When i was 5 years old I would be content to fish for hours as long as dad put a worm on the hook once in a while. Many years have past since my childhood but time did not diminish my zeal for fishing.
        One day I found myself fishing Lake Ontario tributaries for spawning salmonoids. This was a new experience for me and I found the challenge of trying to land 20-30 lb. king salmon alot of fun. The more I fished up north the more I heard about steelhead (sea run or lake run rainbow trout that grow to large sizes). I learned that many experienced steelhead anglers consider a successful day just catching a steelhead and many fishermen have spent years without catching a steelhead.
        I soon became determined to catch a steelhead and set dates to head north when the fish were in the river. I learned first hand just how difficult these fish were to catch. Two trips of fishing from dawn to dusk produced not even hooking one of these fish.
        I planned a 3 day trip in late October, the first two days produced nothing, but at the end of the second day, I found a pool that was holding steelhead, so I planned to be there first thing in the morning. It was still dark when I arrived at the river. After 20 minutes, another fisherman approached and asked if I minded if he fished the pool also. Not minding, I said, "sure", and he started fishing about 10 feet downstream. I was surprised that he quickly hooked a steelhead and played the fish down river. He came back and hooked another fish. I soon lost count of how many fish he hooked. I hooked on the same type of fly as he had on but nothing worked. I simply couldn't hook up with a fish.
        Seeing my frustration, he came over and gave me some pointers. He told me a large run of steelhead were in the river and that I needed to use a longer, lighter leader and change my drift. Doing what he suggested, it didn't take long before a large steelhead took the fly and raced down stream. After a twenty five minute battle I landed a 13 1/2 pound steelhead - a real trophy.

                              BUT THAT WASN'T MY CATCH OF A LIFETIME...

        I was working as a mail handler moving sacks of mail from tractor trailers. One night I was taken back when a driver named Tom asked me if I felt I was going to heaven. I thought for a minute, being a regular church attender and what most people would think of as a nice guy, and said, "probably."
        We got together a short time later and Tom shared from the Bible that no one deserves heaven by being what they feel is a good person. The Bible says that there is no one good, no, not one (Romans 3:10) and that all have sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23).

    JUST LIKE FISHING FOR STEELHEAD, I THOUGHT MY METHOD WAS RIGHT, BUT I WAS WRONG.

        Jesus said "The only way to the Father is through Me" (John 14:6). Most people know Jesus died on the cross for sin, but they fail to realize that He died for their sin. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (hell) but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). Even if people think we're good we still need Christ, without Him we are doomed to hell, which the Bible describes as the lake of fire and eternal torment (Revelation 20:10).
        It doesn't matter how bad or how good you think you've been, Christ loves you and His death on the cross is sufficient to cover your sins. All you need to do is let Him into your life. Christ says, "Behold, I stand before the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). That door is your heart.
        Don't be like I was and feel that you are good enough to get into heaven or let pride get in the way. Life is short, the Bible says that it is like a vapor that soon passes away (James 4:14). Everything we possess on earth, we will leave behind when we die. Jesus said, "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul" (Mark 8:36).

                    IF YOU FEEL THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN YOUR LIFE...

        ...remember that Christ can change your life. All you need to do is give Him the opportunity.
        You can ask Him to come into your life right where you are now. All it takes is a simple prayer like, "Jesus, I know I don't deserve to go to heaven and that I'm a sinner. I accept what You did on the cross for payment of my sins. Please come into my life." But don't stop there. Jesus said, "Take up your cross and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).

                   HERE ARE THREE THINGS THAT CAN HELP YOU FOLLOW HIM:

        1. Get a Bible and start to read it.
        2. Find a church where the Bible is taught as the infallible Word of God and attend regularly.
        3. Pray daily. Find a time that you can spend in prayer every day.
        Committing to these 3 things will help you grow as a Christian.
       
        I can now catch steelhead on a regular basis, but this has taken committment to practice different techniques and alot of reading on these fish to learn about them.
        The more you read the Bible and pray, the more you will learn about God.
        Please consider this - if you forget me and this tract you've lost nothing, but if you forget Christ, you've lost everything.
                                                    Bob Delonas