Tis the season to come, and
adore Him, for all His goodness, and great mercy, that He shows to us each, and
every day!! Do you know what one of the things, which I think is totally
awesome about Jesus? I really think that the way that He changes some of us,
that believe in Him. The Spirit of the season of Christmas can soften the
hearts, of some of the grumpiest people. Those are not the people that I am
talking about today.
I am talking about the people
who live in the true Christmas Spirit daily. I am not saying that anybody that
I have ever personally met treats every situation with perfection. There are
those who have allowed Jesus to change their hearts in such away, that it
changes everything around them. If you are reading this I bet that you can think
of a few folks like this. It could be that you are one of them yourself. If you are good for you!!
It is a desire of my heart to
become a person like this. It really seems as I walk with Jesus that is becomes
a greater possibility. I need to remember that it is not about me. However, it
is all about Jesus!! I believe that following Jesus can change the lives of
those that do follow Him. I don’t think that is what those that have truly met
our Savior, and been changed by Him, desire that category of placement.
I believe that once our
relationship has grown past the point, of what Jesus can do for us, that it
takes on another level. The next level is the level of discipleship. This area of discipleship is a tedious area,
which should not be entered into lightly. Jesus had some very harsh saying
about discipleship.
Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot
be my disciple.
You might be wondering the
same thing that I am wondering. “How can the God that is love, require hate out
of those that follow Him?” I know what this verse says, because I have been
reading for a long time, and most of the time my comprehension is not that far
off base. I believe that we need to take in to consideration the entire context
of the Bible when analyzing this verse.
I can honestly say that Jesus
was giving us a stern warning, of the cost, that it would incur on our lives,
if we were to be His disciple. He wanted us to know up front, that we could not
place anything ahead of Him. We would have to be willing to place all the
things that the world has to offer on the backburner. Jesus would have to
become more important that our lives are important to us!!
I would like to encourage you
to read Luke the fourteenth chapter beginning with verse twenty-six, for a more
comprehensive understanding of what discipleship is about. If you are thinking
about moving into the area of discipleship, might I ask that you pray also
concerning this move? I really don’t believe that it is something to be taken
lightly.
I went through a discipleship
training course, in the year two-thousand. I was taken to a secluded farm well
off the beaten path. We were not allowed any contact with the outside world. (Radio,
TV, Newspaper) We were only allowed visitation on Saturdays, and only immediate
family members. What we did was attend chapel services in the morning, and at
night. We attended the sponsoring church services every time their door was
opened.
We also had a large amount of
the Bible to learn, and to be able to quote on call. The entire chapter of the
book of Romans chapter six was one of them. We had an hour of Bible study in
the morning, when we went through the book of Proverbs every day. The rest of
our time was spent doing chores around the farm.
I really don’t think this was
discipleship training at all. However, I do think that it was a pre-discipleship
decision making tool. It kind of gave us an insight, to what discipleship might
be like. It taught us about the Lord, and taught us about denying ourselves of
a few things. It really gave us an insight to what praise was like in the
Baptist style of doing things.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that
forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
If we enter into a
discipleship agreement Jesus it has to be out of our love for Him, and his ways
have to be settled in our hearts. I know there are rewards when we do this,
both here, and later in Heaven. I do not believe that these rewards should
affect our decision, to become a disciple. The only thing that should affect
our decision is the fact of what Jesus has done for us, and the fact that we
are willing to allow Him to live out His life through us. Are
you willing? Ain’t God good?
....Much Love
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