Andrew - A Brother's Shadow

As we all know, Jesus chose the original twelve disciples. From reading the Bible, it may appear that He made some bad choices in the men that were selected. These were ordinary guys with an extraordinary mission of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth. They had flaws, but Jesus was able to use them anyway and He had a specific purpose behind each one he chose.

Recently, I have been interested in why Jesus picked them. What was so special that made them qualified for the job Jesus wanted them to do? The Bible doesn’t mention any special gifts or talents other than maybe their occupation before they entered into the ministry. I believe the Apostles were selected because their character and traits would later represent the different people Jesus ‘chooses’ today. Which one represents you?

The disciple I would like to talk about today is Andrew. He is one of the twelve disciples that you don’t really hear much about. The Bible doesn’t say much about him, but yet he is an important character because of the fact that he was the ‘first’ disciple.

As everyone already knows, Andrew was the brother of Peter and the son of the Apostle John. He, too, was in the fishing business along with his brother (Peter), father (John), and uncle (James). They were all partners that worked together catching and selling fish to the nearby markets. This could have been a ‘booming’ business in those days and all of them may have been successful.

Andrew was a little different than his fellow business associates. He was a disciple of John The Baptist. This tells me that Andrew found time in his busy business schedule to learn the teachings of John The Baptist about the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. While his family were carrying on with business and family matters, Andrew was learning about spiritual stuff. I would imagine that Andrew witnessed to his family a time or two to come and join him. I could almost guarantee that he shared with them what he had learned from John The Baptist.

According to John 1: 29-42, John The Baptist was giving a testimony about the Messiah to his disciples. He was telling them that Jesus would be coming and would be the Son of God. The following day, Jesus passes by and John points Him out. Immediately, Andrew and another disciple began following Him. It says in verse 42 that the first thing Andrew did was find his brother, Peter, and brought him to Jesus. This was the first act of discipleship where a person gets led to the Lord. That’s pretty awesome!

Based on what I have read about Andrew, he had some good and bad characteristics.

His Character: The Good Points
The Bible doesn’t say much about Andrew or contain a mile-long list of his accomplishments. However, he was mostly known for leading others to Jesus and by doing so, these people were able to accomplish great things. Andrew would be more portrayed as a person that was ‘behind the scenes’. These are the characteristics I see in him:

A leader - not because of his speaking abilities, but because he led people to Jesus

Loyal and obedient - when Jesus would tell him to do something, he acted on it quickly

A businessman - this contains the characteristics needed to run a business

Faithful - he was a follower of John The Baptist and Jesus

A man of action - he was quick on the draw - no hesitation

A willingness to share - after meeting Jesus, he immediately went to go get his brother


His Character: The Bad Points
Since there is not enough information in the Bible about Andrew, it’s hard to say what his bad points are. Knowing that these disciples were ordinary men, I would imagine they felt some of the same feelings we have. When Andrew’s name is mentioned, he is known as ‘Andrew, Peter’s brother’. It was as if he lived in the ‘shadows’ of his brother. Personally, there had to be some feelings of jealousy or a sense of unimportance in Andrew’s life. If there were, the Bible doesn’t mention it.

His Accomplishments In Ministry
By bringing his brother, Peter, to Jesus he was able to add 3000 people to the church (Acts 2: 41). You could say that he could take credit for the accomplishments of the ones that he led to the Lord.

After Jesus had died, Andrew went on to preach the Gospel in Greece. He was later martyred and tied (not nailed) to an ‘X’ shaped cross. He is considered a national saint today in Scotland and Russia.

How could we apply the life of Andrew today? If you are someone that works ‘behind the scenes’ in ministry, your job is just as important as the one ‘in the spotlight’. Yes, you may not get credit for your efforts, but God knows. That’s why He chose you! I believe behind every great leader, there is someone that pushes them forward.

