The Messy Part of Fishing

     I did a lot of fishing as a kid. My dad started me off at a very young age. I still remember how after my sister had caught a blue gill, I exclaimed, “Hey Dad, throw one in for me now!” I was only four and thought that dad must have had something to do with the fish getting on that hook.
     From my dad’s love of the outdoors and the water in particular, I began to pick up the hobby as my own. A friend and I were so into it that we used to get up before dark and ride our bikes to the river in early summer to have our lures in the water by dawn. We fished like real fishermen. We kept the fish that were big enough to eat, took them home, cleaned them ourselves, and put the meat in the fridge for dinner. Fresh fish was a delicacy in my home.
     I’ve learned that there aren’t very many fisherman who actually clean fish anymore. When people tell me their fish stories, I usually ask, “Do you keep the fish you catch?” I’ll usually hear something like, “No, I don’t like to bother with the mess…” It’s one thing to enjoy the catch. It’s another thing to deal with the messy aftermath. But for me, the best part of fishing was the final outcome….DINNER!
     I rarely fish anymore. But I take Jesus’ words to his first disciples, personally, “I will make you fishers of men.” I view my life as that of fishing for Christ-followers. And I try to keep the fish I catch. There is a thrill in the initial catch but the real reward comes when you see the process completed. I said to friends last night, “I get no greater thrill than to see God change the lives of people.” I then added, “But fishing is messy.”
     In John 21, we love the story of how Jesus told the disciples to throw their nets on the other side of the boat, and when they did, they caught so many the boat began to sink. Fishing is messy. Not only did they have to struggle to get themselves and their catch to shore, they then had loads of fish to clean and torn nets to repair. The success Jesus gave them added to their workload!
     I was sharing with someone recently a few stories of people who’s lives are being changed. As I spoke of the background of some of our new Christians here at The Bridge, and some of the struggles in overcoming their past, etc., his eyes started to glaze over and he responded in such a way that indicated that he didn’t think having to deal with such “messes” would be worth it. I disagree. Its the mess that makes it all the more rewarding.
     All Christians want to talk about how we are called to fish for Jesus, but few want to deal with the mess of keeping and cleaning the fish we catch. But that’s part of it, and in fact, where the real reward comes. I’m glad we have strong stable Christians here at The Bridge. But I am even more thrilled that we get to clean up messes. I’m glad that we are privileged to participate in God’s sanctification process of being involved in people’s lives to help them become what God wants them to be. Sometimes, that’s messy. But it is so worth it!
     Join me on this fishing expedition! But don’t quit with landing the fish. Don’t shy away from or be discouraged by the mess. Enjoy the whole process. That’s when the real reward comes!

Maui Christmas!

     My wife and two sons are on vacation this week (Erica wasn’t able to get away). We are in Hawaii, and it is beautiful!
     It’s been quite an ordeal getting here. With two kids in college, we wouldn’t have been able to afford the trip except that my wife works for United Airlines and we took advantage of her flying benefits. But that means we fly stand-by. Flying stand-by as an employee means that you can get on a plane once everyone else does and only if there are seats open. If you have flown lately, you know the airlines have been forced to fill every plane up and it has made it difficult to get on some flights. Especially at Christmas time when you want to go to Hawaii!
     We thought we had a good shot Monday morning, direct from Chicago. But after getting to the airport, we found there were 60 people on stand-by with 6 or 7 seats available. We didn’t get on. So, that afternoon, we flew to San Francisco to try our chances there, since three flights a day go to Mauii and four each day go to Oahu. Even getting to San Francisco was a challenge. They put the four of us on the plane. Then they took Linda and Junior off. Then they let Junior back on. Finally, as the door was about to close, they brought Linda back on.
     The next day, we waited all day at the San Francisco airport with no good fortune. The last flight to Maui, they called our name and said they had room for two of us. We sent Junior and Brock who just as they began to walk down the jetway, the last two people showed up and Junior and Brock were taken back off. We were a little discouraged going back to the hotel. The next morning, however, we got on and were heading to Maui. Upon landing, it didn’t take us long to get to the beach and to start enjoying the sun.
     Was it worth the two days of trouble? Absolutely! If you have ever been here, you know what I mean. This truly is a paradise on earth.
     In fact, I think the trouble we had getting here made our arrival all the more sweet. Not very many things in my life that came easy, turned out to be all that valuable.  Those people and projects I have had the greatest challenges with and where I have expended the most effort, have become the most rewarding. There is something about struggling through impediments and over barriers that makes success all the more fulfilling. I think for us, there was an added benefit of seeing family after family, arguing and obviously unhappy, while waiting in line to get on a jet to fly to paradise. Seeing that is helping us appreciate our time together here. We’d be enjoying vacation if it was in Canada…..well, not quite as much, though ☺.

