Do you know the fish that made a saint?
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“For I long to see you, that I may share with you some spiritual gift so that you may be strengthened, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by one another’s faith, yours and mine.” (Romans 1:11-12)
This life is temporary. We may sometimes fall into Satan’s trap by thinking our life is our own and we can live it as we desire. The reality of the Christian life is that we are all joined together, knitted together as the family of God, and our faith fuels the faith of others. It is essential that we remember the pleasures, sins, and temptations of this life are only but for a moment. However, we can become a stumbling block for the faith of others.
Our faith, the life of obedience to Christ, and the daily rejection of sin can encourage others to live a life in Christ. It can, however, cause others to turn away from Christ if our words do not match our actions. God intends for us to strengthen others. When we live a life of service to the Lord then we encourage others to do the same. When others see us reject sin, they are encouraged that they can have the fortitude to do the same.
The Christian life is not an easy life. It goes against what the world tells us life should be and how it should fill those voids we feel in life. Satan’s deception and lies tell us the world has everything we need to make our life complete. Satan’s lies tell us that sin is nothing but an illusion and is relative. The Lord tells us otherwise. There are parts of our lives that only Christ can fill and we are created to crave God. We are created to desire to know, to love, and to serve Him. The pits of hell manipulate us through the enticements of sin to believe we do not need to serve Christ whole-heartedly. This is the precise reason Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs of two. He knew we are weak. He knew we needed someone to walk along side us, encourage us, pray with us, strengthen us, and hold us accountable.
“After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom He sent ahead of him in pairs (emphasis mine) to every town and place he intended to visit.” (Luke 10:1) Did you notice two very important concepts in this one verse? Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs, not alone. He also sent them ahead of Himself. He knew where He was going to go and, as a result, He sent his disciples ahead of him to proclaim the Gospel by both words and actions. The presence of Christ is always preceded by obedience to God. That is why we need each other to help us walk in faith and obedience.
If being a Christian were easy, then everyone would go to Heaven. If being a Christian were convenient and sacrifice-free, then there would be no need for Calvary. Jesus desires for us to find that one person we can encourage in the faith, spend time with prayer, and to whom we are receptive to holding us accountable. We must not only be willing to allow our time, actions, words, and lives to be one that encourages others to serve Christ, but we must also be prepared to allow our own lives to be fortified against sin.
We must ask ourselves, “How devoted to Christ are we in our hearts?" Jesus was committed to your salvation to the point of dying the excruciating death on the cross for you. How committed are you to your own salvation? Who is the other half of your “pair” that helps strengthen your faith, increase your prayer life, teach you to love the Lord, and encourage you to resist the sinful traps of the devil?
Amelia Monroe Carlson graduated from the University of North Alabama with a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism. Being raised as a Methodist during her early years, it was not until she entered college where she began to take her faith seriously. She was baptized as a Southern Baptist in Muscle Shoals, AL and began immediately serving in international missions and in the church.
During college, she became the Co-founder of an International Ministry, where she spent time traveling and speaking to church groups and in large conferences. She authored a Bible study and traveled abroad on mission work. She sat on the Mid-South Interfaith Conferences in Mississippi, where she defended the faith and discussed beliefs with leaders of various religions.
After a business trip to Washington D.C., where she was introduced to a former Baptist who converted to the Catholic Church, she was placed on a journey to enter into the Catholic Church.
Amelia is a military wife and currently residents with her husband and daughter in Tennessee. She is a nine time award winning journalist, receiving press awards for various categories including investigative journalism, best news coverage, and best single feature. It is her desire to help Catholics, particularly Cradle Catholics, see the beauty in their faith which converts see and appreciate the fullness of truth which the Church has held and guarded throughout history. It is her desire all Catholics fall as much in love with Jesus as she is, and love the Church to a greater capacity than they could imagine.
Amelia taught PRE for 4-6 grade at St. Mary Catholic Church in Bolivar, Tennessee from 2014-2016. She served as Youth Director at St. Philip the Apostle Catholic Church in Somerville, Tennessee in 2017-2018. She now teaches 7th grade (1st year Confirmation) PRE class at St. Philip. She's also a writer and frequent podcast guest on Our Warpath.
She has a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Francis de Sales, St. Padre Pio and St. Maximilian Kolbe.
To contact Amelia for speaking inquiries at conferences, retreats, or parishes contact her via social media on Facebook (Amelia Monroe Carlson), Twitter (@2_catholic ) or send a text to: (731)518-6923.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ameliamcarlson
Twitter: @2_catholic (Catholic ministry account)
Twitter personal account: @ameliamcarlson
