Jesus Along Side

Meditations for Seeking the Life in Christ

Daily Thoughts 

January 10, 2025

Jesus Along Side

Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Mark 1:17-18

Read: Mark 1: 12-20

Jesus began his public ministry by announcing, “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15) While the people of Israel were desperate for God to rescue His people, the people had to make a choice. The people had to recognize they had many competing loyalties. They trusted their ancestry, their land, their Temple, their laws and even, at times, their God, provided He did what they wanted him to do. But Jesus was calling them (and us) to something new God was doing. He was inviting them to come into His new Kingdom. But first they had to cut their ties to their loyalties and put their faith and trust in Jesus.

That is not easy to do. In today’s passage, Peter, Andrew, James and John cut the ties to their old loyalties and followed Jesus. How did Jesus connect to the people? How did he gain their trust, trust in him enough to cut their ties to their way of life?

I believe he did it then, and does it today, by becoming one with them. I’m not sure which truth about Jesus marveled his followers the most. He was fully divine, as evidenced by his many miracles.  He was also fully human, as evidenced by the friendships he made with the people. Jesus connected with the people on a level that made him vulnerable to being hurt. He still does. This personal connection led Jesus’ followers, such as the Apostle Paul, to proclaim that everything in his life was junk compared to knowing Christ Jesus.

My Takeaway: As I pondered today’s reading, I thought of all the many ways Jesus has personally broken into my life and made himself known to me. My personal experiences with Jesus cause me to continually ask, “Do I find my security, my identity in Christ alone, or do I still have competing loyalties? How about you?

Sē’lah

My book on prayer,

First Think, Then Pray

is now available on Amazon Kindle.

 

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2025 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.