what are they biting on?

"...so I he asked him, "what are they biting on?" and he replied "the end of my line!"

"and he said to me, follow me, and I will make 

you fish for people"

Matthew 4:19

I love to fish and now my daughters do to. I taught Olivia, now she is teaching her younger sister. It's a riot when they have casting plugs on and dangerous when there are hooks! 

Ask anyone who has spent time really getting into fishing what it's about and they'll tell you; presentation. 

It's about putting in front of the fish some thing they desire, making it look attractive to where they are. When they are feeding it's food, when it's a big ol' make it can be a challenger, a female on a nest anything that is near her is be toast. 

Now when I hear many folks say "hey, let's go fishing for people" when they are talking about spreading the Good News about Jesus Christ it honestly makes me cringe. Why? I used to hate Christians and their God. Now I will go to the ends of the earth and give up my life for both. 

What happened? 

The Master Fisherman presented himself to me. No artificial bait, no person dangling something in front of me. I wasn't an object to fill a pew, I was the object of the God's desire. He presented the most lovely bait in front of me via folks who I didn't even know were fishermen. 

Here is a tip from a former fish Christian; you are the thing at the end of the line. Your Bible tells you this. You may talk about God but what the folks see is you. Go to any tackle shop and you'll find thousands of lures each one saying it is attractive. Are you attractive? 

Present the real deal; put away anger, wrath, malice, slander, abuse of others, lying. (See Colossians 3:1-17)

Proclaim the goodness of God, bring physical and emotional healing and love. 

Most Christians try to fish with buzz baits. These are loud things that make a lot of noise and splashing. When the fish hits it and tries to eat the lure it quickly finds out that what was presented was not reality. 

Here's the last tip; don't try to catch the fish because you feel you have to. Do it because you love them, just like Jesus. Your job is not to rip out their guts and clean them up. Your job is to catch them alive and transfer them to a safe body of Living Water. 

So I ask you, what's on the end of your line?