Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Making Much Of The Lord Jesus

MATTHEW 4:23-25 – And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

THEME OF THE DAY. MAKING MUCH OF THE LORD JESUS. The clock read 5:15 a.m. It was around the normal time give or take fifteen minutes. I had already been up awhile, so it wasn’t a wake-up call. My dog, Jake, strolled over to the couch I was sitting on and whimpered. It was his good morning greeting, “Hey, time to go. Time for a walk.” Checking the temperature, then looking outside, it wasn’t pretty. The temperature was fine. The outside was not. A light rain and a lot of wind, but Jake would not be denied so out we went.

We took our normal route and rounding a corner, I watched a recycling bin blow over in the howling winds and a lot of its contents begin to litter the street. I had seen the homeowner a few times in the past and we exchanged some brief hellos, but no lengthy conversation. My immediate impression of him was, “He is a Christian.” I am sure you have encountered those “gut feelings” when meeting someone for the first time. Well, as the wind kept emptying his recycling bin, I said to Jake, “Friend, I think a little early morning good Samaritan act is in store” so we began gathering the paper goods along the street and placing them back in the bin. The homeowner came out and immediately chipped in with a hearty “Thank you so much. I didn’t see it blow open.” I replied, “You are welcome” and then asked, “How are you doing?” He stopped, looked at me with a smile and a joy in his face, then said, “I am fine. The Lord has been very good to me.” Wow! That was awesome and I quickly returned the words, “Yes, and He always is, isn’t he?” We finished the job, offered a blessed day to one another, and Jake and I resumed our walk. I kept thinking, “What a great way to start a morning. Meeting someone, even a relative stranger, who made much of the Lord and that long before many people are even out of bed.” Then, I asked myself, “Do you live each day seeking to make much of Jesus to the people God brings into your life?” I now ask that question to you . . .

In today’s scripture, the people were making much of the Lord Jesus and as a result, His fame spread throughout the land. He was preaching, healing, and changing lives. Such impact on people would not be kept a secret. And the impact the Lord Jesus has on each of our lives must not be a private experience either. We have a privilege, responsibility, and opportunity to say a word about Jesus, do a deed for Jesus, and make much of Him every day of our lives. Are we? All it takes is to get close to Him in His Word and prayer. No one experiencing the reality of the Lord Jesus in their lives will be able to remain silent about Him from their lives. We will be wonderfully compelled to share Him on a regularly basis.

So, as the course of your day unfolds, ensure you spend quality time with Jesus. The more you know Him, the more you will long to make His fame known in your sphere of influence. And after all, that is why we are saved – to see Him increase and us decrease; to make much of Him and little of us (John 3:30).

PRAYER: “Father, help me see one of my greatest privileges is to make much of the Lord Jesus in my life.”

QUOTE: “Every day strive to make much of Jesus to people in your world, not with force, but in modeling.”