JANUARY 23

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Romans 10:17

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Luke 5:11

“So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

Matthew 16:24-28

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Luke 21:4

“for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

John 6:26

“Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

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This month we’re reading  the new devotional   “Becoming New”,  written by  Warren W. Wiersbe and compiled by his grandson.  Pastor Wiersbe was the President of Moody Bible Institute before the current President, Erwin Lutzer.

QUALIFYING THE CALLED

Read Matthew 4:18-25 and Luke 5:1-11

After defeating Satan, our Lord began to form a group of disciples who could live with Him, learn from Him, be given authority to serve with Him, and one day provide leadership for the church.  We should ask ourselves honestly, “If I had been there, would Jesus have chosen me?”

AM I A BELIEVER?

When Jesus returned from the wilderness, John pointed Him out to the crowds, and this ultimately led to Peter, Andrew, James, and John meeting Jesus.  The next day, Philip and Nathanael joined their ranks (John 1:35-51).  There were many people in the crowds that followed Jesus who were not true believers but only spectators watching a celebrity.  These six men began as believers, then became disciples, and then became apostles (“those send with authority”) But it all begins with SAVING FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST.

AM I A WORKER?  In Scripture, God never calls the idle; He only calls those who are hard at work.  The two sets of brothers – Peter and Andrew, James and John – returned to Capernaum to continue their fishing business, and it was there that Jesus called them to become full-time disciples.  It’s possible that seven of the twelve disciples were fishermen (John 21:1-3).  If fishermen are to succeed, they must work hard, work together, and know how to obey orders.

They must also have the courage to face danger and the perseverance to stay with the job until it’s completed.  If they fail, they don’t quit but get ready to go fishing again. (Matthew 4:21-22 and Luke 5:5).  Hopefully it’s obvious that these are actually the characteristics of the faithful follower of Jesus!  God calls people who know their calling and stay with it, no matter the cost.

DO I EXERCISE FAITH?  In the Luke 5 narrative, we see Jesus taking steps to prepare the men for His call.  First, He borrowed Peter’s boat and used it for the pulpit as He taught the crowds on the shore, but the fishermen also heard His Word.  That’s where our faith comes from! (Romans 10:17)  Then He commanded Peter to go to the deeper water, and this disturbed Peter, who all his life had caught fish at night in the shallow water, not in the daytime in the deeper water.  He and his partners obeyed the Lord, and their nets were filled.  Transformers need OBEDIENT FAITH to follow Jesus and do what He commands.

  For years, the men had caught living fish that died.  Now they would catch “dead fish” (lost sinners) THAT WOULD LIVE!

HAVE I GIVEN JESUS MY ALL?  The first disciples gave up everything to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11) and were certainly not “me first” disciples (Matthew 8:18-22).  At that time, they had no idea what it would cost to live with Jesus and for Jesus, but they would find out soon (Matthew 16:17-28)  during the last week of His ministry, Jesus visited the temple and exalted an unlikely person, a poor widow who gave God “all the living that she had”  (Luke 21:4)  How much do we give?

DO I HAVE COMPASSION FOR OTHERS?  Large crowds of needy people followed Jesus, whose great compassion moved Him to meet their needs.  It took time for the apostles to learn compassion.  They tried to shield Him from the parents who brought children for His blessing in Mark 10:13-16 and from the mother pleading for help in Matthew 15:21-28.  They wanted to dismiss the hungry crowd following Him in Luke 9:10-17.  But they finally learned.  “I’ll give you what I have,” Peter later told a lame beggar and then healed the man in Acts 3:6.

Our encouragement rises to the top as we ask ourselves these questions:  the disciples grew in their faith, dependence, and compassion for others the more they followed Jesus.  They weren’t called because they were suited for apostleship.  They were called so they might be transformed.

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