Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

March 18
Thursday


WHO ARE YOU?

READ:
Matthew 4:18-25
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Follow Me, and I will
make you fishers of
men.
__Matthew 4:19
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If someone were to ask, "Who are you?" my guess is that you would tell a little about yourself and what you do-"I'm an electrician" or "I'm a nurse." But that's not really who you are--it's what you do. Which leads to the question, If what you do is who you are, who will you be when you stop doing what you're doing?!

Who you are is found in your relationship to Jesus. And this sense of identity will drive your behavior. Take Matthew, for example. As a tax collector during the reign of the Roman Empire, his life was driven by greed. But everything changed the day Jesus showed up and invited Matthew, to follow Him (Matt. 9:9). Suddenly Matthew had a whole new identity as a follower of Christ! And he wasn't the only one. We also read about four fishermen in Matthew 4:18-25, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, who left their nets to follow Him.

Jesus is a compelling Person, and he is still looking for followers. He wants to make something of your life by giving you the identity of a follower of Jesus. It doesn't mean giving up your career, but it does mean that you will do your work--and all of life--according to His will and ways.

So next time someone asks, "Who are you?" I hope you'll answer, "I'm a follower of Jesus"! __Joe Stowell
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````````````````````````FOR FURTHER STUDY```````````````````

```````````Read about 10 perspectives that should form our``````````
`````````````attitudes and actions as followers of Jesus in```````````
````````````Kingdom Living at www.discoveryseries.org?hp092```````
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If you are a follower of Jesus,
that's all the identity you need.

**************Today's Bible Reading __ Matthew 4:18-25***********

18 And Jesus, walking by
the Sea of Galilee, saw two
brothers, Simon called
Peter, and Andrew his
brother, casting a net into
the sea; for they were
fishermen. 19 Then He said
to them, "Follow Me, and I
will make you fishers of
men." 20 They immediately
left their nets and followed
Him.

21 Going on from there, He
saw two other brothers,
James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother, in the
boat with Zebedee their
father, mending their nets.
He called them, 22 and
immediately they left the
boat and their father, and
followed Him.

23 And Jesus went about
all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and
healing all kinds of sickness
and all kinds of diseases
among the people. 24 Then
His fame went throughout
all Syria; and they brought
to Him all sick people who
were afflicted with various
diseases and torments, and
those who were demon-
possessed, epileptics, and
paralytics; and He healed
them. 25 Great multitudes
followed Him--from
Galilee, and from
Decapolis, Jerusalem,
Judea, and beyond the
Jordan.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Today's reading captures the scene of Jesus calling "two other
brothers... [who were] mending their nets" (Matt. 4:21). The
Greek word translated "mending" in this verse also reappears in
Ephesians 4:12. There the word is translated "equipping." Church
leadership has been given gifts "for the equipping of the saints
for the work of ministry." The words mending and equipping both
express the idea of "filling in the gaps." Training for ministry mends
our inadequacies. __DENNIS FISHER