's what drove me to this whole passage, because this past week I was doing funerals, Midweek Bible Study, Sunday meetings, spring-time events, and a friend of mine opened up a new building for his dental practice, so I went to that. There were just lots of different things. So, I needed to let go and let God. I need to let go of all the things that are worrying me, and let God do something with it. That comes from a passage that's very familiar to those of you who have read the Bible. It's Matthew 11:28-29. I want you to take in these words if you're struggling with letting go and letting God with respect to your weariness. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." The key, the part that's really central to experiencing this rest, is where Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you." In other words, don't take the burden or yoke of life upon you, take the burden or yoke of Christ upon you. He gives you a light load, a light burden.

Sometimes we have big burdens because we think we're able to handle them. Sometimes God allows us to go through them to say you can't handle them. He says, "Take my yoke, take my burden." Whose burden are you taking these days, your own or God's? Sometimes we take our own burdens because we expect ourselves to do certain things. That's me. Sometimes we expect that others expect us to do something. That's me too. Sometimes we just expect that the job's got to get done, and nobody else is there do it. Whatever it is. Sometimes we have to put down our expector and stop carrying somebody else's burden, or the false burden of needless pressure. And we just need to carry Christ's burden. Maybe some of you need to hear that today. You don't need to carry more than you're designed to carry. If you take Christ's burden, or his yoke if you will, which is pictured as a mature ox and an immature ox working together, where the mature ox would do the bulk of the plowing with a yoke around his neck, and the younger ox would follow along. That's the picture. So, we let Christ lead the plowing of the burdens of your life for you, so you don't have to carry them.

Let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the reminder that not all the burdens we carry are meant for us to carry, and that we need to give them to you. We just carry your burdens, because your burdens and yoke are easy and light. Speak to people who are listening to me today who are just overwhelmed, and give them the wisdom to know what yoke they need to carry and what yoke they need to give up. Replace it with the yoke of you. Help us to rest in you and find rest for our weariness, in Jesus' name. Amen.

By Pastor Vince DiPaola

Loved by God

May 07 8:39 AM

Loved by God

May 07 8:39 AM

Friday, May 7, 2021

These words which come from 1 Corinthians 13 describe how God loves you.

By Pastor Brian Rathbun

May 05 8:13 AM

A Lift When You're Feeling Low

May 05 8:13 AM

Wednesday, May 5, 2021

It's so easy for us to feel like we're Nobodies in this world. As if we are just kind of a faceless entity that moves through the day without any meaning, without any true interaction with anyone.

By Pastor Brian Rathbun

May 03 8:52 AM

Blameless

May 03 8:52 AM

Monday, May 3, 2021

They were failures and liars and losers in every way you could imagine. And I can only imagine that they would feel a bit scared at the thought of facing Jesus when he is revealed.

Monday, May 3, 2021

1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Today, I want to look at 1 Corinthians, where Paul is encouraging people at the city of Corinth to look forward with great eagerness to when Jesus Christ would be revealed. These people were not the epitome of Christian living. They were failures and liars and losers in every way you could imagine. And I can only imagine that they would feel a bit scared at the thought of facing Jesus when he is revealed.

So, Paul writes them these words in 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, "God will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." Those words would have bought brought great comfort to those people in Corinth. And I hope they'll give your life a lift here, as well, because what they're saying is that it is God who establishes you all the way to the end of your life, or to the end of time when Jesus Christ will be revealed. And he establishes you so that on that day when Jesus is revealed, you will be blameless before him. That's an awesome thought, because as you and I think of our lives, blameless is not how we would describe them. We all look back and think, "I wish I would have... I wish I could have... I think I should have..." When we think like that, and we think of that day when we will see Jesus, typically it's not comfort or eagerness that we feel.

But what God says is that because of what he has done, you will be blameless on that day. And why? Because you are blameless? No, you know you're not. You're blameless because God is faithful. In the original language, faithful was actually the first word in that sentence. "Faithful is God, who has called you into fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord." So, the reason you can have confidence and can look forward eagerly to the day when Jesus Christ is revealed is because God has established you because he has made you blameless, because he himself has called you into fellowship with Jesus Christ, his son. So, I hope that today that will give you a lift, and that you can go about your day with joy. Be encouraged with a wonderful attitude, because on that day, you will be considered faithful, because you will be blameless because God Himself is faithful.

By Pastor Brian Rathbun

Apr 30 8:11 AM

Walking on Waves

Apr 30 8:11 AM

Friday, April 30, 2021

The question is, how will you handle those difficult times, not if they come, but how will you handle those difficult times when they come? Because they will come.

Friday, April 30, 2021

Matthew 14:27-31

Today, I want to talk to you about problems. That's a real fun topic! But life is full of problems, right? Pastor Vince says this all the time. He says, "You're either right now in the middle of a problem, or you've just come out of a problem, or you are just about to enter into a problem." It's cyclical. Problems in life, they come like waves. And it's a normal part of life. The question is, how will you handle those difficult times, not if they come, but how will you handle those difficult times when they come? Because they will come.

