The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 8 June 2021 – The Call To Be A Follower Of Jesus
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TOPIC: The Call To Be A Follower Of Jesus (Anglican Devotional 8 June 2021)
READ: John 1:43-51 (NKJV)
- The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, “Follow Me.”
- Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
- Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
- Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
- Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
- Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
- Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
- And He said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
THE MESSAGE:
Jesus had begun to call His first disciples. On His way to Galilee, our Lord Jesus saw Philip, called him and he immediately began to follow Him. Philip became a witness for Jesus as he shared his testimony with his friend, Nathaniel. Philip did not go into a lengthy talk with difficult theology. He simply told him about Jesus. Nathaniel was skeptical, ‘can anything good come out of Nazareth? He must have thought that the Messiah would come from an important town like Jerusalem (the capital) or Bethlehem (the city of David). Philip responds, “Come and see for yourself.” In spite or Nathaniel’s prejudice, Jesus commends him for being a true Israelite, in whom there was no deceit. When Jesus told Nathaniel that He had seen him earlier, Nathaniel immediately acknowledged Jesus as the “Son of God and King of Israel.”
As true believers, we should not let our prejudices and skepticisms stop us from following Jesus Christ. People meet Jesus with their deepest needs, anxieties, fears and burdens and He takes them away. We must examine ourselves in order not to be deceived by unreasonable prejudices in our human traditions, cultures, and secular ideologies. The nature of true Christianity is following in Jesus’ steps and devoting ourselves to Him daily.
PRAYER: Almighty God, take away all mv prejudices and hindrances from witnessing about You and help me never to hesitate to obey and follow You always. Amen.
