I enjoy fishing!
I watched a fishing show where the guy interviewed caught 73 fish in a one-day derby. He shared his secret. When he catches a fish, he uses a dropper to draw some of the fish's last meal from it's throat. If the specimen has flies, then he puts lures near the surface. If minnows, a little deeper. Really hard core.
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus calls out to Peter and Andrew--"Come on, I want you to start fishing for people". They spent the majority of the next 3 years with Jesus. What did Jesus mean? A good example is in John 4:23 where Jesus in his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well says that God is searching for "true worshipers..."(from the heart).
Before Peter was ready, there had to be some sifting. You'll recall that Peter denied he even knew Jesus on the eve of the crucifixion. But mere days after Peter's restoration and re-commitment to Jesus, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit , boldly preached and invited the crowd to follow the risen Messiah, Jesus. 3000 people were added to the church. Quite a catch!
I watched a fishing show where the guy interviewed caught 73 fish in a one-day derby. He shared his secret. When he catches a fish, he uses a dropper to draw some of the fish's last meal from it's throat. If the specimen has flies, then he puts lures near the surface. If minnows, a little deeper. Really hard core.
In Matthew 4:19, Jesus calls out to Peter and Andrew--"Come on, I want you to start fishing for people". They spent the majority of the next 3 years with Jesus. What did Jesus mean? A good example is in John 4:23 where Jesus in his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well says that God is searching for "true worshipers..."(from the heart).
Before Peter was ready, there had to be some sifting. You'll recall that Peter denied he even knew Jesus on the eve of the crucifixion. But mere days after Peter's restoration and re-commitment to Jesus, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit , boldly preached and invited the crowd to follow the risen Messiah, Jesus. 3000 people were added to the church. Quite a catch!
Do we trick people into accepting Christ by offering them bait like getting something for free or fear tactics? No, we are offering them a real spiritual lunch. Jesus said "I am the bread of life...I have the living water." As we pray, God may put us in the path of a seeker like the woman at the well. I remember a few years ago when I sat across from Mo. He found no hope in Islam and no power to forgive his enemies. He was on a search and was open to the Good News. Recently I had the most encouraging phone chat with him--he is one of these whom God is looking for. He is following Jesus now! Some Christians love to study evangelism and Islam. Perhaps they feel inadequate to actually talk to a Muslim. Reminds me of an article I read in the 80's titled “A Plea for Fishing". Week after week, month after month, and year after year, these who called themselves fishermen met in meetings and talked about their interest in fishing, the abundance of fish, and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation, and declared that fishing is always to be the primary task of fishermen…but one thing they didn't do. They didn't fish.
God has called us into action--not to become experts but to be witnesses. Like the book of Acts. The goal in being witnesses is that others be reconciled with God. One can easily be swept into our Christian subculture and have little contact with the outside world.
We have a sense of urgency as the number of Muslims around us is growing. Today with the realities of Covid-19, Muslim can't congregate or move around as freely as before. So, how does one make new contacts now? We have been praying like never before for divine appointments. He has delivered and put people in our paths and then we take it from there. In "fishing for people" there is no substitute for our friendship, our testimony, the Word of God, and prayer.
We have a sense of urgency as the number of Muslims around us is growing. Today with the realities of Covid-19, Muslim can't congregate or move around as freely as before. So, how does one make new contacts now? We have been praying like never before for divine appointments. He has delivered and put people in our paths and then we take it from there. In "fishing for people" there is no substitute for our friendship, our testimony, the Word of God, and prayer.
O Lord, teach me how to fish. I want to
be a fisher of 'men'...your way. Amen.
