A Proven Disciple

 

    There are so many books about discipleship and how to be a disciple.  Most are good and informative, but ultimately all we need is the Bible.  A disciple is a follower of Jesus.  They are dedicated to his teachings and try to live like he did.  They use the lessons learned by him to direct their lifestyle and attitude.

    A proven disciple is someone who understands and applies obedience, love, and commitment.  They produce fruits of the spirit in their lives.  They are people that take action, but their actions may be subtle.  The point is not grand gestures or to be notices.  The point is to get God's plan into actuality.  When it involves people, it is normally a lot of small details until the big picture comes together and then everything happens quickly.

    A proven disciple understands how to love like Jesus loves.  They choose to love that way because they genuinely love Jesus.  It is an attitude more than feelings.  The choice to love and have a loving attitude directs how they act toward people and in the world.

    Every Christian has the opportunity to be a disciple.  It comes down to if they are willing to be a living sacrifice.  A living sacrifice is someone who chooses to live holy and acceptable to God on a daily basis.  This means they spend time with God and choose loving obedience to God's way over their own personal desires.

    A disciple starts with being a Christian that becomes a living witness.  Their actions become of service instead of a hinderance to God's Word.  Their salvation motivates them into acting in love instead of impulse.  They understand that Christianity is more than tradition, so they faithfully step out of their comfort zone into the unknown.  Through walking in faith you become a living sacrifice to bring glory to God's name.  It is a process.

    Christians should be thankful that they get to be a living sacrifice.  Jesus didn't want to go die on the cross.  He actually did know what would happen and he still did it.  We face hard times and some people even become martyrs, but none of us know exactly what will happen.  If you did, would you still follow through?  Would you willingly yield yourself to pain for the glory of God?  Are you willing to endure spiritual warfare or physical discomfort for your testimony?  

Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 9:23-27, John 13:31-35, 15:5-8, & Romans 12:1-5

Following God Like a Disciple

 

    Salvation is a precious and eternal gift that can only be received through faith in Jesus.  It is a gift that transforms a person while they are alive into something better.  It the only gift that allows freedom and eternity with God in Heaven.  It is a gift that keeps on giving, but it doesn't necessarily make life easier.  To follow Jesus is not the easiest path in life, but it is the most rewarding.  It changes your perspective, so you see values in life in a new way.

    It takes strength to become a disciple.  It is not a title to be taken lightly.  It is a title of humility, servitude, and faithful love.  Choosing to follow Jesus as a disciple is the path that all Christians should take.  It is choosing to allow God to mold you into whatever He decides without fighting Him.  It starts with Him transforming your heart to love more purely.  It turns into being able to love those that hate you.  What kind of person and Christian you are always comes down to your heart.

    To be a disciple that follows God, you have to understand what it is to be a disciple.  A disciple spends time with God.  Everyday they are in God's Word and prayer.  They fast and move forward because they understand what is right and what is wrong.  They are courageous and find strength in God to do things the right way.  Faith is an action, not a symbol.  Faith is action in obedience to God's call and instruction without hesitation.

    When a person becomes a Christian, that is the first step of faith.  That means it is the first action that the person takes toward Jesus.  The next step should be declaration, then baptism, and then the journey to become a disciple begins.  Nothing about following Jesus is impassive.  It takes action and intention.

    When you step out in faith you are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  He gives you what you need to stay on the path of faith.  He teaches you how to be obedient in all aspects of life.  He shows you through situations where there is no way through as long as you are willing to be obedient.  Lastly, once you mature into a disciple, you are to make new disciples.  Growth doesn't stop with you.  The most loving thing you can ever do is introduce people to Jesus and show them how they are needed.

Matthew 4:18-22, 28:16-20,  Luke 14:25-35, John 13:31-35,& Romans 12:1-5

God's Will

 

    Do you know what God's will is for you?  The number one things is that He wants a relationship with you.  He seeks to be close to you, but He can't be near sin.  That means you are as close to God as you want to be.  It also means to be close to Him, you have to be obedient.

    Jesus shows us the way in following God's Will.  He revealed that every person is more than the general public or a number.  God has a specific purpose and desired relationship with each person.  You matter.  After salvation, you spend time learning God's specific will and how to be obedient.  You learn about the armor of God and how to use it.

