I read two great scriptures this morning for my devotion. One was from Matthew 4:18-20 "18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him."
The other was from 1 Kings 19:19-20 "19 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. 20 Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.” "
In both of these scriptures, those who were called dropped what they had in their hands or dropped what they were doing and answered the call. The question that followed was "What do you need to leave behind so that you can GO out and fulfill God's call on your life?"
Whew, what a hard question. I was struck by this and how well, it went with what I wrote yesterday and listening for the call.
What do I need to leave behind so that I can answer God's call? Hmm...my first thought was personal and more for my personal call... it's those (people, organizations) who hold me back, who don't want me to serve.
But when I think more on it in context with yesterday's writing about his call to love one another, I think of ideas, preconceived notions, prejudices, fear. We all come with something, have something that holds us back, that slows us down or stops us cold and sometimes we need to let those things go and let God lead us where he wants us, to do what he wants us to do, to love who he wants us to love. We just need to follow him. To follow his gentle nudges, his little pushes. To listen to the whispers of our minds. It's scary, I'll admit but... in my experience so far... it's been a great ride.
The other was from 1 Kings 19:19-20 "19 So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a field. There were twelve teams of oxen in the field, and Elisha was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his shoulders and then walked away. 20 Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First let me go and kiss my father and mother good-bye, and then I will go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.” "
In both of these scriptures, those who were called dropped what they had in their hands or dropped what they were doing and answered the call. The question that followed was "What do you need to leave behind so that you can GO out and fulfill God's call on your life?"
Whew, what a hard question. I was struck by this and how well, it went with what I wrote yesterday and listening for the call.
What do I need to leave behind so that I can answer God's call? Hmm...my first thought was personal and more for my personal call... it's those (people, organizations) who hold me back, who don't want me to serve.
But when I think more on it in context with yesterday's writing about his call to love one another, I think of ideas, preconceived notions, prejudices, fear. We all come with something, have something that holds us back, that slows us down or stops us cold and sometimes we need to let those things go and let God lead us where he wants us, to do what he wants us to do, to love who he wants us to love. We just need to follow him. To follow his gentle nudges, his little pushes. To listen to the whispers of our minds. It's scary, I'll admit but... in my experience so far... it's been a great ride. 
Great reminder Sherri!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lanette!
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