Jesus called out to them, "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!"
Mat. 4:19
Last weekend my children entered a fishing tournament at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. We got up early that morning and packed up all of our fishing “stuff”, the poles, the bait, the tackle, the chairs, lunch, ds games etc. and headed out to catch us some fish. We had a great time!! We stayed there most of the day, the tourney started at 9am and ended at 3 but we left around 2, we were exhausted from the sun, plus the fish didn’t seem to be biting all that much. We got a few nibbles here and there and finally we got a few catches, but the catches didn’t come until near the end. I'm glad they hung there and decided to stay and fish longer instead of giving up!
Tyler: Trout 10oz
Taylor: Trout 7oz, small mullet 2oz
Alonis: Flounder
It was a looong tiring day but the kids came back with the trophy for 1st and 2nd place (the boys). Alonis’s flounder didn’t register on the scale so it didn’t count, but she had fun anyway.
Mat. 4:19
Last weekend my children entered a fishing tournament at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. We got up early that morning and packed up all of our fishing “stuff”, the poles, the bait, the tackle, the chairs, lunch, ds games etc. and headed out to catch us some fish. We had a great time!! We stayed there most of the day, the tourney started at 9am and ended at 3 but we left around 2, we were exhausted from the sun, plus the fish didn’t seem to be biting all that much. We got a few nibbles here and there and finally we got a few catches, but the catches didn’t come until near the end. I'm glad they hung there and decided to stay and fish longer instead of giving up!
Tyler: Trout 10oz
Taylor: Trout 7oz, small mullet 2oz
Alonis: Flounder
It was a looong tiring day but the kids came back with the trophy for 1st and 2nd place (the boys). Alonis’s flounder didn’t register on the scale so it didn’t count, but she had fun anyway.
While watching my kids fish and watching my husband help them get their poles just right and the get the bait on and everything, I couldn’t help but think of the encounter that Simon and Peter had with Jesus in Matthew chapter 4. I thought to myself this day would be a perfect teaching tool to talk to my kids about “evangelism”. We talked about what it meant to become “fishers of men”, I told them that we don’t literally fish for people but some of the same methods for fishing can be applied to evangelizing and winning souls for the kingdom. We first talked about “BAIT”. We talked about what it was, and what it’s used for in fishing (the shrimp or worm, used to lure the fish). We established that though we have a lot of different types of bait to choose from, when it comes to fishing for MEN , there can only be one kind of bait and that is the Word of God. The Word is food for the people, Jesus said He is the Bread of Life, so just like we offer bait to the fish, we are offering Christ to people.
We discussed how not all men will take or accept the bait. Just like fish some will swim right past and not even acknowledge it, while others will nibble at it but then decide not to take it all, BUT there will be some that will take hold and will be caught!! The men or women will accept Christ and want Him to be Lord over their life.
The most important lesson that we learned that day was that no matter what , “we must keep fishing”. We cannot give up when it seems like no one is biting! We must continue to try and reach men and women because eventually someone will catch on!! Hook Line Sinker!!!
