"Follow Me"

As a young boy of just eight years of age, I remember praying the
sinner’s prayer with my mother and siblings.  I placed my faith in Jesus Christ and never looked back.  Yet, there were many other times in my life that I heard the “call of God.”  Peter received the call, “follow me.”  It was actually the first and last words Jesus spoke to him (Mark 1:17; John 21:22). What occurred between those two calls in Peter’s life?  He obeyed and followed Jesus and understood what it was to be a disciple of Christ. In my own life, I accepted the call to receive Jesus as my Savior yet I didn’t answer the call to follow him and make him my Lord until almost thirty years later. 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer  (1906-1945) in the “Cost of Discipleship”says: "Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth which has a place for the Fatherhood of God, but omits Christ as the living Son.  There is trust in God, but no following of Christ." "He wants to follow, but feels obliged to insist on his own terms to the level of human understanding. The disciple places himself at the Master’s disposal, but at the same time retains the right to dictate his own terms. But then discipleship is no longer discipleship, but a program of our own to be arranged to suit ourselves, and to be judged in accordance with the standards of rational ethic."If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. … The first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe…”  In my own life, it wasn’t until I began to heed the call with not just my heart and lips, but also with my feet... in following Jesus through obedience,  that He led me out of my darkness, out of the shackles of shame and as a result of his power in me, I began to experience victory over the sins that previously entangled me.  Friends, tonight during these Quiet Moments let’s answer the call and follow our Lord and Savior and follow Him.  Thanks for letting me share.  Randy Young

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