Tag: come

COME, FOLLOW ME

Can you imagine being one of Jesus’ first disciples and hearing Him say “Come, follow Me?”

Having Jesus, in the flesh, call you PERSONALLY to follow Him?
Can you imagine how special it must have been for those disciples whom Jesus looked deep into their eyes, piercing their soul too, and said, “Come, follow Me?”
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Photo credit by Sherman M. Leavitt under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND  2.0)
When Jesus called some of His first disciples, Jesus was like a  “stranger” calling them from afar, as they didn’t really know Jesus personally.
For other disciples, some had heard about Jesus from a friend or relative so they were somewhat familiar with Jesus.
And, for some disciples, Jesus knew them personally when He called them.

Isn’t that just like us?

There are some of us that don’t know about Jesus but slowly we realize something is missing and we feel a beckoning from a stranger named Jesus.
 Some of us hear about Jesus from a friend or relative and we hear Jesus calling us to heed His call in our life.
And, some of us know about Jesus and then realize we need a personal relationship with Him.

Can you imagine leaving mother, brother, your job and even home to follow Jesus?  But, that is what He called those early disciples to do!

Many of them left what they were doing immediately to follow Jesus!  They trusted that Jesus was in charge of their lives and would provide for them no matter what.
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Even though Jesus is in heaven with God, His Father, and not here in the flesh with us, Jesus still calls each of us and says, “Come, follow Me!”
 
In what ways has Jesus called you to “Come, follow Me” recently or even a long time ago?
Is your personal call from Jesus to “Come, follow Me” the most important thing in your life?
Do you follow Jesus’ lead to “Come, follow Me” daily….Following where He leads you?
Have you had to leave some of your family, your job or home to follow Jesus’ call to “Come, follow Me?”
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Maybe you haven’t heard the Lord’s call that drastically in your life, but I think reflecting on Jesus’ calling His very first disciples shows us how to follow Jesus’ call in our lives too….

–To make Him number one in our lives

–To not put anything or anyone above Him in our lives

–To follow His call daily in our lives

–To make us dependent on Him alone to provide for us.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed Him.  –Matthew 4:19-20 (NIV)
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”  –John 10:27  (NIV)

COME AWAY WITH ME

“…Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”  –Mark 6:31  (NIV)
I think Jesus’ command to His apostles back in His day also applies to our lives today.
Have you ever had the blessing of getting away from the busyness of life to just spend time being…being with the Lord and enjoying the many blessings that are all around?
…Maybe it was on your vacation where you experienced God’s presence in the beauty of the environment you were surrounded by.
 
 
…Maybe you had the privilege of attending some kind of retreat where you had a close encounter with God.
 
 
…Maybe you just took time to be alone with Him and experienced Him in the peacefulness and solitude.
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                                                 Canandaigua Lake, NY
I know this summer I was truly blessed to attend a three day retreat at a place with a beautiful lake setting where you could commune with the Lord in a reflective way. Spending time with like minded people is always a blessing too where you can share your faith with others. It provides opportunities for making new friends in the Lord and learning from other’s stories as well.
Taking time to get away from the routine of life and spend time with the Lord is a necessity especially in today’s fast paced, technological world that we live in.
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It is enlightening to read the many scripture passages that show how many times Jesus took time to spend alone with God, His Father, getting away from the crowds of people and even His disciples.
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.”  –Luke 6:12  (NIV)
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  –Luke 5:15
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.”  –Mark 1:35  (NIV)
“After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.”  –Matthew 14:23
I encourage you, if the opportunity ever presents itself to you, to attend a retreat or any get together that will strengthen your faith.  It will help you refocus and concentrate on the really important things in life once again.
Even taking time daily to go to your quiet corner and commune with the Lord will enrich your spirit and get you in tune with the Creator.
I think the most powerful story of Jesus taking time to pray with God was right before He was going to be handed over to be arrested before being put to death.  Jesus knew the most important thing He could do was pray to His Father.
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Photo credit by Waiting for the Word under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0)

” 36Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”  –Matthew 26:36-46  (NIV)

Father, may we grow daily to be like your Son, Jesus….taking time to pray continually to you and being one with you.  Amen.