Catch & Release

The Lord knows those who are His.

Whenever Jesus goes fishing for disciples, He already knows who will become His catch of the day; one of His many faithful followers. His true disciples will see His invitation to follow Him as a supernatural blessing, while others will see His invite as a curse.

While Jesus was teaching at the shore of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5), more and more people continued to gather to hear Him. At the same time fishermen had pulled their two boats up onto the shoreline after fishing all night. Their boats and nets stayed empty all nigh and they were washing their nets.

Think about this: Jesus was sent by God to this specific shore to call His first disciples. He knew it was the place ordained by His Father to begin the training that would eventually change the world with His life-giving message. He knew their hearts would sovereignly be transformed, from being fishermen to become fishers of men. 

With crowds pressing in on Him on the shore, Jesus came to the water's edge, stepped into what was Simon's boat and asked him to "put out a little from shore" so He could continue teaching the crowd. Simon, who would be later called Peter, was already worn out from fishing all night. Exhausted. Tired. Probably sleepy, too. Ya think?

When Jesus finished teaching, He said to weary Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked so hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets" (Luke 5:5).

Wait a minute! You mean weariness isn't an acceptable reason to say "no" to Jesus when He gives us a command? Nope. Why? By faith, if we really know Him, we would, even when we're exhausted, realize Jesus has specific purposes for everything He does! He says they will turn out for good (Romans 8:28). Just do it and watch what God will do with our faith and obedience.

But what if we were fishing all night and not catching anything? Why would we go back out on the same night?  Simon was frustrated and exhausted because he didn't catch any fish all night! But he obeyed anyway.  And maybe with Jesus helping, things would turn out differently. Ya think? Uh-huh. That's right.

When we don't do what we know is the right thing to do, we're not believing God is always working things out for our good. Again, Simon was very tired, and Jesus was fully aware of his state. This is an example where our faith comes in; we don't always know why God urges us to do something we don't understand, but there's always a blessing included in it. Here, God was in the midst of preparing to bless Simon's socks off [my paraphrase], and also catch Simon's fishing bros, including bros James and John. However, Simon saw going "out in the deep" as just extending his already long night of not catching any fish!

While they were out there fishing in deep water Simon tried to pull up his nets, but they were breaking from all the fish spilling out of them! He called out to nearby fishermen to come with their boats and help pull the bursting nets out of the water! Both boats were overflowing with so many fish, the boats began to sink! Think of that! What? Yes! Simon was so overcome with the abundant blessing of the fish, and in humility told Jesus, "Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man!" (v. 6)

Jesus got his attention. Simon and his fishing partners saw Jesus, as the miraculous Gift of God from heaven. They believed in Jesus and became fishers of men. They pulled their boats back up on shore to begin their walk with Jesus!  

"They left everything and followed Him." (Luke 5:11). Jesus caught them in His spiritual net of unconditional love, forgiveness, miracles, and everlasting life; and then released them into the world to tell who He is! And it's still happening today...as His disciples--that's us--go fishing for souls who will follow Him, too!

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the 

glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea."

Habakkuk 2:14

For His glory,

Polly💖

"The LORD knows who are His."

 2 Timothy 2:19

Soul Starving, Anorexic Faith

 If I don't take a few brief moments to talk to God before my feet hit the floor in the morning, then I'll be starving my own soul of the strength and nourishment I'm going to need for the new day. I'll be hungry listening to my own voice, focusing on my own circumstances, and coming to my own conclusions about life. Yikes. Huge mistake. Why? 

God created me, saved me, unconditionally loves me and generously cares for me and I would ignore Him? "He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He himself gives all men life and breath and everything else" (Acts 17:25).  So, if I chew on this truth for a while -- that all things come from Him and He controls everything -- why wouldn't I be hungry to know more of this Magnificent Savior?

Frankly when I'm really physically hungry I do not like to wait to eat. I don't normally put off eating when I'm famished. Nope. I want to be fed good food, real food, nutritional, life-giving food. Organic. Real. Healthy stuff. I know I will be strengthened after eating such a meal.

So, if God brings us to a place in our lives where we finally believe we need Him every moment of our lives; for strength, guidance, protection, love, help, healing...why don't we "seek Him first" (Matthew 6:33)? If we believe He is the source of satisfying nourishment for our souls giving us the power to help and serve others, why wait to seek His face? If we know we need His presence in our lives and we're dependent on Him to meet our needs for everyday living, why do we often put time with God on the back burner?

Do we answer, "Ain't nobody got time for that?" Well, that's the worldly chatter in our heads saying, "I'm too busy." Guess what, Sisters? We always seem to find the time to do what we want to do! Yes, we do. Yep. It's amazing how we can manipulate circumstances to do what we want to do! We really have no excuse for not daily, intentionally spending more time alone with God.

In this generation God's Word is served in countless ways for hungry patrons: the Bible (with actual paper pages!), smart phones, podcasts, online video sermons, blogs by pastors, the Bible recorded on DVDs, and CDs. We can even feed our souls the truth of God's word in a takeout menu of a podcast during a morning run!

"The one who feeds on Me will live because of Me" 
(John 6:57).

Early mornings in our home have the inviting aroma of fresh brewed organic coffee. A cup of that comforting beverage is my companion piece to meeting with my Savior. God has made me hungry for Him...because I know Him. I need Him to talk to me, and I always have something to say to Him. :)

I know without getting equipped with the Word of God each day I don't battle the enemy of my soul like a warrior...I behave more like a wimp. Yep. I confess it's weakness on my part even though He has given me a spiritual suit of armor to wear to protect myself. He calls His Word the "sword of the Spirit" as part of our weapons of warfare. He's always at our side, Sister!

