The story of the apostles of Christ was filed with many and varied failures. They failed to understand the teachings of their Master (Luke 18:34); they also experienced failure at exorcising demons (Matthew 17:17-21).

                Furthermore the disciples failed to exercise humility (Mark 9:34) when they argued about who was the greatest among them. They also fell asleep at the greatest hour of agony of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:43) and all of them abandoned Him.

                Peter denied Him

               Judas betrayed Him

               Thomas doubted him.

                One of their greatest failures is found in John 21. The group of disciples went fishing (instead of waiting at Jerusalem) and caught nothing. This was the second time it had happened (Luke 5).

                But this was a “good” failure because Jesus was there. There was a lesson to be learned and a blessing to be received. A “failure” with Jesus by your side is no failure at all. I rather fail and have Jesus in my heart than to win this world and lose my soul.

                A good failure is one that it is ordained by God so that He can show his glory. This is what happened to the blind man (John 9) and to the patriarch Job. This is what happened here in John 21, as the tired and frustrated disciples were unable to catch even one fish, but when Jesus spoke (and they followed his command) everything changed: There was more fish than they could handle in their boat.

                When you fail at anything, don’t look at it as an abject failure, but as an opportunity for God to work in our lives and show his glory. What we call “failures” are in fact doors that God is closing in order to protect us, or doors that He is opening to bring different blessings upon our lives.

                Paul spoke of one of his greatest failures in this way:

                “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

                He, who had been used of God to bring healing and salvation to the multitudes, couldn’t heal himself. He had to apply what he had written in Romans 8:28,

                “And we know that all things work together for good (even our failures) to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 Emphasis added)

                A. G

                The movie “Catch Me If You Can” tells the story of Frank Abagnale, one of the most notorious criminals and “con men” in the United States. He was able to successfully pose as a Pan Am pilot; as a doctor in the state of Georgia and as a prosecutor for the state of Louisiana, and most of this before his 19^th birthday. His primary crime, however, was committing check fraud and he became so good at it, that the FBI eventually used him to catch other check forgers.

                He became a very valuable criminal.

                The FBI, CIA and most government agencies turn to arrested criminals to help them catch the “bigger fish” and destroy their criminal organizations. Police departments avail themselves of “CIs” (Confidential Informants) in order to obtain information about criminal activities that they wouldn’t be able to gather otherwise.

                The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is made up of valuable criminals. Our conversion to Christianity has transformed us from useless sinners into useful saints. Before coming to Christ for forgiveness and salvation, we were spiritually dead, deaf and blind. We were lost and wicked; we were God’s enemies and evil criminals on our way to hell.

                And then a miracle of miracles happened. The Creator of the universe and Lord of all became a man like us and died on a cross to save a fallen, evil and depraved race. We… “despised and rejected” Christ… “And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” (Isaiah 53:3)

                “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Roman 5:8).

                That is the miracle of the love of God! The fact that He even loved us in the first place is already a great miracle, but divine love is more than beautiful and comforting words: The love of God acted on our behalf as Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. The love of God is generous and giving

                “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

                God has given us new life in Christ so that we can live it for Him.

                “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

                 A.  G.

                As a teacher, I tend to be creative and I lean in the direction of having fun in the classroom. I have had to attend day-long conferences in the past that bored me to death and at those times, I remembered that my students have to endure that…every day!

                Is every day fun and games in my classroom? By no means! There is teaching and academic activities in my room each day—including on the fun days! I have learned to segment my lessons into five or six different sections in order to capture the fleeting attention span of my students.

                I have also learned that fun must be “serious” and by that I mean that even review games and fun activities must be geared towards learning. Serious fun is that which is done under control. We can learn a lot in a controlled environment. We can learn a lot from amusement parks, because their great organization and control makes it possible for everyone to have fun, serious fun.

                And what about having serious fun in church? I believe that the church must be among the most fun places in the world, but before you misunderstand my message, allow me to explain what I mean by this. To have serious fun in our churches we don’t need to resort to games, activities and other gimmicks so popular among mega-churches. A fun church doesn’t need to have a professional band, a Starbucks and a comedian in the pulpit. Furthermore, a fun church is not that in which people are screaming and running in the aisles.

