“Net Worth…” (by Mel McGuire)

 

One of my favorite bible passages is the recounting of Jesus, a carpenter by trade, telling professional fishermen when and where to cast their nets to catch a tremendous supply of fish.

While I used to focus on the word “nevertheless”, which indicated an obedience to God’s word despite natural circumstances, personal experience, and conventional wisdom, I recently turned my attention to the actual net used to capture the fish.

Professional fishermen take care of and value their net. They understand what their net is worth. So, my question has now become, “what is YOUR net worth?” To be clear, I am NOT talking about an accumulation of wealth or assets.

My “net” is simply obedience to what God told me. It starts with obeying His word and extends to following the promptings and “nudges” He gives me throughout the day. What is my net worth?

If my net is the tool that allows me to capture and contain God’s blessings, in every form they manifest (including monetary), surely it has great value. Or does it? In the bible story, the net is the thing that allows for the capture, containment, and distribution of the fish.

In my life, and maybe yours, it is obedience and faith that allows us to receive what God has for us. I am talking about blessings that go beyond, grace, favor, and mercy. So, understanding that, what is your net worth?

To be honest, when I looked at my “net”, I realized it had not been tended to or cared for properly lately. There where holes in my net. Places in my life where I had allowed blessings to escape or never be received in the first place.

Like the image of a fisherman repairing his net, I need to inspect my net and begin to fix those places where it is weak, torn, or missing. What am I talking about exactly?

Watching TV when I need to pray. Sleeping when I need to be in the word. Eating when I am supposed to be fasting. Fantasizing when I should be seeking vision. Anytime I put my fleshly desires ahead of spiritual matters, I am not tending to my net.

Many of us have not received the blessings of God promised to us simply because we are not ready to capture, contain, and distribute them. Our nets are shoddy and weak. Our obedience is spotty and our faith is not active in the areas it should be.

Sit down and inspect your net. Get out the materials and tools needed to fix it. Know that your net is valuable and necessary. Before you ask for a bigger net, make sure the one you have now is whole, sturdy, and functioning.

Then when God says, “Let out your net”, you will have the faith and obedience to do it and receive the blessing that comes along with it. What is your net worth now?

“Mismatch…” (by Mel McGuire)

 

During one of my favorite sermons, the pastor was talking about the need to settle things by playing the game, having the fight, or living out what could appear to be, on paper, a mismatch.

Anyone who is a fan of sports understands the idea of a mismatch…on paper. One side is heavily favored and usually rightfully so, but the competition must be held. Winners are not decided on paper; they must win in life, for real.

The boxing match pictured here actually took place, a real-life David and Goliath situation. And while I do not understand how this match was ever allowed to take place under the rules of boxing as I understand them…it looks like a mismatch to me.

On paper, one fighter is clearly bigger, stronger, and with a longer reach than the other. But what cannot be seen, on paper, is the size or type of heart that resides on the inside of each fighter.

In this case, the smaller man won. It was called a surprise knockout, but I suspect he and his corner were not surprised. Why fight if you have no intention of winning? Meanwhile others will only fight if they have no chance of losing. They like a mismatch.

On paper, many of us should not be where we are in life. Christ lives in us and He gives us the heart, the character, to defeat the Goliaths of our life. David fought one and won, that we know of. But I believe Goliath is not singular but plural and on purpose.

In the spirit, our destiny should be a mismatch. On paper, we should not win. But those battles, like sporting competitions, must be played out for real.

Paper champions have no place in the kingdom of God. Grace, favor, mercy, and even the anointed presence and manifested power of God cannot be measured on paper. He creates a mismatch.

On paper, according to God’s word, we are victorious, more than conquerors, overcomers, and royalty infused with the power of God. We are holy, precious, valuable, and valued by the King of Kings. On paper.

But too often we are living lives that are a mismatch. We have believed the enemy’s press clippings, fallen for the hype, and studied too much of his highlight reel, many of which feature him dominating our own lives.

There truly are more for us than against us, but WE must to be for us first! When God is fighting your battle, you are on the winning side of the mismatch. When we try to fight a spiritual battle with natural, earthly weapons, we often lose…and badly.

Get back to reading and believing what God has said about you. Who you are, whose you are. He gives you the advantage, that like on paper, creates the mismatch in your favor.

Fight the good fight. The battle is not yours. He won’t lose if you fight. It’s a mismatch!

“Deep…” (by Mel McGuire)

I was having a discussion recently about the frustration that comes when others do not (or cannot) share your passion, commitment, dedication, or depth about something. Not that we are all so deep that no one can hang with us, but some people are simply not going to match or exceed your level of involvement or capacity to care. You’re too deep.

