The Fisherman

Douglas Eric Dial

Description

The Fisherman reveals Jesus’ transforming of Peter from small town fisherman to leader on the world stage. In this novel, Peter voices his experiences and thoughts as Jesus crafts his masterpiece.

The Fisherman reveals Jesus’s skillful chiseling and brushstrokes in transforming St. Peter from a small-town fisherman to a leader on the world stage.

The Apostle Peter voices his real time experiences, thoughts, and emotions as Jesus crafts his masterpiece.

Jesus’s little gem was not a rock that he brought down from the mountaintop. His gem was found in his intentional training. Following Jesus as an apostle was not about knowing or doing but being. It did not require me to have figured it all out. It wasn’t about my abilities but his. And it was not me that was going to transform my being; it was the teacher.

The transformation of Peter’s life as documented in the Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke and John as well as the Book of Acts serves as the backdrop of this tale, revealing the real-life training of a leader by Jesus.

Peter’s remarkable evolution changed history and provides a case study for those who wish to pursue their own transformational journey.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• The Gospels
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Personal Growth
• Philosophie et théologie
• Saint Peter
• Acts of the Apostles

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 30 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664283565
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE FISHERMAN
A LIFE TRANSFORMED
Douglas Eric Dial


Copyright © 2022 Douglas Eric Dial.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
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Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations marked (NRSVUE) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
 
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8355-8 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8357-2 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8356-5 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022920981
 
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 11/29/2022
Contents
Preface
1 Galilee
2 Andrew, Disciple of John the Baptist
3 Jesus Enters My World
4 The Calling
5 The Mission
6 The Ministry
7 The Sacrifice
8 Jerusalem
9 The Resurrection
10 The Escape
11 Obedience and Destiny
12 The Four Identities of Jesus
13 Surrender, Redemption, Holiness, and Transformation
Preface
Through the study of a masterpiece such as Michelangelo’s David or Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa , nuance and detail expose a deeper understanding of the entire work. The Fisherman reveals Jesus’s skillful chiseling and brushstrokes in transforming St. Peter from a small-town fisherman to a leader on the world stage. In this novel, Apostle Peter voices his real-time experiences, thoughts, and emotions as Jesus crafts his masterpiece. The transformation of Peter’s life as documented in the gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as the book of Acts, serves as a backdrop revealing the real-life training of a leader by Jesus.
The remarkable conversion that forever changed history provides a case study for those also seeking to understand God and wishing to seek their own transformation. The conversational style of these pages is my perceptions and thoughts about Peter’s experiences. The events are found directly in the holy scriptures. The dialogue and thoughts are not. Quotes and content from the scriptural narrative are indicated with reference. This is not a research paper. Nor is it meant to be a thorough in-depth treatise on the life of Peter.
The theology offered is completely my reflection on how to think about God and understand Jesus. Therefore it is not intended to be a one-stop shop but rather an invitation to readers to develop and wrestle with their way of thinking about God and Jesus. A list of references is purposefully omitted not because I wish to claim these thoughts as completely my own. I owe everything on these pages to those who have walked before me or interacted with me through lectures, sermons, writing, dialogue, or debate. However, on these pages, I have made no attempt to credit those that have impacted my thinking. To be frank, I have found it difficult to do so.
Understanding Peter, his companions, and ultimately God himself has been a lifelong process of wrestling with all relevant sources and God leading to millions of touch points of influence. I am grateful for my education and training, the countless books and writings consumed, and all that have thought before me.
In the end, my theology is credited to the teaching of the Holy Spirit with whom I have and continue to seek wisdom about these subjects. I hope that in this historical fiction biography the reader may engage with how Peter became the leading apostle of the early church from his humble beginnings as a fisherman from a small town. The process of Peter’s transformation is filled with entertaining anecdotes but also core principles. These core principles as found in Peter’s story show the pathway that Jesus himself took to develop Peter as a leader. It should be said that Jesus may have taken and may take differing pathways with others. Yet, the approaches on these pages taken by Jesus I believe to be foundational.
In addition, Peter’s journey includes his search for a clear understanding of who Jesus is and how Peter may have developed in his thinking about God. These pages are an invitation to others to engage in the same journey. For those looking for self-improvement, they may find some pearls of wisdom from Peter’s life. However, for those looking further, to understand their own personal theology and to walk in the calling of Jesus, these pages may prove to be transformational.
Douglas Eric Dial
1
Galilee
My name is Simon. I am the son of a fisherman named Jonas and a native of the small town of Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The broader region of Galilee is part of the ancient land promised to my people, the Israelites, and allocated by Joshua to the tribes of Dan and Naphtali. This is one of the most northern regions and for centuries was the first line of defense from such enemies as the Phoenicians, Assyrians, and Philistines. The Jordan River descends about two thousand feet from the northern mountains and flows into the Sea of Galilee not too far from my home, while the roads from the Mediterranean coast to the west also drop a similar elevation as they approach our shore. The Sea of Galilee is really a freshwater lake abundant with fish, and it was the means of my family’s livelihood. Our home lake is unique in that it is the lowest freshwater body of water on earth at about seven hundred feet below sea level.
We view ourselves as living in a blessed place that is fertile and productive and the real gem of Galilee. The sea and beautiful coastal plains like the Gennesaret, which lies between Bethsaida and neighboring Capernaum, provide rich terroir to the lakeside residence.
Our natural geography also means that all roads pass by our shores, and this has brought about many influences through the centuries. The ancient Via Maris links Egypt to Israel and with the empires to the north and is the main route hugging the Mediterranean coast, crossing a fertile plain called Jezreel, descending to the Sea of Galilee, following our coast, and then ascending along the Jordan to northern kingdoms. This important trade route and the roads that lead to the south connecting us to the capital Jerusalem pass right through the middle of my hometown. We are small-town people in Galilee, but our location has uniquely affected our worldview.
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the provinces of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, Cretans, and Arabs have passed by, traded, settled, and flourished on these shores, bringing their languages, customs, food, religions, and in general disparate ways of seeing and doing things. Just like many places at the crossroads, there are complexities that not only make for an interesting place but from time to time a dangerous place as wars and conflicts arise. So this is not a place for those looking for a beautiful setting from which they can check out of real life. Real life will find its way to your doorstep here. Therefore we have learned to be accepting people and multicultural all while being what I will call street smart.
I was raised speaking not only my native Aramaic but also Greek and Hebrew. We are Jews, and from an early age, I learned Hebrew at the synagogue school, where we memorized portions of the Torah. Galilee has played a crucial role in the history of my nation, Israel. About one thousand years ago, King David developed a relationship and treaties with King Hiram of Tyre, which is an important trade city north on the Mediterranean coast. Hiram’s Phoenicians provided metals, cedar, and craftsmen to build David’s palace in Jerusalem, and in return, David offered access to the trade routes that passed through Galilee. This helped make the Phoenicians formidable masters of global trade, bringing them power and wealth. David’s son, King Solomon, who succeeded him, advanced this relationship further, securing the same resources and craftsmen from Hiram to build the temple in Jerusalem, but Solomon also gave to Hiram about twenty Galatian cities. Many have suggested that Solomon disobeyed God by giving away control of parts of our promised land and marrying foreign wives, which allowed the Phoenicians to worship their gods in Galilea. I don’t know what Solomon’s true motivations were, but boy, did his tactics work in creating wealth! Solomon became the richest man in history by exploiting the trade routes through Galilee.
All our contact with other cultures is why my people, the Jews, look down on us Galileans since we are a “polluted” people with foreign influence. All of this has come together to give us the name Galilee of