Following Jesus

Keeping Our Eyes on the Star

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

After listening to the king, they went on their way and behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. Matthew 2:9 ESV

A funny thing happened to the wise men on their way to Bethlehem. Though they had followed God’s star for hundreds of miles across deserts and mountains, when they got close to their destination they decided to ask King Herod which way to go. “Now why would they do that?” we might ask. The fact is that all of us do the same thing at times. We begin in the right direction on something we know is God’s will in our lives, but somewhere along the way we begin to waver. Maybe we begin to wonder what in the world we were thinking about when we started out. No one else seems to be able to see the star we are following. Then when we doubt a strange thing happens. Our star disappears for a while.

But the same God who revealed His star to the wise men in the first place was willing to show it to them again. As soon as they left Herod’s palace the star appeared on the horizon and led them directly to Jesus Christ. So if your world seems dark and frightening the good news is that same star is still shining over the place where Jesus is today. The only difference is that the God’s star is not shining in the sky but from the pages of a book called the Bible. His promises now don’t depend on us wandering across a wilderness trying to keep it in view. Now we can trust God’s promise that He loved us so much that He sent us His Son. All we need to do is follow that star and it will lead us right to Him!

In the middle of your Christmas preparations maybe this quiet carol can bring a bit of the gentle calm of His presence for you today.

Catch Anything? Part One

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At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was.He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. John 21:4-5 NLT

Now the joke in my family is that I could save a lot of time in my fishing if I just tossed the worms in the water and then took my grand-kids out for ice cream! But Jesus’ disciples were not like me. They had been fishing the Sea of Galilee since they were children. They knew how deep the water was, where the fish lived and what to use for bait. But despite their professionalism and hard work they couldn’t catch a minnow!

Does that sound a little bit like our best efforts to reach people for Jesus? No matter how hard we try or what method we use we will continue to fail unless we find out how Jesus wants us to fish. 1552053155928_image.jpg

The good news is that Jesus gives free fishing lessons. Our first assignment is to follow Him. The mistake that Peter, James and John made was that they went fishing without Jesus. Fishing without Jesus means empty nets and sore backs.

Before we launch out today determine to listen and watch for what Jesus wants us to do. As we stick close to His side we will be amazed to learn that He knows where the fish are. He knows what side of the boat to cast the net on and He will wait all through the night for us to come home to Him!

 

 

Things Left Behind

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 28:6 KJV

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It is often told of how Jesus left the wonders of heaven to come to earth; but today we want to also remember what things Jesus left behind before He returned from earth to heaven. First He left the honored place as oldest son and Joseph’s carpenter in order to begin His ministry to the poor and downtrodden. He also left behind His simple village life in exchange for a desert where He fasted and was tempted by the devil for 40 days. Later as people saw the miracles He performed, the crowds grew to multitudes; but Jesus turned and walked away from fame and power.

At the Last Supper Jesus humbled Himself further by taking off His robe in order to wash His disciples’ feet. After the meal He went out into the garden to pray and, piece by piece gave up His will to the Father. Then, Jesus left behind His disciples to be betrayed by Judas and arrested by the soldiers. The next day, He received the death sentence of the cross where He suffered for six mind numbing hours. Last of all with His final breath He gave His spirit into the hands of into His Father.

So, as the sun prepared to rise on the morning of the third day they went to the tomb but they could not find Him because He had already given Himself away!  He left it all behind and has risen from the dead!