Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 8:46 a.m. – I woke to this song in my mind:
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 4:18-5:12:
My Understanding: What jumped out at me this time reading through this passage of scripture was the connection between the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5. At the end of chapter 4, Jesus called his first disciples to follow him. They were fishermen, so he spoke to them in terms they could understand when he said that he would make them fishers of men. I’m not certain they entirely grasped the meaning behind that phrase, but they had immediate faith that Jesus was someone they should follow. He was going to teach them how to catch men, i.e. he was going to show them how to tell people about faith in God; faith in Jesus Christ and they were going to see many people come to that faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
It always astonishes me whenever I read this passage of scripture how these men, upon Jesus calling them to follow him, at once left their nets and followed him. There was no hesitation. They didn’t question him. They didn’t need to have answers to hundreds of theological questions. They didn’t need a study in apologetics so that they were convinced intellectually that he was the right one to follow. They just knew in their heart of hearts that this was someone they should follow. God put it in their hearts to follow our Lord. And, they “at once” left their nets and followed him! Oh, what a great and wonderful illustration of faith! Oh, that we would have such faith to follow our Lord wherever he leads us; to answer his call upon our lives with such immediacy! Oh, that we would not hesitate another moment to go wherever he sends us, to do what he calls us to do and to say what he tells us to say. We are to be his witnesses in this world. We are to be “fishers of men.”
The second group of fishermen that Jesus called immediately left their boat and their father and followed him. Sometimes following Jesus means leaving our loved ones behind. Sometimes it means rejection from those that we love. Sometimes it calls us to choose between the approval of man; the approval of family and God’s approval. Again, these men did not hesitate. They immediately followed Jesus. And, they were willing to leave family, career, home, and security, etc. behind in order to follow our Lord. Oh, that we would have such faith that we would place our security in our Lord Jesus Christ instead of in the acceptance of man, in worldly possessions, or in anything this world has to offer us, and that we would unreservedly follow Jesus Christ when he first speaks those words to us, “Follow me!”
Next in this passage of scripture we read about how Jesus went throughout the region teaching, preaching and healing the sick. And, here we learn that large crowds of people from all over the place followed Jesus. When Jesus saw the crowds, chapter 5 begins, “he went up to a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” The Sermon on the Mount, as this teaching of Jesus is often referred to, is a very famous passage of scripture and many sermons, Bible lessons, and books, etc. have been written on this passage of scripture. I am not going to attempt here to expound upon the teachings on the beatitudes, only to comment on some of the benefits and the cost of following Jesus.
In the end of chapter four, Jesus called people to follow him and they immediately followed him. Others heard his teaching and saw his miracles, and they, too, followed Jesus. Verses 3-9 speak of the benefits of following Jesus –
Verses 10-12 describe the cost of following Jesus –
· You will be persecuted because of righteousness
· You will be insulted by people
· You will have people say false and evil things against you because of Jesus
The benefit of this is that the kingdom of heaven will be ours. We will get to be with Jesus forever, and that begins at the point when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. Our response to this should be that we “rejoice and be glad, because great is our reward in heaven.” And, we should consider that we are not the first ones to go through such persecution and rejection. Many believers in God the Father and in his Son Jesus Christ our Lord have gone through the same type of suffering.
I find that the Lord often must remind me to “rejoice”. It is difficult to rejoice when you feel persecuted or rejected or when things are just not going well, yet that is what we are supposed to do and it is something I must focus on more and more, especially the more the Lord shows me about this evil world that we live in. I am often brokenhearted and overwhelmed and feel such a sadness over the things that the Lord shows me. Yet, he always fills my heart with song and with words of encouragement, hope, healing, rejoicing in him and promises of his touch, his healing, his mercy, his forgiveness, his consistency, his presence, and his love.
Though the world around us appears to be falling apart, we can rest in Jesus who will never leave us; who will never forsake us; who will never fail us; and who will continue his work within us and who will one day take us home to be with him. Oh, what a glorious day that will be when my Jesus I shall see!!
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross / Fanny J. Crosby / William H. Doane
Jesus, keep me near the cross;
There a precious fountain,
Free to all, a healing stream,
Flows from Calvary's mountain.
Near the cross, a trembling soul,
Love and mercy found me;
There the bright and morning star
Sheds its beams around me.
Near the cross! O Lamb of God,
Bring its scenes before me;
Help me walk from day to day
With its shadow o'er me.
Near the cross I'll watch and wait,
Hoping, trusting ever,
Till I reach the golden strand
Just beyond the river.
