Good Morning Friends,
Today’s lectionary poses some interesting text that connects the Lordship of Christ to our belief in the resurrection and on this day which is celebrated in some traditions as Saint Andrews Day our willingness to evangelize and support others. And it is more than an intellectual conviction of our confession of who Jesus is. It is something born out of our hearts but also lips. We are to believe and confess that the purpose of love revealed in Christ is strong enough to save us. We say the Apostle’s Creed as a demonstration of what we claim to believe. But, I wonder, How Many Actually Believe In The Resurrection Enough To Follow Jesus To The Ends Of The Earth?
Scripture: because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”
Romans 10:9-18 (NRSV)
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Matthew 4:18-22 (NRSV)
Message: Today in some traditions is Saint Andrew’s Day, the patron Saint of Farmworkers and perhaps one of the reasons that Scotland has produced so many preachers. And it has greater meaning for me today not just because my son-in-law is named Andrew but moreover because I was raised in a church with a Scottish minister and have worked in Immokalee, Florida in organizations providing outreach to farmworkers and their children. Without a doubt Andrew’s call from Jesus Christ placed him in a special group of four with Peter, James, and John, all acting as fishermen in the weeks and months of their first acquaintance with Our Lord. They were fishers of fish to become fishers of men. These first apostles were, with the other eight, to be the core of the early Movement that has become the called-out assembly of God. But Andrew one might say was the first Christian Evangelist and an important one for he brought Simon Peter to Jesus. And he was involved actively in the bringing of the loaves and fish of a little boy to Jesus so that they could be multiplied. He was repentant and pliable and teachable and when the truth broke upon him, he accepted it and shared it with others. And he like Peter, James and John would totally give up his fishing trade in Lake Tiberias so that they could follow Jesus full-time and extend His mission, as the Lord commanded, to the ends of the earth, proclaiming the Gospel and baptizing all the nations. Yes, Andrew was all in for the cause of Christ for he embraced Jesus’ Gospel, Jesus’ moral code and Jesus’ Kingdom characterized by the works of the Holy Spirit’s love. Here this love drives out fear. Friends here we have a demonstration in the life of Andrew of how faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ and what we sing. If you are listening to the voice of God, straining to hear what Our Lord wants for your life, be open to the call. You have been called to be you for Christ. So, listen, discern, and follow Jesus in the power of the Spirit of God’s love. You will never regret heeding the call to play your part in being fishers of people and a voice of the Gospel set to music.
And So, when it comes to our salvation, we are either dead or alive…saved or not saved but measuring the health of our faith does not end there. Most Christians I know live well for Christ in some areas of their lives but struggle in other areas. I think Paul faced some of these problems and yet he was committed where it counted most. Of course, we all struggle with sin, and it can be a barrier to us being in a right relationship response to a loving God. The thing is that the quality of our relationship with Jesus, our trust, faith, hope, and love depend on our ability to respond. It is one thing to acknowledge Jesus and another to follow him. Like two sides of a coin, there is an inward as well as an outward experience of Christ and they belong together as a gift that is for all who would choose to receive salvation. The way of deliverance is based on faith that is manifested in works that in turn awaken more faith as a witness to the Gospel shared. Friends, the disciples followed Jesus in the flesh before the resurrection but after Christ died, they became part of a new covenant that lives on in each of us if we believe rightly and share what we believe as fishers of men.
Pray we have an outward expression of an inward conviction.
Pray God remove gossip, jealousy, greed, lust, dishonesty, hatred, and anger from our lives. Pray we realize that the only way to be righteous is through Christ. Pray we not only hear the Word but share it in a way that prompts our right response and an act of commitment in others. Pray we see God in Jesus and emulate that outreach of love as the best pattern of existence ever.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 