Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please take the time to take in the poignant song, sung by my friend, Clay Crosse and two of his friends, Bob Carlisle and BeBe Winans, singing I Will Follow Christ. declaring the way all Christians should follow as disciples of the Lord Jesus
Highlight Passage - NKJV Matthew 4: 20-21 … The fishermen dropped all to follow this man whom Andrew believed was the Messiah …
19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
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Highlight Context #1 - Matthew 4: 18-22 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … Jesus calls for the fishermen to come and follow Him
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Highlight Context #2 - Mark 1: 16-20 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … The fishermen followed Jesus in faith and the prevenient calling of God’s Spirit
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Highlight Context #3 - Luke 5: 1-11 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … The fishermen were astonished by Jesus command of the catch of fish; and when He called them, they followed Him
Reference Passage #1 … Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] … I think any reader here will know this one …
23 The Jesus said to them all (Jesus’ followers) … “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself; and let him take up his cross daily, and follow Me. … "
Reference Passage #2 … Matthew 28: 18-20 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK … Jesus’ calling for my life and for the lives of ALL His Disciples
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Joe Stowell, reminded me of a scene I had witnessed at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem a few years ago. Like Stowell apparently witnessed, I saw small groups of younger, orthodox Jewish men following an older man, likely their Rabbi; and they mimicked everything the Rabbi did or said. These younger men are called, according to Stowell, “FOLLOWERS,” which is a humbling and honored position in Hasidic Judaism, having been called by their Rabbi to follow his lead in the traditions of the orthodox Jewish faith.
And then Stowell made a connection to the historical Christian scenario of the most preeminent Rabbi in history, Jesus, when He walked a beach on the shores of the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum and called four of those who would become His innermost Disciples (see the three scenes linked above as highlight passages). The attached photo depicts that time when Jesus called out two sets of brothers, James and John, as well as Andrew and Simon Peter, to lay down their nets and follow Him; … and they did? And as they say, THE REST IS HIS-STORY.
Today’s ODB devotional, calls out to me to realize I’m one of those called ones, a FOLLOWER of Christ, … one who’s been beckoned to become one of His disciples. And like the song to which I’ve linked readers above, I have made the declaration that “I Will Follow Christ.” And prayerfully, if you know me, you have observed that I’m have taken this calling onto the front lines of daily Spirit-led warfare, following my Lord into battle against many of the scourges and devices of God’s arch enemy, Satan.
I am called by my Lord’s Great Commission (see Matthew 28: 19-20 linked above) as I pray are you.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, You’ve called; and it is You I follow. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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