Do Not Love the World

Bible:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. I John 2:15-17 ESV

[Jesus said:] “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25 ESV

Reflection:

Boris and Gleb were brothers, sons of Prince Vladimir in Russia long ago. They became Christians along with their father, but their older brother Svyatopolk did not. When Prince Vladimir died, his throne went to his oldest son, but Boris and Gleb were also supposed to have territories to rule. However, Prince Svyatopolk wanted to have the throne to himself and not share at all with his brothers, so he plotted to kill both of them. First he sent soldiers after Boris. Boris knew what was going to happen, but he refused to fight his brother. He sent his own soldiers away and spent the night in prayer before the prince’s soldiers came to murder him. After Boris was killed, Svyatopolk also sent soldiers after Gleb. Like Boris, Gleb refused to fight with Prince Svyatopolk, but instead allowed himself to be murdered. The Russian church still honors the sacrifices Boris and Gleb made. They didn’t desire glory and power in this world, but instead followed Jesus and what they believed Jesus wanted them to do–to not hate or kill their brother or start a war over the throne.

John wrote that we also should not love the world and the things of this world. There are many good things in this world that God made for us to enjoy, but that isn’t what John is talking about. John warns us not to love things that fill us with pride or selfishness or anything that turns us away from following Jesus or doing what he wants us to do. The things of this world will disappear very soon, when the Lord returns in judgment and brings everything that causes sin to come to an end. It is foolish to think of the things of this world as important when they will be gone before we know it. Instead, we should follow God’s will, knowing that what he wants will last forever.

The best way to know what God wants is to look at what he has done for us in Jesus. Jesus came into this world because he loves us so much, and he wanted to take away all our sins and bring us back to our Heavenly Father and to give us life forever. He died on the cross to defeat sin and death and everything that is evil, and because of this we have new life with him. We look forward to the day when he returns and makes everything new, and we focus our lives, not on the evil of this world, but instead on the joy of the world to come.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for rescuing us from the evil of this world. Help us to follow you, even when it is difficult, and to look forward to the new world you will soon bring. Amen.

Source:

http://orthochristian.com/95958.html

Forgiveness and New Life

Bible:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. I John 2:1-6 ESV

[Jesus said:]“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:9-11 ESV

Reflection:

There’s a story, probably true, that the apostle John was visiting the church in Smyrna when he saw a handsome, high-spirited boy, and he told the bishop of the church to take care of this boy and to bring him up as a Christian. The bishop took the boy into his home and raised him and taught him about Jesus, but when the boy grew into a man he ran away and joined a gang of bandits that had a hideout in the mountains. When the apostle John returned some years later he asked about the boy, and the bishop told him the sad news. John went up into the mountains looking for this young man. When he found him, the young man was so ashamed that he tried to run away, but John ran after him, even though he was a very old man. He called out, “Why are you running away from me, child–from your own father, unarmed and old?” John said that he was willing to die for this young man, and begged him to believe in Jesus again. The young man threw down his weapons and cried, and John assured him of God’s forgiveness and brought him home to the church.

John wrote a letter to encourage Christians to walk in the light of God’s commandments and to turn away from sin. John said that anyone who claims to know God but doesn’t obey God’s word is really a liar. If we love God, we will live our lives in the ways that please God and not go our own sinful ways. The love of God is made perfect in us when we live in his love and follow him every day, walking in the way that Jesus did.

The truth is that we can never follow Jesus perfectly, though, and John wrote comforting news for us. He said that if anyone sins, we have someone who will plead for us with our Heavenly Father, Jesus. God will always hear our prayers for forgiveness because of what Jesus has done for us. John assured people who sin that there is forgiveness for even the worst of sins, just as there was forgiveness for the young bandit who had turned away from his life in the Lord. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for all our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. God will always forgive our sins because of Jesus, and he sends us his Holy Spirit to help us live our lives in loving obedience to him.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for always forgiving our sins for Jesus’ sake. Help us to live our lives in obedience to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Source:

Maier, Paul L., translator Eusebius: the church history Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 2007, pp. 97-99.

Kicking against the Goads

Bible:

[Paul said:] “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” Acts 26:9-18 ESV

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone. Isaiah 9:2 ESV

Reflection:

At the time that the Bible was written, farmers often used oxen to plow their fields. An ox, or maybe two of them yoked together, would pull the plow back and forth and make small ditches, called furrows, in a farmer’s field, and then the farmer could plant his seeds in the furrows. Sometimes an ox might get stubborn and not want to go the same way the farmer wanted it to go, and when that happened the farmer would use something called a goad to keep the ox moving in the right direction. A goad was a long stick made out of oak or another strong wood, with a sharp, pointed end. A prick from the farmer’s goad would be enough to keep the ox doing its work of plowing long, straight furrows in the field.

Paul continued to tell his story to the governor Festus and King Agrippa, and he talked about how he had fought against Jesus and everyone who followed him. Paul thought he was doing God’s work by hurting and killing people who believed in Jesus, but then Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul learned that while he thought he was doing God’s work, he was actually fighting against God the way a stubborn ox might fight the farmer. Jesus said to Paul that it was hurting him to keep kicking against the goads. He called Paul to turn around and follow him rather than fight against him, and told Paul he would have the privilege and joy of turning many people around out of the darkness of sin into the light of God. People who heard Paul’s message would be freed of Satan’s power and know the forgiveness of sins that Jesus had won for them on the cross.

We all have fought against God and tried to go our own way, but Jesus came to bring us out of our sin and rebellion and to help us follow him. He died on the cross for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could come out of Satan’s darkness into his wonderful light. Following Jesus turns our whole life around, and he gives us the joy of serving him in this dark world, and sharing his love with others who need to know what he has done for them.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for turning us around and calling us into your light. Please forgive us when we fight against you and help us to follow you every day. Amen.

Source:

https://www.bible-history.com/isbe/G/GOAD/

Freed from Sin

Bible:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4 ESV

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed John 8:31-36 ESV

Reflection:

Harriet Tubman was a slave in the United States who escaped and found freedom, and she became a leader in the underground railroad, helping other slaves escape. Even though it was very risky for her, she returned to the American South 19 times in ten years and helped over 300 slaves escape to freedom, one time to help her own parents escape, even though they were 70 years old at the time. Sometimes people who were escaping slavery would become afraid, or tired of the dangerous journey. They sometimes even wanted to go back, which would have been terrible for them and would have put other escaping slaves in serious danger. Harriet Tubman carried a gun, which she sometimes used to threaten people who were escaping to keep on with their journey. “You’ll be free or die!” she would say.

Paul didn’t try to threaten people with a gun not to turn back to a life of slavery to sin, but he did write to the Romans that it was foolish and wrong for people who had died to sin to want to go on living in sin. Some people thought that since Jesus had died to pay for all the sins of the world, and since God through his loving grace is always ready to forgive sin, then it really doesn’t matter how Christians live. They thought it was okay to keep on sinning just to let God do his work of forgiving! But Paul said that when we are baptized, we die with Jesus, and are buried with him, and are raised to a new life. This is very real, and it means that we die to the power of sin in our lives and live following God’s ways instead of our old ways of rebellion and wrong.

Dying to sin doesn’t mean that we never sin again, or never need God’s forgiveness. We need it every day, and God always gives us his grace because of what Jesus has done for us. But we also have the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us turn away from sin, and this is another gift we need every day. It is foolish and wrong to turn away from this gift and continue to live a life of sin without wanting to change and follow Jesus. The Lord is always with us to help us and forgive us and give us the strength to follow him and live the new life he has given us.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times we turn away from the new life you’ve given us in Jesus. Help us to follow and love you always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Source:

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1535.html

Do You Love Me?

Bible:

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” John 21:15-19 ESV

And [Jesus] said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Luke 9:23-24 ESV

Reflection:

There’s an old story about Peter. He proclaimed the Gospel in the city of Rome for many years, but then came a time when he knew that he was about to be arrested and put to death. Peter was afraid, and he ran away from Rome so he wouldn’t have to face death. On his way out of Rome he met Jesus, and asked him, “Where are you going, Lord?” Jesus replied, “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” Peter then felt ashamed of himself for running away, and he returned to Rome. When he was taken away to be put to death, he asked the soldiers to crucify him upside down, because he didn’t think he was worthy to die in the same way that Jesus had died.

This story probably isn’t true, although it is true that Peter was put to death in Rome many years after our Bible reading. When Peter met Jesus on the shore of the lake, he sat with him by a charcoal fire, and remembered another charcoal fire some days earlier, where he had stood and denied three times that he even knew who Jesus was. Now Jesus lovingly gave Peter a chance to repent of what he had done and to know Jesus’ forgiveness. He asked Peter three times if Peter loved him, and Peter said three times that he did. Each time, Jesus told Peter to feed or take care of his lambs and sheep. Jesus let Peter know that he had forgiven him and that he had work for Peter to do. Peter would feed children and adult with the good news of Jesus’ love. But this wonderful work would cost him his life in the end. Jesus warned Peter that he would die because of this work, but that this death would glorify God.

Jesus calls all of his people to be willing to face death for his sake. Not all of Jesus’ followers are put to death the way Peter was, but all of us take up our cross to follow Jesus every day. We take up our cross when, like Peter, we repent of the ways we fall short of God’s ways and know that we need his forgiveness, and that we can’t earn it for ourselves. When we know that forgiveness, we are able to love and serve others and to obey God’s call in our lives, even when it’s difficult or causes us suffering and trouble. Jesus is always with us to give us strength and help and to forgive us when we go wrong, and he will bring us home to be with him forever when our lives are over.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, please help us to follow you and to do what you want us to do. Please forgive us when we fall short. Amen.

The Voice of the Shepherd

Bible:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. John 10:1-6 ESV

To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing. Isaiah 40:25-26 ESV

Reflection:

Once in China there was a woman who left her three young daughters at home while she went to visit their grandmother, who is called po po in Chinese. While she was gone, a wolf decided to try to trick the little girls, so he pretended to be their po po and asked to come in. The oldest daughter, Shang, didn’t know the voice of the wolf, but the younger two daughters, Tao and Paotze, were tricked. They let the wolf into the house, and he blew out the candle right away. In the dark they couldn’t see that he wasn’t their grandmother. But Shang felt the wolf’s tail and the wolf’s claws and then lit the light and saw the wolf’s hairy face before the wolf blew the light out again. Shang realized that they were in great danger from the wolf, but she and her sisters were able to trick him and get rid of him.

Just like in this story, Jesus talked about strangers who wanted to try to trick his people and steal them away from him. He used the picture of a flock of sheep in a sheepfold, and said that he is the shepherd, and that the gatekeeper would let him in to his sheep. Other people try to get into the sheepfold and trick his sheep, but they try to get in another way than through the door of the sheepfold. Jesus’s sheep know his voice and will follow him, but they don’t know the voice of strangers who want to hurt them. Jesus knows each one of his sheep and calls them by name.

We are Jesus’ sheep, and he is our shepherd. He loves us and calls us by our names, and teaches us to know his voice so that we will follow him and not be tricked by people who try to teach us lies. Jesus is the only way to find life and love and forgiveness with God, our Heavenly Father, and he wants us to follow him and not be tricked by people who want to steal us away from him. He gave his life on the cross so that we could be his people, and he sends us his Holy Spirit so that we know his voice and follow him, now and forever.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for making us your sheep and being our Good Shepherd. Please help us to follow you and stay close to you always. Amen.

Source:

Young, Ed Lon Po Po: a Red-Riding Hood Story from China New York: Philomel, 1989.

The Narrow Gate

Bible:

[Jesus said:] “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14 ESV

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 ESV

Reflection:

When a young man named Hercules was taking care of his foster father’s flock on a mountain one day, two beautiful women came to him. They said that he would have to choose one of them, and that the one he chose would make the difference as to what would happen in his life. One of these women was a picture of pleasure. She offered Hercules flowers and fruit and music, and if he chose her, he would have a life of good times and happiness. The other woman was a picture of virtue. She pointed Hercules to the difficult path to wisdom, and if he chose her he would have a life of hardship, but he would become a great hero. Hercules chose the difficult path of virtue, where he would work hard but would accomplish many great things and achieve glory.

Jesus talked about two roads and two gates. Most people, he said, will choose the wide gate and the easy way, but that way leads to destruction. There is also a narrow gate and a way that is hard, and Jesus said that we should be sure to take that road. Jesus was talking about following him or going our own way. Most people want to go their own way, and do the things they want to do. People who take the easy way want to live with their own priorities instead of God’s, and they want to make things right with God on their own with their own work and rules. Many people believe that there are many roads that lead to God, and they don’t want to hear that Jesus is the only way. So they go on along their own way, and don’t realize that they are traveling further and further from God and from the truth.

Even though the gate is narrow and the way is hard, there is room for everyone to follow Jesus, and he wants everyone on his road. Jesus died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven, and he gives forgiveness and life to everyone who believes in him. He himself is our gate and our way. Following Jesus can be a struggle, like hiking on a steep mountain path, but we are never alone on our journey. Jesus is always with us to help us with his comfort and strength and hope, today and every day until the end.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for opening the way to God for us, and for being that way. Please be with us and keep us with you. Amen.

Source:

https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/01.+Paintings/31540/?lng=en

Leaving Their Boats

Bible:

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 4:1-11 ESV

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11 ESV

Reflection:

There’s a story that when the conqueror Hernan Cortes and his men arrived on their ships at the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico to conquer it, Cortes found out that some of his men found out how outnumbered they were, and talked about turning back. Cortes gave the order that the ships they had come on should be burned. This meant that everyone understood there would be no turning back. They would have to press forward and conquer and make their life in the new land, because it would be impossible for them to return to Cuba, the place they had come from. This actually didn’t happen, although something similar did. When Cortes wanted to press on to the city of Tenochtitlan in Mexico, some of his men grumbled and decided to mutiny, and Cortes had his ships sunk so that they couldn’t turn back.

Peter had been following Jesus for awhile, but he also continued to work in his fishing business on the lake. In fact, Jesus used his boat to teach from one day because the crowd was pressing on him so hard. After Jesus finished teaching the people, he told Peter to go out into the deep part of the lake and put down his nets for a catch. Fishermen usually worked at night, when fish are closer to the surface, and they also usually worked closer to the shore where it is easier to catch fish. Peter hadn’t caught any fish the night before, and he thought Jesus’ idea sounded a little strange, but he had been with Jesus long enough to trust him and to do what he said. When he did, he caught a huge number of fish right away, so many that the nets started breaking. He and his brother Andrew waved their arms to get help from James and John, who were their partners and in another boat. When Peter saw this miracle, he suddenly faced the fact that Jesus was the Son of God, and it frightened him. He knew that he was a sinner and deserved God’s punishment, and he begged Jesus to go away and leave him alone. But Jesus told him not to be afraid. He wanted to give Peter a new job, a job of catching people for God’s kingdom instead of fish for his own business. The four men left their boats and their fishing nets and everything they had behind and started following Jesus for good. There would be no turning back now.

Jesus also calls us to follow him. Sometimes he calls people to leave behind the life they had before, and more often he calls people to use the life they have to follow him and to serve others and share his good news with them. But he calls everyone to leave behind their sins and their pride and selfishness. He died on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven and that we could have a new life in him, and the things that keep us from following him are the things we need to leave behind. He sends us his Holy Spirit to help us to trust him instead of our own hard work, and to live our lives in his way instead of our own. Everything is different for people who follow Jesus, and he is with his people every day with his love and help and forgiveness.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, help us to follow you every day. Amen.

Source:

https://www.pbs.org/conquistadors/cortes/cortes_d00.html

Starting a New Life

Bible:

So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him. I Kings 19:19-21 ESV

After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:27-32 ESV

Reflection:

Harold Hill was a con man. He traveled from town to town, sold expensive band instruments and uniforms to the boys in the town, and claimed to be a band leader. He used a method called the “think method,” where the boys didn’t actually have to practice their music, but just think about it, and would learn to play that way. He also found himself a girlfriend in every town, who would help him escape before the people in town caught on to his dishonesty and got him in trouble. But when he came to River City, something unusual happened. He fell truly in love with Marian, the town’s librarian, and didn’t want to leave her. He decided to face his punishment for his dishonesty so that he could stay with Marian and lead an honest life. He left behind his other girlfriends and the way he had lived before.

This is only a story, and it can be really hard for someone to make a new start in life like that. When Elijah called Elisha to serve him, Elisha knew that his whole life was going to change. He knew he would have to leave his parents so that he could follow and learn from Elijah. Someday he would take Elijah’s place as God’s prophet, and he knew that it wouldn’t be an easy job. Not only did he say goodbye to his family, but he also took the oxen he had been using to work in the fields and killed them as a sacrifice to God. He knew he wouldn’t need them to work his fields any longer. He gave a feast to his friends and neighbors to celebrate his new life.

Jesus called people to follow him, including a man named Levi, a disciple we know as Matthew. Levi left his business, where he was making a lot of money, and started a new life as one of Jesus’ disciples. He gave a big feast to celebrate his new life, and at this feast the religious leaders complained about the kind of people that Jesus was spending time with. These leaders didn’t understand that Jesus was calling them to come away from the sins in their lives and to start a new life with him. When Jesus calls people, their whole lives change. Jesus calls us to follow him also, and to leave behind sins that separate us from God and his ways. It isn’t an easy job to follow Jesus and to live his way, but Jesus went to the cross to win the forgiveness of all our sins, and that forgiveness is there for us every day. Jesus sends his Holy Spirit to give us new lives in him, now and always.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for calling us to follow you. Please forgive our sins and help us each day. Amen.

Source:

The Music Man. Dir. Morton DaCosta. Warner Brothers, 1962. Film

Stay on Course!

Bible:

And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. I Kings 13:20-25 ESV

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62 ESV

Reflection:

When Jesus was on his way to the cross, there were some people who said they would like to follow him. The first person said that he’d follow Jesus anywhere he went. Jesus told him that he needed to count the cost first. Following him wasn’t about glamor and glory, but it was hard and humble work. The second person asked if he could wait until after his father died before he followed Jesus. Jesus told him that a real follower of his doesn’t wait till a convenient time, but starts to follow right away. The third person wanted to go and say goodbye to his family, but Jesus told him that he needed to start following before he said goodbye. He knew that the family would talk him out of being his follower. Jesus’ words seem harsh, but they show a truth about the cost of following him. It means leaving everything that gets in the way and putting Jesus first.

The prophet who had disobeyed God and stopped for a meal in the northern kingdom heard very harsh words of judgment spoken to him by God. God spoke through the other prophet, even though he had lied and might not have been a true prophet. God sometimes speaks through unexpected people, and in this case the words were hard to hear. The southern man of God was going to be punished and not come home to where his family was buried, but die in the north where he had stopped when God had told him not to. God needed his prophet to stay true to him and obey him, and not let others turn him away from God’s way, or he wouldn’t be any good as a prophet of God.

As followers of Jesus and of God’s way, we too often turn aside and aren’t completely loyal to God. We don’t put Jesus first in our lives. There is no one who follows God’s ways perfectly, except for one person. Jesus completely obeyed his heavenly Father and followed where God called him to go. He knew that God’s way led to the cross, but he followed that way without turning aside because of his love for us. Jesus died on the cross to win forgiveness for us for the times we turn away from God. Jesus forgives our sins every day and gives us help and strength to follow him.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, thank you for your love and forgiveness. Help us to follow you always. Amen.