Also, we can’t take for granted the job we consider ‘small’ because we really don’t know who we are ministering to. For example, if you are teaching a Sunday School class to ten kids. Yes, it may seem like a ‘small’ job, but do you know the future of the ones you are teaching to? Who’s to say that one of those ten may go on to greater things for the Lord? God knows. Maybe that’s why you are there - preparing and teaching them. God knows what He is doing and He’s doing it through YOU!


God bless you!

Jeff
Harbor Of Light Ministries

Jesus On My Spine

I went to the dentist a few weeks ago. I hadn't been in years and was having trouble with some bad teeth. They took an x-ray of both sides of my face with a machine that circles your head. It was kinda cool. The amazing thing to me is what I saw in the x-ray photo. There appears to be a face located in my spine. Is it the face of Jesus? I'll let you decide:

The Marriage Feast

Read Matthew 22: 1-14 (NIV):

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' "But they paid no attention and went off-one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

A king is having a wedding party for his son. He has sent out the invitations, but many people have refused to come. The king gets angry! And I don’t blame him…

My 3 year old daughter recently had a birthday party. My wife invited as many people as she could. She called people on the telephone, sent emails, mailed invitations and told people when she would meet them in public. She wanted this to be a special occasion for our little Beth. This would be a special day.

My wife and I bought the necessary party decorations, made the reservations at the local park, and bought the food and drinks needed and expected many people to show up. The party was ready. Then came the excuses…

Needless to say, maybe a ¼ of the people showed up that got invited. Beth still had a great birthday party, but we had a lot of leftovers to bring back home that eventually got wasted. The parable mentioned above is similar, but it’s more serious than a simple birthday party. The parable above is talking about eternal life in Heaven.

The Invitation
The invitations have already been sent out. Everyone is invited to receive eternal life. Jesus paid the price on the cross at Calvary. Read John 3:16. He did it for the whole world. You are included! Don’t ignore it!

The Servants
Those of us that are saved should be telling the world about the Good News. The Gospel is being spread all over the place. That’s what we do - what we are called to do. We gotta’ get the Word out… Will you be joining us in the feast?

The Guests
These are the folks that say, “OK. Count me in!” And actually show up. These people are the ones that accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. They put on the wedding clothes and are dressed for the banquet. Some people play the game, but don’t take the necessary step by asking Jesus to come into their life and repenting of their sins. You may as well not of showed up at all.

And Those That Refuse To Come
Here’s the deal, according to the parable. The king is cleaning house. You are either in or you’re out. And being ‘out’ has a very bad outcome. Look at your invitation today. Will you be joining the feast provided by the King? I hope to see you there!


God bless you!

Jeff
Harbor Of Light Ministries

The Unforgiving Servant

Read Matthew 18: 23-35 (NIV):

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

This is a parable on forgiveness and mercy. I think many of us can relate to it. Even though it speaks of forgiving money debts, it also relates to forgiving and having mercy on many levels.

Forgiving and Having Mercy For Others
One thing I have learned in life is that people are human. It doesn’t matter who they are. People make mistakes. The sad thing is that people’s words and actions affect us. The same people that can offer us encouragement or do nice things can say or do things that can hurt us emotionally and physically.

To live in the flesh and be worldly, we will have enemies and we will have friends. To live as a Christian and be spiritual in our walk, we need to understand the importance of love. Loving our neighbor means our friends and our enemies. Satan will use these people as a tool to bring us down. He tempts them, so that through their emotions, they can lash out on us in hurtful ways. How can we survive?

First, we have to recognize the enemy. Secondly, we need to understand the many ways he will try to defeat us. Thirdly, we should apply the love to our lives that Jesus tells us about from His Word and use it as a shield. If you truly love your neighbor, then their words or actions will never hurt you. We will know who is behind it all. We will be able to forgive them and have mercy on them.

Holding onto hate and bitterness towards someone will only destroy us in the end. Get rid of it!

