He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
“No,” they answered.
He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. John 21:5,6.
We vacationed at Huntington Beach State Park in SC. The state park offered a lot of activities throughout the day. One morning was seining. As a kid, I had seined for minnows with my dad and brothers. We used them to catch crappy. I'd never seined in the ocean but I wanted to try for the memories. I had forgotten the angle of the net and the young man helping me was unsure of the correct way. We caught nothing.
A dad began helping his son drag the net using the opposite angle. The boy and his dad caught a fish, then two, then several as little sister got in on the act.
The fish were there. My partner and I were just using an ineffective method. I remember as a child singing a song in Sunday School "Fished all night, Caught no fishes . . . . Out on the deep blue sea. Cast your net on the other side etc. Now the nets were full and breaking etc."
So many churches are like the nets, empty though we have fished and fished. Could it be we need to change the way we are fishing for men - rather people? The twentieth century saw rapid changes, especially in the latter half. The twenty-first century is snowballing with change. Stats say 2 out of 3 children raised in the church leave by the time they are adults. Are we keeping up or are we still trying to fish the same old way? How can we reach our young people with a twenty-first century fishing method? Please share your ideas or things that are working in your church.
Hey Kids:
In the hot summertime, my dad took us night fishing. I remember one night rocking in the boat watching the end of our poles by lantern light. My dad loved to tell scary stories. He had a lot of them and we loved to listen. That night a huge full moon rose. It was a deep reddish orange. Daddy began to tell us how the Bible said before the end of the world the moon would turn to blood. That was all it took to scare the life out of us and make us begin to ask questions. It was his way of implanting Biblical teachings into three little kids that have lasted a lifetime. He easily had a conversation about the Lord involving our normal activities or not so normal with a blood red moon shining down on us.
How do you share what you are learning about the Lord and His word with friends and adults?
As you think about what you'll be doing today, think about how you can cast your net by sharing the Lord in a natural way.
Please share your ideas with us. We are never too old or too young to learn.
Blessings,
Gail
