He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Today is Resurrection Sunday when we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; this is what Easter is all about. It's not about chasing kids and eggs around the yard or hiding a basket for them to find or giving them a present just because, it's about Christ's conquering death and hell as the absolute and eternal sacrifice for you and me for the forgiveness of our sins; the final sacrifice and atonement to God the Father for our sins so we can be right with Him and have a living relationship with Him for all eternity.

Let me make this blatantly clear - You DO NOT earn your way into Heaven by doing good things and being a good person!!! It's not performance based. That is a lie of satan. All the other gods of this world are false gods and cannot save you from the eternal torture of Hell. There is only One true God. There is no other way to be with and in relationship with Him except through Christ. Christ's gift of salvation is FREE! God's gift of Jesus is a GIFT from God to you! All you have to do is ask Jesus Christ into your heart, to give your life to Him, through faith as in Ephesians 2:2 & 9:

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

If you do not have this free gift, please accept it now. Here's a prayer to help you do so.

"God, I am a sinner. I ask you to forgive me of my sins.
I believe in my heart, and confess with my lips, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.
Come into my heart Jesus. Take my life, I surrender it to you.
From this moment on, I will live my life according to the Bible and serve you.
Thank you for taking away my sins and giving me everlasting life. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen"

I don't know if you know where you will be going after death, but I assure you death is a fact and you will not avoid it. I know where I will be going - to be with my God and Creator, my Lord and Savior, Jesus, in Heaven for eternity!

You know what? If you think this is all a hoax and you do not believe in this Christ, Holy Spirit, God, Heaven thing, then what do you have to loose by asking Christ to be your Lord and Savior? It can't hurt can it?

I can tell you, you have nothing to loose and everything to gain if you do so, but you have everything to loose if you do not. If you do not believe now, you will when you are in Hell for eternity and at that time there's nothing you can do to get out.

If you wish to contact me or Paul about your choice to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, go for it. We want to know and help you in your new journey. Our emails or phone numbers are:

Paul Remington: plremington@yahoo.com

Brad Nickel: toy4x4@comcast.net ; Cell: 253-569-9032

He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

Happy Easter from OSLC Men's Fly Fishing Ministry

Knots and Faith

While at Cady Lake, fighting the biggest fish I ever caught in my life on a fly rod, God taught me about faith - my 6 lb test leader snapped at the leader loop knot (Surgeon’s End Loop) attaching it to the fly line. The next day while reminiscing about the event, I thought about how it was I who tied the knot. Why did it fail? Why where it did? WHY ME?!!! Araaaarrrggg! I feel like I pulled the football away at the last minute like Lucy does to Charlie Brown, but to myself. The knot could have failed for numerous reasons: I nicked the line while trimming it or it got nicked by the hook during a crumby cast or it abraded on something or whatever, the point is it failed. It most likely failed due to the fact I was using a 12 foot long piece of tippet as a leader, instead of a tapered leader that would've been terminated in a good leader loop and also to 25 lb test. I can honestly say, it's worth the $2.50 - $5 bucks to buy a properly done tapered leader. Well, if you talk to Paul, I have had a lot of experience with knot failure - all knots I tied myself and all HUGE fish I lost do to it.

So what's this got to do with faith? Well, faith in ourselves, and only ourselves, is susceptible to failure every time. However, when you put your faith in Jesus our Lord and Savoir and God our Father, now that faith can never fail. Trust me, the only way it can fail is if you don't try it.

So in whatever you do and however you do it, put your faith in God and Jesus. So say a prayer before you "tie your next knot" and ask God to be with you and bless you during this event. Depending upon your faith, He will be there.

12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Ephesians 3:12

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:19-25

Role Models

I just watched a review of the now (in)famous American Idol and heard something Very disturbing. An author and expert on bullying, Rachel Simmons, stated as part of her review of the "hit" show, “We live in a society where role models, good role models, are being replaced by celebrities." She also stated as part of the review that, "Social cruelty is being woven into the American Idol experience." There are two things we can learn from these statements.

First, we need to strive to make Jesus our role model - celebrities most often know very little and are pompous fools, why anyone would idolize and make them role models I can't understand. On the other hand, there are good Christian celebrities out there that are indeed living for and showing Jesus in their lives and are not afraid to do so. These are great earthly role models. Quite a few of our Seattle Seahawks are great, Christian role models, be inspired by them if you need an earthly role model. Or find a Christian in the sport you love to show your friends or children how to live for God and Jesus AND who to give the credit and glory to.

Second thing we can learn is that history hasn't changed much. All that lead up to the betrayal of Jesus, and even after Adam and Eve committed the original sin; social cruelty has been being woven into our society in general. We do not need to encourage this and continue to give it momentum. So realize that even the littlest dig on someone you don't know is just as harsh as what the American Idol "judges" and "celebrities" do to the contestants.

Here's some Biblical reference to this to help you know what you need to do to be a good role model.

John 13:34-35 (New International Version)
34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Romans 12:10 (New International Version)
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Hebrews 10:24 (New International Version)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

And more for you to look up: Romans 13:8, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:2,

So be on guard brothers, make Jesus your role model and do not spur on social cruelty.

What it's all about.

"So what is our ministry all about?” you say. It's all about MEN! About being a MAN! Being a man who is RIGHT with God or is striving to be right with God. Inevitably it's about becoming a man of God, giving your life to God fully, and striving to do His will by accepting His free offer of eternal life through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior - freely and in faith – if you have not done so. It's about being a man who will have ONE wife and be FAITHFUL to her. Being a man who will LEAD their family in a Godly manner. Being a man who will lead their children, be a part of their children's life, lead by God pleasing example, TEACH them and RAISE THEM UP in God, and guide them to be responsible, respectful adults who need to understand there are repercussions for their actions, they must be responsible for their actions, and there is no such thing as free lunch. It's about being a man who does man things - belching, farting, shooting guns, fishing, playing football or baseball or whatever their passion, killing animals (hunting and fishing, legally for food), standing up for and defending their family, driving fast, experiencing the thrill of pursuit, BBQing, a good steak, a great beer, the outdoors, being MEN of GOD. Yes, God allows these things, if done in a manner that is pleasing to Him. It's time to reverse the effects of feminism and political correctness and allow men to be the men God wants them to be, take back their families, and start being the leaders God has called them to be. Men who have morals and know right from wrong, choose life, and “know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:23-25 God designed men to be a certain way and we want to teach them what He wants them to be and allow them to be a man. We also want the men to know that it is not all about you, it’s about God. If you are interested in joining us, whether or not you fly fish, every Wednesday we meet for either Bible study, fly tying, or fellowship at 7 pm. See our website’s calendar of events for more details of where and what. I hope you will take the challenge and joins us. See you later; I can’t wait to meet you.

May God bless you indeed!