Soul Fishing

~ Life To Death or Death To Life? ~  

Jesus Christ used an interesting analogy regarding harvesting souls for eternity. The concept of fishing presents a number of parallels but at least one key difference. 

Scripture  ~  “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him” (Matthew 4:18-22, parallel passage is Mark 1:16-20). 

Many Parallels  ~  (1) There exists a great variety of fish (salmon, tuna, pike, minnows, etc. – nationalities, genders, financial and social classes, etc.).  (2) There are many techniques of fishing (angling, spearing, nets, etc. – mass evangelistic crusades, friendship evangelism, individual witnessing, etc.).  (3) There are a variety of specific fishing methods (lures, bait, tackle, types of nets, etc. – Gospel tracts, street corner evangelism, one-on-one, print, radio, television, etc.).  (4) Fish are found in various places (oceans, lakes, rivers, alone or in schools, etc. – at work, in the neighborhood, in schools, etc.).  [“Schools” are a common factor where both fish and men are found!]  (5) There are mixed results: in either fishing for men or for fish sometimes there is an abundant harvest and other times nothing is caught. 

The Key Difference  ~  The difference between catching fish and catching men is that the fish you catch are physically alive when caught and when caught die, but the men you catch are spiritually dead and when caught have life.

question:  Many children in Sunday Schools sing the chorus, “I will make you fishers of men…”  How about you?  Do you know the Master Spiritual Fisherman?  Have you been His apprentice?  Are you now a fisher of men? 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

The Body of Christ

~ 7 Aspects of the Lord’s Body ~

His Body Was Prepared By His Father  ~  “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:  ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me.  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.  Then I said, “Behold, I have come — in the volume of the book it is written of Me — to do Your will, O God”’” (Hebrews 10:5-7). 

He Came To Earth In Bodily Form At The Incarnation  ~  “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

His Body Was Offered At Calvary  ~  “Then He [Jesus Christ] said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”  He takes away the first that He may establish the second.  By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:9-10). 

His Body Was Buried In A Tomb  ~  “After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.  And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds.  Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.  Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.  So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby” (John 19:38-42). 

His Body Was Handled After The Resurrection  ~  “Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you.’  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have’” (Luke 24:36-39). 

His Body Was Glorified In Ascension  ~  “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21). 

His Body Is Contemplated During Communion  ~  “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’  In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’  For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.  Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). 

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Messiah, 126

~ Messiah Would Bring Light ~

 “Search the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”

— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)

The Scripture

“Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, as when at first He lightly esteemed the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward more heavily oppressed her, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Isaiah 9:1-2).

The Messiah 

“Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned’” (Matthew 4:12-16). 

~~~ EXPLANATORY “MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~   

(1)  Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a Hebrew Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which was fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(2)  While extensive it will not be a complete list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have been fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.

(3)  It is important that there are many more prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.  A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

(4)  These posts will typically consist only of Scripture—which speaks for itself.  Sometimes italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.

(5)  The numbering of these fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the Messiah).  The posting sequence will, for the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.

(6)  Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above) we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the Scriptures.

(7)  These serial posts are in addition to our regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.

(8)  Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.  Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Bible Question, 2

~ Test Your Bible Knowledge  ~   

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~~~~ bible question ~~~~

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question 2:   How many children in the Bible were considered an answer to prayer?  

Please provide your answer in the comments below!

The correct answer will be provided in a future blog.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

7 Gospels

~ One Gospel: Seven Aspects ~          

Gospel of God ~  “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1-6). 

Gospel of the Grace of God  ~  “None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). 

Gospel of Jesus Christ  ~  Mark begins his Gospel in the following manner, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the Prophets” (Mark 1:1-2). 

Gospel of Christ  ~  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17). 

Gospel of Uncircumcision   ~  “But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter” (Galatians 2:6-7).

Gospel of Circumcision   ~  “But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter” (Galatians 2:6-7).

Gospel of Peace  ~  “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:14-16). 

conclusion:  Consider the encouraging fact that the Gospel/Good News of Jesus Christ, in all its aspects, is an Everlasting Gospel.

Everlasting Gospel  ~  “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’” (Revelation 14:6-7). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW