Tag Archives: Jesus

What is one thing I need to do to be a disciple?

 

When I engage with the idea of stepping into the kingdom of God and living there, I am finding more and more these days that it has to be something I want more than anything else. It was a place I lived as a teenager and somehow have lost that intensity as I married, had children and lived out my calling in my ministry. I loved so many things more.

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. – Luke 14:26  ESV

There is no doubt that the family is one of the most important institutions God ordained that represents Himself in the Trinity and His call to honour mother and father is all over the sixty-six books of the Bible – but this verse speaks about the intensity of my relationship with Jesus has to be more than that. In fact, if not, how do I take the next step in calling myself a disciple? Disciples put Jesus first.

I can go really dogmatic here because Jesus is putting some strong words forward. But dogmatic Jesus is not. He loves and wants to draw us into His love and needs us to know how He expects us to live out our lives. He wants to challenge me to go beyond being an observer to being a committed disciple of Jesus. A committed disciple of Jesus knows that His words are everything and will commit themselves to following them.

I find myself repeating the same thing again – I come to Jesus as a disciple without reservations – I set Him first. Other relationships are definitely of lower priority than faithfulness and obedience to Jesus.

Jesus scared people away by the things He taught. People would flock to hear His teachings and after they heard they often quickly leave Him. One time an entire crowd walked away only leaving the Twelve.

Maybe the hardest words are not about priority of love, maybe it is simply ” I cannot be His disciple.” Grace is such a big part of our language these days and the radical call to complete sacrifice is also true. I believe that grace initiates and provides, so am I still called to make this life-altering, priority choice? When it comes down to it, fellowship is not the same as discipleship and seeds and soil causing germination is not the same as fruit bearing.

More and more I see my love relationship with Jesus is not a give-and-take proposition in which I sacrifice some things and hold tightly on to others. It’s everything. My love for Jesus has to be real, maybe even perfect, definitely strong, so that everything else kind of disappears in comparison. I must be prepared to surrender everything.

If I were to look at the following verses from Luke chapter 14, here would be the summary points of what it means, or what the requirements would be for me to walk as a true disciple.

  • Love God supremely
  • Take up Jesus’ cross
  • Follow Jesus
  • Count the cost
  • Fulfill my one purpose in life

 

 

 

 

 

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Disciple lessons

Carry Mine ft Tedashii

 

Initial lessons from the story of Abraham and Lot —

  1. I can trust God to take care of my needs, even though others seem to help themselves.
  2. I am to assist my family — and others — when I are able, when I see them in trouble.
  3. I see in Abraham an example of courage and boldness to emulate.
  4. I am to worship God with my material wealth, as an indication that He brings the victory.
  5. I am to be careful not to ally myself with those who have decided not to follow Jesus any more than is necessary.

The last lesson really comes from Lot. Lot chose to live in Sodom, a place where evil ran rampant. He may have been considered righteous, but when war broke out, he and his family were captured along with the rest of the inhabitants. Regardless of our own spiritual walk with God, when we walk with those who do not walk with God we will face the same consequences as they do. It is wisdom to either separate or at least, to distinguish ourselves. As a family member of Abram, he should have chosen to be a companion and disciple of Abram.  When I go out of my way from what God has called me to be, I remove myself from under God’s protection. We cannot expect that the choice made by our lusts, should end in our comfort.

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward – Genesis 13:14 

I cannot imagine what was going on in Abram’s heart and how he felt to receive such attention from God. This testimony reflects the call of each follower of Christ and it is no smaller than what was given to Abram. The call of God puts us all as participants in some part of His massive plan for the redemption of humanity and of the whole world. In every generation there is a need for God’s people to realize that the call He places upon them is no smaller than that which He gave Abram.

Lesson on temptation – temptation is not sin. Sometimes being tempted makes us feel dirty. The spontaneous thoughts of hatred or lust or envy or theft shock us. I’ve always appreciated a saying attributed to Martin Luther: “You can’t help it if a bird flies over your head, but you don’t need to let him make a nest in your hair.” 

When Jesus was going through temptation, He drew on God’s Word and used it to declare in the midst of it all that only God was to be worshipped.

and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.  If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’” – Luke 4:6-8  ESV

From here Jesus springboarded into ministry and established his authority. From this position He was ready to move from gaining believers, to turning those believers into disciples. More specifically, He goes from hundreds of believers, down to focusing on being with twelve.

but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” – Luke 4:43

Final lessons from Jesus —

● The intentionality of Jesus. The things He did were with purpose and with an end goal: To restore the relationship with us and our Heavenly Father….the good news, the gospel!
● Everything Jesus was, the wholeness of Him, was to reveal the Father and make a way for us to spend eternity with Him. It permeated everything He did, where He went, what He said. It was deeper than a thing He did, it was His very being.

 

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