This particular conversation centered around spiritual things and ministry related things, but I believe the principle the Lord shared with me applies to a variety of situations. Everybody will not go deep, or at least as deep, as you in certain circumstances.

The difference between snorkeling and SCUBA diving is illustrated in the two images. The SCUBA diver is deep and while a snorkeler can go deep…they cannot remain there any longer than they can effectively hold their breath.

At some point, they will have to return to the surface. Snorkelers usually swim in shallow water, occasionally diving under water for a short period of time. They must be able to return to the surface in order to breathe. They can go deep, but they cannot stay deep.

SCUBA divers are equipped to go deep and stay deep. Of course, they take their air with them, but it allows them remain underwater for extended periods of time. They may see a snorkeler, may even hang with them for a minute to two…but then the snorkeler must return to the surface.

So it is in ministry or other endeavors where people do not have equal commitment or passion. Everyone is not equipped or even interested in SCUBA diving. It takes longer to certify, requires more training, carries more risk, and takes more effort. Most people are content to snorkel.

When it comes to actually swimming in the ocean, I am a snorkeler. “Jaws” convinced me long ago, I had no God ordained reason to be that far under water for that length of time. I own that. In other areas of my life, I am a SCUBA diver and I own that too. I have some friends who can go deep and stay deep with me, and I have some friends who “snorkel” in those areas.

The bible tells us that “deep calls unto deep” and there are “the deep things of God” that some will explore and experience…but not everyone. That is fine. Snorkelers who remain under too long could drown. We have all seen folks fall away because they “got in over their head”. They needed to return to the surface.

Whether is a concept that requires a certain amount of depth like fasting or sacrifice, or a level of commitment that goes beyond one’s ability to “hold their breath” …everyone is not going to be able to go deep.

Prayer, Worship, Giving, Serving, Teaching, Hospitality, Study of the Word…these are all examples where all of us should be willing to get in the water. But some will snorkel while others will SCUBA. Deep is calling…who will answer?

“Layaway…” (by Mel McGuire)

I saw a sign recently advertising a store’s layaway plan. It brought back many memories from my childhood when my parents would routinely place items on layaway. This was before the widespread use of credit cards and the subsequent mountain of consumer debt we have all come to know as the new normal.

The way layaway works is that you make a down payment on an item and you leave it at the store. They set it aside for you and you make payments as you are able. Once you have paid for the item in full, it is yours to take home. There is usually little to no interest on the purchase and if you failed to pay in full, the item was returned to the stock and your money was refunded.

With a credit card, of course you take the item home right away and often it is used up or inoperable long before you finish overpaying for it, due to the interest on the credit card. This appeals to the instant gratification we are all susceptible to, and is a hard apple to leave on the tree. But I think God prefers the layaway plan.

You see, God has some things stored up for you. When you pray, He sets it aside and puts it on layaway. You continue to make payments by praying, believing, and making room in your budget and heart for the thing He has promised. This does two things; first, it makes you sacrifice less important things to pay the price of the promise. Secondly, it establishes and proves the value of the promise in your life, so you cherish the promise because of the process necessary to realize it in your life.

We think that God is charging crazy interest rates and that He never intends to give us the promise because we mess up or skip a payment. We then assume after a while the price has gone so far up we can no longer afford it, or it does not seem worth the price anymore. But God does not add interest in that sense, the price of the promise never changes, we just have to make all the payments to receive it. We think God has given our blessing to someone else, or put it back on the shelf for someone else to purchase.

What God sets aside for you, is for you and no one else. Your purpose, your destiny, your dream, your calling is on layaway for you. God wants you to be obedient, be in faith, be about realizing and fulfilling your purpose. But you have to make room for it. You have to cut out the frivolous activities and habits that are wasting your time and talent. Divest yourself of emotional interest charges that drain your soul and leave you morally bankrupt.

Make sound choices to follow after God and before you know it, your account will be paid in full, and you will be enjoying the fruits of obedience, sacrifice, and commitment.

What are those things you are waiting on God for? Are you still making payments? The price has not changed; God wants the best of you, even all of you. Do not settle for a discounted version of your blessing. Pay the full price, regardless of the time involved, and get all that God has placed on layaway for you.

“Huddle…” (by Mel McGuire)

During the Holidays I am prone to watch a lot of football. A popular trend these days is the “no-huddle” offense. This offense relies on signs, visual cues, and limited verbal communication to call the next play. It has the potential to keep a defense from making adjustments based on “down and distance”. It can be hard to run in a hostile environment if there is a lot of crowd noise.