If I didn't read His Word -- through the help of the Holy Spirit -- I wouldn't know about the magnificent ways He has equipped each one of His children for each day. He wants us to spend time with Him. In fact, He invites us to dine with Him and says, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and He who believes in Me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35).

 Amen. 💖

Polly
Psalm 34:3 
Isaiah 62:1

EASTER. He Who was Crucified as a Criminal Is the World's Savior

 "Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." 1 Corinthians 1:22-25.

[After His resurrection] Jesus looked to heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify You [. For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."  (John 17:1-3)

"To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." (Jude 1:25).

"I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  And now Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." (John 17:4-5)

HALLELUJAH! 

Polly💖

Truckin' Through Life with Child-like Faith

The mind is where our battles begin and end. It has everything to do with our belief system. Whatever we’re thinking, we can ask ourselves, “Is this true?” Whether we’re a Christian or not, whatever we think about situation determines the way we’re going to respond or react toward a person or circumstance. God has given us a command to take our thoughts captive. That means He gives us the ability to get a grip on our thoughts and train our minds with the truth of God’s Word.

He tells us our weapons to resist the lies of our negative thoughts “are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4).”

My eyes were opened in a new way while I was preparing to share this message in a women’s marketplace study; that we’ve been given this “divine power to take our thoughts captive.”

Think of it like this: As a young teenager, when you drove a car or truck for the very first time do you remember how huge and powerful and fast and dangerous the vehicle seemed to be? You felt like, “Wow, this is amazing, but I need to be careful and drive slowly, so I don’t lose control of this heavy, powerful thing!” You were given the privilege to drive this vehicle, and it would take you where you wanted to go, but you needed to think clearly and carefully because of its size and power.

However, how long did it take for you to get careless and begin to speed, cut corners, run stop signs, and red lights? It’s a privilege to have a vehicle to drive and it’s a huge responsibility at the same time. What are we doing with what God has given us? He gives us so much! The point I’m trying to make is that God is so very great and ultimately powerful and for us to carelessly drive our vehicles can be dangerous to those who don’t submit to His authority.

Now substitute the analogy of vehicle with the word life. Get it?  And we see this over and over again in other areas of our lives, as we mature. When you become a Christian you inherit the awesome power of God inside you –but because we must “work out our own salvation” by seeking God for ourselves to learn about His greatness, His love, and His power. It's like having the capacity of a powerful weapon in our hands that can be used for good, demolishing the strongholds in our lives.

What are we going to do with what God has given us? He’s given us life and breath and everything else. He has a promise for those of us who are faithful stewards of our lives and of all the gifts He continues to give us. He wants us to have abundant lives. He wants us to “bear much fruit showing ourselves to be His disciples” (John 15:5). He wants to bless us: “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:14).

So yes, we’ll stop at stop signs and red lights, obeying rules that keep us safe. And then with child-like faith, we’ll keep on truckin’ through life --just like our little grandson -- with all the joy and gratitude we can muster!

Polly💖

My "Rediscover the Wonder" monthly column appears in the Woodmont Word magazine; this is the April issue.

How to Thrive in 2025

This photo and story are from my new monthly column, Rediscover the Wonder,

 in the January 2025 issue of The Woodmont Word.

Rediscover the Wonder 

By Polly Balint

Maybe you, too, have seen little plants popping up through tiny cracks in concrete sidewalks and parking lots. But I don’t know how many of us stop and take-in  the wonder how this tiny, fully alive plant broke through the concrete. But hey, who has time to enjoy the little wonders of life, which are really opportunities to be grateful for the beauty of creation that God gave us to enjoy. I’m too busy for that, right?

Well, we each could be like that vigorous, bright green plant this New Year! For many of us our world in 2024 was like that cold, hard, cracked concrete: losses, sorrows,  illnesses, disappointments, brokenness, discouragement, worries, fear filled, and burdened with regret. If we want to live without regrets this New Year, we’ve got to stop taking everything in our lives for granted. Entitlement is a lie. This life is a gift.

So just like that flourishing plant, as we enter this New Year we can decide to thrive too. Countless opportunities to improve our lives are waiting for us. In fact, the best gift we can give ourselves and everyone around us is to be present. Yes! Be the gift you want to receive from others! Pay attention to where you are now and  in every moment from now on decide to be grateful for every day, each day! In your relationships be present and engage in the other person. Put the phone down. Look for opportunities to make someone’s day better. Smile. Laugh. Laugh at your own jokes; I have done that for years and it really makes people laugh harder (and they usually roll their eyes, too).

Take in the beauty of your surroundings when you’re outdoors. Discover the wonder of a sunset or a sunrise, again. Choose to be in awe of the changing seasons. Winters can be extremely cold and harsh, but snow really is beautiful, and a fire crackling in a fireplace is so cozy.

Look for the good, you’ll find it. Look for the negative, you’ll find it. Imagine that little bright green sprout wasn’t hindered by the burden of that concrete, it wanted to live in the light of life! It’s a choice. Look, you made it through 2024, you’re alive and reading this column right now.  Share your grateful heart with everyone around you.

My photo of this little plant is an amazing visual of God’s promises to His children. We are the flourishing, fully alive plants rooted and abiding in Jesus, and the world is the cement. God has promises for us and the power to keep us going.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green.” Psalm 92:14.

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Bio: Polly Balint is the author of five books; her sixth book will be launched early spring 2025.  She lives in Woodmont with her husband, Don, and their rescue dog, Polo.