Introduction
This is it. New year. New school. New faces. New Challenges. One ancient mission. I was flipping through my Bible the other day when I came across a familiar verse:
Matthew 28:19-20;
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
and another:
Mark 1:17;
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
These aren't just words in a book. These were spoken by Jesus Christ himself. The first is part of a passage known as "The Great Commission." What does it mean? Jesus isn't telling us to go out into the world with fishing poles trying to put hooks into the mouths of the people around us. What we are told to do is to go out into the world, to make friends that don't necessarily believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. We are to search these people out and tell them the good news that is the gospel. We are to do something called "evangelize", which means we deliberately go into the world to tell people about God and the love He has for us. I found another verse about this:
1 Peter 3:15;
"But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"
This verse tells us that once we make Jesus Christ our everything, we are to tell the world about the joy, peace, HOPE that we have in Him. We should always be ready to share the reason for our hope with others. This doesn't mean poking and prodding our faith into every conversation we have, we still have to be kind and respectful to others.
With that said- these are my three key verses for the school year. I'm going into my sophomore year in a new high school with a lot of people that I have never met before. My goals aren't just to keep up my grades and get myself ready for college- I am going to pursue one ancient mission. I am going to be a fisher of men.
This is my log. There are 180 days in a school year, so I will have 180 entries before I am done. This isn't a diary or a journal of my teenage dramas- this is my account of how I am using my situation and my love for God to spread the gospel in my high school. I don't know if I will be successful. I don't know if God will use me to lead anyone to know Him personally. I don't know how any of this will turn out. I do know that God has called me to shine His light wherever I go. I do know that I love God with all of my heart. I do know that I want to serve Him in this way. I will use God's word (the Bible) to lead me with every person that I meet.
Matthew 5:16;
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
I am not doing any of this to gain attention for myself- I'm doing this all for the glory of God.
These entries are raw and real life stories of a young woman's passion for Christ and for the people around her who don't know the saving grace they could have through faith in our Lord. They are a personal testimony from Amy R. about her experience putting into practice being a "fisher of men". As you follow Amy's journey through her sophomore year, be encouraged and motivated. And if you want to join "The Fishing Project" please feel free to comment or contact Amy R. or Shawna A. via Facebook.
