FISH for Lent

If you have been following my blog for a few years, you will know that I have a mixed approach to Lent. 

I don’t do lent in the sense of fasting or giving up something.  (Usually)

What I normally do is decide what I need to do or change about my life for the next 40 days that will help me to be more focussed on God, and feel closer to Him on Resurrection Sunday.

Sometimes that involves giving up something, like sleep or reading, so that I can use that time for prayer.  Sometimes it involves just being intentional about focusing on something relevant to my walk with God each day.

This year, I will be revisiting an old project of mine.  About four years ago, I wrote a Haiku for each book of the Bible.  I called this project Biblios Hokku, because it sounded snobbish and pretentious.  (Actually there were/are good reasons, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t also being pretentious.)

So this year, I will be looking back at each book of the Old Testament, one day at a time.  I will spend some time meditating on each book, and on what it means to me as a part of the whole Bible.  I will take the day to think about the message of that book.

In this way, I hope to get through the whole Old Testament by Easter.
(Not reading all of it, but looking at how it fits together.)

One of the interesting things that I noticed when I was reading the Bible to do the Biblios Hokku was how we often miss the recurring themes and messages of the whole Bible when we jump around and read some books and leave others.  Being “forced” to consider them all, in order, makes new truths jump out, and reinforces old ones.

As usual, I will not be posting the Lent Posts here. Rather I will do them on a separate, dedicated, blog called FISH for Lent. If you are interested in sharing this journey with me, then I invite you to swim over there and have a look around.     

Just a little something to whet your appetite…

Biblios Hokku
By faith, for service
our worth only in His eyes
we are saved for Him.

If you want to find out what this poem means for me, visit http://lentfish.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Join my little Lent Group…

 

Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers

I am not in the habit of crying over books.  I am a big boy.

But this one did inspire a bit of moisture when I read it.  Just a little bit.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is an awesome book.  It is a re-telling of the story of Hosea, which in turn is an allegory for the Redeeming Love shown by God in reaching out to his church.  Farmer Michael Hosea hears the voice of God telling him to take a wife.  (As did Hosea the prophet)  In both instances they are told to take an unfaithful prostitute as their wife.  Michael hears and obeys, however his chosen wife, the prostitute known only as Angel, is less convinced of his intentions.  So begins a long journey of discovery for both of them.

It is beautiful, and beautifully written.  I many have teared up a little on occasion.

I remember reading an interview with Francine Rivers about how her publishers tried to get her to publish this book under a pseudonym.  It was her first book published after becoming a Christian, and they were afraid of it being tainted by association with her secular romances.  (Which were a little more… explicit.)

She said however that the story was about redemption, and the power of a changed life, and so it was published as the first of many Christian novels under her name, a testimony to how her writing had been redeemed as she had been.

FISH in the Reads/Reeds

I love to read. 

On a good day, I can devour an entire fiction novel in one sitting, maybe over a weekend for larger books.

Yet I have never really spent a lot of time reading Christian fiction.  That’s right, I still consider Frank Peretti to be the cutting edge of edgy spiritual fiction, and that nobody can top C.S. Lewis for some good fantasy.

But I am aware of the fact that there is an entire world of inspirational Christian Fiction out there.  I even aspire to write it one day.  So I suppose it was about time that I learned to appreciate it.

So it is probably a good thing that my girlfriend, Dori, is quite an expert on Christian Fiction.  She has been introducing me to works by Ted Dekker, Adam Blumer and others.

(She also likes Twilight, but nobody’s perfect.)

So while up until now I have been reviewing Christian Non-Fiction books on this blog, I will now be starting a new series called FISH in the Reads (Fish in the Reeds.  Get it?)  If I am going to be a FISH (Faithful in Serving HIM) then I need to be soaking myself in good, Christian Fiction as well as the secular fiction I read.  So I will be looking (possibly with some help) at how we can serve God in our reading patterns.

Do you read Christian Fiction?  Can you recommend anything/anyone?
Do you think it matter whether we read Christian fiction or not?

Ash what?

Lent?  Ash Wednesday?  Fasting?

Do you do any of it?

As a member of a fairly traditional mainstream church, I grew up assuming that everyone followed the same traditions as I/we did.  It was only as I got older that I realised that many (most?) believers and churches don’t bother with things like Lent.

