Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. Matthew 13:47

On April 1st in New York State, it is opening day of Trout fishing season. I have been fishing since I was a very little girl and our son and I try to go out opening day, every year. Sitting on the shore with him, basking in the son (or even dodging rain drops), with our lines in the water, are some of the dearest memories and times for me.

The Bible is full of verses about fishing. And, the greatest fisherman ever was our Lord and Savior, but even some of Jesus disciples were fisherman. In fact the first time that Peter (Simon), James and John Meet Jesus they are in their fishing boats trying to catch fish.

The best account of this (in my opinion) is in Luke 5:1-11. We see Jesus walking along the shore and He sees two boats. They are empty but Jesus gets into one. It’s Simon Peter‘s boat. He asks Simon Peter to put the boat out into the water and let down his nets. Simon begins to tell him that (I’m paraphrasing here) “ Master I’m a seasoned fisherman, we fished all night and didn’t catch anything, you’re not gonna catch anything now, But because you have asked, I’ll do it (but I’m telling you we are not going to catch anything)”. Well, so many fish enter that net that they have to ask a boat of nearby fishermen to help them pull it in and it almost sinks both boats!

Simon Peter is completely awestruck, and recognizes Jesus as Lord. In fact verse 8 says ‘But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”. Not only did Peter recognize Jesus as the Christ, but so did James and John. Verse 10 says that Jesus replied “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.(NIV)”. And verse 11 tells us that they left everything and followed him.

Just like that Jesus called out 3 of his 12 disciples.

There’s so much to see here. These men were supernaturally drawn to Jesus. Their obedience is just astounding as the way that they followed Him.

We could learn so much from the disciples example.

Jesus called us out pretty similarly. There we were minding our business, making a mess of our lives, being lord of our own lives, and suddenly Jesus shows up and says “follow me”.

The scripture say that God will reveal himself to everyone, even if it’s just through nature (For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 4:20). John 3:16 tells us that God sent Jesus to save the whole world.

Yet, not everyone will leave their nets and follow blindly. But for those of us who have, He has made us fishers of men.

When was the last time you threw your line into the water?

Jesus sent His Holy Spirit to us and we have His Holy Word. Our rod, reel and tacklebox are fully equipped.

Do we love him enough to follow and fish? Will we love our family, friends and neighbors enough to share our savior with them?

Jesus is asking us to.

Eternal lives are in peril, will we just lie, basking in the Son, while the enemy binds those that we care about with lies, and robs them of eternity with us?

I pray that we will recognize how desperate the situation really is, for those that we care about and who don’t know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. I pray that the rescue of their eternal souls would be such an incredible burden to us that we couldn’t stand to be silent for one more minute. I pray that we would recognize how incredibly empowered we are through the Holy Spirit. And I pray that we would be bold for Jesus and cast out our nets, or at least throw our line in the water. He is worthy!

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and are here just minding your own business, making a mess of your life, being lord of your own life, I pray that through this blog you might hear the hope and the future that Jesus desires for you and is offering right now. I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outline there. Once you have, please reach out to me and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you.

Luv Ya!