At Sagebrush, we desire to be fully devoted followers of Christ. We do not want to be halfway committed to following Him. We do not want to be almost fully committed to following Christ. We want to be followers of Christ who are one hundred percent devoted to following Him. After all, that is the call Jesus gave when He called people to follow Him during His ministry on earth.
Jesus' call to His disciples in was a call to be fully devoted. Luke 5 records the moments when Jesus called His first disciples. They were fishermen. A big crowd of people had gathered to hear Jesus preach. As Jesus was teaching, He noticed Simon, who is known today as Peter. He told Simon to go fishing. Simon replied to Jesus, "We worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing. But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again" (verse 5). Simon trusted Jesus so much that He obeyed Jesus' command, even when he did not understand it. When Simon and his fellow fishermen cast their nets again, their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!" (verse 6). Simon and his fellow fishermen, James and John, were amazed. Jesus said to them, "Don't be afraid! From now on you'll be fishing for people!" (verse 10). This invitation to follow Jesus was no ordinary call. It was a call to leave the life they knew as fishermen behind and follow Jesus. This was a call to full devotion. They were invited to trade in fishing for people for fishing for fish. What happened next is extraordinary. When they got back to shore, "they left everything and followed Jesus" (verse 11). They left their livelihood, their families, their reputations, and life as they knew it in order to follow Jesus. They answered Jesus' call to be fully devoted and gave everything to follow Him.
What about you? Jesus' call to follow Him is still a call for you and me today. How will you answer that call? Will you, like His disciples, be fully devoted followers of Christ? Or is something getting in the way of that call to follow Him? Is there anything you are holding on to in order to keep you from fully following Him? My friend, it is time today to let go of anything that keeps us from being fully devoted followers of Christ.
Take a few moments to answer the question, "Is there anything holding me back from being a fully devoted follower of Christ?" If so, what is it that is holding you back? Maybe there is a sin that you want to hold on to. Maybe a fear of giving up some of your time is keeping you from being a fully devoted follower. Perhaps a love of money or possessions is holding you back. Confess to God any area that is holding you back and ask Him to help you turn away from that area so that you can be a fully devoted follower of Him.
1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”
5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
