We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
Jesus calling us (1) [Mathew 4:18-22] We all want to live a life that follows Jesus more closely. May we all write “Follow Jesus” on the tablet of our hearts. What must we do to follow Jesus? As we meditate on Matthew 4:18-22, we would like to receive the lesson that God gives us by meditating on the scene where Jesus calls Peter and his brother Andrew, and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. Look at Matthew 4:19 – “Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men.” This is the word Jesus said to the fishermen when he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting their nets into the sea while he was walking on the shores of Galilee (v. 18). As I meditated on these words, I divided them into two categories. (1) It is Jesus’ calling. Jesus called Peter and Andrew, “Follow me.” (2) It is Jesus’ promise. That promise is, “I will ...