1 May, 2009

Follow Me

Who Are You Following?

Ashton Kutcher Beats CNN, Becomes First 'Twitter Millionaire'

Ashton Kutcher has beaten CNN.

The 31-year-old actor, best known for "That 70s Show" and for marrying actress Demi Moore, 15 years his senior, became the first Twitter user  to garner more than one million "followers" late Thursday evening.

For the past few days, he'd been locked in a race with CNN's breaking news feed to become the first "Twitter millionaire."

But just before midnight Thursday — or the wee hours of Friday morning on the East Coast — Kutcher's account edged over the line as he, Moore and some friends broadcast a Web stream of themselves watching the Twitter numbers.

Story: www.foxnews.com
Image: www.images.google.com

Mark 1:16-20 (ESV)

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets.  20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servant and followed him.

Matthew 16:24-25 (ESV)

24Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What does today's God's Story Scripture teach us about Following Him?

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have been among the first disciples that Jesus called to follow him?  Check out the Life Application Study Bible notes for Mark 1:16-20:

"We often assume that Jesus' disciples were great men of faith from the first time they met Jesus.  But they had to grow in their faith just as all believers do.  This is apparently not the only time Jesus called Peter, James, and John to follow him (see Luke 5:1-11 and John 1:35-42 for two other times). Although it took time for Jesus' call and his message to get through, the disciples followed. In the same way, we may question and falter, but we must never stop following Jesus."

Obviously, following Jesus and following Ashton Kutcher (or anyone else) on Twitter are totally different.  Yet we use the same word.  So what's the word follow mean to you? What does it look like to follow Jesus.  Matthew reminds us that Jesus says it is about total commitment.  Not just a "tweet" for the day, but a total commitment to let him change our lives!!

How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?

  • Are you totally committed to following Jesus no matter what it costs?  Ask Jesus to become the very center of your life, not just something you check off of your list of things to do, or people to check in with.
  • Are you allowing Jesus to make you a "fisher of men?"  When we say yes to following Jesus, he begins to overflow from our lives into the lives of others.
  • The first disciples had to make a difficult decision to follow Jesus.  They had to lay down their own plans for their lives and follow him.  Take some time this weekend to listen to God.  Is He calling you out to possibly serve Him with your vocation as well as your everyday life?

How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?

  • Do you know some followers of Jesus who are "faltering or wavering?" Encourage them to stay in the race and to never stop following Jesus.
  • Where should you go fishing?  Are there people in your school, neighborhood, or family who need to know the love that Jesus has for them?  Let his love for you overflow into their lives today.
  • Are you sensing that God might be calling you to a lifetime of serving him full-time?  Seek out others to pray with you and for you as you seek God's direction for your life.
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The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.