The word Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning ‘Spring’, and also was the word for ‘March’ when lent was usually held to begin.  In the early church, new believers were baptised on Easter Sunday, and so they observed a time of fasting for 40 days prior.  It became traditional for the whole church to fast with them, recognising that they were being baptised into the Church as a body.  From this we have the modern tradition of 40 days of lent.  The 40 days were supposed to represent the 40 days that Christ fasted in the desert before beginning his public ministry.

It was also common for believers who were returning to the church to be re-admitted on the Easter Sunday.  They would traditionally make a full confession of their sins before beginning lent, and would make a mark of an Ash Cross on their forehead to symbolise their repentance.  Again, members of the early church chose to do the same thing, and began signing themselves with a Cross of Ash to symbolise that they also needed to repent and return to the Lord.

This is the origin of Ash Wednesday, where believers may choose to have a cross of Ash imposed on their forehead as a reminder of their decision to turn from sin, and follow Christ.  Tonight I will be attending an Ash Wednesday service at my church, and will be beginning a time of Lenten discipline. 

I will not be talking about Lent, or my journey, on this blog, because for those who do not follow it, it might be pretty boring.  Instead, I will be doing a daily post on my other site, FISH for Lent.

It would be great if you came over and visited me there.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

GOD loves his Church.  Heaven alone knows why, but He sure does.
Sadly, we in the Church seem less inclined to love each other, or ourselves.

Ever since 1908, The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (technically an octave of 8 days) has been observed between The Confession of St Peter and The Conversion of St Paul. 
Book-ended between two of the most faithful saints of the Bible, we find a time to remind ourself as the Church that Christ loved us, and wanted us to be united. 

Whatever divides us, whatever differences we have, yesterday reminded us that we are united by one common confession.  And next week, 25 January (St Paul’s day) will remind us that we don’t get to pick and choose who we serve when Christ calls us.

So for now, I am going to be Faithful In Serving Him by praying for unity in his Church.

Join me.

Confession of St Peter

 ¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. – Matthew 16:13-20

Let’s take a closer look at that picture, shall we?

Sometimes when we are familiar with a bible passage, or story, we lose sight of the important parts.  So we need to take a closer look to find details we may have overlooked.

We remember that Jesus “gave Peter the Keys of Heaven”.  But what was the really important part of this section?

 

V16 - “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Why is that important? 

Because until that moment, nobody had ever said it before.  What we have here, is the first credo, or creedal statement made in the Christian Church.    Before we had the Nicene Creed, or the Apostles Creed, or the Baptism Creed; we had Peter, the fisherman, saying “You are the messiah, the Son of the living God.”

How. Awesome. Is. That????

Out of that one statement, it became necessary to amplify who Jesus was, and how he fitted into the world.  Many creeds were drawn up, and attempts were made to understand the world. 

But at the end of the day, doesn’t our entire faith come down to our accepting this basic truth about Him?

He was the messiah (Christ, Saviour)
He was the Son of God.

On 18 January, we commemorate a very FISHy fellow.  With the Feast of the Confession of St Peter. 

Musical FISH

As you may have noticed, I have chosen my One Word for 2011 as being FISH. (Faithful In Serving Him)

Well, I have been thinking a lot about what that means lately.  I think part of being Faithful, and looking to Serve, is choosing to do the right things.  Choosing to do what Serves Him, rather than what I want.

Let me give you an example.

Music. 

I love music. 
I am not a very musical fish.

But such was not always the case.  Once upon a time, when I was very young and still cute, I used to sing like an Angel-fish.  I had a beautiful voice.  However since then, my voice has abandoned me, and despite all my best efforts, I have never managed to teach myself to play any musical instruments.

I can tap out a few tunes on the piano, and I have tried on about 20 or 30 occasions to learn how to play the guitar. 

Why?

Because chicks dig a fish with a guitar, don’t they?

But mostly I fail.

I have just never been very musical.

 

I am also not very good at leading worship.  I have tried a couple of times, and it just never works.  It feels awkward, and not really very successful.  I know God is in control, and it is not about me, but…

It doesn’t work.

I am however, very good at planning and presenting lessons, and designing Bible studies.  I can spend hours in preparation for a fifteen minute session, or do an hour impromptu lesson with no fear or nervousness, and people will say it really helped them to learn more about God.

I think if I spent an hour a day playing the guitar for the next year, I could probably get quite good at it.  Possibly even better than some of the worship leaders I have heard.  I probably could invest that time into improving my musical abilities.

But it won’t help me to become a better worship leader, I don’t think.  I know worship leaders who can use their gift to bring people right into the presence of God.  That is what they do with their gift.  I don’t think he has called me to do that. 