     Gotta go. We are heading out in our rented jeep up the volcano to swim in some waterfalls.

If "Happy Holidays" Makes You Mad

     I get all the email forwards that you probably get and I delete most of them without reading. I think I have forwarded only a couple in my lifetime! But I read one this week that was worth sharing. So rather than forwarding it, I'm posting it :). I have no idea who the original author is, but it is a supposed letter from Jesus to Christians about Christmas:

     It has come to my attention that many of you are hopping mad that some folks are taking my name out of the season. Relax. As God, I just don't feel threatened. I see everything, and I know everything. Believe me, there are a lot bigger problems in the world than people who say "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas." But if you're still upset, here are a few productive ways you can channel your anger:
      If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting my birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small nativity scene on your own front lawn. You don't have to do that, of course -- but if you want a nativity scene, do it at home -- stop getting upset with your town!
      Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. After all, I created all trees. You can remember me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15:1-8.
     If you want to give me a present in remembrance of my birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:
      1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way my birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know––they tell me all the time.
      2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They really appreciate knowing that someone cares about them.
      3. Instead of writing the President complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write the President and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family throughout the next year. Then follow up––it will be nice hearing from you again.
      4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of my birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Tell them you love them, and then remind them that I love them.
      5. Pick someone who has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.
      6. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no Christmas tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army, the YMCA, Toys for Tots, or some other charity and they will make the delivery for you.
     Oh––and one more thing––happy holidays! And of course, Merry Christmas!

Your Friend, Jesus

I Wish I Could Tell Tiger This

     I turned the news on the other night to hear Geraldo and a panel of pundits talking about the Tiger Woods sex scandal. I was shocked and appalled. Not by the behavior of Tiger, I had already heard about that. What blew me away were the comments by this news panel. One woman said, “Where Tiger went wrong was in mixing professionals (as in prostitutes) with amateurs. If he would have just stuck with professionals, his behavior would have been kept private.” One of the men on the panel said, “He got caught because he had too many mistresses. It’s one thing to put a couple of sugars in your coffee, but he poured the whole box in and that’s how his wife and everyone else found out.” All the while Geraldo is just nodding along with a smile as though saying, “Well, that makes sense.” They seemed more unsettled by the amount of money he spent to be with these women (as much as $60,000 a weekend) then they were by his moral depravity or the damage he has done to his wife and children.
     Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised. The moral fiber of our nation has been steadily eroding since the 60s. And in reality, things are not any worse here today than they were in the world when Jesus visited the planet. Tiger’s behavior is not all that different than many of the rich and powerful celebrities of the Roman world. In actuality, what sets him apart from many of the common people we rub shoulders with is that with his extravagant income, he had the money to do the kinds of things that many others would do if they could afford to….thinking they could get away with it.
     And that is the state of humanity.
     But believe me, I am not pessimistic about the human condition. I would be, had there not been an earth shattering event 2,000 years ago that was designed by God to rescue us from our own depravity. Jesus came to a degenerate and sinful world to offer escape from the devastating and eternal effects of sin. He became human to infuse spiritual life to those who receive Him.
     While Tiger says he is working to rebuild his family, what he really needs is reconciliation with God. Jesus offers that to Tiger and to you. Its not only an escape from the enslavement and ensuing effects of sin, its an offer of a brand new life!

