datethewordtest

Tag: Jan 20

  • To Faithfully Follow You Must Forsake

    Mark 1:20 “And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.”

    In Mark 1:16 we find Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee and He sees Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Mark 1:17 reveals the life-changing invitation as Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” We see their response in verse 18 as they immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Then in verse 19, we see the search for more disciples continues “When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets And immediately He called them.”  Verse 20b is their response as “They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.”

    They LEFT.  The call to FOLLOW comes with a call to LEAVE.  Just as Simon (Peter) and Andrew LEFT James and John LEFT their fishing business and, AND, they left their father.  While it reads quickly this was a huge decision.  To answer the call to follow meant they had to leave, yes, forsake what they had been doing and who they had been with.  To be a faithful follower of Jesus meant they had to forsake all.

    If you are to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus, then Jesus will be first.  That means first above family and friends and occupation.  It does not mean you don’t have family, friends, and occupation.  It means He is first in family, first with friends, and first with wherever you work.   To follow Jesus means He is first.  

    It appears that Zebedee released his sons as well as supported his sons in LEAVING him to follow Jesus. What an example he is to all of us.

    Continue Strong as a fully devoted follower of Jesus,
    And Remember to Date the Word  

  • A Remarkable Response

    Job 1:20 “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.” 

    The Book of Job opens with a description of a man who is doing life right.  Life is great with a wonderful family.  His health is good.  His work is productive and profitable.  He is known for being a God-fearing man.  For a person who has never read Job, the first 5 verses seem almost too good to be true as Job has it all.  And then comes verse 6 which starts with “now there was a day….”  For those of you who have read Job 1, you know what follows.  The man who had it all will lose it all and lose it all in a very short amount of time.  I encourage you to read Job 1 and 2.

    Job’s wonderful life becomes the worst life ever. 

    How will he react? What will be his response to pain, loss, and despair?  How will he handle the grief and suffering?  The biggest question will be how he will respond to God, whom he has been faithfully worshipping.  Will he worship God on his worst day?  

    The answer to the last question is Job 1;20.  It is one of the rawest verses in the Bible where we read of man being so transparent and real with what is happening to him.  The writer says Job worshipped God.  Yes, but that is at the end of the verse.   

    Notice first his response is to mourn, seen through the actions of tearing his robe and shaving his head.  There was lament.  Lamenting is so human.  His actions are symbolic of pouring out pain.  Job was hurting.  Job was grieving.   

    Moving slowly through Job 1:20 Job mourned. Job lamented.  And he worshipped! He fell to the ground and worshipped.  Satan was sure Job would not worship God if he lost everything precious to him.  Satan was sure Job only worshiped God because of what God did for him.

    On his worst day, Job worshiped.  God was still worthy of praise regardless of his earthly situation.  

    How do you respond when tragedy hits a very close family member?  How do you respond to financial ruin in a matter of hours?   Through the centuries Job has been the example of responding to God when you experience your worst day ever.  

    Now I must ask myself as well as you, the reader, how do I (you) respond to God when the worst has happened? Do we turn on God? Do we turn away from God? Or do we turn to God? 

    Do we go to war against God?  Or do we worship God? 

    May we learn and live like Job as we face life difficulties that come in all shapes and sizes!  May we learn from Job that our God is worthy of worship because of who He is.  

    Continue Strong worshiping Him,
    And remember to DATE the Word