“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?

“System Restore…” (by Mel McGuire)

At least once a year I notice my computer starts to run a little slow and will not respond to my commands like it used to. I do a routine scan for viruses and unauthorized software and find no solution. My operating system offers a feature called “System Restore”, which uses a “restore point” to set my computer back in time, to a moment when everything was working smoothly.

I do not know, nor do I need to know how it works. The problem with the computer is usually some evil thing attached to a file or website that infiltrated my system and began gumming up the works. They are usually placed by some “person” who is looking to profit off of my ignorance, charging me a  fee to get rid of the very thing they planted in the first place! System Restore allows me to operate as if I had never been infected!

Of course my walk with Christ occasionally calls for a system restore. When I struggle with my prayer life, or don’t seem to be getting anything out of my time in the word. When I feel no urgency to gather and fellowship with those of like precious faith, or when I don’t miss my constant interaction with the Holy Spirit, I may need a system restore.

I need to recall a restore point when those things flowed freely in my life. Sometimes I can go back just a short time. Other times I have to go way back to a season or point that is literally years ago, to find that place where all systems were working smoothly.

Do you remember when you were just excited to learn anything about God? When you shared your faith with whomever would listen and even some who didn’t? When you were quick to pray, even quicker to forgive, and your speech was peppered with the salt of the word? What happened to us? What did we download, what program did we neglect, what “site” did we visit that attached something to our spiritual software and began slowing our responses and causing us not to act on the prompts, the commands of the Holy Spirit?

If you can recall when it seemed every prayer was answered, when even the random opening of your bible led you to some new revelation, when you were acutely aware of God’s presence and had no desire to do anything that would jeopardize your intimacy with Him, you have found your restore point. What did you do in your free time? Who were you hanging out with? Where did you keep your bible? Chances are you were addicted to the Lord, hooked on the word, and sold out for Jesus!

Well, we can all get back to our own restore point and begin operating just like we did before we allowed ourselves to be infected with the cares of this life, the pursuit of worldly pleasures, and the lusts of the flesh. Just like with our computers, we can then monitor and pay closer attention to what we allow access to our hard drives. Like we change our settings to only allow “trusted sites” and “ask before downloading”, we can restrict who and what has access to our life. It starts with repentance…do a “system restore” and let today be a restore point.