Matthew 4:19-20

Good Morning Father

What was it that made 12 men leave their lives to follow a stranger. What did they see in Jesus. Isaiah tells us that He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. What was it that Matthew saw that made him walk away from his pile of money and never look back.

What was it that made a roman centurion look up at a naked, brutalized body on a cross and say truly this was the Son of God. What did he see?

Was Jesus displaying Your splendor? Was Jesus revealing Your Glory? Was He the visible witness of Your love?

Father, Do people see in us what they saw in Jesus? Do they see us displaying Your Splendor? Do we reveal Your Glory? Are we a visible witness of Your love.

Father it seems we’ve taken the easy way out. We’ve segregated ourselves from the very people You came to seek and save. We have created ways to avoid being faced with the challenge of having to seek You to for guidance, protection, and wisdom. We’ve created private schools, segregated churches, programs, and entertainment features to make us look good instead of being a light that points people to the cross. In reality, Father, we’ve lost our way. We haven’t been a visible witness of Your love. But that was yesterday. Today we make a conscious choice to love like Jesus loves, to be a witness of His love in our lives. We choose to display Your splendor and reveal Your glory. We choose to pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

We pause today to kneel at the cross and ask you to forgive our sins and our apathy. We ask You to help us keep our eyes, our minds, and our hearts focused on You. We ask You to help us keep our ears tuned to Your voice.

As we participate in Your final harvest, Father, may we like Jesus disciples, follow, without every looking back.

Be blessed as we praise, be honored as we worship. And may we live to make God visible.

In the name of Jesus we pray.

Amen