Random Thoughts From The Gospel Of Mark Chapter1 part2

As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him.
Mark:1:16-20

Today we look at 4 individuals whose lives were never going to be the same after they responded to Jesus' call to follow Him. When they accepted the invitation they had no idea the incredible journey they were about to embark on.They would see and experience things they never would have imagined.

Let's think on a few thoughts:

1. THEY WEREN'T QUALIFIED
There is nothing from Scripture to indicate that somehow they were devout and holy and that was the reason chose them. No, as you read the Gospel accounts you see that they kept messing up even up to the night Jesus was arrested. Of all things, on that night they were concerned about who was the greatest among them. There is an old saying that says, Jesus doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called. They were just ordinary flawed men, but Jesus never gave up on them.

2. THEY RESPONDED TO THE CALL
In both accounts we are told they immediately dropped what they were doing and began to follow Jesus. Most don't believe that this was their first encounter with Jesus. No, they had probably heard Him speak and seen Him before. But,when He gave the call they responded immediately.

Let's finish by thinking about our lives. Have you responded to His call? Feel you aren't qualified for a particular task that He is calling you to?

Jesus invites us to join Him. Can you think of anything greater than that? Someone has said that, "every person needs something that they can invest their lives into". Let me encourage you to invest your life into the kingdom of God. He calls some into full time ministry, He calls others to minister while they continue to work at their jobs. But, Jesus does call us into a relationship with Him like He did with these four.  He will qualify us, teach us, and  He won't give up on us just as He didn't give up on the disciples in spite of their mistakes.  May we respond to His call. As we do we will experience things we never imagined.

Troy

Random Thoughts From The Gospel Of Mark. Chapter 1 part 1

“Immediately the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness. And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him.”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭1:12-13‬ ‭

We don't usually think that the Spirit of God would lead us into any trouble, but we see here that it was the Spirit that led Jesus to go to the wilderness.

Now the Bible tells us that God doesn't tempt us,

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. James 1:13

 but that doesn't mean the Spirit won't lead us to a place of testing or to a place that is uncomfortable for us.

 Sometimes God does test our faith, just as He tested the faith of the ancient Israelites by allowing them to go through hard times in the wilderness, “in order to know what was in your heart” (Deuteronomy 8:2).

 None of us likes to go through hard times (and God isn’t necessarily behind them, even if He does allow them).

We so badly just want a life of ease, but it just isn't a reality for our human experience or for our spiritual experience.

Many in the Bible were led to what would be uncomfortable situations. But God did not leave them. It also helped them to learn to depend and trust in God.

The end of verse 13 says that as Jesus was going through the temptation in the wilderness angels were ministering to Him.
The Bible tells us that Jesus prays on our behalf.
 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Romans8:34

So the next time you have been led by the Spirit of God into a challenging situation. Remember, God is with you, Jesus is praying for you, God is developing you, and God will use it for His glory.

Troy

Difficult Roads

"Difficult roads often lead to glorious destinations. "

I saw the above quote the other day and it got me to thinking about times I have vacationed out in Colorado, Wyoming, or Montana. There are many great sights to see. Beautiful mountain scenes, wildlife, incredible views that make for great pictures.
What surprised me the first time I saw these places was the difficult roads you had to travel to get to these places. Sometimes you travel up a mountain on dirt roads. Sometimes you are on paved roads, but you are so close to the edge of a cliff up high on a mountain that you don't want to look to your left or right. The roads are difficult but they do lead to glorious destinations. 

Sometimes in life we travel difficult roads. We go through challenges that we would rather not deal with. But if we think back on some of these difficulties we find they eventually led us to some glorious destinations. We may have experienced God in a way we had never done before. We may have found out that we had strength to get through something we never thought we could.

I often say at church that we want to experience a miracle, but the problem is that most of us don't want to be in a situation that requires a miracle. But without the need for a miracle we wouldn't experience the miracle. The way we experience Jesus as our healer is by being sick. The way we experience Him as our provider is by needing provision. And so on and so forth.

Some examples from the Bible could be if Daniel had never been in a lion's den he never would have experienced God coming to rescue him. If Moses and the children of Israel had not been stuck at the Red Sea they would have never seen the water part. Finally, if Jesus had not been crucified there would not have been the resurrection.

Difficult roads are not easy or fun. But they do lead to some glorious destinations. May we trust that God is leading us to a great destination for His glory as we travel some difficult roads in life.
Troy