As I said, it's like a cycle, they come in waves. And we see Jesus illustrating this for us when he invites Peter to walk with him on the water of the Sea of Galilee. Just a little background, Jesus had just performed this incredible miracle, the feeding of the 5000, as it's called, with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus dismisses the disciples. He tells them after this speaking engagement to go in the boat and cross the sea of Galilee. He tells them he will meet them there on the other side. So, Jesus stays behind, goes up on a mountain, and he wants to be by himself so he can pray to his father. Then, in order to to meet up with the disciples, Jesus begins to walk across the Sea of Galilee. So again, the disciples went ahead of him, Jesus needs to catch up. And here it is, he's walking on water. The passage tells us that the water was kind of rough. In fact, it says the wind was strong, and the waves were buffeting against the boat. So, you can imagine how freaked out the disciples were, since the waters were a bit rough, and all of a sudden there's a person walking on the water towards the boat. We see in Matthew 14:27-29 Jesus says to them in that moment, '"Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

"Lord, if it is you," Peter replied, "tell me to come out to you on the water."

"Come," Jesus said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came towards Jesus.'

So Jesus knows that life is full of problems, and that they're like the waves of the sea that come one after the other. But they can be spaced out by the tides, as well. So he invited Peter in the middle of this storm to step out of the boat, to put his faith and trust in Jesus, and walk on the water to do the impossible. But, Jesus says this to him, "Take courage. Don't be afraid." I don't know what impossible problem you're facing right now, but Jesus wants you to take your courage. He wants you to not be afraid. He wants you to come out onto those waves and walk with him. He wants to take your hand, and he wants to walk with you through your problems. He doesn't want to lift you out of your problems, but he wants to walk with you through your problems, because we need to learn and trust in Jesus.

So back to Peter in verses 30-31. 'But when he saw the wind -' now, stop right there. I don't know how you see wind, but that must have been some crazy wind that night. 'But when he, Peter, saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink. And he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately, Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. He said, "You of little faith, why do you doubt?"' So the question that we have to ask is, why did Peter begin to sink? It's because he took his eyes off of Jesus, and he put them on the wind and the waves. He put his eyes on the problems that he was going through. The same thing happens to us. When we go through problems, we step out of the boat. We begin strong. We begin to let Jesus walk us through our problems, but then we take our eyes off of Jesus and we focus on the problems again. The whole time, Jesus is saying, "Take courage! Don't be afraid." But, we keep looking at the waves. We keep getting into fear, and we begin to sink. Then, Jesus shows us how much he loves us. He reaches out his hand, and he pulls us up. He says the words to Peter that no Christian wants to hear. He says, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" No Christian wants to hear that. But the truth is, so many of us go through life's problems, and we tend to focus on the problems instead of focusing on Jesus. So let's learn from Peter. Let's grow in our faith and keep our eyes on Jesus. When we're tempted to focus on the problem, to take control of the problem, to doubt and not believe, to dismiss the fact that there's a lesson in this problem for me to learn, let's turn our focus back to Jesus, allowing him to lead us through the problem.

Let's go back to the first thing as we wrap up. Back to what Jesus said to the disciples as he was approaching the boat. He said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Someone watching this needs to write that down right now. "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Remind yourself daily to take your courage, the courage that Jesus gives to you to keep your eyes on Jesus throughout the problem, and to not be afraid. Fear is the opposite of faith. Where there is fear, there's a lack of faith. Jesus will see you through your problems. I hope you find that encouraging. I hope that brings a lift to your week. And I want to encourage you to do one final thing. Don't just have a great day. Go and make a great day.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Apr 28 8:54 AM

Singular Focus

Apr 28 8:54 AM

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Our eyes can only focus on one object at any given moment. Jesus, who created us and our eyes, who designed the eye, he knew this. And he used our eyes as an illustration to help us understand the importance of remaining devoted to God.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Matthew 6:22-23

Today, I want to talk to you about Matthew 6:22-23. Some of you know that before I was a pastor, I was a mechanical engineer. So, I've got this geek side to me. I love taking a look at things and understanding how they work, how they're designed and put together. One of the things that I'm fascinated by is the way that God created our eyeballs. If you think about the eye for a moment, it is an organ that allows us to see people and objects around us. And it is so complex with the way that it's designed, you think about all the different components of the eye working together that allow it to move. It has the ability to clean itself, it can open and close, it takes in light, it allows us to focus on objects, and it allows us to see things because it works together with our brain. But you know, there's one thing that our eyes cannot do. And that is this: our eyes cannot focus on two separate objects at the same time. Our eyes can only focus on one object at any given moment.

Jesus knew this. Jesus, who created us and our eyes, who designed the eye, he knew this. And he used our eyes as an illustration to help us understand the importance of remaining devoted to God. So, in Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" You see, the Greek word that is translated into English as "healthy" can also mean perfect, complete, wholeness, or singular. So, the eye that is singularly focused is a metaphor for being fully devoted to God. And when we focus our eyes on that which is good, that which is pure and holy, on those things that are pleasing to God, then our entire body, Jesus tells us, will be radiant, and filled with light. Our eyes, which is which is the lamp of the body, will lead us to follow God with full devotion. Then, we won't have to worry about material items, and the things that the world tries to entice us with and to draw us away from God with. So, focus on that which is good is the message that Jesus is telling us. Be devoted to God.

