Pursuing Discipleship 1/5/2017

"Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  And He said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him."  Matthew 4:18-20

Happy New Year!  It is my hope, trust and prayer that you and yours will have a blessed and prosperous 2017.  Considering the year ahead, my thoughts have recently turned to what my spiritual focus will be.  After much thought and prayer, the concept of discipleship rose to the surface.

There is no doubt we have all heard the word "disciple" though many may not be exactly sure of its meaning.  Technically, it is a pupil, student or learner.  An examination of the Scriptures reveals a more involved definition than that, however.  For our Christian purposes, a disciple of Jesus is a person who has heard and responded to his gospel by learning and living his teachings and encouraging others to do likewise.  The verbs have been emphasized because being a disciple of Christ is not a passive activity but involves doing.

Imagine being a fishermen (or any other type of worker for that matter) minding your own business when a man walks by and invites you to follow him with the promise of teaching you to be a better you while equipping you to save the lives of others.  Would you answer the call?  If so, why?  If not, why not?  Of course this is not just any man.  The fishermen had previously met him and were convinced that he was the much awaited Messiah, the literal Son of God.  Given the opportunity to follow him and learn from him, they dropped what they were doing and immediately accepted his invitation.

Beloved, the same invitation is extended to us today.  If you are reading this, like as not, you have met Jesus.  You know him.  The question we must all ask ourselves is, have we truly accepted his invitation and are we truly following him?  If we think the answer is yes, are we following him in a way that helps us fulfill the purpose of "learning and living his teachings and encouraging others to do likewise?"  In those days, true disciples lived with their Rabbi or Master Teacher, learned what he taught, followed him wherever he went and did as he did and directed them to do.  Is that a description of your Christian walk?

Throughout this year we will consider discipleship in general, and what it means as well as how to accomplish it, specifically.  It is my hope that by year's end, we will all have both a better understanding and an improved walked as we follow our Savior as true disciples.

Pursuing discipleship,

Lee

Go Fish 1/8/2016

“Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  And He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.”  Matthew 4:18-20

Almost immediately after Jesus formally began his ministry, he called his first followers into service.  There was already an existing acquaintance between them (John 1:35-42) but at that time the work of the Lord had not yet begun in earnest.  There was a period of time when the opportunity was given to get to know him and to begin to understand who he is.  When the time came to execute on his purpose for coming to earth, a precedent worthy of note was set.

The first four of the called were employed in the fishing trade.  As Jesus would go on to do almost exclusively, he communicated a heavenly message to them in earthly terms with which they could easily identify.  The first item was an invitation to follow him.  In the rabbinical tradition, the master teacher took on students (disciples if you will) who lived with him and learned by both direct instruction and direct observation.  You will note that in the Gospels, there was rarely a time when at least some of the apostles were not with him.  Secondly, Jesus informed them that there was work for them to do and he analogized it in a way that resonated deeply with them.  The message was that as you catch fish for a living, you will now capture souls for life.

Beloved, it is both a simple and common thing to claim acquaintance with Jesus.  We all have stories of how and where we met him, who introduced us to him and what the circumstances were at the time.  Some of us may even claim to be followers in that we attend worship on Sundays, attend bible study mid-week and Sunday morning and generally try to observe his commands.  The issue most of us have is that we come just short of being actual disciples.  This is seen in that we do not do the very first thing we were called to do as his followers and follow one of the very last instructions that he gave, which he himself demonstrated throughout his ministry.  We are not actively engaged in seeking and saving the lost.

Imagine being a doctor who studied under a research physician who discovered the cure for cancer.  Imagine that research physician instructing his charge to offer it to all mankind that the disease may once and for all be eradicated.  Imagine the teacher and mentor further wisely advising his student that there would be plenty who would be skeptical and would not accept the cure, perhaps even going so far as to become antagonistic and accusatory about what they believe to be false hope.  Now imagine the student taking the cure for himself and storing the formula away in a safe where it stays.  Finally, imagine people all over the world continuing to die from cancer.

We have been given both a great gift and a great responsibility.  Jesus has saved us from the ultimate death and he has commanded us to do all we can to save others (Matthew 18:19-20).  We know something about fishing.  Let us apply that skill in a way that benefits those in critical need as it was once applied to us.

Practically speaking,

Lee