September 29 - Mark 1:14-15 | Matthew 4:12-17 | Luke 3:23 | John 4:46-54 | Luke 4:16-30 | Mark 1:16-20 | Matthew 4:18-22 | Mark 1:21-28 | Luke 4:31-37 | Mark 1:29-34 | Matthew 8:14-17 | Luke 4:38-41 | Mark 1:35-39 | Luke 4:42-44 | Matthew 4:23-25

Good morning everyone,

Good grief, when you look at all that scripture changes at the top of the page it seems a bit daunting, but it really isn’t. While it is a lot of back and forth, it is also super easy to follow. We begin with Jesus going to Galilee, after John was put into prison, to proclaim the good news of God. His message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

It was Galilee where Jesus recruited his first disciples. While walking  beside the sea Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting a net and He encouraged them to follow him that they could fish for men. A bit farther down the beach He saw James and John in a boat preparing, mending their nets and we’re told with out delay Jesus called to them and they left their dad there with the hired help and followed Jesus. Seven of the twelve men Jesus called to be disciples were fishermen, men who knew a little something about patience and perseverance. I look at those two “P” words and chuckle thinking I am still a work in progress :-)

What we see in the disciples is a picture of what turning from an old life and living a new life looks like, that it isn’t always an easy transition, it can involve turning from the security of family, comforts and basically what has served to define us. The fact that Zebedee, the father to James and John, had servants tells us that these boys, though mending nets, were from a family with money. Choosing to follow Jesus meant leaving the old life behind, in 2 Corinthians we read, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Choosing Jesus means getting out of our comfort zone. We're not to be just sitting in church on Sundays but helping in our churches. We are to be out in the community reaching to the lost and the needy. We're to be telling others about the Savior! It's a life of evangelism and sacrifice of self. Believe me, I am looking in the mirror when I say that, I can so easily justify not doing more in my church with, “I did nursery for ten years, I write for the Lord each morning, I this, I that, maybe next year I will ____,” Perhaps you do the same thing too, I don’t know, but I do know it is a common problem with a lot of churches. 

The Bible tells us to "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” it also tells us that “we are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” I would encourage us all go sign up to help some where in the body of our church and also to get out into the neighborhood with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” because I know we all long to hear one day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..