FAITH NEWS SERVICE – According to the Pew Research Center, at least a quarter of Americans say their faith grew during the pandemic*—and devotional writer Matt Simon believes there’s no better time than now to exercise that faith and be an authentic example of Christ to others.
More than ever we live in a world in constant conflict, and Christians are not exempt from the battleground. In fact we are as broken as the next person, our own tragedies, mistakes, and bad choices shaping us, leading us to rely on Christ even more. As believers walking out our faith daily, facing our own challenges, we travel a road with weary and even lost souls—but that route is a target-rich environment for those who would use Christ’s message to revive God’s mission of grace on earth.
Blogger Matt Simon believes there’s a track to healing, and it begins with believers choosing to encourage, uplift, and offer words and acts of kindness to those who cross their paths. In his debut devotional Catching Broken Fish, based on Matthew 4:18, the author inspires each of us to step out our comfort zones and to embrace being examples of God’s love. Using illustrations drawn from his own life as a farmer and school bus driver, Matt takes the reader on a humble trek of discernment and serving—products, he discovered, of his own failure and growth.
“I invite you to practice discipleship with me,” Matt says. “No matter where you are in your life journey, in the belief that by uniting together in a goal to catch broken fish, we can change the destiny of the world.”
Each devotional includes a deeper “Casting the Line” section and a heartfelt prayer for change. Matt calls on Christians everywhere to search for opportunities every day to disciple those they come into contact with.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Simon and the love of his life, his wife, Jeana, own a farm in western Michigan and raise Angus beef. While farming, Matt often spends hours in isolation in the cab of a tractor, where inspiration often strikes and from where he pens most of his devotionals. He also drives a school bus and finds that children inspire him to show what God’s love and grace look like. He and Jeana have three children. In his spare time, Matt enjoys writing, fishing, hunting, and camping.