Forgiving and Having Mercy For Ourselves
Sometimes I think our worst enemy is ourselves, but its mostly because the real enemy, Satan, is masterminding the whole scheme. You see, he uses your guilt and possibly pride against you. Here’s the deal! You’re not perfect either! You will make mistakes, too. Actually, it’s OK to not be perfect. As long as you are seeking righteousness and following Jesus, He will work with you. He will help you and develop the person He wants you to be. You’re a ‘work in progress’, so keep moving on!

The worst thing you can do is dwell on your imperfections and continue beating yourself up. You belong to God and you are His vessel. Try something new…forgive and have mercy on yourself! You are a child of the King!

God’s Forgiveness and Mercy On Us
I guess what it boils down to is this. As Christians, we are to be ‘Christ-like’. When we sin, and we all do, we know to pray to God and ask for His mercy and forgiveness. We are confident to know that… HE DID! At that moment you asked…HE DID! So, if we are to be like Him, we need to do the same…to EVERYONE!

Prevent Satan from having a foothold in our lives. Let’s share the things God gives us every day…FORGIVENESS and MERCY. Start by pouring yourself some… and then share! Ahh…refreshing!


God bless you!

Jeff
Harbor Of Light Ministries

An Encounter With Angels...And A Hundred Dollar Bill

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. - Hebrews 13:2

Have you ever had an experience with an angel? I know that may sound like a strange question. But, I’m serious. Maybe something happened during an event in your life that was hard to explain. It could be a time when a ‘visitor’ appears from out of nowhere and helps you during your crisis and then quickly disappears.

I have had an experience similar to this and it has stayed with me for years.

The Bible talks of angels that watch over us and mentions them appearing to people in angelic form and human form. In Genesis 18, Abraham encounters three and thought they were travelers, so I know they exist. I believe I have came in contact with them even though I don’t really know the purpose for their visit. Maybe you have some insight.

Twenty years go, my wife and I had a choice to make. We weren’t living our life for the Lord at the time, but we were saved and were invited to two events on the same day. We could either get a baby sitter and go to a party with our friends or we could go with my family and listen to some Gospel singing at a Christian event a few miles from home. For some reason we chose to go to the singing and took our one year old son with us.

We sat down in the metal chairs at this function and the place was fairly crowded. My son sat in my lap as we listened to the Gospel tunes that the different bands were playing. I began playing the air guitar and drums with my son as I held him in my arms. I know this sounds silly, but it kept him occupied and involved with the music.

I remember an older couple coming into the small auditorium and setting down beside us. However, I don’t recall seeing their faces. The older gentleman reaches out with his hand to mine and says, “This is for your son.” I could tell he was handing me money as he crumbled the bill into my hand. When I turned to my left to thank him, I noticed the couple were walking towards the exit door. I looked at the money in my hand and saw that it was a one hundred dollar bill. I was shocked! I immediately put my son down and walked quickly to catch up with the couple. I wanted to make sure that they didn’t make a mistake by giving us this large amount of money and to give the money back or just tell them ‘thank you‘. I made it to the door and looked into the open parking lot. They had disappeared! Vanished into the night! I was scared and nervous! I wasn’t sure of what had just happened. Within just a few seconds, this couple had given my son a gift and left with no trace at all.

I would like to just let this go and assume that an elderly couple wanted to bless a young family that night. It would have been great if I could have told them thanks and everybody went there own way. This event happened so fast and the way it happened has left an impact on me.

What if it were angels that appeared to us that night? What was the money for? Was it a reward for a decision that I made? Or could there have been a message behind the gift? We didn’t need the money nor did any sudden emergencies spring up to where the hundred dollars was required. It was like this money had no purpose. I have even considered looking into the meaning of the number 100 to see if there may be something deeper. It may have just been a wake up call for me to turn my life around. Who knows?

Twenty years later, my son and I both are involved in a Christian evangelistic ministry, reaching the lost for Jesus, that happens to be related to music. I am thankful that the Lord didn’t give up on me. I just wished I knew why I encountered angels with a hundred dollar bill.

If you have experienced something like this, please leave a comment and let me know.

God bless you!