Let us say my musical ability is a 3 right now. 
In a year I could make it a 6.

If my lesson planning is a 5, then with an hour a day, I could make it an 8 by the end of the year.

I think God would rather I improved myself in the areas where he wants to use me, rather than in the areas that are just about making myself look/feel cooler.  I could make myself into a
guitar-playing fish, but a real FISH would use the time to equip himself for service.

And that what being a FISH is all about.

Faithful FISH

I chose for my One Word this year, the word FISH. 

Faithful In Serving Him

 

As I spend this year trying to learn how to be more FISHy in my life, I decided that one way would be to learn from great FISH of the past.  Men and Women who have been BIG FISH
(Believers In God – Faithful In Serving Him)

So I will be following the lectionary of Saints Days this year, and picking out a few to honour.  I hope you won’t be too bored, as we try to learn the answer to the age old question…

What goes well with FISH?

I just want to be a FISH

I have never been one for New Years Resolutions.  If something is worth doing, there’s no reason to wait until an arbitrary date on the calendar.  I just do it. (Or don’t )

Apparently Alece over at Grit and Glory feels the same way.  She has a project called….

Go over here and learn more.

So I am choosing my One Word for 2011, and I am going to cheat. (Twice)

The word is….

FISH

• Cheat 1 : FISH is short for Faithful In Serving HIM.  So it is actually 4 words.
• Cheat 2 : Since it is the reason I call myself Sharkbait, I suppose it has been my theme for a long time.

But I don’t really feel like I got it right yet.  So I will keep trying;  Keep striving; Keep aiming to be

Faithful In Serving Him.

What about you?  What’s your One Word for 2011?

Sick FISH

I’m not feeling so hot right now.   I’ve had a bit of a sore throat since Friday morning, and it’s not going away.

Normally a few days of rest and drugs vitamins would be all I needed, but there are a few complications.

1. I am preaching tonight.  So I spent most of yesterday writing my sermon, instead of lying in bed.
2. Instead of sleeping in this morning, and resting my voice, I had to take the teenage youth group at Church this morning.  Because the youth pastor, my good friend Samwise, is away on mission until Wednesday. (Samwise took over the job when her sister – Stanleigh - got married and moved to another city.  Try to keep up here.)
3. In addition to all the above, I have been preparing my lessons for my bible study group on Wednesday…
4. And my lesson for our Men’s Prayer group on Friday morning…
5. And my lesson for my writing group on Thursday….

I hope my voice holds out for my sermon tonight, because trying to speak over the noise of a dozen teens this morning has already worn it out.

If you get a chance, pop off a quick prayer for my throat.  It can collapse after 7PM.

Thanks.

Who are you people?

When I first started this blog, way back in the long distant past of January 2009, I really had no idea what it was going to be.  Which is to say, I really didn’t think anyone would read it, so I didn’t think it would matter.

The blog was started with the idea that it would help me with my daily journaling.  Every morning, after doing my quiet time, I would write in my journal about the deep spiritual insights arising out of my daily reading.  Since you know how disciplined I am about daily routine, I thought I would help it along by doing it online.  Then it would be obvious to me that I was missing a day.

So it was supposed to be a sort of online journal.  I just never imagined that anyone else would read it.

Then it occurred to me one day, while reading Stuff Christians Like, that instead of commenting as <Real Name deleted for privacy reasons> I could just comment as Sharkbait.  Much simpler, and then I started doing the same on some of the other blogs I used to follow.

And the next thing I knew, people were reading my blog, and talking back to me.

It was quite disturbing.  In fact, when I got my first ever comment, on 17 February 2009, I nearly wet myself. 

These days I have about 40 people following me in one way or another, and around 50 direct hits a day.  I still don’t know where they come from, but it has changed the way I think, and write.

I assume most people would be too bored to read my fishy ideas about deep theology.  In fact when I wanted to get all deep and theological over Lent, I even created a separate blog for it. 

I still think most of my posts are really just me talking to myself, and working through ideas in my own head, but I am definitely influenced by the fact that I know people are listening.

What about you?  Would you write differently if no one read your blog?  Would you still blog if you had no followers?

And just who are all you people who come around every day?  (And what were you expecting to find at a site run by a Fish?)

The difference between baptists and fish.

I tried to find a great theological explanation of the difference between Baptists and Fish, but all I could find was this cartoon from the Baptist Times.