In the cross, in the cross,
Be my glory ever,
Till my raptured soul shall find
Rest beyond the river.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Matthew 4:18-5:12:
My Understanding: What jumped out at me this time reading through this passage of scripture was the connection between the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5. At the end of chapter 4, Jesus called his first disciples to follow him. They were fishermen, so he spoke to them in terms they could understand when he said that he would make them fishers of men. I’m not certain they entirely grasped the meaning behind that phrase, but they had immediate faith that Jesus was someone they should follow. He was going to teach them how to catch men, i.e. he was going to show them how to tell people about faith in God; faith in Jesus Christ and they were going to see many people come to that faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.
It always astonishes me whenever I read this passage of scripture how these men, upon Jesus calling them to follow him, at once left their nets and followed him. There was no hesitation. They didn’t question him. They didn’t need to have answers to hundreds of theological questions. They didn’t need a study in apologetics so that they were convinced intellectually that he was the right one to follow. They just knew in their heart of hearts that this was someone they should follow. God put it in their hearts to follow our Lord. And, they “at once” left their nets and followed him! Oh, what a great and wonderful illustration of faith! Oh, that we would have such faith to follow our Lord wherever he leads us; to answer his call upon our lives with such immediacy! Oh, that we would not hesitate another moment to go wherever he sends us, to do what he calls us to do and to say what he tells us to say. We are to be his witnesses in this world. We are to be “fishers of men.”
The second group of fishermen that Jesus called immediately left their boat and their father and followed him. Sometimes following Jesus means leaving our loved ones behind. Sometimes it means rejection from those that we love. Sometimes it calls us to choose between the approval of man; the approval of family and God’s approval. Again, these men did not hesitate. They immediately followed Jesus. And, they were willing to leave family, career, home, and security, etc. behind in order to follow our Lord. Oh, that we would have such faith that we would place our security in our Lord Jesus Christ instead of in the acceptance of man, in worldly possessions, or in anything this world has to offer us, and that we would unreservedly follow Jesus Christ when he first speaks those words to us, “Follow me!”
Next in this passage of scripture we read about how Jesus went throughout the region teaching, preaching and healing the sick. And, here we learn that large crowds of people from all over the place followed Jesus. When Jesus saw the crowds, chapter 5 begins, “he went up to a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them…” The Sermon on the Mount, as this teaching of Jesus is often referred to, is a very famous passage of scripture and many sermons, Bible lessons, and books, etc. have been written on this passage of scripture. I am not going to attempt here to expound upon the teachings on the beatitudes, only to comment on some of the benefits and the cost of following Jesus.
In the end of chapter four, Jesus called people to follow him and they immediately followed him. Others heard his teaching and saw his miracles, and they, too, followed Jesus. Verses 3-9 speak of the benefits of following Jesus –
- To the poor in spirit - Theirs is the kingdom of heaven
- To those who mourn - They will be comforted
- To the meek - They will inherit the earth
- To those who hunger and thirst for righteousness - They will be filled
- To the merciful - They will be shown mercy
- To the pure in heart - They will see God
- To the peacemakers - They will be called sons of God
Verses 10-12 describe the cost of following Jesus –
· You will be persecuted because of righteousness
· You will be insulted by people
· You will have people say false and evil things against you because of Jesus
The benefit of this is that the kingdom of heaven will be ours. We will get to be with Jesus forever, and that begins at the point when we accept him as our Lord and Savior. Our response to this should be that we “rejoice and be glad, because great is our reward in heaven.” And, we should consider that we are not the first ones to go through such persecution and rejection. Many believers in God the Father and in his Son Jesus Christ our Lord have gone through the same type of suffering.
I find that the Lord often must remind me to “rejoice”. It is difficult to rejoice when you feel persecuted or rejected or when things are just not going well, yet that is what we are supposed to do and it is something I must focus on more and more, especially the more the Lord shows me about this evil world that we live in. I am often brokenhearted and overwhelmed and feel such a sadness over the things that the Lord shows me. Yet, he always fills my heart with song and with words of encouragement, hope, healing, rejoicing in him and promises of his touch, his healing, his mercy, his forgiveness, his consistency, his presence, and his love.
Though the world around us appears to be falling apart, we can rest in Jesus who will never leave us; who will never forsake us; who will never fail us; and who will continue his work within us and who will one day take us home to be with him. Oh, what a glorious day that will be when my Jesus I shall see!!