Don't Miss Christmas!

     It was the day before Christmas Eve and she was trying to finish up some last minute shopping at the mall. The kids tugged her towards the line to make requests from Santa. After a 25 minute wait, they were finally able to sit on his lap and tell him their dream gifts for the year. Mom smiled knowingly, as she had already wrapped most of those items. On the way out of the mall, they passed an elderly woman who was gently ringing a red-handled silver bell standing beside the Salvation Army donation pot. The kids begged for a couple of coins to drop in but she quipped, “We’ve spent all the money we are going to spend today!” They walked through the parking lot and got into their SUV. On the way home, she pulled through the drive-thru and ordered enough McNuggets, burgers, fries and cokes for the family. Once she was back on the road, her cell phone rang. It was her husband letting her know that he was on his way home but he would be a little late. She told him that she had already stopped to pick up dinner and asked if he would run by the grocery store to get some things that she had forgotten for their family Christmas Eve meal.
     That evening, after tearing open their fast food meals and eating most of it, the kids begged to watch a DVD they had talked her into buying earlier that day. She sat down to wrap the gifts from the afternoon of shopping. The phone rang. It was someone from church they attended here and there reminding them of the candle-light Christmas Eve service they were having the next evening. She politely told them that Christmas Eve was a family night for them and with out-of-town family members coming as their guests, they wouldn’t be able to make it to church. The door-bell rang. It was a middle aged couple who were going door-to-door. A shelter in the city was running short on supplies and they explained how they were going to “nicer” neighborhoods asking for donations to make Christmas a little better for those who were hurting. The husband explained that he was already maxed out with charity between United Way at work and what he gave at church (he actually gave very little).
     The next day, their house filled up with parents, siblings and cousins. Soft holiday music played and the aroma of ham and sweet potatoes filled the air. When it came time for the gift exchange, there were bursts of laughter from adults and squeals of delight from kids. Once the family left, all the left-over food put away and the wrapping paper and excess packaging in the trash, the parents reminded their kids that Santa was coming in the night so they’d better get ready for bed. It was a rare evening in that the kids actually seemed happy to go to bed.
     The next morning, while they sat sipping coffee and smiling at the children, who were now playing with their prizes, the husband commented on how rewarding Christmas was this year. His wife smiled and nodded in agreement.
     Off on a distant shelf, a ceramic manger scene sat in the shadows.
     This is a story on how one family missed Christmas. But they weren’t alone. Those who actually understand what it is all about, and celebrate accordingly, are in the minority. Don’t miss Christmas this year! Give it to Jesus!

