Time for a pop quiz. What is a disciple?
Answer? None of the above. Surprised? Don’t be! Never has a word been so overused yet so misunderstood. Although the topic of discipleship has been overworked, it is an under-applied concept. We all have probably heard a lot about discipleship. But if the truth were known, most of us still are not discipling others or being discipled ourselves. Most of us are still spectators when it comes to ministry. That is not only unwise and unhealthy, it is unbiblical. Let’s focus our attention on what the Lord said in His Great Commission in Matthew 28:16–20. Let’s learn what it means to live as a true disciple.
Legalism is always self-centred, whereas the disciplines are always God-centred. The heart of a legalist thinks, “Doing this will help me gain merit with God.” The heart of the follower of Christ thinks, “I want to do this because I love God.”
When you hear something nearly true, or partly true, it’s easy to accept it as true. That’s the thing about deception: sometimes it’s hard to spot, as small as uneasiness or something not sitting quite right.
Do you feel that you know Jesus Christ better now than you did when you started your spiritual journey? Or has your walk come to a standstill? Do you prioritize time with Jesus over other important things in your life?
Without warning, life sometimes prods us down a path that forks into two roads. Even though both choices appear to end with a cliff, we’re forced to choose.
IFLM’s collaboration with Ethiopian church leaders is flourishing as we focus on watering with the pure Word of Christ that God might cause an abundance of native growth. He did it right before our eyes while we were there!
When we see the bigger picture of God’s plan for us through Jesus Christ, we can’t help but give thanks. God has given us so many blessings through Christ. Yet, they present only a foretaste of what we look forward to when He returns!
There’s nothing wrong with dividing up your life into pieces and sometimes emotions need to be dealt with at a later time, once you’ve gained perspective or gone for help. But know that God wants to be a part of your everyday life.
Jesus poured His life into 12 men, teaching, coaching, warning, and mentoring. And when He ascended into heaven, these disciples were not abandoned! The Spirit of God took over and became the fuel they desperately needed.
One of the most important purposes we can have is to live a teachable life. As Pastor Chuck Swindoll says, “Our acute need is to cultivate a willingness to learn and to remain teachable."
What a relief it was the day God convinced me that He doesn’t hold me responsible for how people respond to the Gospel. He holds you and me responsible for giving and living the Gospel; what someone does with it is His business.
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