In Matthew 4:19-20 Jesus said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
The Greek word in this passage "follow me" is “deute” meaning come hither, come now, come after me, be my disciples. The word “follow” is defined in the dictionary as: (1) To go after or behind; to walk, ride or will usually follow a brave officer. (2) To pursue; to chase; as an enemy, or as game. (3) To accompany; to attend in a journey. (4) To accompany; to be of the same company; to attend, for any purpose. (5) To succeed in order of time; to come after; as a storm is followed by a calm. (6) To be consequential; to result from, as effect from a cause. Intemperance is often followed by disease or poverty, or by both. (7) To result from, as an inference or deduction. It follows from these facts that the accused is guilty. (8) To pursue with the eye; to keep the eyes fixed on a moving body. (9) To imitate; to copy; as, to follow a pattern or model; to follow the latest fashion. (10) To embrace; to adopt and maintain; to have or entertain like opinions; to think or believe like another. (11) To obey; to observe; to practice; to act in conformity to. It is our duty to follow the commands of Christ. Good soldiers follow the orders of their Commanding Officer; good servants follow the directions of their employer. (12) To pursue as an object of desire; to endeavor to obtain. (13) To use; to practice; to make the chief business; as, to follow the profession of law. (14) To adhere to; to side with. Christians follow a biblical worldview. 15. To adhere to; to honor; to worship; to serve. If the Lord be God, follow him. (16) To be led or guided by. (17) To move on in the same course or direction; to be guided by; as, to follow a track or course.
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” The Greek word here for “deny himself” is “aparneomai”, meaning to forget one's self, lose sight of one's self and one's own interests; to deny utterly, to disown, and abstain. 2 Corinthians 5:14-18 explains that, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God. The transformation is a metamorphosis to a whole new heart, mind and soul with a restored spirit, spiritual connection and discernment. In John 8:12 Jesus spoke saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The United States Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The US Constitution ends with these words: “Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty-seven. The National Motto of the United States is: “In God We Trust”. The National Pledge of Allegiance states: “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” That Liberty and Justice are defined by God, not man. In their hate, unregenerate atheistic secular revisionist in rebellion against God and the Savior of the World reject the foundations of this Christian nation, which record documents confirm, and outright lie about the truth to suppress. Fallen man’s inequity against God continues as willful sin hates authority, responsibility and accountability to their sovereign Maker. They love the darkness of sin more than light.
Let's continue this message on being a "Follower" of God and Country in the next post.
Be light! In Christ, Brian
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