Dear Fellow Children of God,
I get to laugh as I share this week’s devotion. On Sunday, August 16, Andy’s son, Jackson,
asked me to take him fishing the next day.
School didn’t start till Wednesday, so I figured this might be a last
chance this summer for fishing with a grandchild. After making arrangements with Jackson I
contacted Josh and Erin to see if any of their kids also wanted to go fishing
with me. Emma, Henry, and Annie were all
excited to go. So, “Poppy” and 4 grandchildren
11 to 8 set out around 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning, August 17. That was a lot of grandkids for one grandpa.
I later posted on Facebook that I talked to a couple of
guys who drifted by us in a boat that day. Our lines were snagged and I told them. “We’re snagged. I’ve got 4 of my grandkids with
me. I’m not sure if I’m blessed . . . or
crazy.” I knew my situation included some
of both. Actually, that snag was one of
probably 10 or 15 snags that day. I also
untangled about 25 or 35 tangles in the line.
And, I worked hard to maneuver the boat, while herding the grandkids and
my dog. There were some times of chaos and frustration.
I pray there was also some lasting memories for my
grandchildren. I know that I heard some
memorable lines from their mouths.
Jackson “reeled in” the first fish.
We had anchored in the river and were casting at some silver salmon
under some trees along the shore. But
there was another temptation. Multiple
schools of pink salmon were swimming in plain view. I told the kids we didn’t want these ugly
fish with their humped backs and mouths that had turned into beaks. But, then I watched as Jackson reeled his
line back from the shore where the silver salmon were swimming and seemed to
let his line go right through the pinks.
Chaos erupted as he snagged one of these ugly fish in the back. We netted the fish and released it. However, I believe that Jackson’s excitement
inspired some of the others.
Later, at another fishing hole with lots of silver
salmon, I tried to get Jackson to fish from a location where he could cast the
lure toward where the silvers were swimming.
Jackson’s reply was, “I just want to catch one more pink, Poppy.” O well.
He thought he knew better than me.
But, 8 year old Annie was the one really mesmerized by
these ugly fish swimming at her feet.
There was a school of about 10-12 pink salmon swimming just off shore from
where she stood. She couldn’t
resist. I told her, “Annie, If you cast
the line right out there, you’ll find salmon we want to keep.” My 8 year old granddaughter looked at me with
an expression that told me she knew better than I did. “You fish your way, Poppy, and I’ll fish
mine.” She snagged and dragged in 3 pink
salmon. Sigh.
That night our whole family of 13 ate a silver salmon
Emma had caught. While eating I shared
some stories, including Annie’s words. Everyone laughed. Kathy said, “You need to write a devotion about
that.” I thought about it. (The
grandkids had their stories about Poppy too.)
A couple of nights later as we were going to bed a version of Annie’s
words came up again. “You do it your
way, Poppy, I’ll do it mine.” Kathy
said, “That’s the way we speak to God sometimes. We think we know what we’re doing, but it
doesn’t work very well.”
There has always been something
inside humans which causes us to think that we know best, even when our thoughts
and desires are different than God’ guidance.
Adam and Eve listened to Satan, thinking they knew better than God about
the forbidden fruit. The people of
Israel had God as their leader and judges and prophets as His spokesmen. But, the Israelites wanted to be like other
countries. They wanted a king. They thought they knew better than God. Later Jesus told his disciples about how He
would fulfill His heavenly Father’s plan to save the people of a sinful and rebellious
world, “21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes,
and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” But, Peter and the other disciples did not
like the sound of Jesus’ words, nor what this would seem to mean for their friend
and leader. You know Peter’s response. ‘And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, ‘Far be it from
you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.’" (Matthew 16:21-22) Peter’s ideas
were different from those of the Lord concerning the saving work of the promised
Messiah. Peter was wrong. Then, in my devotions this past Monday I
read 1 Corinthians 1 and 2. In that
Scripture reading I found this verse. “For the word of the cross is
folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power
of God.” (1 Corinthians
1:18-19) The cross seems foolishness to
our world, but it is God’s wisdom and power.
I know that there are also times when I personally
question God and His wisdom. “Lord, why
are you allowing this to happen?” And,
in the world around me I hear many who think that God and His word are out of
touch, irrelevant, or even harmful. However,
I have learned, first, that I do not have all wisdom. More importantly, I have learned that God’s
wisdom is higher and greater than mine. In
His wisdom our heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus, for us. In the wisdom of our Lord, Jesus came as a
sacrifice, who would be crucified, and die, . . . and RISE. It was hard for the Peter and the disciples
to understand God’s plan. But, imagine if
Jesus had listened to Peter and His words and had not been crucified. There would be no forgiveness, no salvation. Wisdom teaches us to listen to and believe in
our Lord.
One of my grandkids did listen really well. As I said, Emma caught a nice silver
salmon. Emma cast where the silver
salmon were located. She even listened
about keeping her line tight when she had a fish on her line. When the fish was scooped into the net, the
hook dropped out of the fish’s mouth right away. We ate fish that night because Emma listened.
I had asked the question, “Am I blessed or crazy?” My brother Stephen replied, “Blessed or crazy - it’s
called love!” I pray my
grandkids have some memories of love from that day of fishing with Poppy. And maybe we also learned that listening and
following directions is wise. We especially
want to listen to and follow our Lord.
A Child of God, Blessed or Crazy – It’s Called Love,
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Here are pictures again from that grandkid
fishing trip on the Little Susitna, Monday, August 17. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ginLUNZV81PH5RZS7
P.P.S. This was another
good fishing week.
·
Last Wednesday, August 19, Gerry Zellar and I
went fishing on the Little Su. The limit
was only one fish a person. But we had our fish in about a half an hour of
fishing time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/jKiwK6TwhRJko7yH6
·
On Saturday, August 22, I took some of the
Scoresby men fishing. These family
friends had bought a trip at a Kiwanis function. Bryan took his brother and two of his
sons-in-law. The five of us reeled in 5
silvers. https://photos.app.goo.gl/t1PrEQ9xATAHF5SA9
·
On Monday, August 24, I took Kym Miller and
Kitty Kasper fishing. Actually, Kitty
had also bought a trip about a year ago at the St. John Youth Auction. However, her dates available were few and we
went out in mid-July before the fish actually started coming in. We caught and released 5 silvers and one chum
salmon. We finally kept 3 silvers, one each. The fish caught by Kym weighed 10 lb 4 oz on
my digital scale. https://photos.app.goo.gl/A8kjY42RDWtYMjqu8
*****
ABOUT THIS DEVOTION - I am now
retired from serving as senior pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer,
AK. My weekly devotion was previously titled, "Thoughts from the
Pastor." However, with life's changes I now call the devotion
"Journeys Through Life as a Child of God." I am only sending
this message to those who have asked to receive it. If you know someone
else who desires to receive this message, have them e-mail me at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
I will include them on my distribution list. You can also view this message on
my Facebook page.
HOWEVER, A NUMBER
OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME WHY THEY ARE NO LONGER RECEIVING MY DEVOTIONS. Since I’m only sending these e-mails to
people who ask for them, many are no longer receiving these messages. BUT, if you read this on Facebook and like to
receive these devotions by e-mail, or if you know someone who would like to
receive these devotions, send me an e-mail at jonrock53@mtaonline.net, and I will add
you to my distribution list.
Child of God
Husband, Father, Son, Grandfather
Pastor Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church
907-841-4066 – cell
907-746-5131 – home
E-Mail: jonrock53@mtaonline.net
