There are fishermen and then there are those that fish and then there are even some that think that they can fish. There is a major difference between one and the other. There are different types of fishers. There are anglers that fish with poles and you have those fishers that fish with nets and you also have spear fishers but the common demoninator in any type of fishing is the type of fish and the method you use to catch it. The type of bait that you use can greatly increase or decrease your chances of catching a decent size fish. There is also the technique. You also have to know when to fish.

Luke 5:4-7; Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto [their] partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

Peter was a fisherman and he knew that there was an ideal time to fish yet he and the people with him had worked that whole night and had not caught anything, not even a cold! Jesus was not a fisherman per se, yet he knew something that Peter didn't know. Jesus knew the exact spot to cast a net.

I'm not a fisherman yet I used to go ocean fishing with my father off the rocks in far Rockaway in New York. I never had a fishing pole because all my father would give me was a beer can with some line around it with a weight and a hook in the end and all I would catch was starfish. This discouraged me from ever wanting to fish. Nobody ever invited me to go fishing with them when they went out although I always wanted to go. My youngest brother had bought a boat which I helped him repair yet he never invited me to go fishing with him but he would always tell me how much fun he had when he went out. Evangelist Stuart has been dying to go fishing since she came here from Missouri almot 3 years ago and she would ask me if I liked to fish and I would say that I liked to fish men. About a month ago I gave her a ride to the Walmart in Rotterdam NY and we walked through the sporting goods section where the fishing poles were and I told her to buy a set which she did but the computer for the fishing license was down. Friday I wanted her to get her fishing license so we can go barbecue at Central Park (not the one in NYC) here in Schenectady where there is a lake that you can fish in. I decided to get my fishing license as well and then bought a nice pole with a reel and a tackle kit.

Sunday (father's day) the skies looked ominous since it was cloudy and looked like rain but my wife Clue and I along with Evangelist Stuart got in the van and I just drove, not knowing where we were going. We ended up at Mariahville lake where we saw people fishing off the road and we stopped there. We had to set up our poles but I did mine as if I knew what I was doing, and Evangelist Stuart baited my line with a nightcrawler and my first few attempts at casting did not go very well but then I figured out how to work with my reel and I was casting out pretty far. After a few casts I got a nibble and hooked me a perch. It wasn't a big fish but for me it was as if I had caught a whale. I didn't show my excitement but I felt so good about catching a fish I was like a kid with a new toy. Then it started to rain and we packed up to leave and as I drove past the bridge where we were I stopped and turned around and we went back. It stopped raining and we got out and went back to our spot and after a few tries I caught me a carp. Again it wasn't a big fish but it was bigger then the perch and I said thank you Lord for the nice Father's Day gift. Then I looked up to heaven and said Happy Father's Day Abba! I thought we might go to Central Park to BBQ but as we packed up the day became a wash out but I'll never forget this fishing trip because it reminds me of Evangelism.

2 Timothy 4:2; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

You have to go out and preach the word whether you think you are going to reach someone or not. If you keep looking at conditions (situations & circumstances ) you will never go out to preach. What does the weather have to do with reaching a soul? God makes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike. You have to have the right tools which means the you have to be prayed up, filled with the Word and with the power of the Holy Ghost and you have to know how to approach people. You might have to try a few times before you get a nibble but once you got a bite you can hook him and reel him in, hook line and sinker! Don't worry about the size or the amount  because you don't know if that one you catch will become a Peter or a Paul. Be patient and keep your eyes on the prize (salvation) and not on the "fish". Cleaning a fsh is another matter but when we catch a soul it is not our job to clean them. That is the Holy Ghost's job. We catch them and he cleans them.

I'm going to go fishing more often now and I am going to catch some big fish and I'll share those fishing adventures with you. If you haven't been fishing yet you should try it. It will teach you something about preaching the gospel. The same attitude you have towards catching fish is the same attitude you are going to have preaching the Word. God bless you and Shalom