Fishing for Jesus

Okay, I knew there was something spiritual about fly fishing. Check out this video on Sermon Spice.

What can you learn about evangelism from fly fishing? There are so many principles. One thing we don’t do, however, is catch and release. This beauty to the left is still thrilling anglers fishing the Frying Pan River, I hope. When we “catch” a man or woman for Christ, we want to take them home and make them part of our family.

Is Gustav a Distraction or an Opportunity?

I admit it. I’m a news junky. But where would CNN and Fox News be without us? I’ve been glued to the tube for the past week, keeping up with the Democratic National Convention, Sarah Palin’s VP announcement, and now the coverage of Hurricane Gustav. However, every time a hurricane heads into the Gulf of Mexico, I’m all ears. Having grown up on the Texas Coast, I experienced these mighty forces of nature up close.

During the last few days, I’ve been taken by two bits of reported news. First, all the mention of the considerable amount of prayer going on for the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas coasts. Maybe there is no more prayer than when Katrina and Rita hit three years ago, but there sure is more talk about the place of God in all of this.

Secondly, I’ve been amused by the comments from a couple of prominent Democrats who implied that the timing of Gustav was in some way showed God’s displeasure by taking the limelight from the Republicans during their convention week. As much as I know it’s bad theology, the temptation is great for many of us to assume that difficulties and disasters that come into our lives are signs of God’s displeasure. The equally errant correlary is that if we please God, then our lives will be smooth sailing. Both are dangerous footing.

It is interesting to note that no where do Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John, when writing to the early church, pray that God would shelter them from the storms of life, which were significant at the time. Instead they pray for them to stand strong in their faith when the winds of persecution and difficulty blow. James actually looks at difficulties as opportunities. Indeed they are. They reveal the strength or weakness of our faith and character.

My prayer is that for the sake of the residents of the Gulf Coast that these political comments mentioned above backfire. This may be an opportunity to demonstrate the leadership competence of the Republicans in charge. Just like Katrina revealed the the lack of leaderships and flaws in emergency management, Gustav will reveal something about the current leadership of the Gulf Coast Governors, FEMA, and President Bush. And for the sake of those hard hit by Gustav, I hope this will be their finest hour. Something no matter what political side you take, we should all be praying for. And, if all goes well, some politicians might regret making the connection between God and Gustav.