Hooked

Early in the morning Lonnie and I walked down to the boat dock on the lake’s edge to do some ‘fishin’. The two of us were ‘fully equipped’ to catch the ‘big’n’ that always gits away.. To make a very long story very, very short, “I hooked mine first.” And he was the biggest thing that I ever ‘hooked’. As I was making my cast the hook caught in something behind me, but it was no fish…it was Lonnie’s leg! The bad part is that as soon as it ‘snagged’ I jerked the thing and as real fishermen would say, ‘I set the hook’ and deep. Lonnie was ‘hooked’ and was made a ‘believer’ in the fact that one should never stand behind the one who is casting. ‘Hooked’ indeed…….


“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
John 11:25-27.

“But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed,” 1 Timothy 1:12

"You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!" James 2:19.


believe - to have confidence or faith in the truth

confidence - full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing

faith - belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion

trust - to commit or consign with trust or confidence.


The idiom in the English language expressed with the word ‘hooked’ indicates ‘being convinced without reservation.’ Perhaps you have heard or even used the term, ‘Hooked on Jesus’.

Some folks are ‘Ford’, ‘Chevy’, ‘Dodge’, and there was a time that others were ‘Studebaker’ or ‘Olds’ kind of car buyers. However, all of those things change from time to time, and today we have added ‘Toyota’, ‘Honda’, ‘Lexus’, and other ‘odd sounding’ names of cars to our preference lists. But the obvious reasons for the purchase of anything is ‘quality’ or at least the perception of such a thing. The marks of quality seem to change from one year to the next therefore causing new models of vehicles to come into existence and others to become memories of yesteryear. When that happens folks must find other fishing holes.

So it is with religion. People are always looking around for a place of worship that will satisfy their personal ideas as to what their ‘god’ ought to look like. The postmodern church movement, I believe, looks like this. For many, the ‘emerging church’ has emerged because of the tremendous upheaval among evangelical communities over the past 40 years. As a Southern Baptist, we were caught in the Quake of Identity Crisis and the Tsunami literally ripped us apart. Our ‘Humpty Dumpty’ took the fall and today we are scrambling around reassembling Humpty, not attempting to put him together as he was. Thus we have ‘Humpty’ and we have ‘Dumpty’. Both believe in the same God, the same Jesus, and the same Bible, but each approaches Him quite differently.

But the postmoderns have not yet ‘hooked’ into what they searching for. They have an idea of who their god is, but from my perspective, they have not found him. They have been ‘hooked’ on a lot of ideas, but the God of the Bible they have missed. But the God of the Bible is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He never changes and His Word never changes. His truth is static. And unlike some politicians say about the Constitution of the United States, it is alive, but it does not and will not change.

Like Paul, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it continues to be the power of God for salvation to those who believe. Yes, our methods may change and in fact do change from one generation to another. The gospel message does not and has never changed. This is what we must sink our hooks in to. We must set the hook deep and remain there.

But as we do this, we must recall that we must daily read the Scriptures and practice what we read there. For Jesus said this to a group of Jewish believers, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
John 8:43-47.

And this is true for everyone, the postmodern community, the Baby Boomers and everyone in between. But “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” - -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I applied this same quote yesterday, and mistakenly, at least I thought so, used it again today.
However, it makes sense for today as well.......