1 Samuel 17:45-52
The action takers of the world are the ones that get things done. They are the giant slayers. They are the ones that get the promotions and raises and the ones that get the good jobs. The action takers are the ones that get back on the horse when they fall off and try the ride again. They are the ones that repair the marriage in disarray instead of walking away. They are the ones that get back on the treadmill even after the scale has moved in the wrong direction. They do not give up when things go badly or when they fail. When the roof of the building falls down, they grab the hammer and nails to start rebuilding.
Are you an action taker or one of the ones on the sidelines watching? Do you make things happen or sit back wondering "what happened?" What roofs have collapsed in your life that you just let lay in a heap of rubble?
It is time to grab the tools and clear the ruins out of the way. Life is too short to live with collapsed buildings and piles of rubble from dreams that never were. Pull out the plans and let’s "take action." The church that Richard rebuilt is still there to this day. It has been a roof over many weddings and many changed lives.
Practical Application:
Are you a bystander or an action taker when things go wrong? How can you become more of an action taker?
As you have gone through this book, you’ve probably identified areas of your life that need "action." What "action" are you going to take to build or rebuild in these areas?
Summary: Write down some of the actions that you are going to take in each of the following areas of your life. What are you going to do or change to make your life better?
Spiritual
Marriage
Family
Career
Financial
Lesson 14 - Gone Fishin!
Building anything worth having is hard work, from a house to a marriage or a family. The carpenter knew how to work hard. But one of the final lessons I learned was that there was a time for everything. There was a time to work and a time to go fishing!
Fishing was one of those activities that Richard enjoyed.
He now lives beside a lake stocked with fish. There is a dock on the lake for his boat and a roof over the dock so that he can fish even when it is raining. There are few things as relaxing as sitting beside the water on a warm summer day with a pole in one hand and a cool drink in the other. You watch the bobber bob up and down on the water until some unlucky fish finds the worm beneath it and takes it for himself. You pull back on the pole and watch the line tighten, holding your breath to see if the hook set. I have seen Richard catch stringers full of fish.
But when I was younger, I hated fishing. Sure, it was great when the fish were biting and you were reeling them in. But the sitting and waiting for those bites seemed an eternity to a young boy. It was boring! It was hours and hours of just sitting and watching a floating bobber.
Now that I am living in the rat race of life, traveling at Mach 3 just to keep up with the current, I have discovered a new appreciation for fishing. To be on the shore of a lake on a warm summer day with a cool drink in one hand and a pole in another and watching my bobber bob up and down is an image that appeals to me now. No cell phones, no emails, no crowds, no traffic…just me and the lucky person with whom I decide to share the moment.
We all need breaks from life. We need to rest and relax. I know. I am one of those types that never take breaks and I usually work through lunch without stopping. When I come home, work usually comes with me. Oh, it may not be my day job that is waiting at the door for me, it may be the yard that needs mowing or some volunteer work that I have taken on; but nevertheless, work is always there. I have the hardest time relaxing and doing nothing.
Yet I have come to realize that I need to relax sometimes, whether it is by fishing, reading a book, or hiking through the mountains. And I need to do it regularly.
By the seventh day, God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.
Genesis 2:2-3
If God rested on the seventh day, what makes me think that I can go, go, go, go without resting every once in a while. It is true that God was creating an entire universe and my work is nowhere near as demanding as that. But I really do not think that God needed the rest that seventh day. After all, He is God! His power has no limits! So why did He rest? I think He rested to give us an example to follow. He knew that His children would need to learn to rest. Years later, when God handed down the Law of Moses, keeping the Sabbath holy was one of the top Ten Commandments.
When you have big dreams, you are going to have to work hard to achieve them. Building a great marriage or a great family is hard work. So is having a prosperous career or a financially secure retirement. So is living the life of a Christian. When Jesus had sent out the twelve, they came back to him to report on their success.
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest a while." For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in a boat by themselves to a remote place.
