Follow Me

 

Reading: Matt 4: 18,19

"One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew his brother, throwing a net into the water; for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them,  

"'Come, follow me, and 
I will show you how to fish for people!' 

And they left their nets at once 
and followed Him." 

Matt. 4:18,19  NLT

These men who followed Jesus were His disciples,  His student followers or His apprentices. They went where He went, watched what He did and listened to what He said. John, one of His closest followers said,

'We saw Him with our own eyes 
and touched Him with our own hands." 

I John 1:1 NLT 

Wouldn't it be great to see Him with your own eyes and touch Him with your own hands? Well, we can "see" Him by following along with the journals His disciples wrote. They followed Him all over Israel, from tiny villages, to quiet lonely places, and even to the heights of the great city of Jerusalem and God's holy temple. They walked over hills, down to valley's, through deserts and into vineyards. They spent time with Him at night among the olive groves, discussing the day. They even got into boats and sailed across the 'Sea" of Galilee.

But it wasn't so much about the places they went, but the people He touched. He spoke to wealthy powerful people and touched the poorest of the poor and the lowest of the low. He healed people who were blind, deaf, paralyzed and He even touched people who had leprosy.  Because He healed people, crowds and crowds of people followed Him, hoping for His healing touch. Jesus had a heart of great love and compassion for the sufferings of the people.

Moved with Compassion 

"When He saw the crowds, 

He had compassion on them 

because they were confused and helpless,

like sheep without a shepherd." 

Matthew 9: 36 NLT

How do we follow Jesus today... you and I? Like in the verse above, He has compassion on us and see's us as sheep with out a shepherd, confused and helpless as we try to understand how to live in our complicated world. Jesus gave us a picture of Himself as a shepherd to help us "sheep" understand how to "follow Him".

"... the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. 

He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 

After he has gathered his own flock, 

he walks ahead of them, 

and they follow him because they know his voice. 

They won't follow a stranger; 

they will run from him because they don't know his voice." 

John 10:3-5 NLT

Do you recognize His voice and come to Him? If His words touch your heart, you are at least beginning to hear His voice. Come to Him by going in to your quiet place where you can be alone. Then open the door of your heart to let Him in. Jesus says,

" Look, I stand at the door and knock. 

If you hear my voice and open the door, 

I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." 

Revelation 3:20 NLT

Look to Him and believe He is with you as you read His word. Enjoy Him as a dear friend. Share a meal together with Him, feasting on the Word of God. Then wait for Him to move, to "walk" ahead of you, so you can follow Him. One thing for sure, following Jesus is always an adventure. He will take you to the places where He wants to move... the places of greatest need. Look for Him moving among the people that He wants to touch. Move with Him. To do this, to live as a follower of Jesus there is sacrifice. It is laying down your personal wants to follow Him. Jesus said:

"If any of you wants to be my follower, 
you must turn from your selfish ways, 

take up your cross daily, and follow Me. 

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. 

But if you give up your life for My sake you will save it." 

Matthew 16:24-26 Luke 9:23-25 NLT

Do I follow Jesus or ask Him to follow me and bless what I do? In all honesty, all too often I caught up in living my own life, in my own way and hope He will bless what I do. Lord, I pray for us, for me and this dear reader, that You will reveal Yourself to us, and show each of us the very thing you have called us to do. And even more importantly who You have called us to be. May the verse below be our hearts desire:

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. 

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in Me. 

So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, 

who loved me and gave Himself for me. 

Gal 2:20 NLT

Jesus Taught the Gospel of Repentance

Reading: Matthew 4:17

Not only did John begin his ministry teaching the gospel of repentance; but Jesus did as well. Repentance is a change of mind, a change of direction, most importantly a change of heart. Change is why He came. He came to give us a new sense of hope and to show us how to be born into a whole new life and into the kingdom of God. When we repent and believe in Jesus, God gives us the grace to be set free from the sin that causes so much pain and suffering. Don't we want to be set free from doing mean things that we feel sorry for later? Here is what Jesus said about repentance:

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Matt. 4:17 NKJ,

For the people He spoke this to, the kingdom was at hand, because the King was there, so close that they could physically touch Him! We can not physically touch Him right now... but He didn't want to leave us alone as orphans. So He prayed for the Father to send the Spirit, the Comforter. In Luke 17:21 He says "The Kingdom of God is within you." It is within this inward place in our heart, our spirit that we find Him.

