Category: Matthew

  • Sea Glass

    Beauty from Brokenness

    During a recent trip to Vancouver Island, I collected a few pieces of sea glass (also called beach glass).  Most of the pieces I collected were small clear or brown bits, but I did pick up a few blue and green fragments.

    Sea glass starts its life as broken bits of bottles and other discarded glass. It’s glass that, for whatever reason, is no longer useful and thrown away. Over time, water and erosion polish it into something refined and beautiful.

    People collect sea glass to make crafts and jewelry, or simply because of its color. It can come in any color of the rainbow, depending on what color glass it started as.

    It fascinated me because something broken and discarded can end up so beautiful. It reminds me of Christians.

    Before we become believers, we are anything but beautiful. We were created in God’s image but have been marred by sin and the knocks of life. We often feel discarded and purposeless.

    God takes the broken bits of our lives and, out of love, gives us the gift of faith to become believers. We are born again and adopted into God’s family. We still have polishing and repair work to do in this life, but He works on us, conforming us to the image of Christ.

    He doesn’t do that because we deserve it. We could never get our acts together to warrant salvation. He does it out of love, purchasing us with His own shed blood. When a sinner is saved, it truly is a miracle.

    Throughout the Scriptures we see declarations that God saves the discarded and broken

    The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; Isaiah 61:1-2 ESV

    The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:13 ESV

    Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 ESV

    The circumstances of your life may have left you feeling broken and discarded. Others might have rejected you, but God loves you beyond measure. He will make something beautiful from you and the mess of life.

    Trust in Him and rejoice.

    Be blessed,

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    I found beauty in broken sea glass on a beach on Vancouver Island. It reminded me that God takes the broken and discarded and makes them new through faith.

    TAKEAWAY

    Sea glass starts out as broken, discarded trash before years of water and erosion make it beautiful.

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  • Fishers of Men

    Different gifting, same calling

    Steveston Harbor uagust 2026

    Earlier this week, we enjoyed a day trip to nearby Steveston Harbor in Richmond, BC. Founded as a separate community in the 1880’s, Steveston was home to numerous large-scale salmon canneries and fishing fleets. It’s still home to 600 fishing boats, the largest fleet in Canada. Seafood fresh off the boat can be purchased along Fisherman’s Wharf.

    It’s home to several whale-watching tour groups who head out regularly to catch views of orcas and humpbacks. We didn’t take a tour, but we still saw seals and otters around the wharf area.

    The downtown area, with many early 1900s historical buildings and the wharf, has been used in dozens of TV shows and movies. You may have seen Steveston without ever going there.

    A walk along the boardwalk and downtown brings you to more restaurants than you can count, fish markets, gift shops, a museum and stores of all kinds. Lining the boardwalk are signs about maritime heritage, including one that helps you understand what the different fishing boats look like and how they operate.

    Different species need different types of equipment. That makes sense. It’s also true when fishing for people. We are called to be fishers of men, but that doesn’t mean we all do it the same way.

    While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. Matthew 4:18-22 ESV

    And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

    All of us are called to share the gospel, but not all of us are gifted as evangelists. Does that lack of gifting excuse us from sharing the truth? Absolutely not.

    We use the gifts, talents and tools God has given us. Some people are naturally inviters, and they invite people to church. Others have the gift of making conversation, and matters of faith come up easily.

    Still others live their lives striving to imitate Christ and love others. That can make people curious, and they ask about why you are that way. After all, loving your neighbor, walking in integrity and humility and not worrying seem strange to our world today.

    Perhaps you are a prayer warrior, laying down covering fire for the evangelists and praying for specific people to come to know the Lord.

    Maybe you are called to stand on a street corner with a Jesus is near sign and a megaphone. That’s not my thing, but if it’s what God calls you to, you need to listen.

    Perhaps it’s going door to door and giving out tracts. Tracts have been around a long time, and while many get thrown away, people have come to know the Lord that way.

    For me, it’s in relationships and conversation. I try to be alert to opportunities to discuss matters of faith and plant seeds. Sometimes they seem to go nowhere; other times they lead to deeper conversations.

    God knows you, and He knows people you can reach. Different fish are caught by different methods. 

    God is responsible for the results. Only the Holy Spirit can change hearts. Still, we are responsible for doing our part.

    There are plenty of lost people out there. Let’s follow our calling and go fishing for them every day. Eternity matters.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Walking the Steveston boardwalk, I saw signs explaining how different boats and gear are built to catch different kinds of fish, and it struck me that fishing for people works the same way. Jesus calls all of us to be fishers of men, but He doesn’t call us all to fish the same way.

     

    TAKEAWAY

    Different fish require different equipment, just as God gives each believer different gifts for reaching people with the gospel.

    Not everyone is gifted as an evangelist, but that doesn’t excuse anyone from sharing the truth in whatever way God has equipped them.

    Whether through invitation, conversation, prayer, tracts, or simply living faithfully, God is responsible for the results; we’re responsible for using our gifts.

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