Check out more cartoons like this at http://cakeordeathcartoon.wordpress.com/

What fish believe

What exactly do fish believe? I am obviously an elightened, 21st Century fish with a strong understanding of church liturgy and the holiest order for lighting the altar candles, but sometimes the simplest of fishy faiths can be an inspiration to us all.

A recent comment on this blog leads me to share this poem, Heaven by Robert Brooke.

Fish (fly-replete, in depth of June,
Dawdling away their wat'ry noon)
Ponder deep wisdom, dark or clear,
Each secret fishy hope or fear.
Fish say, they have their Stream and Pond;
But is there anything Beyond?
This life cannot be All, they swear,
For how unpleasant, if it were!
One may not doubt that, somehow, Good
Shall come of Water and of Mud;
And, sure, the reverent eye must see
A Purpose in Liquidity.
We darkly know, by Faith we cry,
The future is not Wholly Dry.
Mud unto mud! -- Death eddies near --
Not here the appointed End, not here!
But somewhere, beyond Space and Time.
Is wetter water, slimier slime!
And there (they trust) there swimmeth One
Who swam ere rivers were begun,
Immense, of fishy form and mind,
Squamous, omnipotent, and kind;
And under that Almighty Fin,
The littlest fish may enter in.
Oh! never fly conceals a hook,
Fish say, in the Eternal Brook,
But more than mundane weeds are there,
And mud, celestially fair;
Fat caterpillars drift around,
And Paradisal grubs are found;
Unfading moths, immortal flies,
And the worm that never dies.
And in that Heaven of all their wish,
There shall be no more land, say fish.

I'm not like you.

I find this blogging experiment rather interesting. As much as I sometimes feel like it's possible to fit into online communities better than the 'real world', there are also times where I feel very different from most of my online contemporaries. Particularly in the Christian Blogging community.

1. I think I'm a fish.

Okay, let's get this one out the way right up front, so it doesn't become the elephant in the room so to speak. I pretend to be a fish. All the time. My blog posts and comments often have fishy overtones, and sometimes even bad puns. In fact, I am so into my fishy persona that only a handful of you readers even know what my real name is. Sometimes it feels like I'm hiding myself away, even though it also gives me a lot more freedom to say things. Sort of like a mask.

2. I am a boy who thinks he's a fish.

Strange as it sounds, this is a big deal. Most of the blogging circles I find are almost exclusively women. I don't know whether women are taking over the blogging world, or if they just make better bloggers. Probably both. Seriously, what guy is going to sit down at his PC everyday and share his feelings with the world. We don't even do that with each other. DUDE!! But I noticed that often I would be following a blogger for a while before realising that she assumed all her readers/commentators were ladies. She would call us ladies, or some such, and I would notice the distinct absence of males on her blogroll. I don't mean the 'single mother' or 'homeschooling' type pages, but jsut general Christian blogging. I was even once given a 'shout-out' for being "not our usual commenter, he's a guy."

3. I am a boy from far away who thinks he's a fish.

So maybe you think the boy thing is not so unusual, but the living far away is. Almost without fail, the blogs I follow and people I interact with fall somewhere on the North American Continent. (With one or two Aussie and UK exceptions) It might not seem like a big deal to you, but sometimes it is a little isolating. The fact that I will probably never actually meet any of yuo guys. The fact that I have to watch conversations like "Who's going to (insert cool church gathering) in July, it will be awesome.", "My friend Mindy finally came to Portland for a visit, and we got to hook up.", "That was a great sermon you preached on Sunday, and all the other bloggers at Smallville Community Church agree." Not to mention the fact that half the videos my friends post on their blogs are "restricted to US only", as are many of the special offers, giveaways and "join our network (not yet in foreign countries)" opportunities.

And don't get me started on the fact that I don't understand most of the sports, TV or product jokes. Why is Walmart funny? I have no idea.

4. I am a single boy from far away who thinks he's a fish.

Okay, this one's kind of my fault I guess. No one forced me to still be single in my 30s. And to be quite honest it doesn't really bother me much. (Being a single blogger I mean, the single part does suck a leetle.) It just seems that many of the blogging communities I interact with have families and children. So sometimes I just smile and wave when I see the cute post about your kids. Seriously though, I do love them. I love kids, I love the insight into your family. It just sometimes feels like I have nothing to contribute, because I have no one to tell you about.

So here's my question...

What makes you feel different?

Is there some way you sometimes feel like you don't fit in with others?

Let me know I'm not the only freak out here, swimming in unfamiliar waters.