After Jesus resurrected and ascended to heaven He spoke the following letter for John to deliver to the church of the Laodicea. They were a wealthy church, much like the church in the US today. They were physically comfortable in their wealth and didn't have pressing needs that would humbly bring them before God for deliverance. They were a complacent and indifferent church. But Jesus did not give up on them.

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 
Therefore be zealous and repent. 
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,  
I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with Me." 
Rev.3:19, 20 KJV

Our Lord Jesus disciplines and corrects  those He loves, but He won't beat down the door of our indifference to come in and share a meal with us as friends. It is in an open, trusting heart that He abides. We may still open the door and enjoy intimate fellowship with the Lord. Considering that He waits for the door to be opened shows us that not only is He gracious to save, but also gracious to not demand that we let Him in. We do have a personal responsibility to open our hearts to experience His presence. We'll conclude with what Peter said:

"Now Repent of your sins and turn to God, 
so that your sins may be wiped away,
Then times of refreshing will come  from the presence of the Lord."
Acts 3:19 NLT

It is truly refreshing to realize that when we repent, we can have our sins wiped away and be refreshed from the Presence of the Lord. Thank You, God!

Believe in the Gospel

Sermon on the Mount by Carl Bloch

Reading: Mark 1:14

"Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying:

'The kingdom of God is at hand. 

Repent, and  believe in the gospel.'" 

Mark 1:14 NKJ 

Like John, Jesus preached repentance and the gospel of the kingdom. Here in Mark we see one more aspect of the message of the Kingdom of God. "Believe in the gospel." What is the gospel? It is the "good news" of the kingdom of God. The King is here! Jesus Christ is our Messiah. He is our savior King! He paid the price for the sin of every human being, for you and me. He provided forgiveness and eternal life for all who believe in Him. Here we see that great love of God toward us:

"For God loved the world so much that He gave 

His one and only son,

so that everyone who believes in Him 

will not perish but have eternal life." 

John 3:16 NLT

The word believe can be spoken lightly, much like the word agree. "I agree with..., I believe that is true." For many it is not much more than an opinion. In the verse above we see there is great depth contained in the word believe. In the Bible it means much more than to just agree. Believe is the action word for faith. The hero's of faith in Hebrews 11 were willing to stake their life on their belief in God. It is not easy to risk your life or give up something precious to you; for something that you can't even see. Faith in God is beyond the realm of our material world that seems so real to us. Jesus said there is a special blessing for us who did not see Him in person,

"Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 

John 20:29 NKJ   

To believe as the Biblical teaches is to trust in, to rely upon, depend on, cling to. As believers, God allows situations to come into our lives that will continually grow and deepen our faith. Peter speaks the refining of our faith:  

"... now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory, at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him,  yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith...the salvation of your souls. 

1 Peter 1:6-9 NKJ 

Wow, consider what Peter is saying. Their faith that was proved genuine through trials is now bringing them great joy!!!  Joy inexpressible and full of glory, they are receiving the end of their faith...the salvation of their souls. Do we take our faith for granted or prize it like they did?

James said something similar:

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that  
the testing of your faith produces patience. 
But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." 

James 1:2-4 NKJ 

Do you at times, like me, find yourself lacking in faith, maybe having "little" underdeveloped faith , as Jesus' disciples did in Matthew 8? They were confronted with a fierce storm and were afraid they would all drown. All the while, Jesus slept. He slept in the confidence that God would not allow Him to die, until He had fulfilled the purpose of why He came. Do you at times lack confidence and sometimes find it difficult to trust God in the storm you are in? Sometimes I feel like the man in Mark 9:24 where he says to Jesus; 

"I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!"

If you lack confidence and trust in God you can even ask Him to help you overcome your unbelief! Toward the end of the gospel of John, he said:

"And truly Jesus did many other signs...not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name". John 20:30, 31 NKJ

Trust Jesus today. Rely on Him, depend on Him, cling to Him. 

In believing like this, we will have life in His name, and joy inexpressible, full of glory!!!

Temptation of Jesus for Adults

Temptation of Jesus

Not by Bread Alone- Michael Dudash

Reading: Luke 4:1-13, or Matt. 4:1-11.  

"Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil." Luke 4:1, 2 NKJ

Why did the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? We'll answer that question later. For now, lets look at 1 John 2:15, 16 again, this time in the New King James: "Do not love the world...for all that is in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life- is not of the Father but is of the world." 

