And he left all, rose up, and followed him. Luke 5:28.
When Christ called His disciples to follow Him, He offered them no flattering prospects in this life. He gave them no promise of gain or worldly honor, nor did they make any stipulation as to what they should receive. To Matthew as he sat at the receipt of custom, the Saviour said, “Follow Me. And he arose, and followed Him.” Matthew did not, before rendering service, wait to demand a certain salary, equal to the amount received in his former occupation. Without question or hesitation he followed Jesus. It was enough for him that he was to be with the Saviour, that he might hear His words and unite with Him in His work.
So it was with the disciples previously called. When Jesus bade Peter and his companions follow Him, they immediately left their boats and nets. Some of these disciples had friends dependent on them for support; but when they received the Saviour’s invitation, they did not hesitate, inquiring, How shall I live, and sustain my family? They were obedient to the call; and when afterward Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye anything?” they could answer, “Nothing.”
Today the Saviour calls us, as He called Matthew and John and Peter, to His work. If our hearts are touched by His love, the question of compensation will not be uppermost in our minds.—Gospel Workers, 113, 114.
Principle is always exacting. No man can succeed in the service of God unless his whole heart is in the work, and he counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ…. Wherever He leads the way, they will rejoice to follow.—The Desire of Ages, 273.
With God at Dawn p.254
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Mr. White who is in ICU. Amy
—-David needs prayer for mental and spiritual healing. Buck
—-Pray for my daughter Cassi as she moves back to ____. Connie
—-Please pray for Kinsey who has an inoperable tumor on her brain stem. J
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
My grandfather, Edwin Harmon, had a lifelong love for trains. He longed to become a railroad engineer, but his father had other plans. The family trade was bookbinding and a bookbinder he would be no matter what his wishes were. My grandfather tried to protest and explain to his father that he wanted to be a railroad engineer, but it did no good.
As he learned the trade, he found to his surprise that he could do beautiful workmanship and was in great demand wherever he moved. Although outwardly he did his work perfectly throughout the rest of his life, in his heart he wished that he could have been a railroad engineer. During the long hours binding books, he daydreamed about driving a train. As he brought down that huge, iron handle on the machine that pressed the gold leaf into the book’s cover or spine, in his mind’s eye he was controlling the throttle on one of those gigantic, steam-spewing locomotives that thrilled him so.
As he walked the mile and a half home, he often stopped to watch a train that was picking up freight or passengers. As he sat on the bench outside of the station, he chafed against his lot in life and longed to complete his unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Sometimes, when I was a little girl, he would take me down to the rail yards to watch the trains with him. He would often tell me stories of the far-off days when he was free to hop onto a freight train and ride to interesting places.
How often we are like my grandfather. How many times, deep within our heart, we know that all is not well between us and our Maker because we are trying to serve God with a divided heart. Outwardly, we go through the motions of being a Christian, but our heart is not in it. We appear righteous to others, but inwardly “we are as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” Isa 1:6 Our Loving Redeemer shows us the futility of it, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Luke 16:13
How few can say, “With my whole heart have I sought thee.” Psa 119:10 John reminds us, “Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, then have we confidence toward God.”1 John 3:18 How much we need a new heart, an undivided heart, a heart overflowing with love for the One Who loves us so.
Praise God! We can have that undivided heart! When Esther was a teen, she wrote a song called A New Heart. *Lord, give me a new heart, A kind and a true heart, Lord, through me please show Others You care. Lord give me a new heart, A loving and pure heart, So others may find You And know that You care.
Our Great Creator promises, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Eze 36:26,27 May we claim this promise each day.
Rose