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!'
I will show you how to fish for people!'
And they left their nets at once
and followed Him."
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."
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.
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| 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,
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
3 comments:
Three great questions to ask ourselves at the start of each day!
Al
Sheri -- what GORGEOUS photos and of course your paintings!!! You do such an amazing job with photo shoots -- costumes and settings. Thanks so much for sharing your work!
I did not realize you had continued this blog past Christmas, so I apologize for my absence! I have so appreciated your prayerful efforts, research and time involved to do this!
These scriptures you posted today are so deep -- I could reflect and glean from them for many days.
What initially strikes me is that in day-to-day living, we develop and focus on our own hopes and dreams. Yet Jesus is calling us to not only let go of them, but to crucify our own desires to become One with Him. A living martyrdom of self that requires the powerful motivation of eternal goals in order to achieve it.
I have long been inspired by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Her life simply makes no sense without Jesus and eternal goals. She utterly spent herself on behalf of God and His weakest and most hurting people.
Marjie, I am so happy you are back!!! I thought you, Elishiva and MCB were only following for Advent. I actually got the Advent idea after the inspiration to follow Jesus in the gospels, especially the Beatitudes. There are many wonderful things before the Beatitudes. I loved the Advent Journey. The word around Jesus' Coming is so rich.
The scriptures today are very deep. It's one thing to read it and memorize it; and quite another to experience it in your life. It is so far from the American psyche of seeking happiness. Though, we are most blessed, happy when living completely for Him. Mother Theresa is so inspiring! What a life she lived! I think of other courageous women of faith as well; such as Amy Carmichael, Jeanne Guyon and Elizabeth Elliot who gave all to follow Christ.
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