                1 Corinthians 14:40 says: “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

                Many churches apply this verse in an extreme and unbiblical manner. Their worship services are so “orderly” that there is no room for joy or for any expression of our faith. If you ever visit one of those congregations, do not attempt to raise your hands during worship and do not dare shout “Amen!”

                What are the “all things” that we must do in decency and order? This, my brothers and sisters is what I call having Serious Fun. These things include reading the Bible (fun), worshipping God through praise songs (fun), fellowshipping with other brothers and sisters (fun), praying to the God of the universe (fun), giving our offerings (it should be fun) and listening to the faithful and vibrant preaching of God’s Word (fun, fun, fun).

            All Christians should enjoy church services and anticipate every meeting. For a believer there is nothing more fun than to be in God’s presence to worship and honor Him. Nothing compares to the joy (another word for fun) that we experience in our Father’s house. Let us have some serious fun; the fun prescribed in Psalm 100:

            “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness;
            Come before His presence with singing…Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
            And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”

            A.  G.

                One of the most famous children books of all times is entitled: “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” This book recounts the story of a “bad” day in the life of a young boy named Alexander.

                This boy was very pessimistic, because he woke up feeling that his day would be horrible no matter what. This was indeed the case, as he devoted himself to complain about everything, including his breakfast, his brand new shoes, his hot bath and his pajamas. I wonder if children in poor countries would ever complain about these things!

                Well, my name is also Alexander and I am having a challenging day. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, but I am coughing and sneezing. The house is a total mess; there is debris and tools everywhere and to make matters worse, the water pump just broke.

                There are days like these when nothing seems to go our way. I call them “Job Days” because they are filled with work and turmoil, but also because they remind me of Job, the patriarch, who suffered one loss after another all on the same day.

                None of us can compare to Job’s calamities, but when we go through a “horrible” day, we feel as if we are surrounded by more lions than Daniel and by more waves than Peter. The fiery furnace, where the three young Jews were thrown, is like a single match compared to the magnitude of our fiery trials.

                I am not minimizing our pain. We too experience horrible days and suffer loss. There are days that seem to test us beyond what we can endure. We have been “at the end of our ropes” many times, and at times we can’t even find the rope.

                It is at those times when we cry out to Jesus. He saved Peter from the waves, Daniel from the lions, Moses from Pharaoh and his people from a multitude of enemies. He has also saved you and me not only from hell, but from many horrible, hellish days.

                The fact that you are reading this today indicates that our Lord has been merciful and gracious to you. Yes, you have endured quite a few trials, but you are still here; you are still standing by the grace of God and one day you will stand in the presence of God in glory forever.

                In the meantime, here is a good verse for horrible days

                “No temptation (test) has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted (tested) beyond what you are able, but with the temptation (test) will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13 Emphasis mine)

                 A. G.

                I believe that all my grandchildren are beautiful and smart. As far as their behavior is concerned, I will withhold any comment at this time. One grandson in particular, is extremely bright, although at times he seems to be (or act) a little bit absent minded.

                He is good at building (and destroying) things; he is also a great reader and even better story writer. The other day he wrote a complete fictional story. It was a funny tale, with many descriptive details and a few illustrations. The end of the story, however, was abrupt and not on the same level as the rest of the narrative. After reading it one more time, he decided to change the end.

                What about your story? Before I was saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, the story of my life didn’t have a happy ending. I was miserable most of the time and the very few “happy” moments didn’t last very long.

                One day, in the back of a bus, I began to reflect about my past, present and future. My past was a blur; colored for the most part, with the pain of being a half-orphan. The loss of my father at an early age traumatized me for a long time.

                The present was not much better. I was an American citizen being raised in a communist country, but even there, I dared to dream about my future life. I saw myself going to college, getting married having children, getting old and…total darkness!

                I didn’t like the end of my story as I imagined it, but unlike my grandson, I was unable to do anything about it. I was an atheist (or an unbeliever) and I was hopeless.

                And then, Jesus came to my life. He forgave all my sins and brought hope and light to my darkness. Jesus changed the end of my story. Now, I am a child of God. Now, I have a glorious hope in Christ. There is a Light at the end of the tunnel and there is eternal life at the “end” of my earthly life. You can even say that now my story has no end, for I will live forever with Christ.

                What about you reader? Has Jesus changed the end of your story?

                “And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life… Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:1-3)

                 A. G.