Both Adam and Jesus faced three aspects of temptation; (just as we do even to this day as descendants of Adam and Eve). Adam yielded, bringing upon humankind sin and death. Christ resisted, resulting in justification and life.

The lust of the flesh: "the tree was good for food" "command this stone to become bread".

The lust of the eyes: "it was pleasant to the eyes" "the devil...showed Him all the kingdoms".  

The pride of life: "a tree desirable to make one wise" "throw yourself down from here" also the devil tempted His pride by saying "If you are the Son of God..."

If you read the account of "Jesus' Temptation" in your own Bible, notice the parallels above. You'll find the account in Matt 4 or Luke 4. How do these same temptations play out in modern people and personally for each of us? Paul made a comparison between with Jesus and Adam in Romans:

"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned... But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many... But, even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adams one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone." Romans 5:12, 15-18 NLT

Not by Bread Alone- Michael Dudash

In answer to the question, "why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? The author of Hebrews answers this question in such a beautiful way. The verses below are full of God's love and grace for us, His funny little human beings:

"Because God's children are human beings- made of flesh and blood- the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying... Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing (temptation) He is able to help us when we are being tested (tempted)." Hebrews 2:14-18 NLT "So then, since we have a high priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He face all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT

Why did the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? It is because He Himself needed to go through suffering and testing (temptation) as we do; so that He would be able to help us when we are being tested (tempted). What a comfort to have a High Priest who understands our weaknesses! We can come boldly to the throne of our gracious God and receive His mercy and help just when we need it the most!

"Blessed is the man who endures temptation;
for when he has been approved,
he will receive a crown of life
which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."
James 1:12 NKJ

Temptation of Jesus for Kids

Image copy right- Michael Dudash

Reading: Luke 4:1-13, or Matt. 4:1-11.  

After Jesus was baptized, He was:

"... full of the Holy Spirit... He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry" Luke 4:1, 2 NLT

Imagine how hungry you would feel if you did not eat for forty days. It is hard to even skip a meal, let alone not eat for a whole day... but 40 days is REALLY a long time to not eat! Well, right when Jesus was the most hungry he ever felt in His whole life, the devil came along and said:  

"If You are the Son of God, 

change this stone into a loaf of bread." 

Luke 4:3 NLT 

The question is would Jesus use the power of the Holy Spirit of God to just make Himself some food? This is about more than just eating. Did Jesus really believe that He was the Son of God? Did Jesus trust that God loved Him as a Son and would lead Him to eat at the right time? Did Jesus really believe that God sent Him for a purpose and would not let Him die before He did what He came to do?

We can ask ourselves similar questions. If you believe in Jesus, do you really believe you are a child of God? Do you trust God's love for you no matter what happens? Do you want to follow the leading of the Spirit of God in your life, or do the things of this world seem more satisfying?

Remember when we read about Jesus being baptized?  

"After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water; 

the heavens were opened and  

He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling upon Him. 

And a voice from heaven, said,  

"This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy." 

Matt. 3:13-17 NLT

When Jesus was baptized, the power of the Spirit of God came upon Him and right after that, when He was full of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Why did the Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? Would Jesus listen to the Spirit leading Him or would He listen to the enticing words of the devil to satisfy His natural desires as a human being?  Everything He came to do for people rested on Him never sinning. As Emmanuel "God with Us", He had to be that perfect lamb of God, who never sinned in order to take away the sins of all people who would ever live. And as our Great High priest He had to be made like us, a human, who would experience temptation, just as we do and yet not sin. This way He could understand and help us when we needed it most.

So, "why did the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted? These verses below give us the answer and are full of God's love and grace for us, His funny little human beings:

"Because God's children are human beings- made of flesh and blood- the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying... Therefore, it was necessary for Him to be made in every respect like us, His brothers and sisters, so that He could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then He could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Since He Himself has gone through suffering and testing (temptation) He is able to help us when we are being tested (tempted)." Hebrews 2:14-18 NLT  

"So then, since we have a high priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT

Wow, don't you just love this? Aren't you amazed at what Jesus has done for us? He is the dearly loved Son of God. He lived to please His Father and bring Him great joy. Will we as dearly loved children of God live to please Him and bring Him joy? We will be blessed if we choose to follow Him and not listen to the temptation of the evil one.

"God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation.

Afterward they will receive the crown of life 

that God has promised to those who love Him."

James 1:12 NLT

Not By Bread Alone by Michael Dudash ... See side bar to order Print