By Ramesh C.Reddy
Pittsburgh Standard

September 05, 2008

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SCRIPTURE:
“When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him." (Mark 1:19-20, NIV)

Observations:
I asked myself what does Jesus do?
1. Jesus went a little farther after calling Simon and Andrew.
2. Jesus saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat preparing their nets.
3. Jesus calls them without delay.

Interpretations:
I asked myself why is it interesting that Jesus calls James and John without delay?
I found it very interesting that Jesus sees James and John and calls them WITHOUT DELAY. There is no procrastination with Jesus. Jesus started His ministry and looked for helpers immediately to help Him carry it through. That is so cool that Jesus turned to fallible human beings to help accomplish His purposes. James and John at hearing the voice of Jesus leave their father Zebedee with the hired help and follow Jesus.

(To be continued...)

Implications:
I saw important implications for my own life. When Jesus started his ministry, there is no procrastination with Jesus. Jesus did not delay to look for help to help Him carry His ministry through. I should not delay to seek help when I am doing God's ministry for His honor and glory. I need to seek help without trying to do it alone. Not only that, the implications can be far reaching addressing the issue of not procrastinating in things that need to be done. Jesus did not say to Himself, 'I will call them some other time because I have Peter and Andrew' right now! No, Jesus called them without delay!

I ask you now dear friend, without  having to procrastinate, what should you do?
Dear friend, without delay, James and John were called to follow Jesus. Each one of us is called to do things for the Lord. Most importantly, we are called to follow Him in our daily lives without delay. Without delay, the Lord Jesus could be putting things on your heart to start. As James and John followed Jesus without delay, you and I should start to do things we know the Lord wants us to do. There should not be any procrastination at all.

If you are a student, you need to work hard in your studies as unto the Lord. As much as possible as time allows and permit, you should work on your assignments without delay for the honor and glory of the Lord.

If you are a worker, you need to work hard at your jobs and do things you need to do without delay for the honor and glory of the Lord.

If you are parent, son, daughter, wife, husband, etc, you need to take care of things in the family without putting it of whether it is saying to someone, 'I LOVE YOU', going to someone's games, spending quality time with them, without putting it off.

All of us have been called to reach others with the love of Christ without delay. Jesus did not delay when it came to the Gospel and neither should we. The more we delay, the more we let sin rule in the hearts of our neighbors who do not know Jesus. The more we delay, the deadly virus continues to take root eating the inside of those that do not know Jesus.

Friend, that is so dangerous when we allow sin to eat the lives of our family members, our friends, our neighbors, etc who do not know Jesus. Jesus called 4 disciples to come follow Him so He can make them fisherman for the souls of men. Jesus knew the importance of not going it alone and also knew how important it was to preach the Good News.

Procrastination will only lead people further away from Jesus and stay in the arms of Satan and his henchmen. We should in the power of the Holy Spirit want to snatch everyone Satan has a hold on. We can only do that by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Friend, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We all need the Savior's redemptive intervention and the Lord Jesus has done that for our lives.

As the song goes, 'Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found'

Friend, we know what sin has done in our lives before Christ the Lord has intervened to save us and make us want what He wants us to be. Let us spread the Good News of Jesus Christ without delay so others can experience the love of Jesus Christ.

Man and God were together in the Garden of Eden but then sin separated that relationship separating man's ways from God's ways. Jesus knew the right timing and came during that timing without delay to save lives and continues to do that by His sacrificial death on the cross to give us the most precious red antidote known to mankind. It is the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

Only Christ's cleansing blood can wash away all our sins without delay and give us a new life in Christ. We need this new life because apart from Christ, we cannot reach God.

Jesus said, 'I AM the Way, the Truth, the Life, and no man comes to the Father except through me!'

Yes, friend, we all need Jesus. I know I do for only through Christ being reflected in our lives can God's judgment pass over us. When God sees us covered in the blood of Christ, He sees the righteousness of Christ covering over us so judgment will pass over us. For that we all need Christ and need to share Christ without delay.

This election year if you are not registered yet, please register to vote without delay. If you take the issues of abortion and gay marriage seriously than any other issue, then join me in promoting sanctity of life and sanctity of marriage candidates in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States. Let us do our part in recruiting voters to vote for Pro-Life and Pro-marriage candidates.

Genesis 1 speaks against abortion and gay marriage from the get go and we as the children of God should imitate God in speaking out against these issues. But speaking alone is not enough but we have to act without procrastinating.

This election year please do not stay home but vote for candidates espousing sanctity of life for the unborn, sanctity of marriage, etc. Their is only one presidential and vice-presidential candidate who fit that description and they deserve our vote throughout the land.

If you are a follower of Christ or not, I pray that you will join me in recruiting voters and voting for Pro-life and Pro-marriage candidates without delay. I pray you hold me accountable if you feel I am not doing enough daily to promote these candidates especially for the presidency of the United States.

Jesus recruited without delay to follow Him so they can go and make fisherman of the souls of men.

When we recruit others to follow Jesus Christ without delay, we actually encourage them also to VOTE THE BIBLE as they depend on the Holy Spirit to guide and lead. We cannot separate politics and faith.

When we procrastinate, we know not what the outcome can be. With procrastination comes regrets too many times: 'Oh I wish I had done that sooner!' 'Oh, I wish I had called so and so, now they are gone', etc.

Each of you know what you need to be doing and you should not put it off as you depend on the Lord to guide you and lead you. Jesus' example of WITHOUT DELAY should motivate us to do the same wherever the Lord Jesus has placed us. The important thing is that there needs to be a balance as we depend on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

Most of all if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior, come to Him without delay and allow Him to work in your life.

"Procrastination Renders Our Calling Rusty As Savior's Truth Is Not Accepted Totally Everyday!"/"Without having to procrastinate, what should you do?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for calling James and John without delay to follow you. You Oh Lord have taught me and reminded me not to procrastinate. It is not always easy Lord not to procrastinate. So, please Lord Jesus forgive me when I have procrastinated and help me so I do not procrastinate. There have been so many times I have faced regrets for procrastinating, especially when it involved others. Redeem our time Oh Lord and help us to follow you diligently. Help us to follow our calling faithfully so it does not become rusty because we have not accepted the truth of your calling totally everyday. Thank you so much Jesus. Thank you for hearing us and answering us! In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.

Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own way and done my own things. I still struggle with sin. I need you Jesus in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the process, I can forgive others as you help me to. Thank you so much Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN!