Fish Guts

The other day I asked my wife if she ever went fishing as a child. She told that she went one time with her grandfather and that she really did not enjoy it. She explained that the part that she disliked the most was baiting the hook because you get worm guts all over you. She then said that after they had caught some fish that she watched them being filleted and she could not stand looking at the fish guts. I really do not think that anyone enjoys filleting fish. As a matter of fact, one of the things that I like about deep sea fishing is that you get someone to clean your fish for you. Today we are talking about guts but literally about "fish guts". We are talking about fortitude and gumption. Has anyone ever said to you, "You don't have the guts to do it". What they are doing is calling you to a dare. They want to know if you really will do it. They are in a sense calling your "bluff". You know why most people do not share there faith with others? They do not share there faith with others because they are scared. They just do not have the "guts" to do it. I do not know what it is but we are just scared to share the good news of Jesus. I think that it has more to do with rejection than anything else. Let's face it no one likes rejection. What if I share with them and they do not receive it well? We may also be scared that someone might asked questions that we really don't have the answers too. To follow is to fish and we fish because we love and care. But it is a hard calling because we sometimes just do not have the guts to share our faith. We also may find it easier to share our faith with a complete stranger than to share our faith with someone that is close to us. Just this week I was talking with a student who shared that her father was not a believer and she just did not know what to say or how to go about sharing the gospel. This week in worship we will look at how to overcome some of these stomach butterflies and anxieties. We see that prayer can help us to have the guts to share what God has done in our lives. I will see you Sunday, "If you have the guts to come".