Discipleship 101 –   2018-06

Love came to us, looking like a Cross. For us, not to take up the Cross of Jesus is giving up our duty as a disciple, in God’s mind. There is NO other choice; we can call ourselves a Christian, but we will lack the moniker of being described as a disciple.

We, who we are, can begin with the Cross we carry, and I do NOT mean you have to wear one. This moment, when we placed our faith in God and Jesus, for our salvation, started a new beginning within us. The Apostle Paul, put it exactly, when he wrote in Galatians 2:20,” I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Jesus told the eleven disciples, “All authority in Heaven and Earth, has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the ages.”

I believe we are all tasked with a couple of things.  First, we should honor God Himself, knowing that the Cross and what it represents, that we MUST surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ, and in doing so, make it known that we ARE Christians, believing in Him.

More importantly, we as Christians, have a duty to go beyond being JUST a Christian, and preform as a disciple of Christ.  In doing so, we are obligated in making other disciples around us in the process. I would think this is called discipleship.

This involves a commitment on our part to do something that might be out of our norm, and makes us uncomfortable, also. We have to let people know we are Christian, and that we are disciples of Jesus Christ and not just in our church, but outside the envelop of comfortable living and service.

I now have a habit of saying to people at times, “Peace be with you” or God’s Peace, or “May the love of God be with you.” Those words may perk up their minds that I am a follower of God. It may also, get a good reaction from them or peak their interest further. Then again, it may not!

Let them know you are with Christ in your life and invite them to talk about their beliefs of God and Jesus. In doing so, it may open an avenue of discussion. If you are comfortable, evolve and give any knowledge you have about Jesus and His teachings. The best instruction book regarding this are the Scripture passages taken from the Bible and any version will do.

I like the versus from Mathew and Mark where Jesus said, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” who were mostly fishermen of the area, who did become his disciples. We can ALL become disciples of Christ and spread the Word and create more disciples in the world.

If we do, we will then turn ourselves from followers, to active Christians and become true disciples of Jesus Christ. It is easy to call ourselves something, but harder to live the life of what we call ourselves. Don’t be afraid of stating who and what you are today.  Let any that doubt, know you are indeed, slaves to God and you have surrendered yourself to Jesus as his disciple.

Peace be with you,

Den Betts                                            bettsden@gmail.com