What Jesus Did : John 1:43 - Challenge to Practicality
by Phil Ware
Challenge to Practicality - John 1:43
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Jesus found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." (ERV) Full TextKey Thought
Jesus finds Philip in Galilee. Philip, at his best, is a practical and sensible man. At his worst, Philip is earth-bound and without distinction. Yet Jesus saw something special in Philip. He was of eternal value, just like any other person. However, Jesus also felt Philip had something unique to offer to the work of the Kingdom. So led by God after a night of fervernt prayer, Jesus selected and designated Philip as one of his 12 apostles. Remarkably, when Jesus called him to be his disciple, Philip followed Jesus immediately and gave up everything. Like Philip, Jesus obviously sees more in us than others see. He also gives us the opportunity to do the dangerous, awesome, and adventurous: to follow him, and to be used by him, in mighty ways. Are you ready for adventure? Then come follow Jesus!
Today's Prayer
Gracious and Almighty God, forgive me for clinging to my habits, my earthbound forms of security, and my fears about surrendering everything to you. Please inspire me to greater courage to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. In the name of my Savior and Trailblazer I pray. Amen.
Today's Verses in Context
The next day John was there again. John had two of his followers with him. John saw Jesus walking by. John said, "Look, the Lamb of God !" The two followers heard John say this, so they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw the two men following him. Jesus asked, "What do you want?" The two men said, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" ("Rabbi" means "Teacher.") Jesus answered, "Come with me and you will see." So the two men went with Jesus. They saw the place where Jesus stayed. They stayed there with Jesus that day. It was about four o'clock. These two men followed Jesus after they heard about Jesus from John. One of these two men was named Andrew. Andrew was Simon Peter's brother. The first thing Andrew did was to go find his brother, Simon. Andrew said to Simon, "We have found the Messiah." ("Messiah" means "Christ.") Then Andrew brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at Simon and said, "You are Simon, the son of John. You will be called Cephas." ("Cephas" means "Peter.") The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. Jesus found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." Philip was from the town of Bethsaida, the same as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and told him, "Remember what Moses wrote in the law. Moses wrote about a man that was coming. The prophets wrote about him too. We have found him. His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph. He is from Nazareth." But Nathanael said to Philip, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Philip answered, "Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him. Jesus said, "This man coming is truly one of God's people. There is nothing false in him." Nathanael asked, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you when you were under the fig tree. That was before Philip told you about me." Then Nathanael said to Jesus, "Teacher, you are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel (God's people)." Jesus said to Nathanael, "I told you that I saw you under the fig tree. That is why you believe in me. But you will see much greater things than that!" Jesus also said, "I tell you the truth. You will all see heaven open. You will see 'angels of God going up and coming down' on the Son of Man."-- John 1:35-51 (ERV)
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