MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/21/2026
9:45 AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
“Andrew”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke
6:14b
Message of the verse: “Andrew
his brother”
Let me begin this SD by stating that
I had written the first part of this section last night, and for some reason I
lost it, which does not make me too happy and so I have decided to just copy
this entire section in this morning’s SD.
“The designation of Andrew
and his (Peter’s) brother is indicative of his situation. Consistently overshadowed by his more famous
sibling (he is usually referred to in the gospels in connection with Peter; cf.
Matt. 4:18; 10:2; Mark 1:16, 29; John 1:40, 44; 6:8), Andrew is the least known
of the inner circle of the apostles. He
did not enjoy the same intimacy with Jesus as did Peter, Jamse and John. For example, Andrew was not present with the
other three at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:1), the healing of a synagogue
official’s daughter (Mark 5:37), or with the other three in “Gethsemane (Mark
14:33). The picture the gospels paint of
him is of a person content to serve quietly in the background.
“Like Peter, Andrew was originally
from the village of Bethsaida (John 1:44).
The brothers later moved to the larger city of Capernaum, where they
shared a house (Mark 1:21, 29) and operated a fishing business (Matt. 4:18). Peter and Andrew were devout Jews, committed
to the worship of the true God. They
were among the first of the Twelve to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. Having taken a sabbatical from their fishing
business, they traveled to the region around the Jordan and become followers of
John the Baptist. They were among those ‘looking
for the consolation of Israel’ (Luke 2:25) by the coming of the Messiah in the
Old Testament.
“John’s gospel relates the story of
Andrew’s first encounter with Jesus.
Along with the apostle John, Andrew was with John the Baptist when he
pointed out Jesus to them and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ (John 1:36).
After hearing that, the two followed Jesus and stayed with Him for the
rest of that day (vv. 37-39). That
experience forever changed Andrew’s life.
Convinced that Jesus was exactly who John the Baptist had said He was,
Andrew ‘found first his own brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the
Messiah’’ (v. 41). Then, in what would
become the pattern of Andrew’s life and ministry, ‘he brought [Simon] to Jesus’
(v. 42). It was then that the Lord gave Simon the name Peter and began training
him to be the leader of the Twelve…
“After their initial encounter with
Jesus, Andrew and Peter returned to Capernaum and resumed their fishing
business. Months later, Jesus came to
Galilee after initially ministering in Judea and Jerusalem. Walking along the shore of the Sea of
Galilee, He found Peter and Andrew (Matt. 4:18), along with John and his
brother James (v. 21). This time they
did seek the Lord; rather, He sought them.
They became part-time disciples (vv. 19, 22), while still maintaining
their fishing enterprise. Luke 1:1-11
records their final call to full-time discipleship, when they ‘left everything
and followed Him’ (v. 11).
“Two other incidents in John’s
gospel provide further insight into Andrew’s character. In the sixth chapter, John records the
feeding of the five thousand men (with women and children nearer twenty-five
thousand), which began when ‘Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large
crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that
these may eat?’’(v. 5). Overwhelmed by
the scope of the problem, ‘Philip answered Him, ‘Two hundred denarii worth of
bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little’’ (v.
7). As far as Philip was concerned,
feeding such an enormous crowd with their meager resources was out of the
question. Andrew ,, however, had been
mingling with the people and had found a ‘a lad…who [had] five barley loaves
and two fish’ (v. 9).Despite his own doubts, expressed his rhetorical and perhaps
cynical question, ‘‘What are these for so many people?’ Andrew was always eager
to bring people to Jesus. The Lord
obliterated all cynicism and doubt when
He used the small lunch to feed the vast crowd.
“In his final appearance in the Gospels,
Andrew, true to form brought still more people to Jesus. In the tumultuous aftermath of the triumphal
entry ‘some Greeks [most likely Gentile proselytes to Judaism] were going up
[to Jerusalem] to worship at the feast [Passover]’ (John 12:20). Seeking an audience with Jesus, they first approached
Philip. They may have singled him out
because he was from Bethsaida (v. 21), located near the largely Gentile region
known as the Decapolis (Matt. 4:25; Mark 5:20; 7:31). Uncertain of how to handle the situation, ‘Philip
came and told Andrew’ about it, then ‘Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus’
(John 12:22). There was no doubt or
hesitation in Andrew’s mind; when people wanted to see Jesus, he brought them
to Him.
“The three scenes, in which Andrew
plays a prominent role, reveal that he was first and foremost a
missionary. The passionate commitment of
his heart was to bring people to Jesus.
He was without prejudice, willingly ushering Gentiles as well as Jews to
the Savior. Andrew was also a man whose
faith overcame doubt, as in trusting that the Lord could possibly use the
seemingly inadequate lunch of a young boy to accomplish His purposes. Andrew also exhibited humility, being content
to remain in the in the shadow of his famous brother and serve in the
background. There are people who will
not play in the band unless they can bang the big drum, But Andrew was not one
of them. He was more concerned about
bringing people to Jesus than about who got the credit. He was not a man pleaser, but a servant of
Christ, committed to ‘doing the will of God from the heart’ (Eph. 6:6).
“Andrew eventually paid the ultimate
price for his devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. According to tradition a provincial governor,
angered that Andrew had led his wife to Christ, had him crucified on an X shaped
cross, Despite the suffering he endured,
Andrew continued to preach the gospel to the passerby for as long as he could
speak. He died as he had lived—bringing people to the Savior.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my Life Today: Being like Andrew is certainly a
goal that I would like to be, as he was humble in his walk with the Lord, and
also consistent in telling others about the Savior, and the hope He brings to
all people.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord with
what is going on with my wife as she battles cancer.
6/21/2026
10:32 AM
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