The Adventure of Discipleship | Pastor Terry A. Smith (Week 1 of Follow Me)

Pastor Terry A. Smith Devotional Plan for: Week of June 7 - June 13 Monday - Read Matthew 4:18-22 Matthew 4:18-22 NIV: "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people." At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him." Jesus, newly Spirit-empowered in order to begin his ministry, walks along the Sea of Galilee, and new followers begin to flock to his leadership. This appears to be a bit of an unusual scene: who randomly, quickly, "drops their nets", or gives up their entire profession, in order to follow an unproven Rabbi (teacher). Traveling Rabbi's teaching of God in new ways wasn't an unusual scene in first century Judaism. Groups of people would follow a teacher and begin to live out their teachings. These followers, who were under a teacher or philosopher, were called "disciples". From this text, though, we see something unusual about Jesus' disciples: they immediately left their entire lives to follow him. Surely, the text only captures part of their conversations. However, its brevity indicates how quickly they saw something uniquely special, irresistible, in the person of Jesus. He wasn't anything special to look and he didn't come with some great, noticeable power (in terms of worldly power). But something about him created a yearning to give up all. Though Jesus called a select few to be those in his immediate circle, Jesus was calling all people he encountered to, in a sense, "drop their nets" and follow him. This didn't mean everyone had to give up their profession, but everyone had to drop some kind of net, some kind of previous life, in order to follow a new way of life – discipleship to Christ, the savior. Today, Jesus is still "walking around" calling people to be his disciples, sitting at his feet and learning the true way of life in the Kingdom of God. The church, now, is the hands and feet of Jesus. The church is the physical, living embodiment of Jesus, as we now have his Spirit within us. Jesus is no longer now walking with a group of 12 disciples, but is walking with his Spirit all around the world, offering discipleship to all who wish to follow. What boat do you need to leave behind? What nets do you need to leave behind as you receive the calling to be a disciple? Reflection Question(s): Reflect on which "nets" or "boats" you need to leave behind in your life to follow Jesus. - Christian Smith – Director of Pastoral Ministries Tuesday - Read Luke 5:1-11 Luke 5:1-11 NIV: "One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So, they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were