‘If the closest relationships of a disciple’s life conflict with
the claims of Jesus Christ, then our Lord requires instant obedience to
Himself. Discipleship means personal, passionate devotion to a Person— our Lord
Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between devotion to a person and
devotion to principles or to a cause. Our Lord never proclaimed a cause— He
proclaimed personal devotion to Himself. To
be a disciple is to be a devoted bondservant motivated by love for the Lord
Jesus. Many of us who call ourselves Christians are not truly devoted to
Jesus Christ. No one on earth has this passionate love for the Lord Jesus
unless the Holy Spirit has given it to him.’ CHAMBERS
Do you consider yourself to be a disciple of
Jesus? Or were you merely saved by Jesus.
So many people stop at the point of salvation. And so many Christians don’t see the need to
take others beyond that point. The
thinking is .. Jesus made the sacrifice .. I get to enjoy the benefits … as if this
life in Him costs us nothing.
Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone
comes to Me and does not hate his father
and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life
also, he cannot be My disciple.
(27) And whoever does not bear
his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
This a comparison of devotion not a
command to hate your family. Jesus has
got to be first … The greatest commandments is love God .. then others … When
the man said Jesus, first let me bury my father .. Jesus said let the dead bury
the dead .. (Matthew 8:22) We want the
benefits of salvation but not the conditions of discipleship.
Matthew 16:24-26 Then Jesus said to
His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (25)
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his
life for My sake will find it. (26) For what profit is it to a man if he gains
the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange
for his soul?
Being a disciple means that we must
lay who we are down .. Jesus laid His place in Heaven down and came to earth to
offer Himself for us .. now He says to us .. we must lay ourselves down ..
humble ourselves … like He did … He didn’t take pride in that … but treated it as a privilege because of His
love for us. Laying our lives down for
Him and others (John 15:13) is being a disciple of Jesus.
John 8:31 Then Jesus said to
those Jews who believed Him, "If
you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
What part does the Word of God play
in your life? It is supposed to be an
integral part … We have access to books .. the internet ... email ... we can read … but for many .. the Word is spoken .. there are no books .. they
cannot read … But abiding is more than reading .. it is applied truth … God’s
Word should be shouted through our lives and not just from our mouths.
John 13:34-35 A new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also
love one another. (35) By
this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one
another."
1 John 4:20-21 If someone says, "I love God,"
and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother
whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (21)
And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love
his brother also.
Do you see how that fits? Your love for others is a product … a result …
of our love for God .. so if we don’t love our Brother, then we must not love
God .. if we don’t love God then we are not a disciple … if we are not a
disciple then we have missed it.
It’s time … time to get things in their right
place … tear the idols down … get out of the throne of your life and let Jesus
take His rightful place. It’s time to
follow Jesus and not just talk about it on Sunday.
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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