Followers of Christ

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David Bakare

Followers of Christ

Tuesday, 1 October

And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. Matthew 4:19

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Matthew 4:18-19 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

MORE LESSON: 1 Corinthians 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

The call to follow Jesus is a great one because following a great man is a making process for greatness. Transforming fishermen to fishers of men as promised by Jesus to His disciples is a quantum leap. From the foregoing, it is crystal clear that no one follows Jesus and remains the same. This implies that if your life is not changing, and you claim to be following Christ, you need to check whether you are truly following.

Peter was following Jesus, but a time came when he began to follow from afar (Matthew 26: 58). Unfortunately, this led to Peter denying Jesus. In order not to backslide in our walk with Christ, wisdom demands that we close any gap that may exist between us and Him. Some practical examples of gap are: withdrawing from prayer, constant missing of fellowship and not finding time to read the word of God. Most times people don't go back from following Christ in a day; it happens by gradual drawing back. Drawing back is not allowed in the Kingdom, and God will not delight in anyone who draws back (Hebrews 10:38).

Following Christ begins with being born again and culminates in our entering into Heaven to be where He is. John 12:26 says, If any man serve me, let him follow me and where I am there shall also my servant be…. In following Christ therefore we can get to His destination. This is true because who or what you follow determines where you end up. Young people must particularly pay attention to the truth that they can't follow just anybody.

The picture of us following Christ may look like a big assignment and it is, but it is not an impossible task. Following Christ can be broken down into some miniatures: Hebrews.12:14, follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man will see the Lord. 1 Timothy 6:11, But thou o man of God, flee these things: and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. From these scriptures we know what to follow that is equivalent to following Christ: peace, holiness, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness. We must also flee some things so as to be able to follow the things that really matter in our heavenly race.

Prayer/Action

* Receive abundant grace to follow.

* Ask for grace to cut off the bridge that may take you back to Egypt and hinder you from following Jesus effectively.

 

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I give a powerful hallelujah shout to the God who made October a reality for me and Nigeria, in the wonderful name of Jesus.