How's Your Fishing Form?

Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-13

Time and again, my line floated undisturbed past a partially submerged snag.  It was the same place where a little earlier I had felt a solid tug of a good trout on my fly rod. Suddenly, it struck me what was wrong. I had been so busy trying to make the right presentation that I hadn’t noticed my fly was missing. Since the previous strike, I had been fishing without a hook!

Unfortunately, many well-meaning church people are doing something similar. Although they may be sincere and appear to others as having it all together, in reality they are merely going through the motions. Like an eggshell drained of its contents, so these appear outwardly to have something within - but inside they’re empty. They have what Paul referred to as "a form of godliness" (2 Timothy 3:5).

The truth of the matter is a person can be baptized, confirmed, join the organized church, and even read the Bible on a regular basis. Nevertheless, if that individual has never been born again (see John 3:3), his or her religion is empty. Such individuals are like artificial flowers. They outwardly look like the real thing, but there is no life within. They are disconnected like a branch that has been severed from a tree. As the apostle Paul pointed out to the Christians in Rome, "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9). However, the good news is that by simple faith in Jesus Christ, we can receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. Prayer: Lord, thank you for making it possible to live the Christian life by granting the gift of your Holy Spirit.

Contributed by: Tom Rakow - Minnesota