    Everyone has a different household, but to be in God's will you have control over your house.  Control over your house is control over your spending, how clean your house is, keeping what lives in your house alive through nurture, and more.  If you have a family it is submitting your family to God and praying over them daily.  It is living a holy lifestyle that will teach them to follow Jesus.  It is doing everything you can to keep a close and healthy family together, but it all starts with you.

    I have been going over how to lay your foundation.  Knowing God's will for your life is how you build on your foundation of faith.  It starts with God's love and it will end in God's love.  What you do with that love is up to you.  To have a beautifully faithful life you need to have an intimate prayer life.  You have to be willing to walk in faith no matter the obstacles.  You have to know and understand God's Word and that takes time.  Lastly you have to believe in Jesus and accept salvation.

    God is the author and creator of all that is good, pure, and Holy in this world.  He provided us with the full armor of God to help us fight against evil.  It is a battle, but not like the battles you read about or watch.  This is a spiritual battle for your mind and soul.  If Satan can break you, then he destroys your testimony.  

    Standing firm with God makes you a powerful soldier in God's army.  You are powerful because of faith, not because of anything you did.  God is the source of true strength, love, and all things good.  The truth will not stay hidden.  Embrace the freedom of living in God's will.  God's will is all about love.

Galatians 5:13-26, Ephesians 1:9-11, 5:15-20, & 6:10-18

Time with God Part 2

 

    Christians are called to ministry.  It does not always look the same.  Ministry is not just preaching or teaching.  It is living a life that draws people to God.  However, how can you live a life that will lead people to God if you are not spending time with God?

    Salvation is the first layer of your faith foundation.  Spending time in God's Word and prayer is the second layer of foundation.  You will never have a solid foundation if you are not intentional.  It is not all work.  Spending time with God is a time of peace, learning, seeking, creativity, worship, and more.  It is not boring or hard unless you make it that way.  You should celebrate and embrace the blessings of being able to spend time with God on this side of life because walking with God changes everything.

    The part that seems hard for some Christians is doing things God's way.  To invest time with God means you have to accept that things are not going to happen on your terms.  What God wants for you is so much better than what you want for yourself.  Once you accept that, then it becomes a lot easier to follow in faith.

    God has invited you into His family, but it will only happen on His terms.  There is no negotiating.  You either believe completely in Jesus' story or you do not.  When you accept the truth, you learn to honor God's authority.  He is the only God, but He is more.  He is not a bi-standard watching life happen to you.  He is moving things around always to benefit you by trying to draw you closer to Him.

    Satan tries to manipulate and twist everything God is doing to make it look bad, boring, or not worth your time.  You may make it easier for Satan because you want things on your time table.  You are in trouble once you insist life go your way.  Satan will take advantage and make it hard to get out of his entanglement.  However, if you turn to God, then He will rescue you from the lies.

    Time with God helps you trust Him.  Relationships take time.  God understands this.  That is why He wants to spend time with you.  Do not complicate things.  A relationship with God is simple.  It is faith with moments of intimacy and clarity.

    You spend time with God by clinging to His Word.  You can't be in God's Word 27/4, so you have to meditate on it.  Think about what He showed you the last time, or few times, you were in the Bible.  Pray over God's Word and the message He is trying to share with you.  Live out what you are reading.  Embrace the freedom that comes by walking in faith.  

    Decide to dig deeper into subjects that are drawing you in.  Do not be satisfied with the status quo.  Instead dig deeper and make that foundation strong.  Open your mind up to embrace what you are reading in a way that it will transform you.  Ignore all of Satan's attempts to distract you.  That will be different for everyone, but that is why the relationship with God is personal. 

Psalm 27, Matthew 6:31-34, Acts 1:7-8, & Colossians 4:2-6

Faith Foundation

 

    Salvation is only the beginning.  It is the base of your foundation of faith.  This is where the work begins.  You start building and growing your faith to make a strong foundation.  Once you have a strong foundation, then you build your ministry.

    A good way to build a strong foundation is to find a Biblically based church.  That means you have to study God's Word and then have sound questions to ask to make sure the church does things God's  way.  If they do, then they will be the church to help you become a strong Christian.

    As you grow in your faith, you grow in your ability to handle what God lays upon you.  I starts with reading God's word, but it develops into praying over God's Word.  Seeking ways to be closer to God and putting energy into your relationship with God every day.

    A family of Christians always helps.  It is a family that spends time in God's Word together.  They pray together.  They hold each other accountable.  The parents teach the children how to submit by how they live their lives, not the "lessons of life".  Their strong foundation shows the children how to have a strong foundation in their own home.

