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The type of fishing that I really enjoy is fishing for men, like Jesus talked about in our biblical text for today. Andy and I have gone on a couple of fishing adventures for fish, but every time we travel together, he and I go fishing for men. He is a consistent witness for Jesus and an inspiration to me. He and his wife Kathy have a great ministry of encouraging pastors and their wives. They host retreats at both their Lakehouse and their Ranch. They have invested so much into those who give their all in service to King Jesus.
Another fisherman friend of mine is Josh Stevens. Josh and his wife Rachel are faithful members of Connect Church, our church campus in Liberty Hill, TX. He is a deacon, and they both work hard on the core team each Sunday as they help set everything up for worship and then take it all back down afterward. Josh is one of those rare guys who is probably good at everything he puts his mind to, like golf. He is a teacher of advanced mathematics at Round Rock High School. But the thing I like most about Josh is that he will boldly tell other people about the Lord.
A few weeks back, Connect Church had an outreach event in our community. We set up at the Hub in Santa Rita Ranch and gave away free Bibles and popsicles. We had such a good time and spoke to many people about the Lord Jesus Christ and invited them to our church. I saw a man standing in the playground area, and as I was holding L.J., my 18-month-old grandson, I walked over to the man and began talking to him. His name is John, and he is from Afghanistan. I said to him that since he was from that country, I assumed he was a Muslim. He responded quickly that he was indeed a Muslim, and that they and Christians are very much alike. I asked him a question: Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world and arose again three days later? He put his head down and I can tell he did not believe that. Then, L.J. lost it. He had been patient enough with Pops, and now he was ready to go play. He got so loud I could not keep talking to John. So, I asked my fellow fisherman standing with me, Josh, if he would keep sharing with John. For the next 30 minutes, Josh and John had a very robust spiritual conversation. I asked Josh what they talked about, and he said, "I asked John, 'As a Muslim, how does one go to heaven?' John gave a works answer, and then I shared with him that as Christians, we believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross, and He arose from the dead, and He is the only way to heaven." I love it!
Have you been fishing lately? ...not for trout, red fish, catfish, or bass, but the type of fishing where you go after lost men and women and tell them the great news that Jesus saves?
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