Moving from the shoreline to the Saviour

As Jesus walked along the beach, He ‘saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.’ (Matthew 4:18–20)

In our journey with Jesus we will only advance when we move from the shoreline to the Saviour,
growing in love for Him and learning more of Him through taking the time to read His Word.

This I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge.”

Philippians 1:9

In his book entitled Everything You Need David Jeremiah tells the story of Dr Rosalind Picard, who moved from atheism to belief in Jesus Christ.
In high school Rosalind decided to be an atheist because, she said, ‘I believed smart people didn’t need religion.’
She considered people who believed in God ‘uneducated’, led debates in favour of the case for atheistic evolution
and dismissed those who didn’t agree with her.
One night Rosalind baby-sat for a doctor and his wife.
As they paid her at the end of the evening, they invited her to church.
Rosalind was surprised, because this couple didn’t seem uneducated at all, but very sharp.
Rosalind begged off, but eventually she accepted their suggestion to read the Bible, specifically the book of Proverbs.

‘When I first opened the Bible – I expected to find phony miracles – to my surprise Proverbs was full of wisdom.
I had to pause while reading and think.’
Rosalind read through the entire Bible, and it intrigued her more than she could have imagined.
She ‘felt this strange sense of being spoken to’ and began wondering if there might be a God.
Reading through the Bible a second time, she was conflicted.
‘I didn’t want to believe in God,’ she said, ‘but I still felt a peculiar sense of love and presence I couldn’t ignore.’
In college, a friend invited her to church.
Her knowledge of Scripture grew, and she made Jesus Christ the Lord of her life.
‘My world changed dramatically, as if a flat, black and white existence suddenly turned full-colour and three-dimensional;
but I lost nothing of my urge to seek new knowledge.
In fact, I felt emboldened to ask even tougher questions about how the world works.’
Today Dr Picard serves Christ in her role as professor of Media Arts and Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
‘I once thought I was too smart to believe in God,’ she said.
‘Now I know I was an arrogant fool who snubbed the greatest Mind in the cosmos –
the Author of all science, mathematics, art and everything else there is to know.’

In Colossians 1:15–17, Paul speaks of the supremacy of God.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, in him all things hold together.

These are some of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Jesus Christ found in the Bible.

Some Christians have ‘head knowledge’ of Jesus and allow Him only at the periphery of their lives.
Jesus is walking along the shoreline of our lives and he is urging us to follow Him, to develop an individual friendship with him.

‘Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.’

Matthew11: 28–30

In the New Testament, the word disciple means ‘learner’.
The Lord says to us, just as he said to Peter,
‘Follow Me. Be my disciple. Let me turn you into a fisher of men. Let me use you to change the world.’

Let us pray:
Father, help us to hear your call, to respond to you from the shoreline of our own purposes, and become your disciples.
Help us to be ‘salt and light’ in the world, as many people who are not Christians are searching for answers.
They see no hope as a result of the coronavirus.
Give us  courage to share the good news of the Gospel, help us to pray with them and to show them that there is hope.

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:25 NIV®

Father, even when we don’t know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for us,
and we trust God that He will always do what is best for us.

Amen.

 Almighty God, during Prisons Week we pray for all who are victims of crime.
Please comfort, sustain and strengthen them in their areas of need; and help them to feel your compassionate presence.
Please give your grace, peace and protection to all staff, Prison Chaplains and volunteers.
Loving God, we pray for prisoners and their families:
for prisoners to be rehabilitated, so that they can become good members of their communities on release;
for families to remain in contact with them; and to show patience, love and support when they are released.
Father, we pray for all who are working in the Criminal Justice System
that they will carry out their roles with compassion in an even-handed manner, and without prejudice.

Amen

Glynne Gordon-Carter