Wednesday - Following Christ

Prayer: Creator God,  in the middle of the week we are reminded that You call us to be involved in the middle of everything that happens.  May we sense Your presence in our activities today, and remember to take You with us into our daily lives, Lord Jesus. Amen.

 

Read  St. Matthew 4: 18 – 22

Jesus calls the disciples and uses three words… “Come, follow me”.   And the men followed Jesus.   How simple is that?!  At once the men left their nets and followed Jesus. 

Andrew, Peter, James, and John did not stand by the shore and hum and haw about following Jesus.  They immediately dropped their nets and followed Jesus. 

Today,  the primary way of following Jesus is to worship together.  In the 2001 book by the Iona Community in Scotland,  “The Iona Abbey Worship Book”,  the community looks upon Worship as the existence of the central Gospel conviction that worship is all that we are and all that we do.  The Iona Community believes that all we do is an offering to God,  or nothing.  We can not pick or choose.  We either worship or we do not worship. Worship is the heart of the Church’s life and mission.  Worship is the heart of our life and mission.     Worship brings us wholeness of life and closer to God.    

The Iona Community says that Worship is everything we do both inside and outside of the Church.  When formal worship ends,  we go forth into the community… yet God is with us in all the we do and say, and we are with God.  Will you follow Christ today?

 Prayer: Jesus, You have called us by name, and we will follow You wherever You lead us today and always. Help us to be Your hands and Your feet in our community for those who can not ask for help…. for those who need help getting their lives back on track…. for those who need to see Your glory.   This we ask in Your name.  Amen.