Today is Comment Day! Use this day as a chance to encourage the bloggers that you follow by reading as many blogs as you can, and leaving a comment on every post that you read! You are welcome to begin here. :) For a list of blogs (from a previous Comment Day post) that I enjoy, click here!
Matthew 4:18-22 (The Message)
Walking along the beach of Lake Galilee, Jesus saw two brothers: Simon (later called Peter) and Andrew. They were fishing, throwing their nets into the lake. It was their regular work. Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catch men and women instead of perch and bass." They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed.
A short distance down the beach they came upon another pair of brothers, James and John, Zebedee's sons. These two were sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their fishnets. Jesus made the same offer to them, and they were just as quick to follow, abandoning boat and father.
Questions:
1) What have you "dropped" from your life in order to follow Jesus?
2) James and John left everything, including their father, to go with Jesus. They were truly living life WIDE OPEN. What is keeping you from being a fully devoted follower of Christ? Will you follow where He leads without questioning where you are going?
3) Are you a "new kind of fisherman?" Who are the people in your life that you need to bring to Jesus?
4) If you were on trial for being a follower of Christ, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Or is "I go to church" the best you can offer? Remember, going to church doesn't make you a Christ-follower any more than standing in a garage makes you a car...
Have a blessed day. Here's hoping March comes in like a lamb for us all! And please, encourage your local bloggers. Be a part of Comment Day!
Because of Jesus,
Those are some good words Carl.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer. Appreciate you so much!
DeleteGreat post, Carl! Good questions. I know that I have given up a lot of people to follow Jesus. People that used to be friends now find me strange, or stange-ER, and don't like to be around me any more. I know that God has given me so much more than I have given up though for making the choice to follow Him.
ReplyDeleteSo true Christie. God gives us so much more than we give up, and so much more than we deserve!
DeleteI SAW YOU ON NSM BLOG WHICH I LOVE TO READ. SHE'S ONE GREAT MON AND SOME OF HER STORIES JUST MAKE ME BENT IN LAUGHTER. BEING A SENIOR SOMETIME KID STORIES BRING BACK STORIES OF OWN. AMY HAS A WAY OF WRITING THAT MAKES US ALL PART OF HER FAMILY. ANYWAY I THOUGHT I'D CHECK YOU OUT AND SEE WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER. ANOTHER THING I ALWAY TYPE IN LARGE LETTERS ONLY BECAUSE I CAN. NOT MAD AT ANY THING. JUST EYES. 70'S IS THE PITS FOR HEALTH ISSUES. I OVER COME BY LAUGHTER. HAVE A REPLY COMMENT DAY. JUST A GRANDMOTHER
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Thanks for stopping by Granny! Glad you enjoyed. And you ar so right...Amy is a blessing!
DeleteI blogged saying that I had dealt with my issues of disbelief over God's goodness for me. Then I come here and read this, especially number 2, and that same problem creeps up again. It will never fully go away on this side of heaven. I know that, but I was hoping to go one day without it popping up! Thank you for your questions. They really did make me think and analyze myself.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Andrea. We are human. WE are weak and frail. Sometimes I laugh at myself, because the only way we are strong enough to really follow Jesus is when we REALLY follow Jesus. It is not simple, and it does not go away. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteIs it sad to say I don't know that I've dropped anything? Especially having grown up in church I've always lived as a Christian. I never felt the need to be rebellious yet it's just in the past few years that my faith has become my own.
ReplyDeleteNot sad at all, Amy. We all grow in different ways. If there was one correct blueprint, I would have written that book and all of us would be relaxing on a beach somewhere! :) God speaks to us as individuals.
ReplyDeleteGreat questions, Carl. You and I do devos very similarly. I find that comforting! Keep it up!
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