September 2024

And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”

Mark 1:17

At our recent Vacation Bible School last month, one of the outside games we played was Simon Says.  I’m sure you’ve heard of it before…maybe even played it quite a bit when you were younger.  I remember watching a professional Simon Says caller on TV once, and he always got every one playing the game to make the wrong move.  It’s a hard game, especially for children.  It’s not easy to hold your attention on what the leader is instructing you to do with the words “Simon Says” in front of the commands.  And it’s so easy to pay more attention to what the person next to you does, and mess up.  In life, we often find ourselves watching what other people do, and with or without thinking, we choose to do what they’re doing.  If someone calls me a name, I want to call them a name back at them.  If someone lies about something, we think we’re justified to lie just the same.  Whether it’s a good behavior or not, we can catch ourselves following what other people do without thinking about it.  And we soon realize we’re disobeying our Lord.  Jesus said, “Follow me…” and this is at the heart of being one of His disciples.  Even when we feel compelled to act like everybody else around us, Jesus says, "Follow me.”  How do we live the right way? By following what Jesus says.  How do we avoid committing sin? By following what Jesus says. How do we learn to live as Christians? By following what Jesus does.  Whenever it’s so tempting to just do what everybody else is doing, Jesus is calling us to follow Him.  No need to compare ourselves with everybody else or to be jealous of everyone else or to covet what somebody else has.  Simply follow Jesus.  Jesus has led the way for us. He promises abundant life to us. Jesus loves us.  So the next time you feel prompted to do what everybody else is doing, even though they’re headed down the wrong path, simply “Follow Jesus.”

Pastor Michele