Sunday, August 2, 2009

He Got What He Wanted But He Lost What He Had !

"And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4: 19


My husband and a friend had a great fishing trip one day last week. They were mostly catching small bream and a few catfish. Hubby had just caught a bream and was getting it out of the water when the large bass he's holding in the picture swam by. Both he and his buddy said.."Wow! Did you see that fish???" Immediately hubby dropped the bream still on the hook back into the water. The big bass must have seen it out of the corner of his eye because he doubled back and took the bait. Soon he was hooked in the lip and hubby was reeling him in while fishing buddy picked him up with the dip net. And the rest, as they say, is history!

Saturday night we had a big fish fry with family and friends and ate that greedy fish. He thought he just had to have that little bream to eat but instead he got eaten himself! There's an old saying that goes like this: "He got what he wanted but he lost what he had!"

Today my heart is heavy. On Saturdays hubby and I go and visit the kids that he then picks up on our church van on Sunday mornings. We see these kids where they live and see just a tad of the situations they are in. Some of them are not good. Some of them are much worse than that. A lot of these kids are what I have started to call "Throw Away" kids. They weren't wanted when they were conceived and they are not cared about now. Some of them are so unstable and unteachable that we may have to stop picking them up in the van because they are hindering the other kids from being able to learn anything at church. We love all these kids but if one or two of them take all the teacher's time and none of the others are being taught we just can't keep that up. Because of their circumstances at home, most of these children have little hope of a normal life. But without Jesus Christ these precious children have NO hope. Above all we want to tell them how much Jesus loves them.

A lot of these kids are like the big bass. They see something they want so bad they will go after it with all they've got. The devil will use whatever bait he can think up to tempt them. And in the end, they may get what they wanted.....but they will have lost what they had....whether it's their money, their virginity, their freedom, or even their sanity. Please pray for these children who live in the shadows.

"For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them." Ecclesiastes 9: 12

Marilyn

7 comments:

Joyful said...

My parents used to have a similar ministry with children here. The ministry of taking them to Sunday School reached out and extended to taking their families food, clothing, etc...

God's Word reminds us: 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Keep loving them in Jesus Name,
Joy

Marilyn in Mississippi said...

Joy,
We have done that also....carrying food and clothing to the families. I carried some clothes by a trailer just this morning before church.

And you are right....loving them to Jesus is the main thing!

Marilyn

Leah Adams said...

Marilyn,

How often I have been like the big bass...seeing something that I thought I wanted and going after it only to find that it was so destructive to me. Good grief! How ridiculous our greed is and what trouble it gets us into.

Thanks for the timely, thought provoking post.

Leah

Beth Herring said...

Great lesson to be learned here today! We need to be more mindful of HIM and what He desires for us.

Peggy said...

Very nice fish! And a good analogy as well.
Hope your week is starting well. Our business is a little slow;
I suppose it is the back to school slump. My husband is having the heart
cather done this week and my sister will have surgery
for an anurysm in her leg next week. Our son is still looking for
a job. I would appreciate your remembering each one in prayer;
and I appreciate being able to share these request with you.

With Love,
Peggy

Runner Mom said...

Marilyn, this is a powerful story and wonderful ministry! Thank you for sharing!! Loved the picture!!

Thank you for all of the prayers this weekend. The conference was bathed in prayer and scripture...it was felt and appreciated!!

Hope you're feeling great today! Stay cool!!
Hugs!
Susan

Sarah said...

Fresh fish, too yummy! God is leading us to start a ministry much like this, reaching kidz' and their families for Him.

Thanks for splashing me today,
Sarah Dawn