But, then he contrasts this by saying this, "But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great that darkness!" And that last statement, "how great is that darkness," is not a question. It's an emphatic statement that Jesus is saying. You see, the word unhealthy in verse 23 can also mean imperfect, evil, or morally corrupt. This is a metaphor for following after all of the trappings and material items that the world has to offer. So, Jesus is telling us that if we focus our eye on what the world has to offer, that which is evil or corrupt, that our entire body will be filled with darkness. I don't know about you, but that doesn't sound good to me. And when our body is full of darkness, we will have no light to guide us, and we will wander and remain lost and hopeless in such great darkness. So we have a choice. We can we can only focus on one thing. So what will we choose to focus on? Will we focus our eye on God and remain devoted to him? Or will we let it wander? And will we allow it to focus on the things of this world? Will you focus on God and the eternal things that please him? Or will you focus on the world and the temporal counterfeit pleasures that this world has to offer?

Maybe you're struggling to focus on that which is good and remain devoted to God. I want to encourage you, then, today to go a little bit deeper. Take your Bibles and read Philippians 4:8. Then, flip over to Romans 12:1-2. I hope that these verses will give you some encouragement, some insight, and ways to stay focused on God today. I hope you guys found this challenging and encouraging at the same time, and I want to encourage you right now: don't just have a great day. Go and make a great day.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

Apr 26 8:11 AM

Find Your Bait

Apr 26 8:11 AM

Monday, April 26, 2021

Jesus wants us to use a hook and some bait. You see Jesus is that hook, but we have to provide the bait.

Monday, April 26, 2021

4:19-20

Today, I want to talk to you about one of my favorite passages of Scripture. It's Matthew 4:19-20. I want to take you back to 1993. I was much younger then, and at that time I was investigating biblical Christianity. I had been reading the Bible for about a year and was reading through the Gospel of Matthew. And in Matthew 4, I read the story of how Jesus called Peter and Andrew, who were two brothers, two fishermen, how Jesus called them to follow him. They were out fishing, and they were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. In verse 19, Jesus said something to them that not only changed their lives, but it actually changed my life forever. Jesus said, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." I was so taken aback by Jesus' words, because first, it was so simple, it was an invitation to come follow him. But at the same time, it was so profound, it was a promise to replace what they had been doing as a livelihood, which was fishing, and replace it with a calling to serve God. It was a call to go out and fish for the souls of men and women.

The response of Peter and Andrew is seen in verse 20. I find this just as intriguing because verse 20 says this, "Immediately they left their nets, and followed him." That's the part that really got a hold of me, because it was that very night after reading that verse, that I immediately got down on my knees, and receive Jesus Christ in my life as my Lord and my Savior for the very first time. But here's the thing. I wasn't a fisherman. Yes, I fished before. I knew what it meant to use a rod and a reel. But I knew nothing about what it meant to fish for the souls of people. And that's when Jesus began to, over time, show me how he wants me to use my gifts and my abilities that he gave me to attract other people to him. Now, Peter and Andrew, they were commercial fishermen. When they went out to fish, they used a net and would drop the net into the water, and they would pull it in, and the net allowed them to catch dozens, or 50, or maybe even 100 fish at a time. But in my experience with Jesus, he often wants us to fish for one person at a time. So instead of using a net, Jesus wants us to use a hook and some bait. You see Jesus is that hook, but we have to provide the bait.

So let me ask you a question. What are you good at? What gifts and abilities has God given you? What hobbies do you have? At work are you on a team, or maybe you're a part of a group? What clubs or organizations do you belong to? These can all be that bait. You see, when you decide to follow Jesus, He will use your gifts and your skills, your activities and your interests, the connections and relationships that you have. He will use those as the bait on the hook. He will use the things that you have in common with people to help you build deeper relationships and friendships so that you can eventually share your faith in him. For me, that bait is often music. God has opened up the door for me to be involved in a few different pit orchestras, playing the guitar for local high school productions. And music is that bait on the hook that has allowed me to meet other musicians who I would not normally get a chance to meet and build friendships with them. And there's always those one or two musicians that God has put me in with, where he's opened the door for me to get to know, share my faith and invite them to come to church. So I want to ask you this. Where can you build relationships? Are there people that you have things in common with, common interests? Begin praying and ask God if he wants you to use this as bait to attract people to him. You may be the one person that God wants to use in someone's life, to share the gospel with them, and to have them come to know Jesus in a personal way. Will you accept Jesus's invitation? You've probably already accepted the invitation to follow him. But will you be a fisher for the souls of men and women? I hope you guys find encouragement in that today. I hope you feel challenged in that today. And I want to encourage you right now, don't just go and have a great day. Go and make a great day.

By Pastor Frank De Luccio

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