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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion February 24, 2007 Cast His Net of Love Around Them |
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Frontline Devotion for Saturday, February 24, 2007 by Brenda Kessler
Mark 1: 16-20
In today’s scripture reading Jesus calls four fishermen and says to them, “Come with me. I’ll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I’ll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass.”
At one time in the life of the early church the fish became a symbolic sign for Christ. An acrostic was developed that derived from the Greek letters of the word “fish” (ichthys) and were understood to stand for the Greek words for Jesus (i) Christ (ch) God’s (th) Son (y), Savior (s). An acrostic is an arrangement of words in which certain letters, when taken in order, spell out a word. The fish has continued, even after these many years, to be a symbolic sign for Christ.
A few years ago I received a lovely fish charm from a friend in my faith community. I bought a nice chain and attached the fish charm to it. I love this necklace. I wear it frequently. Yet I realize that this precious piece of jewelry does little more than tell others I am a Christian.
Today’s reading tells me that as Jesus’ follower I need to do more than wear a lovely, symbolic necklace. Today’s lesson tells me that I need to catch people for Jesus. One look at the waters of the world shows me that the waters are crowded with “fish,” men, women and children who are wallowing in the waters, starving for the bread of life, Jesus the Christ. As a follower of Jesus I am called to cast Jesus’ net of love around them.
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for catching me over and over and over again. Be with me as I strive to be a faithful fisherman for you. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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