The One Who Called Us To Follow
The knowledge that turns followers into world transformers
Dear #DailyFollower,
Writing to you is one of the best parts of my day. I look forward to it because this is the start of something amazing that will plant the seeds of transformation in the hearts of followers that will change the world around them.
In Following Is Challenging, yesterday, I laid the foundation for today’s letter and several future letters, focusing on getting to know the ONE who called us to follow.
There were things that patriarchs and matriarchs like Stephen, James, Peter, Paul, Mary Magdalene, Dorcas, Priscilla, and Phoebe knew about Him that made them give up everything they held dear to them to follow Him.
The impact of their decisions to actively follow over 2,000 years ago is still being felt today. There aren’t many better examples of transgenerational impact than the examples of the effects the lives of the disciples of Jesus and their disciples have had on the world.
Their diligent works, in partnership with the Spirit of Jesus, paved the way for you and me to start or continue our journeys to become active followers like them in the quest to contribute our part to Jesus's work in our times.
So, what did these patriarchs and matriarchs know? Or what did they come to learn about Jesus that moved them from passive followers to active followers?
I asked these questions because I believed getting answers would change the nature and quality of my commitment to my faith in Jesus.
Thankfully, I was right! Over the past four years, through diligent (ongoing) studies, I’ve found some of the things our patriarchs and matriarchs of faith knew and (or) came to learn about Jesus that made them followers that God could use to transform their world.
None of these things would be new to bible students. However, as I share these things that I have come to learn, I will also share the new systems these insights have helped me build that have helped me move from passive following to active following.
So, what are these things?
The things that I have now come to know and am still learning about Jesus that I hope to share with you can be classified into three categories:
Things said about Christ before His earthly ministry
Things Christ said during His earthly ministry
Things said about Christ after His earthly ministry
Combining these three things provides a body of knowledge that enables any believer to design three vital systems with spiritual intelligence to transform them into active followers of Jesus. These systems are:
Systems of thinking
Systems of speaking
Systems of doing
In my transformation journey, I’ve found that the combination of these three bodies of knowledge about Christ and these three systems re-energised my quest to follow Jesus and refined its nature and quality, moving me from a half-hearted follower to a committed follower, willing to spend and be spent in service of my Master.
Over the next few weeks, I will review the Scriptures, sharing things about Christ in each of the three categories listed above and how they helped me design systems of thinking, speaking, and doing that first shaped my journey as an active disciple of Jesus in 2020 and continue to shape it today.
I would love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Yours faithfully,
John - One #DailyFollower