When Jesus said to ‘Follow Me‘, he was looking for completely committed followers, not just fans. He wants us to be all in, not just with our toes in the water at the edge of the pool. Meditate on these awesome verses and join in following the King of Kings!

• “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Matthew 4:19
• But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”  Matthew 8:22
• As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  Matthew 9:9
• Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.   Matthew 10:38
• Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
• Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Matthew 19:21
• Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.   Matthew 19:28
• “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  Matthew 1:17
• As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.  Mark 2:14
• Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Mark 10:21
• After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him,  Luke 5:27
• Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23
• He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”  Luke 9:59
• Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”  Luke 9:61
• And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.  Luke 14:27
• When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  Luke 18:22
• The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”  John 1:43
• When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:12
• My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27
• Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.  John 12:26
• Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”  John 21:19
• Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”  John 21:22

Watch this interview with Kyle Idleman, Teaching Pastor at Southeast Christian Church, talk about what it means to go from being an enthusiastic admirer of Jesus to a completely and utterly, committed follower.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVXs0vkQNvc

Visit their website for more testimonies at not a fan.

Interested in reading more what this means? Check out the book on Amazon…

The post Are You A Fan Or A Follower? first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.

Guest Blog Post: Marie Wikle known as @spreadingJOY on twitter. Full of encouragement and the desire to make a difference everywhere she goes, Marie sneaks away to the beach every single chance she gets. Here is a glimpse of the ocean through her eyes.

My heart is pounding! You’d think I had not been to the ocean in years, but actually, it’s only been a few months. I quickly head to the sandy shores of the Atlantic.   I’m giddy with delight! No matter how many times I come here, my heart feels as if it’s the first time I’ve seen it in years.  I love the ocean.  I love the smell, I love the sound, I love the sights! I simply love it.

The sand feels so cool on my feet.  I must remove my shoes to get the full effects. I love walking thru the sand to the water.  I reach the edge of the shore, the gentle waves lap up against me, saying “hello my dear friend! Do you know I love having you near me?”  I sit in the sand, near the water but not so close as to get soaked.

I keep my feet at the edge, enjoying the cool water washing over my toes as I gaze out over the glorious ocean.  I look straight ahead. As far as I can see is water.  This mighty ocean is so peaceful, so calming as it rocks back and forth showing the world that God is in control of the waves.  The gentle rocking is luring me into its massiveness by it mighty power.  So gentle, yet so huge and powerful. It can lull the most troubled heart to sleep easily and, yet, wipe out entire cities by its force.  I love the vastness of it.  I look to the left and the waters are never ending…just like God’s love for me. I look to the right and the waters go on forever. I love that.  I look ahead and imagine how deep the ocean must be.  No one can touch the bottom of the ocean.  I think how wonderful that is, because my sins are buried just that deep – as the deepest seas.  And, better than that, God forgets them!  He remembers them no more!  Amazing!

I look straight ahead and admire the utter vastness of the ocean and think of how big and mighty God truly is and yet – he takes the time to love me – little ole nobody – me.  God is bigger than this ocean, mightier than the wildest waves and wind and yet, for some reason, He draws me to Him. He calls me and  HE wants me to spend time with Him.  He can have anyone on the face of the earth, and he wants me.  I look at the sand and the wonderful treasures that are buried there. I see the normal ole seashells, plain,  like me. Millions of them are there.  Usually, I never pick them up unless they are shiny and beautiful.  I smile and wonder why God picks me up.  I’m not shiney and mercy, no where near beautiful.  Oh, I adore the cool seashells! I love when they are in whole pieces, but I rarely find them – and yet – I laugh to myself – when mom comes to the ocean, she comes back with oodles of cool shells that she found as gifts from the ocean. I smile and think to myself, she deserves those treasures from the ocean, she is truly a wonderful woman who deserves more than I can ever give her.

I sit beside the ocean for hours, soaking up every sound, every quiet clap of the waves, every gentle swoosh of the the water retreating back into its bed.  I love the deep and complete peace I feel as I sit there, beside the majestic ocean.   Knowing that as God controls the ocean, he truly controls everything in my life.

I look straight ahead,  a beautiful orange glow is emerging off of the horizon! I didn’t realize that God was giving me yet another gift! Another desire of my very own heart! The desire to see the full moon rise up out of the ocean, to light my night, to light my path,  to lead the way for me.  It creeps up, inch by inch, pouring more and more of its light right down upon me.  I smile and think “thank you Lord for the full moon” I have always loved how I feel closer to the Lord when it is shining down.  The full moon over the mighty ocean –  the greatest gift ever.

I love the glory of it all!  So majestic! The huge moon, watching my every step, lighting my way.  The ocean that is gentle, peaceful, yet strong enough to violently shatter the earth with its great waves.  I sit and dwell on His goodness. I soak up His greatness, His wonder, HIS love for me – thank you Father, that I can always visit the ocean in my minds eye.   Your grace is enough, and it truly does amaze me.  Your grace and love is sufficient and never ending – just like the ocean.

What do you see when you look at the Ocean?  Can you imagine how deep God’s love for you is?  Can you look out over the ocean and realize the power it takes to hold the water in place?

My Prayer for you when YOU look at the ocean!

When you see the perfect cute litte treasures of the “neat” shells, may you remember that YOU are that special and that out of all the millions of “shells” that you stand out and God is waiting to pick you up and place you with his prized shells so that you may bless the heart of others everytime someone looks at you.

When you feel the gentle waves lapping at your feet – may you be reminded of how tenderly God holds us in his hands – and how he comforts our hearts when we are troubled.

When you see the waves clapping – know that HE is coming for us one day.

When you see the waves crashing on the shore – remember that this is a tiny portion of how much power God holds and ALL THINGS ARE possible by him – for his children that HE adores.

When you see the never endingness of the ocean, may you be reminded of how HE loves us – truly deep down loves us. and that love is never ending.

When you gaze at the ocean and wonder how deep it is, may you be reminded that it is sooo deep that our deepest sins are buried there and even God himself can not get to them, nor can he remember them.

May you feel the love of the LORD sweep over you and on to your life as you gaze at the majestic ocean, that is nothing short of awesome!

Last Thought: Do you know that with all of the millions of “shells” that surround you, that God chooses YOU too!  He draws you.  He wants you to dwell with him.  Are you spending time with Him.  Are you being still beside the ocean and enjoying the view? *patting the sand* come…sit right here, next to me and let’s enjoy how awesome God is – together!

{{{HUGS}}} Yall!

The post The Majestic Ocean first appeared on CHRISTIAN REP.