What would you say if a man came up to
you in the mall, or pulled up beside you in his car at a light or called you on
the phone and said come follow me, you will be part of my group of 12. You must
leave all you have and follow me. Would you do it? 12 men did just that and
they are known as the disciples.
Jesus
Calls His First Disciples
Mathew
4:18 to 22 NIV
As
Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers; Simon called
Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they
were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish
for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Going
on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother
John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets.
Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and
followed him.
Later
on in Mathew Jesus said what is known as the great commission;
Mathew
28:16-20 NIV
Then
the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them
to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came
to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.”
What
am I doing with this commission today, am I a Christian example each day to my
family, friends, co-workers and all those that I interact with.
Do
I love my neighbours as myself?
John
13:34-35 NIV“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
That’s pretty strong language, as I love you, so you
must love one another.
We are challenged similarly in Phillipians 2 (NIV)
Therefore if
you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from
his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and
compassion, then
make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in
spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the
interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same
mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being
found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and
every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,to the glory of God the Father.
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