KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Chapters: John 20-21
Message: Follow Me
Hello My Friend,
As Christians, we are going to see a lot of people doing things that are questionable, fully knowing that it is against the will of God, I have even spoken to people that said they would not get saved until they were ready to give up their worldly life. The problem with waiting is that we never know when our last day on earth will be, and while we are to never give up on encouraging one to come to Christ, it is not for us to question God as to why they will not get saved, it is for us to do the work of Christ. “Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” – John 21:22.
“If I will that he tarry till I come,” There are some people in this world, like Judah Iscariot, who know all about Jesus, but will never believe, and Jesus knows this. Do not assume that the second someone is born they are automatically destined for either heaven or hell, God never works that way. It all comes down to faith and if God sees no hope in that soul every coming to Christ He will harden their heart, and they will never see Him for who He truly is until the day they die. Now, Mary Magdalene and some of the other women were the first to find out that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, of course, this led to all sorts of questions. She runs down the hill, sees a couple of disciples, perhaps they were coming also to visit the grave, and tells them that Jesus was missing.
“Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.” – John 20:3-9.
“and he saw, and believed.” That other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, is John, when he first heard that the body of Jesus was gone he could not wait to get to the tomb, but something held him back from going in to see if it were really true, perhaps it was fear of the unknown. Peter did not hesitate, he ran in right away, then when John saw him go in, he followed and believed right away. We can put our names in place of the one whom Jesus loved because He loves us all, many times we stand at the door, looking out into the most amazing things, but we just stand there, unsure if we should take that step. As Christians, we are the examples that lead others follow through the door to Christ, even if they do not see Him they will believe because you believe. “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” – I Timothy 4:12.
The disciples took off to find the others, but Mary stayed behind, wondering who would be so cruel as to take His body. As she sat there crying she hears a voice. “And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” – John 20:14-17.
“Jesus saith unto her, Mary.” As soon as Jesus called her name, she knew who He was. How amazing is it that all Jesus has to do is speak our name and we immediately respond? People often say that God does not speak to you directly as He did Moses or the other prophets, but I disagree, I know He speaks directly to you because He spoke to me. He told me to get up, and I listened. Life is so hard at times, there are so many things that we will never understand, but we do not have to because Jesus knows our name, we not only are one with Him, we are one with His Father, Almighty God Himself, and He does speak to His children by name. Now, as Jesus headed toward Galilee He spoke to a few people here and there, the disciples gathered together, I imagine to talk about all this only to have Jesus show up.
“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” – John 20:21-25,30-31.
“Receive ye the Holy Ghost:” The second we are saved we receive the Spirit of God in us and all of our sins are washed away. How awesome is that! We do not have to do anything either, just believe. Thomas had to see the holes in His hands before he believed, even then Jesus told him he had to look believing. So many people see the miracles of Jesus every day, yet because they do not actually see it with their eyes they do not believe. When Jesus saves a soul He is not looking for what we did in His name, how good we are, or what we believe by sight, He is looking for our faith in the Gospel. If we believe in Him even though we do not see Him, imagine what we will see in this life and the next to come. Some of the disciples, not knowing what they were to do since Jesus was no longer giving them instruction, went back to their old job of fishing. They had no luck catching fish until Jesus showed up and told them where to cast the net, then He calls them to shore.
“And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.” – John 21:8-13.
“they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.” Jesus saw their faith, He had dinner already prepared for them. Many, many times, Jesus already has things prepared for us, remember, He said that where He is going He is preparing a place for us too, but the key to obtaining them is trusting Him by doing what He asks us to do. Jesus will never force us to do anything, but if we are willing to do as He asks we will see so many blessings, and not just in heaven, here too. My favorite verses in the whole Bible apart from the Book of Job, which turned me to Christ, is the following, when Jesus asks Peter if he loved Him three times.
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” – John 21:15-19.
“and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” Jesus knows our faith, He knows how much we love Him, even when we go off doing our own thing because we are not quite sure what He has for us to do, and He knows how much we love Him. That is why I love these verses, sometimes when I am grieving why Jesus keeps asking me the same question I am reminded that I need to make sure I am the example others need to bring them to Christ. We are not going to be around forever, which is why we need to groom others to take over for us so they can continue where we left off. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.” – John 20:27.
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, I will never forget the day that You showed me who You are and that it was time to follow You faithfully. You have trusted me with Your Words to tell the world how much You love them, even when I am at a crossroads and not sure what You want me to do. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, and guidance to be the example You need me to be to feed Your lambs so they can follow in my footsteps and be witnesses too. Pour Your Spirit upon me, fill me with Your mercy and grace, and wherever You are let me follow You. In Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://imfollowingjesus.com/follow-Jesus.html
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2016 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.