Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from Daniel O’Donnell singing … Here I Am Lord … singing of of God’s call on our lives to follow Him and become His disciples.
Highlight Verse[s]: Mark 1:17 [NKJV] …
17 Then Jesus said to them [Simon and Andrew], “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
… Two lives with new purpose.
============
Highlight Context: Mark 1:16-22 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus called His Disciples to a new purpose in life … to be fishers of men.
===========
Reference Passage #1 … Proverbs 3:5-6 [NKJV] …
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
… Surrendering all to let Him give us His purpose and direction.
Reference Passage #2 … Luke 9: 23 [NKJV] …
23 … If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, … take up his cross daily, … and follow Me.
… Jesus' call to discipleship and divine purpose.
Reference Passage #3 … 2nd Corinthians 5:17 [NKJV] …
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
… Once called in Christ, we have newness of purpose.
My Journal for Today: … Our Daily Bread author, Bill Crowder, illustrates the transformation of purpose of discipleship in Christ with a story of the creation of “blue jeans.” He wrote: Jacob Davis was a tailor with a problem. It was the height of the Gold Rush in the 1800s American West and the gold miners’ work pants kept wearing out. His solution? Davis went to a local dry goods company owned by Levi Strauss, purchased tent cloth, and made work pants from that heavy, sturdy material—and blue jeans were born.
Today, denim jeans in a variety of forms (including Levi’s - attached logo) are among the most popular clothing items in the world, and all because tent material was given a new purpose.
This ODB illustration is really an apt word picture of the change which took place in the lives of the men whom Jesus called to be His original Disciples, … men like Simon, who became Peter, and his brother, Andrew, … two fishermen who became fishers of men (see highlight passage above).
These men were transformed completely by Jesus’ calling to a newness of purpose to serve Him as their Messiah and Lord. And when we are called to follow Christ as His disciples (Luke 9:23), we too find a new direction and purpose for life (Proverbs 3:5-6); and we take on newness of purpose (2nd Cor. 5:17) to serve our Lord.
What will we do today to work out God’s calling on our hearts and lives?
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … Lord, again today I serve You as a poster boy for 2Cor. 5:17. … 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment