FOLLOW ME...

The call to follow Him comes to all of us at one time or another...

We all get a moment in which we have to choose whether to say yes or...

and even if you don't say 'no', not having said 'yes' in fact constitutes a 'no'.

                  "But as many as received him (Jesus), to them gave he power to become the
                   sons of God, even to them that believe on his name..." John 1: 12 (My insert
                   between brackets)

But God also calls us - each one individually, for different purposes, or ministries. Sometimes the same ones for different purposes at different times and we can never tell beforehand for how long He is calling us for a specific purpose:

Matthew 4: 18 - 19 the Lord called two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, saying to them:
                   "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

He already had a purpose in mind for them. To make disciples of others.

In verse 21 he came across James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, and he called them, to follow Him.

In Matthew 21: 1 - 4 Jesus sent some of the above disciples to fetch a donkey belonging to an unknown man for Him to use to ride into Jerusalem. So He actually called that unknown person to use his possessions, or assets, for His purposes.

In Mark 10: 47 - 52 Jesus called the blind man to Him after hearing him cry out for mercy and healed him, and so the once blind man followed Him, testifying of His mercy and healing power as he went.

In Luke 5: 27-32 he called a tax collector, called Levi, to show that the corrupted can be changed into the incorruptible.

In Luke 6: 12-16 He chose 12 of his disciples as apostles and missionaries.

In Luke 13: 10-13 He called a woman that was bound by a spirit of infirmity so he could loose her of that which bound her.

In Luke 18: 16 - 17 he sternly warned the disciples and called the children to Him so that he could bless them.

In Luke 1: 26-38 Mary is called as the vessel to bring the Christ into this world and to be the mother of the Christ. This was a ministry that lasted throughout the life of Jesus.

He has called many of us as parents to raise our children according to His will, which means that:

We must love them,
instruct them in the Word,
teach them to love others,
to be honest,
to be faithful,
to read and study the Word,
to have a relationship with the Lord.

It means praying in their hearing,
praying with them,
teaching them to pray, to take their needs to the Lord,
to be dependent on Him in all circumstances,
to seek His will for our lives at all times.

All of the above is much more important than seeing that they wear the right labels, visit the right restaurants and theatres, obtain a university degree...etc. etc....

Saying these things  to them will not have a tenth of the impact as showing them how to do it. There is a saying : Preach all day long, and if you have to, use words.

I remember as a young child, accompanying my father on a ministry trip. Our car overheated several times as we were travelling over a mountain pass and we had to stop often to let the car cool down, so that at our time of arrival at our destination, where he was to preach that evening, there would not be sufficient time for him to prepare and wait on the Lord for a message for the people. What should have been a 2 hour journey became a 6 hour nightmare. I remember him, whilst driving, instructing me to open the cubby hole and take his Bible; to open it where I would choose, to read him a passage from that page; asking me to preach to him from the passage so read and praying God's blessing on His Word. I remember us arriving in time for the service and him preaching "my sermon" to the congregation. I remember God working amongst the people through His Word. The impact this made on my mind as a child was invaluable.

The first time I was called upon to minister the Word and I feared my own inadequacy, God reminded me of that incident and I was reassured that He can and will use any willing instrument to His glory through the powerful manifestation of His Holy Spirit.

How careful are we what we teach our children through our actions and words? How focused are we not to hinder our children "to come to Me..."

Thank You, Father God, for the wonderful children that You have given us. Please forgive us where we have failed them and You. Help us that we will be able to say to them "follow me..." as we lead them to You.