Forward to the Dawn

I ran across this in today's sermon preparation:

Luke 9:61-62
Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Here are William Barclay's thoughts on this passage...

[Jesus'] words to the third man state a truth which no one can deny. No ploughman ever ploughed a straight furrow looking back over his shoulder. There are some whose hearts are in the past. They walk forever looking backwards and thinking wistfully of the good old days.

Watkinson, the great preacher, tells how once at the seaside, when he was with his little grandson, he met an old minister. The old man was very disgruntled and, to add to all his troubles, he had a slight touch of sunstroke. The little boy had been listening but had not picked it up quite correctly; and when they left the grumbling complaints of the old man, he turned to Watkinson and said, “Granddad, I hope you never suffer from a sunset!”

The Christian marches on, not to the sunset, but to the dawn. The watchword of the kingdom is not, “Backwards!” but “Forwards!” To this man Jesus did not say either, “Follow!” or “Return!” he said, “I accept no lukewarm service,” and left the man to make his own decision.

Need I say more?

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Forward to the dawn!
Lon Alderman
www.AcornMinistries.com

Irrevocable Step, by Lon Alderman

Matthew 9:9
As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Twice in the last week I have felt God call me to action and twice I responded with a step I could not retract. They were not huge earth-shattering, walk-on-the-moon steps. In fact, these "steps" were very simple and consisted of two short emails. One asked for help and the other offered encouragement from scripture. The main thing these simple steps have in common is that I believe God called me to make them.

In each case, the step I took has developed some inertia. For example, I heard God lead me to ask a friend to help me get a project moving that I have been dreaming about for six years. I wrote a simple email and took the irrevocable step of sending it. I believe God has blessed that effort, because my friend has chosen to help me.

The lesson I'm learning is to listen to God's leading and then act upon it. Jesus put it this way, "Follow Me."

Listen ~ Act
Lon

Build UP: At Once

At Once

Mark 1:17-18
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

I believe Jesus calls to us constantly. The reason we don't hear Him is that we're running around with our fingers in our ears yelling, "I can't hear you!"

In order to hear Jesus today, we must learn to quiet ourselves. This is very countercultural. Our culture says that the busier you are the better. After all, if you're incredibly busy then you must be important! As people of faith, Who is supposed to be the important One, me or Jesus?

To hear Jesus we have to slow down enough to hear His voice over the busyness. When we finally get to the point that we can hear Jesus calling us, then we have an opportunity to respond to His call. The fishermen demonstrated the appropriate timing of our reponse, "at once". When Christ calls, follow Him at once.

Follow Him!
Lon