"Follow me."
Two simple words are how Scripture tells us Jesus called those who would become Him disciples. And it seems as if those two simple words were enough.
In Matthew 4, we read where Jesus called Simon and Andrew, along with James and John. "At once they left their nets and followed Him." (Matthew 4:20) - that was the response of Simon and Andrew. James and John had the same response. Matthew 4:22 says, "immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him." Later, in Matthew 9, we see Jesus calling Matthew to follow Him, and that he "got up and followed Him." (Matthew 9:9).
These men, who would become Jesus' disciples, didn't finish what they were doing first or wait for a more convenient time. When Jesus called them to follow Him, they for up right away and followed Him. They left behind what they had been doing to follow Him. And they continued to follow Him, even when the teaching was hard and the lifestyle took its toll.
As I reflected on the immediacy of the obedience of these men, I'm challenged in my own life. What is my usual response when Jesus calls me to follow Him somewhere? Do I get up and follow right away? Or do I look for excuses to put it off or not do it at all?
I want to be someone who follows Jesus right away when He wants me to go somewhere, but the truth is often I hesitate - especially if it doesn't look like the easy way. But, I've also discovered that the more I get up and follow in obedience right away, the easier it becomes next time.
How do you usually respond when Jesus calls you to follow Him somewhere?
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Shoulder to Shoulder
". . . serve Him shoulder to shoulder." -Zephaniah 3:9
I was looking for another verse when those words jumped off the page at me. I continued what I was doing, but these words wouldn't leave my mind. I had to come back to them and take a closer look.
Restoration to What it Should Have Been
Those are just the last handful of words in Zephaniah 3:9. The title in my Bible right above the verse is "Restoration of Israel's Remnant." Zephaniah was a prophet to the nation of Judah during the reign of King Josiah. In 2 Kings 22-23, we can see that Josiah was a king who followed God.
Zephaniah was prophesying under the reign of a king who bringing the people back in line with God's commands. He spoke about God restoring His people and what that would look like.
In Zephaniah's prophecy about the remnant being restored, he speaks of the people serving God shoulder to shoulder. All ages, all walks of life serving God together. The life of God's people was a communal life. They all lived together and did life together.
It's For Us Too
Serving God shoulder to shoulder . . . What a beautiful picture! A picture of how it should have always been. And a declaration of what God had in store.
That picture isn't just one for the remnant of Israel that would be restored, it's a picture that should be reality for those of us who serve Christ today. We should be serving Christ shoulder to shoulder. Working together.
We weren't called to do anything in the life of serving Christ by ourselves. We were called to do it in community. Standing shoulder to shoulder.
Jesus did His earthly ministry in community. He travelled and taught and did His miracles with His disciples. When He sent His followers out to minister, He sent them in pairs. When we read of the early church, we read of people travelling together as they shared the message. And when they arrived somewhere they sought out the local believers to work alongside them.
The Old Testament is also filled with examples of people who served God shoulder to shoulder, rather than going it alone. Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, and others . . . they all had people who they served with, who they turned to for advice.
It doesn't mean any of these examples (except for Christ) did it perfectly or that there weren't problems that arose from this way of serving Christ. But, it was seen as so important, they would work through any problems that came up.
That means we need to do the same today. We need to be serving Christ shoulder to shoulder with others who are serving Christ. Serving Christ in our lives could be in some sort of ministry role or in our everyday lives as we work and interact with people around us.
Part of a Church
If we're going to serve Christ shoulder to shoulder then we have to be a part of a body of believers. We have to have a church that we're a part of. I know some of you may not like that I said that, but I believe it's true.
I'm not going to tell you exactly what a church should look like, but it needs to be more than just your friends who talk like you, think like you, act like you. We need friends, but a church should be more than that. Without interacting with people who are different than us, we'll miss out on many opportunities to grow and change in the ways God wants us to.
The church - the local church you are a part of - should be a group of people who don't all look, talk, act, or think alike who are seeking to serve Christ with their whole lives shoulder to shoulder.
I was looking for another verse when those words jumped off the page at me. I continued what I was doing, but these words wouldn't leave my mind. I had to come back to them and take a closer look.
