We step into the week
In the name of the Father, God of all things visible and invisible
and of the Son, who is Immanuel, God-with-us
and of the Spirit of God, who is training us to be godly in our day-to-day living.

We live this week, Father, celebrating that You are sovereign, ruling all things and working things for the good of your people;

We live this week, Jesus, celebrating that you are constantly working in our hearts to shape us as you desire us to become;

We live this week, Spirit, celebrating your leadership in our training to become godly, and by whose power it is possible.

Amen.

John 1:35-46

The next day John the Baptist was with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”),  “where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We’ve found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

Change My Heart
Written by Eddie Espinosa

Change my heart Oh God,
make it ever true.
Change my heart Oh God,
may I be like You.
You are the potter, I am the clay,
Mold me and make me, this is what I pray.

Wednesdays will serve as a lyrical reminder to use music to connect with the Lord and worship Him daily. Consider taking ten minutes a day to stop and listen – or even sing along. Let the Holy Spirit use music to feed your soul.

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Apostle Paul

“What is a Disciple?” part 2, the Heart: Being Changed by Jesus

And I will make you… Using God’s Word, Spirit, and body of believers, Jesus brings change into the lives of his disciples. The result is altered attitudes and shifting priorities. This happens as you spend time in relationship with Jesus in prayer, bible study, meditation & with his people in small group, worship and fellowship.

John 15:5

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
- Jesus

Father God, Jesus called you the Gardener. With him as the Vine, and me as one of the branches, it is clear that my soul is in need of the soul-nourishing connection with him. Keep me close and well-connected that I may flourish under his nurturing. Let it sink in deeply that apart from him I can do nothing of which you desire, but in him, I can indeed bear much fruit to your glory. In his name I pray,
Amen.

Jesus began this grand experiment with his twelve followers. They are like his pilot group... [They] change the world because they are with God through Jesus. Then there is what has come to be called the Acts 2 community - the first attempt at church. Jesus has returned to be with his Father, but he is still present through his Holy Spirit. Though he is not physically present, his followers find another way of doing life. They devote themselves every day to what Jesus taught: to prayer, to fellowship, to breaking of bread together. They share what they own, they serve each other's needs. Ethnic barriers came down as they became known by the way they loved each other. It's a different community, devoted to a Jesus way of life with God.
- Soul Keeping, by John Ortberg, p. 118,119

Andrew, the inviter: In John 1, we find initially that future disciple-of-Jesus Andrew is a current follower of John the Baptist. While under John’s discipleship, he learns (from John) that Jesus is the “Lamb of God” – a phrase equated with the promised Messiah. Once Andrew establishes a connection with Jesus, he immediately goes to invite his brother to make the same connection. And while his better-known brother Peter usually gets identified as the one who leaves behind the boat and nets to follow Jesus, Andrew makes the same commitment too – for the rest of his life. Christian tradition has Andrew being crucified in the northern reaches of Greece, a clear affirmation of following the command to make disciples of all nations.

Acts 4:13

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Thank you Father for the blessings of your love and your calling upon our lives. We look forward to the continued blessing of being conformed to the image of Your Son Jesus – what you have destined for us from the beginning. May we spend ample time under Your Spirit’s tutelage to the point that it can be said of us as was of Peter and John – that we have “been with Jesus”. In His name I pray.

Amen.