nothing is as fatal to faith as indifference

Here's our first couple of passages to read this week: 

Matthew 4:18-22 

¹⁸As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ¹⁹"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." ²⁰At once they left their nets and followed him. ²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, ²²and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Luke 9:57-62

 ⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." ⁵⁸Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."⁵⁹He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." ⁶⁰Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."⁶¹ Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." ⁶²Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

So these are two moments were people were faced with a decision, to follow Jesus or not. Some dropped everything and other's had to take a moment to consider the cost. I have some questions for you. Some you can answer here, but if they are too personal don't worry, all I ask is that you think about them. 

Questions: 

- People dropped everything to follow Jesus. What does that tell you about his character or what does that make you think he was like? 

- What would a person have to be like for you to consider following them? 

- What risks do the people in these passages face in following Jesus?

- Do you think Jesus is saying it's bad to like things like money, jobs, and family? 

- What things might we have to drop because they get in the way of our pursuit of God? 

- What kinds of things do you think we are called to now? 

- What would it take for you to follow Jesus whole heartedly?

So I know some of these questions are a little intense. I wanted to challenge you just a bit. So write your responses here and of course your questions. I will answer them to the best of my ability, and of course anyone else can answer them too. Please write your name at the end of your response so that we can all know who's writing. I hope you are all having an amazing summer so far! I am praying for those prayer requests and I look forward to hearing from you soon!! :) 

Abby

The Plan

Hey All, 

So this is the plan: After finals week, I will start posting weekly Bible readings. I'll post some questions to get us started too. Then you all can sign in and write your questions and responses. Just like we do in Bible study only we will type them to eachother since we can't all be together. I hope and pray everyone's finals went well! Check this the 25th and our first reading should be up :).

Talk to you all soon, 

Abby

Temique's Poem

Miles Near But So Far Gone

 

I heard he was miles near

But I’m so far gone

In search of someone so beautiful and so strong

That breaks the bread in the kingdom on the table where I belong

But so long is the journey

Distracted.

My faith is so torn

But I have worn the words of faith

And I have seen the vision of hope

And still I come up short

I desire to praise

I desire to love

My truest desire is to attain the image of him.

Him who does not speak his name

But calls onto mine

And yet I only receive sounds of the wind

But is it him?

The burning in my heart

When my breath stops

I can’t see cause I’m blinded by his grace

He needs not to show his face

He needs only to see my faith

“How foolish you are and how slow of heart…” The wind speaks

My eyes stand still and no more did I feel chills

Astonished by his presence

My heart skips a beat.

No longer is it slow

Gone from my sight

My mind fades to black

Now on the right track

Telling others that these words are true

He has broken bread

Tied up lose threads

And has filtered my soul with pure thoughts in my head

With him, my past lays to rest

I have been given the ultimate test.

Tell all who do not know

That he lives after being risen from his death.