SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/28/2020
9:53 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “Calling Peter and Andrew”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
4:18-20
18 And walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were
fishermen. 19 And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers
of men." 20 And they immediately left the nets, and followed Him.”
The
call that Jesus gives is for Peter and Andrew to bear fruit through evangelism,
and that call is given to everyone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their
Savior, for the called ones are to be the callers. I remember when Jesus Christ saved me in 1974
and after I got back home from Florida to Ohio I wanted to tell others about
what happened to me while I was in Florida.
I rode my motorcycle with a number of other men and I remember talking
to one of the guys wife about Jesus Christ and she accepted the Lord as her
Lord and Savior. I then talked to her
husband and told him all that happened to me and I stated what a change that it
made in my heart, but he was not interested.
Later on the couple divorced and I have pretty much lost track of them
because they moved to Florida, although I had heard that the wife was still
following the Lord. The point in this
story is that once you become a believer you want to tell others about that
experience because of the love you have for the Lord who saved you. Peter later on wrote “But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light;” (1 Peter 2:9). John
MacArthur writes “Christ mandates that all of His followers be ‘fishermen.’ The command ‘follow Me’ (in the Greek and
adverb of place expressing a command) literally means ‘come here.’ The term after
is used in the original to show the place they are to come: ‘Your place is following after Me!’”
In
John MacArthur’s sermon and in his commentary he tells the story of an Italian
man who was found dead in his house.
People went into his house and found 246 expensive violins which he had
bought and kept. None of the violins
were played they just sat there in boxes never played for the enjoyment of
others to hear. It is reported that 95%
of believers never tell others about how they were saved, as they are just like
the un-played violins, never making the beautiful music of the gospel. He writes It is even reported that the first
violin the great Stradivarius ever made was not played until it was 147 years
old!”
MacArthur
writes “When D. L. Moody once visited an art gallery in Chicago he was
especially impressed by a painting called ‘The Rock of Ages.’ The picture showed a person with both hands
clinging to a cross firmly embedded in a rock.
While the stormy sea smashed against the rock, he hung tightly to the
cross. Years later Mr. Moody saw a
similar picture. This one also showed a
person in a storm holding to a cross, but with one hand he was reaching out to
someone who was about to drown. The
great evangelist commented that, thought the first painting was beautiful, the
second was even lovelier.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: The phrase “let you light shine” is what
believers are supposed to do. We are not
to hide our light but to shine it, similar to playing music on expensive
violins.
My Steps of Faith for Today: It is my
desire and it will probably be my desire to learn humility for the rest of my
life as it will never be perfected, but hopefully improved. It is also my desire to receive joy from the
Holy Spirit as I study His Word.
2/28/2020 10:25 AM
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