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| FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU A FISHER Of MEN Mathew 4: 19 |
| . by David Jay Jordan (Jordan Fisherman) |
| 'Follow Me' Fishing Testimony |
| Fishing for Dead Men Testimony After being in a Christian group for a whole winter, (in 1972) when springtime rolled around I just had to get out into the fresh air and away from the confines of close quarters. I wanted to return to the mountains and lakes of earlier years where I had gotten to know the Lord through His creation, Nature. I loved fishing and soon got a job at a fishing camp as a guide catering to the fishing needs of well to do fisherman. But I found out after a shortened summer that my heart was no longer there as it used to be. So I headed down to the coast in British Columbia, trying to get my head and my life sorted out. What did I want to do with my future? Should I serve the Lord even though my talents weren’t in that field? Should I be outdoors or indoors? And my head and mind was spinning with thoughts and past experiences when I arrived on Long Beach on Vancouver Island. It was a hub of activity still in late fall, as many campers and visitors were taking in the surf and the sunset. I took my initial walk down the beach with the waves rolling in and campers starting to cook their evening meals etc. But the whole serenity of this picturesque walk was going to be broken shortly. For as I looked out at the swelling ocean coming in, I noticed what I thought was a log being sent inward by the waves. I looked again when the next crest raised it upwards again and I thought I saw something coming out of the trunk. This surely was more than a log. I stared further until the next wave confirmed what I was thinking. It was a human body, for I could now see the arms and legs. I rushed out into the surf, fully clothed and started pulling the body out of the water towards the beach. His eyes were wide open, his belly was totally swollen and he wasn’t moving at all. I called for help, but before any one could respond I hear this very audible voice say to me…”Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men” (Mathew 4:19) I instantly knew what it meant, and heard for the first time the Lord’s voice. Yet I was now in shock and needed the assistance of others to bring the body onto the beach. But I knew in my heart that he was dead and no amount of aid could bring him back to life. But others tried and tried to revive him. From a distance as I watched, the words kept going through my head, “Follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men” But I knew I was no longer following Him and even considering not following Him for the rest of my life. But if I didn’t follow my first love, and just went fishing for my own self and my own pleasures, I, then knew, I would be fishing dead men out of the water rather than living ones. And I would be wasting my life as more died around me and drowned. Is this what I wanted? Is this the kind of fisherman I wanted to be ….No ! So, that very night I got back into my pick-up camper and headed back to Vancouver and back to Christian service. And by the Grace of God with bumps along the way, I and my family have been doing it ever since, because I don’t want to fish dead men, but be a ‘fisherman for the LORD of LORDS’ In His Service Jordan Fisherman (David Jay Jordan) |