Come and Follow Me.

Well, it has been a week since I updated and thought I better get on here and do so. Sara's watching Bingo and eating cheezits. Tomarrow we are going to Ragin' Rivers with the Kleins. After that we are going out to eat and then home. Sunday we have church and then we have the Red Bud parade. We are moving to Red Bud sometime in the next 6 months or so. We just can't be here much longer because crime is starting to rise. It's mostly because some of the E. St. Louis scum is starting to filter over into our area. We happen to live not far from that area. Anyway, I know that all people from E. St. Louis are not bad. But it is unfortunate that a lot of them are and they filter over into our area. We also want to be close to family and church. It only makes it 10 minutes or so longer for my drive and 20 minutes closer for Sara's drive...or walk. :)

This week I learned something, maybe something that you will catch onto. Read Below:

In Mark 1:17, Jesus simply said, “come and follow me.” It doesn’t get complicated nor does it require that you have to hop on one foot then do two back flips with your hands tied behind your back. Simply put, “come and follow me.” We come together to cast our nets as the disciples did that day. They knew that He was their provider. “They left their nets and followed Him.” Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone had that kind of faith. The kind of faith that all God has to do is “let’s go” and we go. In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus tells His disciples to “Go Therefore.” There is more but He just told them to go. It is time that we “go” with Christ and spread the word of God. “Go ye therefore to all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” As Christ was returning Home in the air, He made it clear what your destiny in life was. You may say, ‘no, He was talking to the disciples.” The definition of disciple is “a person who believes the doctrine of Christ, rests on His sacrifice, taking in His spirit, and imitates His example.” (Easton’s Bible Dictionary). So we are called to believe in Christ, rest on His sacrifice, take in His spirit, and imitate His example which means we are to act like Him. Christ went all over the known world, preaching God’s word and speaking of God’s love. If we are to be like Him, we are to do what He does. Someone may say that I take it too far speaking in that way but simply put, become a fisher of men.

Four times in the gospel’s, Jesus tells His followers that in order to follow Him, they have to first deny himself, take up a cross, and follow Him. (Matt 16:24, Mark 8:34, Mark 10:21, and Luke 9:23.) It amazes me that it is a simple task to follow Christ, yet it is a hard one. We as humans find it difficult to deny ourselves. To deny ourselves means “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.” Do you mean I have to loose my identity? Yes. We are to loose our identity of ourselves and identify with Christ who bore our sins on the cross. I do not believe that the followers of Christ really understood this until after the death and resurrection of Christ. It’s high time that we give up our own ambitions, identify ourselves with Christ, and follow Him. Once we follow Him, His will becomes our will and the desires of our heart becomes His.
End of Part One


Well I will close for now, I hope all is well with all of you. :)