FOLLOW ME

​The word “follow” holds a lot of weight to it. To follow, means: to come after, to go after, to pursue, to chase, to imitate or copy, or to move behind in the same direction. When we decide to follow someone or something, we make a decision and we put in the effort to move forward in that decision.

When Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, He was going around preaching and telling others to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. One day when He was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers (Simon Peter and Andrew) fishing. Jesus looked at the fishermen and said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19)
The Bible says that the men immediately left their nets and followed Him. Jesus then sees two other brothers (James and John) who were in a boat with their father, Zebedee mending their nets. Jesus calls them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him. (Matthew 4:21-22)

Following Jesus
When we decide to follow after someone or something, we often have to leave behind something. James and John left the boat and their father to follow Jesus. Let’s focus on this today and dig a bit deeper for what this can mean for us today.
I remember when I first came to know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I had many people and things that I decided to leave behind, to follow Jesus. Deciding to follow Jesus has been the best decision I have made in my life, and I am truly grateful to God for the opportunity to follow Jesus. Although sometimes we have to make difficult decisions, following Jesus is always worth it.
I think about those who even give up their lives to follow Jesus; that is amazing faith and determination to follow Jesus. We need to pray for these brothers and sisters who are going through the unimaginable even this very moment.
In our society today, following others is such a popular thing especially with twitter, Instagram, etc. People even compete with each other because of having more followers. Sadly, following Jesus is not the most popular thing in our world, but it’s honestly the best thing once you decide to do it and stick to it.

Jesus gave it all
When Jesus gave it all for us, He literally did that and so much more. He suffered in every possible way, but died for all because of the amazing love that Him and the Father have for us. Jesus is the perfect demonstration of God’s love for us.
When we decide to follow Jesus, we don’t give ourselves any of the credit. We do make the decision, however it was God who first loved us and chose us. God deserves all of the glory, honor, and praise for what He has done and for what He will do. He is an amazing God.

No Turning back
There are some lyrics to a beautiful song that goes, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. When we follow Jesus, let’s be encouraged to not turn back and to move forward.
Have you decided to follow Jesus? What does it mean for you to follow Jesus? Are there any things you had to leave or need to leave in order to truly follow Jesus? We would love to hear about your experiences, so please leave us a comment.
Be encouraged today. God sees you, He knows what you need. Just continue to follow Him and trust Him. He’s got good plans for your life and He loves you.
Feel free to pray with us on Tuesday mornings and/or Thursday evenings. Send us an email at [email protected] for the zoom links. We would love to have you pray with us.