They Left their Nets and Followed Him
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him (Matt. 4:20 KJV)
Jesus, while walking by the sea of Galilee spotted two fishermen, one called Peter and his brother Simon. He said to them “follow Me.” The scripture tells us they left their lefts immediately and followed him. This is remarkable, that these men will quickly abandon their business to follow a Teacher they knew nothing about.
The two words “left” and “follow” are foundational to our Christian journey. Just as Jesus called Peter and Andrew, He has called us by the Gospel. There are things we will have to leave behind to follow Him. For Peter and his brother, the call of God in their lives required them to abandon their business, because they had to be in full-time ministry with Jesus. There are some of us today who will have to leave everything including any businesses or jobs for the call of God. But for the majority of us, this will not be the case.
Whether you are a minister or not, you will have to leave some things if you have to follow Jesus. One of those things we will leave behind is our old sinful way of life. You cannot follow Him when you have not yet left the old life behind. Jesus said new wine cannot be put into old wine bottles. A horrible thing happens today when many new Christians coming to the Lord bring in with them their old lifestyle and try to blend it with the way of the Lord to form a hybrid. It does not work that way. If you want to enjoy the new, you have to let go of the old as you receive Jesus as your LORD and Master.
MEDITATE
What do you think might have made these disciples to follow Jesus even without knowing Him personally?
APPLY THE WORD
Christianity will cost us something. It will cost all of us the pleasure of sin. There are things that are pleasurable but sinful that you will have to give up for the Lord. Until those things are left behind, we cannot take any steps forward. Know that there is nothing you will leave behind that is worth a millionth of the wonders God has for you. So take the step, make the move and follow Him!
PRAY
Ask the Spirit to help you as He influenced these disciples to be willing to follow the Master.
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