In Touch Daily DEVOTIONAL for 23rd October 2023 Monday
You are welcome to Today’s In Touch Daily Devotional written by Dr Charles Stanley and published by In Touch Ministry. Charles F. Stanley is the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. He demonstrates a keen awareness of people’s needs and provides Christ-centered biblically-based principles for everyday life.
Today’s Topic: Faith to Leave
Have you decided to follow Jesus whenever and wherever He leads?
Scripture: Mark 1:16-20
16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.
19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
In Touch Daily Devotional – Dr. Charles Stanley 23rd October 2023
When Jesus met Simon and Andrew, the brothers weren’t extraordinary saints. The same was true of James and John. They were all just fishermen—men who, along with many others, listened to the Lord’s teaching. What set them apart was their faith to leave behind their old life for a new way of living.
Mark is fond of using the word immediately. In his gospel, he writes that the brothers “immediately” left their nets and followed Jesus. We might miss the enormity of this decision. The men left their businesses—their source of income—but that was only the beginning. More than three years of discipleship took them far from family, home, comfort, and safety. They answered Jesus’ call with faith, not only to believe but also to leave.
We may not receive so radical a call. Yet we aren’t all that different from the disciples. When Jesus invites us to follow Him, we must set aside everything that competes for our trust in Him. In other words, we must be willing to leave our own “nets”—jobs and homes, or perhaps comfort and success—when the Lord calls us to do so. What would it take for you to have that kind of faith?
Bible in One Year: Luke 6-7
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