Jeff
Harbor Of Light Ministries

A Trip Down Memory Lane

I have been working on a neat little side project lately. I have uncovered my old school yearbooks from 1984 and 1985 and have scanned them onto my computer. I have been posting the pictures on my personal Facebook account for all of my friends to see. I even looked up and added some of the people that I went to school with, regardless if we were friends in school or not. It has turned into a great way for everyone to remember the past and to find out where everyone is today. I mean…it’s been about 25 years ago. That’s a long time!

One of the hardest things for me is remembering some of the people’s names or remembering anything special about them. I can remember their faces, but the rest is blank. Occasionally someone will post a memory of that person and then my brain will say, “Oh yeah! I remember that now! How did I forget?”

The brain is a strange body organ that stores memories. It seems to save all of the good memories and the bad memories, but erases events that weren’t so important to us. If a person made an impact on our life, our brain will store their information for future use. This got me thinking.

What kind of memories am I leaving behind for the people I meet and encounter every day? How will they remember me? When they see my face 25 years from now, will they say, “He was a good Christian man.” or will they remember the bad things I have done or will they remember me at all? I want to leave good memories behind because my life as a Christian should reflect Jesus who gave it to me. And if someone has a bad memory of me, I need to make every effort I can to replace it with something good.

Another important thing I learned from memories is related to my walk with Jesus. When the Lord does things in my life, I need to consider how important they are and be thankful. If I underestimate its value, I may forget what He has done. This is like when Moses led the people from Egypt. God worked miracles in their journey, but they quickly forgot what He had done. When they came across another ‘problem’, they complained and forgot God. If they remembered what He had done in the past, they would know that He would provide for them again.

For me, I may need to write this stuff down. God has done so much for me and I take a lot for granted. Sometimes I don’t show appreciation or I just simply forget what He has done. When I face obstacles in my life, I will either lose faith in Him or begin worrying and complaining about it. The simple thing for me would be to ‘remember’ because my memories will offer hope for what God will do for me in every situation. God says He would never leave me nor forsake me and based on my memories, He has always been there.

Hasn’t God always been there for you? Let’s never forget how good He has been to us. Also, think about the memories you are leaving behind for your friends, family, and the people you meet. What will they remember about you?

Everyone takes a trip down Memory Lane from time to time. Let’s join Jesus and leave good memories behind for everyone.

God bless you!

Jeff
Harbor Of Light Ministries

The Two Sons

Read Matthew 21: 28-32 (NIV):
"What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. "Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Jesus gave this parable in response to the religious leaders concerning His authority. These leaders were self righteous men that did good works yet did not have the heart for Jesus. Their works were out of religious obligation. They had a form of godliness like the second son from the parable, but they weren’t doing the will of God.

The tax collectors and the prostitutes, after hearing the Gospel of John, had a change of heart. The didn’t have a form of godliness, but after their heart changed, began doing God’s will.

This is what I feel this parable is talking about to you and I. It’s all about a change of heart. In any kind of ministry, why do you do what you do? Is it because you feel you have to? Are you trying to earn ‘brownie points’ to get to Heaven? Is it to make yourself look good? If you said yes, let me bust your bubble. You are doing it for the wrong reason! You have the wrong heart!

First and foremost, your ‘good works’ do not give you a guaranteed ticket to Heaven. Oh no! Your ticket has been blood bought by Jesus and you have to accept Him into your life. How? By asking for forgiveness of your sins and turning from them. Believing that Jesus died for you and rose again. And simply accepting Him into your heart. This is when your heart changes. When Jesus saves you, you will change. The Gospel will begin to transform your life. You won’t be the same person you used to be.

You will no longer want to do the old things you used to do. You won’t act the way you used to act. You will want to ‘work’ because you are now serving the Lord. You will have a desire to reach the lost for Jesus. By doing so, you will be doing what the Father wants you to do - His will. Why? Because your heart changed.

Has your heart changed? Take the first step today by letting Jesus live in it.

God bless you!

Jeff
Harbor Of Light Ministries