So,
my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work
enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is
ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:58
Then
Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to
him. As he walked along, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at his tax
collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him.
So Levi got up and followed him. Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to
his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other
disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus'
followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him
eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples,
"Why does he eat with such scum?" When Jesus heard this, he told
them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call
not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are
sinners." Mark 2:13-17
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| Fellowship along the Atlantic beach South Carolina |
Sick or Healthy? Jesus was speaking to
both…or was He? Are the Pharisees just as “sick” as those scum whom they were criticizing? I think Jesus was telling them
that they were. He was likening Himself to a doctor—and as a phenomenal
healer—He was one. But see what He said…Healthy
people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. Those Pharisees needed Jesus as
much as the tax collectors and disreputable sinners gathered around the table
with Him. They needed to see Jesus as their Messiah—but they refused to
acknowledge Him—to recognize that He had come to provide salvation. Spiritual
salvation. The Jews as a whole were seeking a political king to save them from
Roman oppression. Jesus was a spiritual King sent to rescue and save the
Jews…and all of mankind from spiritual oppression—better known as sin—but the
Pharisees couldn’t see that in Jesus. Their self-righteous holiness blinded them to forming a
relationship with a nonconformist teacher they saw as rebellious and dangerous
to the traditions of their religion.
How is Jesus viewed today? Is He considered
the Messiah to the Jews or the Gentiles? Is He your Savior? It was noted last
year that 60% of the people in the Tri-Cities where I live don’t identify with
any religion. That is a lot of unchurched people. Are you “unchurched” or do
you seek Jesus on your own time and space? I used to think that my relationship
with Jesus was very private—just between Him and me, although I know well the
scripture about the necessity of not forsaking fellowship.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the
hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of
ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not
neglect our meeting together (fellowship), as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the
day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:23-25
What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we
walked together to the house of God. Psalm 55:14
Fellowship, meeting together for study,
social events, meals, and encouragement, is essential for Christian growth—but
just as important is fellowship with
God. Spending time with God. Jesus was a good example of that. Consider all the
times that He went off by Himself to pray. God has a special respect for those
who seek Him and walk in fellowship with Him.
Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got
up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35
Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless
person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
Genesis 6:9.
Do you think you are righteous or do you
see yourself as a sinner? Do you seek God first in your life…and have you found
Jesus as your Messiah? Are you working enthusiastically as you fellowship with God
and with others?
Prayer
~ Trinity…Father, Son and Holy Spirit—awaken in me a deeper desire to know You
more completely and to find opportunities to share You with others around me.
We all need You as our spiritual doctor—for all have sinner and fallen short of
the glory of God. Thank You for forgiveness of our sins and for being our Lord,
Savior, Creator, Redeemer, Friend, Father, Counselor, King of Kings…and Almighty
God.
Daily
Bible Reading: Psalm 56, 120, 140-142
© 2019 Text and
photos by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All
scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
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