Knowing Is Less Than Half of the Battle
~Josh Blackmer ,Palm Beach Lakes Church of Christ, Palm Beach Gardens, FL~
Since 1904, the Chilton publishing company has been a trusted source of information on automotive
repair. They have built a reputation of accurate and helpful information for those working on their
vehicles. If you needed step‐by‐step instructions with pictures, part numbers, and special tool listings, Chilton’s manuals were your source before the internet. You could read through the manuals and learn how to change the head gasket on your 1972 AMC Gremlin. The only problem, other than actually
own‐ing a 1972 AMC Gremlin, is that knowing isn’t enough. You still have to get up and do the work. You can have all the information but there are things that book can’t teach you. For example, keeping track of all the parts, how to turn the wrench so you don’t bust your knuckles, what to do when the bolts don’t line up, and a hundred other detailed things that only come from actually doing the work. Being a
Christian isn’t any different.
The Bible is our guide to all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). We often read the
passage, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work”
(2 Tim. 3:16‐17). This a great passage talking about the importance of training in the knowledge of the Bible, but we miss the implication of one word—“equipped.” You are furnished adequately and ready for any good work, but you still haven’t done anything. This would be like reading and memorizing the Chilton manual for your 1972 AMC Gremlin, then buying all the Snap‐on tools and special equipment, and just standing in front of that mustard yellow beast of a car. You haven’t done anything yet.
Please hear me. I am not downplaying the importance of our Bible knowledge. However, Bible knowledge must be paired with action and practice. “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas. 1:22). “One who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (Jas. 1:25). We will be blessed by all that we have done, not known how to do. “Each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has
done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on! ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them’” (Rev. 14:13). We need to look into that mirror that James speaks of and ask ourselves, “What am I actually doing as a Christian”? We need to be more useful than a 1972 AMC Gremlin for God.
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Let’s Go Fishing! ~Jay Launius, Maud, TX Church of Christ~
Have you ever wondered why fishing is mentioned so often in the four gospels? Could it be that fishing is the activity that most people can relate to in one way oranother? Even if you’ve never fished in your life, you have a general idea of what fishing is all about. A person uses certain tools like hooks, lines, bait, or nets to go into the water and catch fish. There’s a great fishing story in Luke 5:1-11 telling how Jesus got into a boat with Simon Peter and said, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (v.4). Peter, being a professional fisherman, told Jesus that they had fished all night and caught nothing. However, because Jesus had commanded it, Peter went fishing anyway. The results were amazing! They caught so many fish that the nets broke; other boats and fishermen had to come and help with the great catch. As Peter witnessed the miracle he fell to his knees and said to Jesus, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (v.8). Jesus’ response to Peter was both comforting and profound, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men” (v.10). I’m not sure Peter completely understood what Jesus meant, but it moved him so that he abandoned all he had and followed the Christ (v11). Though Peter’s road to becoming a “fisher of men” (Matthew 4:19) was paved with imperfections and mistakes, he did just as Jesus had commanded. Peter’s adventures in evangelism are recorded for us in the book of Acts, and the letters of 1st & 2nd Peter inspire us to this day. Jesus’ instruction to cast out the net of the Gospel was not only meant for Peter and the Apostles, but for us as well. We must be fully equipped with the fishing gear of truth and always be ready to troll the waters of the world for lost souls. So with that, “Let’s go fishing!
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