Tag Archives: Disciples

Love God TOO much? 2019-024

Posted in Religious by

                Love God too Much?     2019-25

Can we love God too much, and think of Him more than we should?

Does going to church all the time suffice to make Him satisfied with our efforts to show Him how much we like/love Him? What does it take to make Him realize we are sincere in our belief in Him? Are we content in our way of showing our love of Him and His son Jesus Christ?

Questions upon questions and most of us ARE satisfied with what and how we hold ourselves in thoughts about Him — NORMAL?!

With God as our Father and Jesus as our savior and teacher, what do THEY expect from us? Using the Scripture in the Bible as a reference or source, it is fairly clear, just what He expects, wants or desires from ALL of us.

It is somewhat easy to do for some of us and very hard for others, to appease God. Too many things we can use as excuses to do or not do, when it comes to NOT loving God in many ways. God has a simple wish that takes effort but is not a hard or difficult thing to do! What is that?

We are to seek and find God and his Kingdom FIRST, and put Him in our lives, above all else, as stated by His son Jesus. I would think that this means He wants us to follow Him and also become a disciple of His son Jesus Christ. We CAN say we do so now, and perhaps we believe this as a fact!

God is our heavenly Father, not our Uncle we see at reunions, or when we want to see Him. He wants us to put Him FIRST and more than just now and then—like on Sundays only.

We can still go to soccer practice, but maybe He wants us to think about Him when we are there. The football or baseball games can still be attended, but they should not be our prime enjoyment in life. We might think about submitting ourselves to God and to surrender ourselves to Jesus and this might be the things He and Jesus desire from us. This CAN be enjoyable if we allow it to be so.

Being a child of God and a disciple of Jesus, are FULL time endeavors and He expects and desires this commitment.  Neither of them wants us to be become 24/7 religious advocates in life, but He does want us to make or take a stand in our commitment in life to them.   

The responsibility of letting others around us know of the teachings of Jesus is ours too, where we tell others about his love for all mankind. This requirement also is there to make disciples of others that surround us, for that mimics what the Disciples of Jesus, did after His death on the cross.

No, I do NOT think we love God to much, just the opposite. I think He is not loved enough! Some of us have made their God a materialistic one and idolize things more than God Himself. This may be the “new norm” in today’s society and the Golden Calf’s like Ba’el, are the Gizmo’s that man has created, and now worship.

 We can believe in Him, we can love Him, we can submit ourselves to Him and surrender ourselves to our Savior, Jesus Christ. That is NOT asking too much of us from Him.

Peace,
Den Betts                            bettsden@gmail.com  Email  thebettsden.com  Blog sitegod, Jesus CHrist

Disciples 20190-004

Posted in Religious by

Disciples       2019-004

What is a disciple?  A follower of Jesus Christ who decides it is more important to follow Him and that takes precedence over all other things.  Sounds strict, direct, committing, or very definitive.

A disciple tries to act like and look like the one they are following, namely, Jesus Christ.  Being a disciple means submitting oneself to Jesus and becoming part of the spiritual development process in learning to live all of your life in this submission to Him.  The key here is the word “submit”. Another word could be to surrender oneself to Him.

Being a disciple of Jesus requires us to also strive to make disciples of others, teaching them to observe all that Jesus taught to His original disciples of his time. Sort of like “sharing” the news…..

I have found it is NOT easy to be a disciple, but easier to call oneself a disciple of Jesus Christ. Just like it is normal for many to call themselves a Christian, but where they do not practice at being one.  

The journey to get closer to God has many pathways with stumbling blocks in the way, at times. If I go to church, that fact does NOT make me a disciple of Jesus. If I do community service work, that fact does not make me a disciple either. 

Once more; submitting to Jesus Christ and involving oneself in the spiritual development of learning to live the life in the submission to Jesus is the path to becoming a disciple.  Just stating that I am a Christian does not make me a disciple of Jesus either.

Living the life of a disciple and teaching others what Jesus said and proclaiming the Word of God as written in the Bible are the beginning actions of being a disciple. This is NOT a part time endeavor, but a full-time life choice that again, takes precedence over all other things in life.

This commitment does NOT mean becoming a religious hermit or monk of some sorts, doing things in a monastery or other place of worship. It does require our lives to be changed to one of acting and living the life of a disciple and spreading God’s word to all. The goal is to make disciples of others that you meet or know and have them become as you are now.

It means not being afraid to announce that God’s presence is nearby, God is alive and active, and aware of all of us and more importantly, Jesus Christ is our Savior in life.  

It is NOT easy, but Jesus Christ never promised easy to His disciples that traveled with Him or to those in the future that want to make the claim of being one.   

Peace,
Den Betts

bettsden@gmail.com    Email

thebettsden.com            Blog site