October 1, 2010

READ: Mark 3:13-19

[Jesus] appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach. —Mark 3:14

Because I am not a “fix it” kind of guy, I had to call a friend who is a great handyman to make some repairs in my home recently. He came over, and I gave him my list. But to my surprise, he told me I would be doing the repairs myself! He modeled for me how to do it, instructed me along the way, and stayed with me. I followed his example and successfully made the repairs. This modeling seems close to what Jesus did when He called His first disciples.

When Jesus called those men to follow Him, He wanted them to be with Him and to teach the good news of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14,39; 6:12). The first job would require being under the immediate super-vision of Jesus—learning His words and interpretation of the Scriptures and watching His behavior. For the second task, Jesus sent them out to preach (Mark 3:14-15)—saying what He said and doing what He did. As they carried out these tasks, they were to be dependent on Jesus.

Today, Jesus is still calling His followers to this simple, yet powerful process of discipleship—being with Him, following His instructions, and living His example. Are you one who is dependent on Him as you’re following Him today? —Marvin Williams

Source: Our Daily Bread

February 5, 2010

READ: Ephesians 4:11-16

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. —Psalm 1:3

In the quietness of my final years I plan to watch a tree grow—a birch tree I planted as a tiny sapling over 30 years ago. It stands now in mature splendor, just outside our picture window—beautiful in every season of the year.

So it is with our spiritual endeavors: We may have planted, watered, and fussed over our “saplings” (those we’ve mentored) for a time, but only God can make a “tree.”

Occasionally I hear from those I ministered to years ago, and discover to my delight that they have grown to maturity and have been greatly used of God—with no help from me. It’s a gentle reminder that I plant and water for a while, and help others “grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Eph. 4:15). But only God “gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

German theologian Helmut Thielicke writes, “The man who doesn’t know how to let go, who is a stranger to quiet, confident joy in Him who carries out His purposes without us (or also through us or in spite of us), in Him who makes the trees grow . . . that man will become nothing but a miserable creature in his old age.”

So, at my age, I may yet tend a sapling or two, but mostly I will let go and watch them grow.  — David H. Roper

Source: Our Daily Bread

February 3, 2010

READ: James 1:21-25

Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. —James 1:22

A man who has been my mentor and friend for many years often says that his goal in studying the Bible is always personal application. I appreciate his emphasis on putting learning into practice, because it’s too easy for those of us who study, discuss, teach, and write about the Bible to take a merely intellectual approach to the Word.

Oswald Chambers said: “There is a danger with the children of God of getting too familiar with sublime things. We talk so much about these wonderful realities, and forget that we have to exhibit them in our lives. It is perilously possible to mistake the exposition of the truth for the truth; to run away with the idea that because we are able to expound these things, we are living them too.”

James reminds us that the person “who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (1:25). The key issue is not what is preached or written, but what is done.

When I study God’s Word, my first question should not be, “What am I going to say about this?” but “What am I going to do about this?”  — David C. McCasland

Source: Our Daily Bread

August 7, 2009

READ: Mark 8:34-38

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. —John 12:26

When I was in college, my co-worker Bud, a fork-truck driver, often enriched my life with his pithy wisdom. We were eating lunch one day, sitting on the back of his fork truck, when I announced that I was transferring to another school.

“Why?” he asked.

“All my friends are transferring,” I answered.

Bud chewed his sandwich for a moment and then replied quietly and with subtle irony, “I guess that’s one way to pick a school.”

His words struck me with rare force. Of course, I thought. But is this the only way to choose a school? Will I follow my friends for the rest of my days, or will I follow Jesus? Will I seek His face and His will and go where He wants me to go?

Twenty-five times in the New Testament, Jesus said to His disciples, “Follow Me.” In Mark 8:34, He said, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” No matter what others do or what direction their lives may take, we must do what He asks us to do.

The words of an old song come to mind: “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness; all I have to do is follow!”  — David H. Roper

Source: Our Daily Bread

June 13, 2009

READ: John 14:1-6

Jesus said . . . , “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” —John 14:6

The ancient Romans were known for their roads, which crisscrossed their empire with wide, heavily traveled highways. It’s what Jesus’ audience would have pictured when He claimed, “I am the way” in John 14:6.

While this verse indicates that He is the way to heaven, there’s really more to His statement. Cutting through the underbrush of the dense jungle of our world, Jesus is our trail-guide who makes a new way for us to live. While many follow the way of the world by loving their friends and hating their enemies, Jesus carves out a new way: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you” (Matt. 5:44). It’s easy to judge and criticize others, but Jesus the Way-maker says to take the plank out of our own eye first (7:3-4). And He cuts a path for us to live with generosity instead of greed (Luke 12:13-34).

When Jesus said “I am the way,” He was calling us to leave the old ways that lead to destruction and to follow Him in His new way for us to live. In fact, the word follow (Mark 8:34) literally means, “to be found in the way” with Him. You and I can make the choice to travel the familiar and ultimately destructive ways, or we can follow Him and be found in the way with the One who is the way!  — Joe Stowell

Source: Our Daily Bread

May 14, 2009

READ: Matthew 4:18-22

[Jesus] said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” —Matthew 4:19

Every year, high-school seniors apply to their favorite universities and then watch the mailbox for the letter announcing their acceptance.

It was different for teens in New Testament times. Jewish boys would often attend rabbinical schools until age 13. Then only the best and brightest would be chosen to “follow” the local rabbi. This small, select group of disciples would go where he went and eat what he ate—modeling their lives after the rabbi. Those who didn’t make the cut would pick up a trade like carpentry, sheep-herding, or fishing.

Guys like Simon, Andrew, James, and John hadn’t made the cut. So instead of following the local rabbi, they were down by the docks, knee-deep in the family business. It’s interesting that Jesus sought out the men the local rabbi had rejected. Instead of targeting the best and brightest, Jesus offered His invitation, “Follow Me,” to ordinary run-of-the-mill fishermen. What an honor! They would become followers of the ultimate Rabbi.

Jesus extends the same honor to you and me—not because we are the best or brightest, but because He needs ordinary people like us to model His life and to lovingly rescue people on His behalf. So, follow Him and let Him make something of your life!  — Joe Stowell

Source: Our Daily Bread