Jesus says Follow Me

Daily Reading: Gen. 12-14 & Luke 5

Scripture: Genesis 12:1, Luke 5:11 & Luke 5:27-28

Observation:

God called Abraham, Simon Peter, James & John the sons of Zebedee and Matthew Levi to follow Him, and they all left and followed him.  Abraham left his family and his families country to go to a new unfamiliar country.  Peter, James and John had a fishing business together and they dropped it and followed Jesus.  Matthew was a lucrative tax collector and at hearing the invitation left it and followed Jesus.  Are we willing to leave behind our old life to follow Jesus?  Are we willing to let go of the worldly ties to spend time with God?  When we discover that Jesus is life, He is salvation, He is our all in all, are we willing to give him our all?

Application:

I have left things in my old life behind, but have I given up all for Jesus?  I still have ties to the world as I do live in the world, but am I willing to forsake all to be with Him?  I need to make sure that my first priority is to spend time with Jesus.  To hear what he has to say and be guided by Him and willing to follow where he leads even if it seems scary and foreign, and realize that He will be there with me and he will see me through it.

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to hear your call in my life that I will be ready to drop all and follow you where you may lead.  Lord, I desire a deep relationship with you, so that I can know you and know that you are there for me.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

Judge the Message NOT the Messenger

OK, now to catch up on my Jan. 4th reading.

Daily Reading:  Gen. 9-11 & Luke 4

Scripture:  Luke 4:24

Observation:

In Luke 4:24 Jesus was preaching in Nazareth his home town.  They had lived with Jesus, watching him grow from a boy to a man.  He was common to them and they had no high regard for him.  So when he came to them as Christ Jesus proclaiming his time had come to preach the gospel, they could not believe him for they saw him as Joseph's son not the Messiah.  Jesus explained that a prophet is not accepted in his own country.  Do we sometimes reject Godly wisdom brought to us through our family and friends and reject it because of who brought the message to us?

Application:

I want to be careful that I don't miss out on God's message to me, because I can't accept who is delivering the message.  God worked through many people throughout the Bible, and all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, yet they were doing as they were told and delivering a message to God's people and many times God's people rejected it.  We should be careful and weigh the message as to wether it came from God and is in harmony with God's word, and not judge the message by the messenger who brings it as they will never live up to the message because they are sinners just like us.

Prayer:

Lord, please help me to hear your voice in the message you send to me.  Help me to not judge the message by the messenger who brings it, but accept your word and receive it gladly that I may obey and follow You.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

Jan 3 - Walk With God

I was at church all day Saturday, Jan. 3 helping run the Audio/Visual booth and then attended the Loghry post-Christmas Party that evening, so I did not have the time I needed to sit down and read my lesson for January 3rd, so I am making up for it today.  Here goes:

Daily Reading: Gen 6-8 & Luke 3

Scripture: Gen 6:6, 8 & 9

Observation:

Verse 6 says that God repented that he had made man because man's wickedness had so pervaded him that his every thought was evil.  It says God was grieved.  It tore at his heart that something he had made perfect in every way, something he had enjoyed interacting with had become so corrupt and evil.  Except for one man who found grace in the eyes of God according to verse 7, and that was Noah.  In verse 8 it explains why he found grace in the eyes of God, because he was a just man and perfect in his generations and Noah WALKED WITH GOD.  Noah had a relationship with God.  He loved God.  He spent time with God.  He got to know God.  He beheld and was changed by God.  And therefore he was found to be perfect and just and one deserving of God's grace.  Apparently Noah had influenced his family has well, as God invited Noah's wife, his sons and his son's wives to join him on the ark to be saved.  Noah was a man of integrity, honor and uprightness, because he walked with God.  You might say he was mentored by the best teacher on the subject, but it's more than that he was molded, shaped and changed to be more like God.

Application:

God is Righteous.  God is Truth.  God is Love.  If I want to attain truth, love and righteousness, I need to Walk with God on a daily basis, no an hourly basis, no minute by minute, no I need to walk with God on a continual basis.  I need to draw close to God and not let go.  I need to fall so in love with God that He becomes my all in all.

Prayer:

Dear Father, as I embark on this life journey with You, may it blossom into a deeper and deeper relationship with You.  May I find more and more ways to fall in love with You, to trust in You, to rely upon You, to surrender my selfish motives to You.  Help me, Lord, to continually walk with You, so that You can change me into that perfect creation You desired for me to be originally.  Please, forgive me of my sins, my selfish motives, my rebellion toward.  Lord I pray by the blood of Jesus, Amen!