Mark 6:31-32
Even Jesus recognized the importance of rest. When I’m tired I know I can become very impatient and irritable. To constantly carry the burdens of life and run, run, run all the time is to set yourself up for a fall. A lot of the stuff that is filling up my schedule is good stuff; it is Christian stuff like serving other people or serving my church. But that is what the disciples of Jesus were doing. Mark 6:12-13 describes their work: "So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they were driving out many demons, anointing many sick people with oil, and healing."
We should be doing these good things but we also need to take a lesson from Jesus and incorporate rest into our busy lives. Take a break during your day. Take your lunch break and set the work aside. Take a weekend and get away. Pull out your fishing poles and head to the lake. Resting from your busy life gives you a small glimpse into what heaven is going to be like. While streets of gold may appeal to some, a nice lake full of fish is awaiting me.
A Sabbath rest remains, therefore, for God’s people. For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:9-11
Do you need to recharge your batteries? Make plans today to get some much needed rest. And make it a part of your regular routine. The fish are biting. What are you waiting for?
Practical Application:
Rest: How do you rest? Do you make time to recharge your batteries and think? Do you and/or your family need a vacation?
Recreation: What do you enjoy doing that you haven’t done in a long time? How can you incorporate some recreation into your life?
Relaxation: When was the last time you had a weekend away with your family? What are some things that you could do together as a family that would be relaxing and fun?
Epilogue - The Carpenter’s Son
I grew up living the life of a carpenter’s son. The carpenter wasn’t my real father; he was my father only because he married my mother. But because of that single event, I became part of his family. I cannot help but be thankful for all that I learned from the man that was my stepfather. Those lessons, when combined with the wisdom I learned from the rest of my family, helped me through some of my biggest struggles. They prepared me for life. Yet one of the most significant things they prepared me for was following another carpenter’s son.
I cannot help but wonder how similar the lessons I learned as a carpenter’s son were to the lessons that another carpenter’s stepson learned from his stepfather almost 2000 years ago. The carpenter -Joseph; the carpenter’s stepson - Jesus.
He (Jesus) went to His hometown and
began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?" And they were offended by Him.
Matthew 13:54-57
Could Jesus have learned his early morning, get up before daylight, habits from Joseph? I am sure that the Son of God spent many days with Joseph on the job site or in the workshop, learning the skills of the carpenter. As he was working with wood, do you think that he ever thought back to when he created trees for the first time? As he was driving nails, did he think about the nails that would one day pierce his hands and feet? I wonder if, as a carpenter, he ever had to help his father make a cross for the Roman authorities. What would he have thought as he shaped the wood and put it together? How many crosses did he make?
Carpentry is hard work and Jesus would have been no stranger to it. He would have known about plans and how to turn those plans into reality. He would have known the focus it requires to drive nails. He would have been familiar with laying a true and strong foundation. He would have seen the results of building a house on sand. He would have known how important teamwork was and surrounding yourself with competent men and women. He would have experienced the camaraderie of working as a team to build something wonderful.
The more I come to know about the carpenter’s son, the more I hunger to know him better. Not just the man that he was, but the God that He is. I think sometimes we get a distorted view of this man Jesus. We see him as some soft, wimpy, lamb-holding, children-loving philosopher that said a lot of nice, loving things. Although Jesus was the epitome of love, this image of Jesus is not entirely accurate. Yes, even though he said things like "turn the other cheek" and "love your enemies," Jesus was anything but soft and wimpy.
Jesus faced down demons, stood up against Satan himself, threw thieves out of the temple area, told the Pharisees what he thought about their teachings, and withstood the brunt of not just crucifixion but a Roman beating as well. He stood and calmed a storm, saved a woman from stoning, destroyed a fig tree with a word, and called people to change. What a man!
As He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen.
"Follow Me," Jesus told them, "and I will make you fish for people!" Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in their boat mending their nets. Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.
Mark 1:16-20
What would it have been like to leave everything that you knew to follow this son of a carpenter? This is the Jesus who said, "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luke 14:33 NASB) This is the Jesus that also said:
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."