Give Your Christmas to Jesus

     The Christmas decorations are up. Christmas music is playing. In fact, we will be singing some carols already this morning! As a family, the Zieglers start celebrating Christmas as soon as Thanksgiving is over (we normally get our tree and put it up the day after, when everyone else is out loading up their credit cards). I’ve never understood those who are so critical of Christmas starting early. They know little of Christmas tradition. Historically, Christmas started at the beginning of December and lasted the whole month….but that’s another subject.
     While we like to start early, we also celebrate Christmas differently than most families. Oh, we put up decorations and we play Christmas music at home (our kids complain about that part). But when it comes to celebrating, we have never done a lot of gift giving. And that part, our kids have never complained about. For years I have heard Christians criticize the commercialization of Christmas and talk about how materialistic Christmas has become, all the while they are participating, spending lavishly on their kids and grandkids. When our children were small we simply said, “We’re not going to do that.” And we don’t.
     Instead, we come up with giving and serving projects; that is projects where we can participate as a family in giving to others or serving others. A few years ago I invited our entire church to join us on a major project that we called, “Give Your Christmas to Jesus.” We asked the whole church to forgo gift-giving that year and take the money they would have spent and use it for an all church missions trip to Mexico. Along with scores of other families in our church, we conducted a medical clinic for those who did not have health care. We built two houses for families who were living in cardboard lean-tos. And we presented the Gospel to children through VBS programs in poor neighborhoods. After giving up their traditional Christmas of “getting,” every kid on that trip told their parents it was their best Christmas ever and I heard over and over, “Let’s do this every year!”
     Well, we may not leave the country for a missions trip every year, but we can have a blast every year by involving ourselves in giving and serving projects, as opposed blending in with all of society’s consumption and consumerism craze. Perhaps you have heard of Pastors Rick McKinley, Chris Seay, and Greg Holder and their “Advent Conspiracy.” We’ll talk about that in weeks to come but as this Christmas season is just beginning, I want to encourage every family to have a sit-down prayerful discussion about how you will “go against the grain” this year. How will you make Christmas different? How will you use this season to impact eternity, rather than the overflow our landfills a few years from now? I have some ideas for you….some projects we as a church and you as a family can join. Stay tuned!

Is Santa Claus Coming to Town?

      With Thanksgiving behind us, Christmas is coming! Every year around this time I get questions from moms and dads asking for my opinion on Santa Claus: “Did you tell your kids there is a Santa?” Some are very adamant: “Santa Claus is a replacement of Jesus in this secularized society and just another way of spreading the materialism of this age.” Others see the fable as harmless delightful fantasy: “I believed in Santa when I was a kid and it didn’t hurt me! It’s just a fun way to give the kids a little magical spark during this wonderful season.”
      Have you ever thought that Santa can provide a springboard for reinforcing young minds with the true meaning of Christmas?
      You see, there was a real Santa Claus. From the time our children were very young we taught them about the real man behind the legend. Hundreds of years ago there lived a man named Nicholas (later known as St. Nicholas) who inherited a great sum of wealth from his parents. He was born in 280 AD and his parent died when he was just a boy. Early in his life he devoted himself to God and the Lord’s service. He grew up to become a pastor in modern day Turkey, and he gave away all of his wealth to help the poor––especially children. When he was persecuted and imprisoned for his faith, he shared his meager provisions with the other inmates. He gained a reputation for giving both out of his abundance, and then out of his poverty. He believed that giving to the needy was the same as giving to Jesus. He was right. Jesus taught that himself (Matt. 25:40). His example of giving sparked in many a tradition of giving to commemorate the birth of Jesus. St. Nick was a real person who left for us a wonderful example. But I think he would be horrified to know how he has come to be the exaggerated focus on materialism for many children at this time of the year.
      Linda and I have always taught our children about the real Santa Claus. We also emphasized to our children that lying is absolutely and always wrong. To us, our integrity is one of the most important gifts we can give our kids. We have an agreement: We will not ever lie to them; they are not to ever lie to us. I would have a hard time teaching them that if I maintained a story to be true for years while knowing that it was not. As a child, once I learned that the Santa story I had been told was only a fable, I began to wonder if the stories about Jesus were just fables as well. Though I believed in Santa Claus as a child, and my children have enjoyed pretending the legend but knowing its roots, I did not enjoy Christmas more than they. In our family, we try to emphasize giving to others, not getting from Santa. I think they enjoy it more because they get excited about the “giving projects” we take part in as a family. We really try to make Christ the centerpiece of His birthday celebration and this way we believe we are passing on to our children a heritage far more valuable than any fun that make-believe can provide.
      As parents, you have the obligation to do and teach your children what is right for your family. I trust you will pray about this issue and are sincere in how you believe the Lord is leading. His way is always the best way!
      In the mean time, please do your best to establish Christmas traditions in your family that will focus on Jesus and how His birth provided for us communion with God! Use this holiday season to lead your children in making Christ your first priority.