Restoration to What it Should Have Been
Those are just the last handful of words in Zephaniah 3:9. The title in my Bible right above the verse is "Restoration of Israel's Remnant." Zephaniah was a prophet to the nation of Judah during the reign of King Josiah. In 2 Kings 22-23, we can see that Josiah was a king who followed God.
Zephaniah was prophesying under the reign of a king who bringing the people back in line with God's commands. He spoke about God restoring His people and what that would look like.
In Zephaniah's prophecy about the remnant being restored, he speaks of the people serving God shoulder to shoulder. All ages, all walks of life serving God together. The life of God's people was a communal life. They all lived together and did life together.
It's For Us Too
Serving God shoulder to shoulder . . . What a beautiful picture! A picture of how it should have always been. And a declaration of what God had in store.
That picture isn't just one for the remnant of Israel that would be restored, it's a picture that should be reality for those of us who serve Christ today. We should be serving Christ shoulder to shoulder. Working together.
We weren't called to do anything in the life of serving Christ by ourselves. We were called to do it in community. Standing shoulder to shoulder.
Jesus did His earthly ministry in community. He travelled and taught and did His miracles with His disciples. When He sent His followers out to minister, He sent them in pairs. When we read of the early church, we read of people travelling together as they shared the message. And when they arrived somewhere they sought out the local believers to work alongside them.
The Old Testament is also filled with examples of people who served God shoulder to shoulder, rather than going it alone. Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, and others . . . they all had people who they served with, who they turned to for advice.
It doesn't mean any of these examples (except for Christ) did it perfectly or that there weren't problems that arose from this way of serving Christ. But, it was seen as so important, they would work through any problems that came up.
That means we need to do the same today. We need to be serving Christ shoulder to shoulder with others who are serving Christ. Serving Christ in our lives could be in some sort of ministry role or in our everyday lives as we work and interact with people around us.
Part of a Church
If we're going to serve Christ shoulder to shoulder then we have to be a part of a body of believers. We have to have a church that we're a part of. I know some of you may not like that I said that, but I believe it's true.
I'm not going to tell you exactly what a church should look like, but it needs to be more than just your friends who talk like you, think like you, act like you. We need friends, but a church should be more than that. Without interacting with people who are different than us, we'll miss out on many opportunities to grow and change in the ways God wants us to.
The church - the local church you are a part of - should be a group of people who don't all look, talk, act, or think alike who are seeking to serve Christ with their whole lives shoulder to shoulder.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Rebuilding & Restoring
The last part of Isaiah 61:1-4 speaks of what we will be called and what our lives will be about if we allow Jesus to do the work of bringing freedom and healing in our lives.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of His splendor.
They will rebuild ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations. (vs. 3-4)
When we allow God to do what the whole passage we've been looking at for these posts, we become people who are pointing out how great God is in our lives. We show off God's greatness and power by the lives we live of walking out the freedom and healing He brings us.
God came to do this work in our lives so that He can do the restoring and rebuilding He wants to. God's desire is that every area our enemy has damaged and destroyed would be restored and rebuilt to the glory of God.
Are there areas of your life where you need to allow God to begin to restore what has been stolen by our enemy?
Are there areas of your life where you need to allow God to begin to rebuild what has been damaged and left in ruins by the lies of our enemy?
Will you allow God into those areas, and listen to His truth, so He can begin to do that work in your life?
You can find the previous posts in this series here:
Message of Freedom
Broken-hearted Captives Freed
The Year of the Lord's Favour
The Better Way
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of His splendor.
They will rebuild ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations. (vs. 3-4)
When we allow God to do what the whole passage we've been looking at for these posts, we become people who are pointing out how great God is in our lives. We show off God's greatness and power by the lives we live of walking out the freedom and healing He brings us.
God came to do this work in our lives so that He can do the restoring and rebuilding He wants to. God's desire is that every area our enemy has damaged and destroyed would be restored and rebuilt to the glory of God.
Are there areas of your life where you need to allow God to begin to restore what has been stolen by our enemy?
Are there areas of your life where you need to allow God to begin to rebuild what has been damaged and left in ruins by the lies of our enemy?
Will you allow God into those areas, and listen to His truth, so He can begin to do that work in your life?
You can find the previous posts in this series here:
Message of Freedom
Broken-hearted Captives Freed
The Year of the Lord's Favour
The Better Way
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