In order to maximize the impact of the no-huddle, the overall game plan and situational awareness must be established before the game is played. This requires preparation and dedication by the coaches and players alike.

The team will still huddle prior to certain plays, or if they need to “milk the clock”. The point of the huddle is to update each other on the current situation, and to provide information as to what is coming next.

That is where God got me. First, He noted, the huddle in between plays is NOT the time or place to talk about what just happened! It is to prepare for and call the next play.

Secondly, everyone has a pre-determined place in the huddle, so if specific instructions are necessary for a particular position (not just player), the quarterback knows exactly where to look.

For example, when a team is trying to preserve a lead, players know to stay inbounds and wrap two hands around the ball, for possession is more important than individual stats.

Once I was reminded of the purpose and function of a good ol’ fashioned huddle, God told me I was running a “no-huddle” offense while He was waiting at the end of each play to “huddle up”. Usually, He noted, it is the center, that establishes a location, raises his hand and yells, “Huddle Up!” Well, God told me that my prayer life was like a no-huddle, and I was missing out on stuff because I would not check with Him for the next play.

He told me that as He made adjustments in my daily life, I was missing the signs, visual cues and verbal communication He was using to call the next play. He said I needed to take the time to huddle. My response was “I don’t have time to pray like that all day”, and I believe He heard me. He asked me how long does a team actually huddle between plays? Don’t they in fact incur a penalty if they take too long in the huddle? Don’t they suffer a similar fate if they have too many men in the huddle?

His point to me was that He wanted me to be checking with HIM between plays and it didn’t have to take long. “It’s not the length of the prayer, but the strength of the prayer”. By keeping unnecessary folks out of our huddle, we can avoid penalties and confusing communications. By taking my proper position in the huddle, I can receive the specific instructions for me based on my life’s current “down and distance”.

The message from Sunday, my daily devotion, those are like the overall game plan and situations I prepare for ahead of time. Once my day begins, adjustments have to be made to counter what my opposition is trying to do to stop me. The huddle allows me to hear clearly in spite of crowd noise or excessive movement by the enemy.

Okay, the play is over… Huddle Up!

“Reset…” (by Mel McGuire)

I bought my daughter another electronic device and she was having trouble connecting it to our home wireless network. After troubleshooting as best we could, we finally broke down and called the manufacturer for assistance. After reviewing the issue with them, and redoing all the steps we had already done to prove to them it would not work, the man suggested that I reset my modem. He did tell me that once I did that, it would reset back to its default factory settings, and I would probably have to reconfigure it, but it should make the new device compatible with all the others we already use without issue.
Reluctantly I located the reset button, and pressed and held as instructed. Long story short, it did reset to its factory settings and after doing a step by step reconfiguration, it did solve the problem and once again all is well with the wireless networking. All I had to do was hit the reset button. Now I know how to reset and reconfigure if the problem returns. By the way, I had to use a different password and update all my other devices with the new password. This is part of the process of a reset.
When we lose our connection with God, whether all together or just in an area or two, and we have come to the end of our trouble shooting, we need to put in a call to the manufacturer and get instructions on how to reset. We then need to make the intentional effort to press and hold…get in and stay in His presence until we are reset to the default factory settings. Then prepare for a reconfiguration and a new password.
You see, the factory settings are basic and universal. They are original, absolute, clear cut definitions and parameters. They are free from our preferences and patterns, our customization and personalization, they are the original settings the manufacturer established and we know that they work. Things like what is a sin. What are worship, prayer, fellowship, holiness and humility. What love looks and acts like. The default factory settings are what God says these things are, not our own interpretation, or our own experience or habits. Forgiveness in the factory settings is unlimited when someone asks, not meted out according to our own timing and standards.
What God calls a sin, we should call a sin and not allow more than He does. When we change the password to the kingdom to something other than the name and blood of Jesus, we being personalizing and customizing the gospel, and we run the risk of losing our connection, or not allowing others to connect to our network. When our definition of holiness is broader, wider, and more inclusive than God, we need to hit the reset button. When we get lifted up in pride, thinking we have God figured out and that we are closer to Him than we really are, we do things from memory and are actually working “offline” without even knowing it. When we are on “auto pilot” and just cruising through life, we are underpowered and gliding downward slowly, affected by the gradual pull of gravity until we realize we are in danger of crashing…we need to reset.
Life is not a game, but like some games, we do have a reset button in the Lord. But you have to press and hold. This establishes that you intend to reset to factory settings and understand that a reconfiguration will follow. Press in and hold on, let God reset you and establish a new and fresh connection with him. A new connection using His original configuration, the one we already knows works.