Luke 14:26-27
These are the words of a carpenter’s son. These are the words of someone who knows how to measure carefully and cut right the first time. Jesus’ call to his disciples was crystal clear and unmistakable. "Leave everything and follow me." So why, after 2000 years, has the call to discipleship of Jesus been watered down and lost? Isn’t the call of the carpenter’s son the same today as it was then? Isn’t his call to you and me the same as his call to Simon, James and John? "Come, follow me!"
The call is absolutely the same and it appeals to something inside me. Be willing to give up everything. Love God so much more than your own family that your love for them looks like hate in comparison. Deny yourself. Take up your cross every day. Follow the man whose footsteps lead to Gethsemane and a showdown with both military and religious power. To follow that carpenter’s son will take you to places that the faint of heart dare not go. Come face to face with demons and death. Be sent out with nothing but the clothes on your back to spread the news. Man, sign me up for the ride today!!! That’s so much more exciting than sitting around in the shade listening to a good man holding lambs and then doing nothing! To follow the carpenter’s son is to lay it all on the line to build something greater than a house or even a marriage or family. To follow the carpenter’s son is to build a part of a glorious kingdom that the "gates of Hades cannot even prevail against."
What about you? Are you ready to follow the carpenter’s son that I follow? Then lay down those nets, pick up your tools and come on…follow Him!
The journey begins today!
Appendix A Goal Planning Worksheet
My Goal is to:(Be Specific and Measurable)
Elaborate on why you want to accomplish this goal. What is this really about?
Possible Costs
Time:
Money:
Relationships:
Accountability Partner:
Potential Obstacles I am likely to run into in Achieving this Goal
How I will overcome these obstacles?
Lists tasks necessary to accomplish this goal:
Appendix B - Goal Ideas for Improving Relationships
With God:
• Listen to Him (Read His book).
• Get up early and go on a prayer walk with him (just walk and talk as if He's walking right beside you).
• Have breakfast with God (set him a place at the table, pour him some coffee, and chat with him over breakfast)
• Go on a weekend retreat to some place astonishing that He created for you to enjoy (ala The Grand Canyon, the beach, etc…)
With Spouse:
• Attend 1 marriage retreat or marriage enrichment event every year.
• Go through a Marriage Dynamics course (see www.familydynamics.com)
• Read a marriage book together and talk about it.
• Schedule a date night at least twice a month (make it fun like when you were dating).
• Pray together.
• Learn something new that neither of you know how to do (dance lessons, tennis lessons, etc…).
•
With Kids:
• Attend church regularly together. (Make sure church teaches correct doctrine and that youth ministry is well run.)
• Go away for the weekend to a park or other special place (leave work at home).
• Go camping.
• Spend one on one time each week. Do something fun but also incorporate something instructional like reading the Bible, prayer, study, reading a book, etc…
• Have your kids' friends into your home so you get to know them.
• Make time for the things that are important to them.
• Attend a conference together where you all learn something but also have a great time.
• Invest in some board games and card games and schedule a game night once a month.
• Join an organization with your children (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc…)
With Family (extended):
• Use your planner to remember birthdays and anniversaries. Send a card, gift, or call on special days.
• Go to family reunions and gatherings when possible.
• Use your gifts and skills for your family (if you are good at websites, design a family website; if you are good at carpentry, help family members with household projects, ECT…)
About the author
James Smith is a full time minister and teacher at a non-denominational church in central Kentucky. In his own words, James Smith is a "sinner that’s been blessed despite of himself." Through ups and down, good times and bad, James maintains a healthy, positive attitude toward life. James lives in Kentucky with his lovely wife, Paula, and enjoys his three children, Justin, Christin,
and Ke-leen (plus a few grandchildren). He is an avid outdoorsman and tries to escape to the wilderness frequently to spend time with God in His creation.
He holds numerous degrees and is currently working on his second masters, a Masters of Religion in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Bible Seminary. He has been a soldier, a high school teacher, a college instructor/staff member, and a corporate trainer. He is also founder and president of Iron to Iron Equipping, a company formed to provide training resources to a Christian audience in keeping with Proverbs 27:17 - "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
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