Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

November 10
Monday


THE HONOR
OF FOLLOWING

READ:
Matthew 4:18-22
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While visiting Jerusalem, a friend of mine saw an old rabbi walking past the Wailing Wall. The interesting thing about the aged rabbi was the five young men walking behind him. They too were walking bent over, limping__just like their rabbi. An Orthodox Jew watching them would know exactly why they were imitating their teacher. They were "followers."

Throughout the history of Judaism, one of the most honored positions for a Jewish man was the privilege of becoming a "follower" of the local rabbi. Followers sat at the rabbi's feet as he taught. They would study his words and watch how he acted and reacted to life and others. A follower would count it the highest honor to serve his rabbi in even the most menial tasks. And, because they admired their rabbi, they were determined to become like him.

When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him (Matt. 4:19), it was an invitation to be changed by Him, to become like Him, and to share His passion for those who need a Savior. The high honor of being His follower should show in our lives as well. We too have been called to catch the attention of the watching world as we talk, think, and act just like Jesus__the rabbi, the teacher, of our souls. __Joe Stowell

`````````````````````Thank You, Lord, for the high honor of being````````````````````
`````````````````````called to follow You. May my life so imitate````````````````````
`````````````````````You that others will know that You are the`````````````````````
``````````````````````pursuit of my life and the rabbi of my soul.````````````````````
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follow Jesus and let the world know
He is your rabbi.

*********************************Today's Bible Reading __ Matthew 4:18-22*********************************

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
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.

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

In the region surrounding the Sea of Galilee in the first century,
fishing was one of the primary industries. This fishing normally
took place at night, with the laborious task of casting weighted
fishing nets and then hauling them back in. Fishing was not an easy
occupation, but it did provide a decent living and, as seen in today's
text, was often operated as a family business. Here, two brothers,
Peter and andrew, worked together (v.18), as did James, John, and
their father (v.21). In this case, however, these two families also had
a partnership in their fishing business, as recorded in Luke 5:10.
Jesus used this partnership to His advantage in calling these four
men as disciples.