    God created you for a reason.  To know that reason starts with knowing Him and then getting to know who you are through Him.  When life gets hard, turn to Him instead of away from Him and you will learn wisdom.  The wisdom that you develop only helps you in the hard times.

    A Christian with a strong foundation gives their tithe out of love rather than obligation.  They understand that if they withhold God's money that they are stealing from God and it could actually make finances harder on them.  

    It all starts with your salvation.  It builds through your prayer life.  You gain wisdom and knowledge through God's Word.  You are held accountable through fellow believers.  When you put it all together you have your foundation for your Christian life.  It will either be strong or weak according to what you put into it.

Luke 6:47-49 & 1 Timothy 2:1-7

Weak Christian Character

 

    A Christian with weak character is a Christian that loves the world too much.  They are the Christians that live like everyone else in the world.  Their character is weak because they are not fighting to follow Jesus.  They are choosing the easier path.

    A sign on if you have weak character: conforming to the world.  You know that you are conforming when you know and understand the truth about God's standards, but you choose to live your life how you want.  It takes intentionality to conform your mind to be like Jesus.  It will not happen on it's own.  Until you are able to conform your mind, you will never start to live differently.  You need to be in God's Word everyday to conform your mind to worship.

    The world is about schemes.  It is dominated by Satan.  He will twist all that is good and manipulate it into evil unless you resist his wily ways.  The world holds many good and beautiful things, but Satan will destroy it all for you if you open the door for him.  

    Another sign of weak character is reading and watching things of the world.  There is no true benefit to self-help if it is not based in God's Word.  It destroys you mind if you allow yourself to read and watch perverse things.  It does take determination to avoid and stay away from the things that will feed evil to your mind.  You have to be willing to live by the high standards of God to change this habit and yield a pure mindset.

    Metamorphosis is the process of transformation from something immature into mature.  It is usually defined for insects like butterflies.  As for Christianity, it is changing completely from one person into another.  Metamorphosis is required to change from being worldly into a strong Christian.  If you stay in the immature stage, then you will never see any of the benefits of Christianity while you are still alive.

    You can only experience a true metamorphosis if you encounter God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  Anything else is a lie.  God is the father that takes care of you.  Jesus is the only way to God.  The Holy Spirit helps you submit and renew your mind to be more like Jesus.  

    When you become a Christian, you are no longer able to think like the world.  You need to make the effort to transition a little daily.  The more effort you put in, the more you see just how much you need God.  If you are not transitioning at all, then you are not a true Christian.  You have taken the title and are allowing Satan to make a mockery of it.  You either hear from God or you block Him out.  There is no gray area here, but it is always your choice.

Psalm 82, Romans 14:1-15:2,  2 Corinthians 12:9-10, & 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Strong Christian Character

 

    Character is the mental or moral qualities that distinctively describe a person.  It is an overall view of who you are as an individual.  Some people have an upstanding character in society, but that does not mean that their character does not need improvement.  We can't judge character by human standards.  We have to judge character based on God's standards.

    To build character it can require times in the heat of fire.  The heat of life events burns away or solidifies bad character.  If you allow it refine you to be more like God, then you will be the type person that draws people in.  People will trust you.  They will respect you.  Some people will be intimidated by you.

    For Christians the goal is to have a Holy character.  That is not a holier than thou character, but a humble character built on the foundation of God's laws, statues, and commandments.  You see yourself as equal to all other people, but not better than anyone.  You don't over think about how people see you because your goal is to please God.  They practice self-control.

    A person with a strong Christian character is a prayer warrior.  They are committed to their relationship with God and value their prayer life.  Their prayers are specific and logical.  They may ask for things that break the rules of logic, but they have logic in the prayer itself.

    A person desiring to grow their character to be holy will be in their Bible.  They are not just reading the words.  They are praying over what they read.  They are looking for God in every chapter.  They think about what they read and evaluate in how it can apply to them personally.  They discover what is right and apply it to their lives to the best of their ability or conviction at the time.

    A strong Christian character shows the world a better way of living.  They are generous with their time, money, and relationships.  They try to be active in church, but more than that they are trying to live like Jesus in the world.  They expect to be blessed because God promised blessing, not because they deserve it.  That is why their character is selfless with it's time, words, things, loving attitude, and all other aspects of what makes them who they are.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 13:4-7, 15:30-34, 1 Timothy 3:1-5, 1 Peter 1:13-16, & 2 Peter 1:3-4