GPS Guide May 22nd 2018

Philip

Study: Phillip, like Peter, was most likely a fisherman by trade. In the Gospel of John, we see that Phillip was one of the first people to whom Jesus said, “Follow me”. While Phillip did follow Jesus without question, we see through the scriptures that he was a Pessimist at heart. In John 6 and the story of feeding the 5000, it was Phillip who questioned Jesus as to how they would feed so many people. He wanted to help people but struggled with the reality of how to do that. After the events of Pentacost in Acts 2, tradition tells us that Phillip led many missionary enterprises of the church. In the end, the pessimist fully relied on Christ in his life. He died a martyr for his faith. Do you find yourself a pessimist at times? Like Phillip, do you have a desire to do good but pause because of the reality of how difficult it is to do good in our world? Trust in Christ through this. When Christ says “Follow me” don’t doubt. Just follow.

Prayer: Lord, ease any pessimism I may have. When you call, let me drop everything to follow you. Amen.