Monday, August 29, 2016

Fishing

Our Lord said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." It is evident, then, that a true disciple is a soul-winner. It is possible to sit on the shore discussing the signs of the times when we ought to be driven by the signs of the times to launch out into the deep and let down our nets for a draught. Vance Havner

Last weekend it was early afternoon and my husband and I were sitting in the living room talking about what we could do for the afternoon.  I’m sure I surprised my husband because I told him I wanted to go fishing.  He looked at me funny and then I said, “I want to take a rod and reel and stand on the bank of the lake and fish.”  I asked him if he knew of a place where we could do that. 

For those of you who don’t know my husband, he makes fishing an art.  He has all these terms for the lures that he uses.  My husband is creative in the area of fishing.  There are Carolina rigs, spinner baits, twitch baits, then there are poppers and triggers, finesse baits, jig heads and drop shots, Crazy leg jigs and Dark Star swimmers, Scum frogs and the Frog Brigade.  

I’m a live bait kind of fisher-gal.  Give me a worm, minnow, shrimp or cricket and I’m good to go.  A bobber or cork with a hook and rod and reel and I’m there.  All those bass fishermen out there would be appalled at my idea of fishing.  Have you ever gone to Bass Pro?  There are aisles and aisles of different kinds of fake baits in a rainbow of colors. 

As I thought about the variety of fishing gizmos and gadgets that are available it made me think of our purpose. God created us to be fishers of men. Fishing for men requires ingenuity. Every person you interact with is not going to respond to the same kind of lure.  The reason they make so many different kinds of lures is because there are so many different kinds of fish.  What works for one fish won’t work for another.  I think too many times we keep using the same bait.

To become fishers of men we need to fill our tackle box with different tools.  If I don’t know and understand scripture it’s like using a waterlogged worm to catch fish.  You will never get a bite. Also, if I don’t understand that each individual is different, the approach I choose may turn that person further away from God instead of drawing them nearer. Jesus chose four fishermen to further the gospel. God doesn’t want any of us to perish but it will take each of us taking up our cross and following Him to become fishers of men. 
   
Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, you call each of us to be fishers of men.  You blessed each of us with talents that others don’t have. Help me to use the talents you gave me to become a fisher of men.  With Your Word, the Holy Spirit and perseverance, I too can be what You created me to be. A soul winner.    
   

Scripture: And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.


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. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  Matthew 4:18-22

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