Getting Serious

In our last blog we talked about the importance of discipleship. In this blogs and many to follow we want to show and share how to disciple someone. We believe that anyone who calls themselves a Christ follower must be making disciples. If we are not making disciples we are not fulfilling the command that Christ gave to His disciples and to us.

As we said discipleship is lived out in our lives daily. If you are a follower of Christ answer this question. Do those around me see Christ in me? If you and I are honest we have to admit that the image that others see in us is not very Christ like.

We have fallen into the trap of the world and the image that people see the most in us is the image of the world. We want to have people like us, accept us and respect us. We value and cherish their opinion and will do almost anything to make sure we are liked, accepted and respected in their eyes.

Christ did not care about people liking, accepting or respecting Him. He cared only about what His Father thought of Him and everything Jesus did was for His Father. We have the Bible as our example of how He was treated. He was crucified because He would not conform to the world.

We heard a story today about a man who would tightrope across the Niagara Falls. People cheered him on and loved watching him. One time he asked the crowds if they believed he could push a wheel barrel across the Falls. They shouted out that they believed he could. He then asked for someone to volunteer to ride in the wheel barrel but no one would volunteer. No one truly believed because no one got into the wheel barrel.

We who call ourselves followers of Christ say with our mouths that we believe in Jesus Christ and that we would die for Him but when He asks us to get into the wheel barrel we do not because we do not fully believe.

What Catherine and I are doing is getting in the wheel barrel and we are trusting in Him. We are going to challenge others to not only say they believe but show that they believe. It is not hard and we are honored that He is using us to help make disciples.

The first thing we need to do is make sure we are in a position where God can use us. Start with praying Psalm 139:23,24 "23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Second stop and listen to what the Holy Spirit says to you. If there is anything at all, big or small, He points out to you, that must be dealt with first. None of us are perfect and never will be but we must be continually working on drawing closer to Him and living for Him. We can only begin making disciples of Christ once we are living a life that makes our Father proud.

Third pray that God will show you who He wants you to disciple. Once He shows you who that person is do not wait, go to that person