Christian Holiness Journal

Do not tremble, do not be afraid…

You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me?

No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Before I began elementary school, my sister (15 years older than me) and her husband had their lives planned out. They were in students at Pasadena College, a Nazarene college, where they were studying to be missionaries. They planned to go to Africa, or the Far East, or some other exotic location and build the Church. Like all of us in our younger twenties, in spite of their youth, they had their lives all figured out. 

God had indeed called them to be His witness around the world, but He hadn’t revealed how He planned to send them. Their college days were interrupted by the Vietnam War when my brother-in-law was drafted. 

While my brother-in-law served as a medic in Southeast Asia, ministering to innumerable other young men, my sister suffered massive heart failure and nearly died. In fact, she did die – I think, a couple of times – and was brought back by the hand of God through His instruments, skilled attendantsand physicians. She recovered, with  God’s help, though she was told that she would never live a normal life and that she should never have children. She received a pacemaker that day and has had one imbedded in her chest now for fifty years. 

When my brother-in-law returned after a his tour in Vietnam, he went to work at a factory. His call to be a missionary was set aside for the moment. Now here is where God once again intervened. My sister’s ongoing medical expenses were too great for a man on hourly wages to pay, and my brother-in-law was compelled to reenlist. He made a career of the army. 

Together, my sister and her husband, and the two wonderful children that God gave them (in spite of the doctor’s warnings) took the Gospel of Christ to every army post that God sent them, blessing people and churches all over the US and Europe. 

To this day my sister and brother-in-law are active in church (in San Antonio) ministering to others through their love, generosity, and hard work. 

Were they afraid when my sister’s heart failed while her husband was half way around the world? Undoubtedly, they were both terrified. Were they dismayed when it looked like they were mistaken about God’s call to the mission field? I imagine so. When God sent them halfway around the world, did they tremble? Perhaps. 

But God had forordained the plan for their lives; even before He laid the foundations of the earth, He knew the path that Nancy and Him should travel. There is no other God, no other Rock. 

Fear Not. Be my witnesses. 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Maybe 28:18b-20

I have no doubt that if Peter, Andrew, James, and John had been carpenters, Jesus would have said, “Follow me, and I will make you builders of the Church.” Jesus met people on terms to which they could best relate. 

There is something appealing, though, about this image of a fisherman, especially in terms of building the Church, or evangelism. 

I know from spending a chunk of my childhood on the Finley River in the Ozark Mountains that there are many ways to fish. 

My great grandfather would spend hours on end waiting for perch and bluegill to swallow a worm on his hook. I suspect this was relaxing for him. 

Others would use a fly, constantly casting and reeling. It was hard work. 

I have a picture of my great grandfather and his brother using a seine, stretching a net across a river and walking upstream. This method usually yields large catches. 

I’ve never had much luck spear fishing, but I have speared a few frogs with a gig, which is similar. 

My brother was a pretty good “noodler” when he was a boy. To noodle, he stuck his hands underwater, usually near a rock, around which fish hide, and use his wiggling fingers as bait. When the fish bit he would grab it with his hands. 

All these ways of fishing are effective. The same could be said about evevangelism. There are many ways to reach lost souls. 

There is, however, one condition. Before one can be a Fisher of Men, one must first follow Jesus. Walk in His path. Learn from Him. Listen to His Word. Obey His commandments. Grow close to Him. Love Him. One must follow the Way to lead the Way. 

Trust Him.

Fear Not for I will make you fishers of men.