It's all about me.

Okay, I'll go first. Sometimes I feel frustrations as a Christian, and especially as a small group leader. There, I've said it. My dirty little secret is out. (or at least number #654; we'll work on the important ones later.)

Don't get me wrong. I love my "job". I love the fact that I get to walk alongside some of the most amazing and awesome people I know. I love the opportunity to wrestle with the word, and try to work it into a form that makes it easy to discuss and absorb. I love preparing and presenting lessons. But sometimes when I spend hours preparing for a meeting on a Wednesday, and then no-one turns up I feel a little... disappointed. When I turn down invitations to dinner and free tickets to shows so that I can be at my bible study, and wonder why I am the only one there. I sometimes feel like I don't know why I do it anymore.

Then I get a little reminder in the form of a question from on high. I'll feel like someone is saying to me "Little Fish, when I called you did I say it would be easy?"

"Uh, I guess not."

"Didn't I mention something about taking up your cross and denying yourself? I'm sure it was there, it wasn't even in the fine print."

Uh...

"So did you think this was easy? That being a leader meant you could show up each week and impress people with how smart you are?"

"Of course not. I mean... I don't know."

"You want to know why you do this? You do this because I called you, and you answered. You're no better or worse at it than anyone else, but you decided to do it. Would you like me to ask someone else?"

I guess sometimes I forget that. Being a leader in anything means sacrifices, and not just the ones we want to make. I never begrudge the time I spend preparing, because it makes me feel like I'm fulfiling my purpose. I never mind all the reading and studying. None of this feels like a sacrifice, at least not one I mind making. But we can't choose which sacrifices we want to make, that's what makes them sacrifices. We need to remember to deny ourselves and take up our crosses daily. It might be hard work, but the rewards are out of this world.

For an interesting post on denying yourself, go to Walking By Faith: caffeinated randomness:: deny yourself

Who's birthday is it?

Does anyone have a birthday today? Anyone?

It might be mine, I'm not sure. It's kind of hard to tell. I might need your help with this one.

 

As some of you may recall, I celebrated my official birthday on 20 April. Thank you for all the birthday wishes. Much appreciated.

 

But here's the other side of the story. That side is the official Sharkbait mascot. If you look at my profile picture you'll see that it is a photograph of an actual key ring with a stuffed clownfish on it. I was given this key ring two years ago on 14 July 2007. It was a late birthday / just because present from some friends. They thought it was perfect because I had just written and presented a teaching series entitled Finding God in Finding Nemo. It was a good joke.

 

Then the next day, Sunday 15 July, I put the key ring on my bible bag and took it to church with me. Once there, I showed it to the person who had bought it for me, and said "This is my new friend, Sharkbait." The name just jumped into my head because of the scene in Finding Nemo.

If you don't know which scene I mean, then look here:

With me so far.

Well it was a few months later when I decided to start a group on Facebook to discuss issues of faith etc. I didn't want to do it under my own name, so I created a profile for Sharkbait, and he set up Sharkbait's Reef. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

Well.... Sharkbait just took off! Soon he had more friends than the guy who had created him, and was all over the place. And I discovered something interesting. He could say things I couldn't. It gave me a huge freedom, and people started listening to him.

To a stuffed fish I ask you!!!

 

Anyhoo... Sharkbait, both the Facebook character and the mascot became quite popular, and started getting invited to parties and having fun. I kid you not.

 

So when I decided to start a blog here, it was natural that I thought of Sharkbait. I decided that I would use the same name as I used to have on Facebook, before they deleted me, and the rest is history.

 

I never imagined that I would end up with so many friends in the blogging world, or find so many amazing lives to follow. It has really been an amazing time, and I look forward to continuing the ride with you.

 

So here's the thing; I might have been born in April, but in a very real way, Sharkbait was not born until 14 July. So when do you think I should celebrate my birthday? I'm thinking I'm going to claim 14 July as my birthday, and 15 July as my christening.

 

What say you?

I'm back

That's right ladies and gentleman. I am back at last. Since I was so rudely deleted from Facebook for the heinous crime of being a fish, I have been going through withdrawal. So I decided to take my friend Mike's suggestion and start my own blog here. I hope all of you enjoy it as much as you used to enjoy things in the Reef at Facebook.

Just so there can be no misunderstanding later, lets get something clear up front. My real name is not Shark Bait, and I am not really a stuffed fish. I just choose to use this persona.

For more about why I choose to identify myself as a FISH, see my profile on the side bar.