"Convenient" Discipleship

[John81]

Something our pastor sent out:

"Convenient" Discipleship

Jesus called us to "deny yourself, take up our cross and follow Him." Sadly, we are prone to add words to the command,
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me . . . when you have time"
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me. . . unless you have something more important to do"
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me . . . unless you don't like what God is asking you to do (in other words, if you have a "better" plan).
"Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me . . . unless you have family plans"

Does this seem harsh? Maybe. The question is not whether or not the words are uncomfortable. The question is: are the words true? God calls us to unconditionally trust and follow Him. Even though we profess faith we tend to resist truly following Him. Discipleship is not multiple choice where we get to choose when we would like to follow Him.

This certainly has implication for the priority of weekly worship, Bible Study, Youth Group over such things as baseball games, reunions, hobbies, and the need to get some yard work done. But this is not just about Sunday morning and the fulfilling of obligations at the church. We also need to radically follow when:

He tells us to forgive

When we try to justify behaviors He calls sin

When we have opportunity to declare Him before others (like our friends)

When we don't like how things are going at a ballgame

When a boss seems to make unfair demands

When someone offends us

When God prompts us to pray

When it comes to the use of our time

When things are hard

It is easy to point our fingers at those who don't follow in the same areas we consider to be important. The challenge is to look at the totality of our lives and ask that penetrating question: "Am I honoring the Lord with my life?"

I find the words of Matthew 7 to be haunting. Jesus, talking about the last days says:
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them

[JerryNumbers]

I've failed miserably at denying my self. I've failed miserable at sacrificing for the sake of my Lord.

I too have been good at making excuse of why I did this and or that when I know better.

Just this week I caught myself after wards of not doing that which I know to do.

I suppose we all fail, but the point is to stay in the Word, stay close to God, and do better tomorrow than we did today and yesterday. What is bad is when we go in the other direction.

[John81]

It's as Paul said, too often we find ourselves not doing what we want to do but instead doing what we really don't want to.

This is a lifelong battle between the spirit and the flesh.

In some areas there is much more victory than others. There are also times when an area I thought would never be a problem again suddenly becomes a problem again.

However, when taking account I can look back over my walk with Christ and see steady progress, victory after victory, and growth in the Lord. No doubt, still far from perfection, but I'm walking the straight and narrow and seeking to grow in holiness.

Part of the Christian walk is learning to recognize our weaknesses and allowing the Lord to be strong in these areas.

Now, should I post on here all morning or should I attend church...hmmm, as for me and my house, we will attend church! Another victory!!!

[nucreature]

Thank you for passing this along. It was a help to me and I have passed it along to others.

[irishman]

This is way too brief, but it fits the subject well.

DISCIPLESHIP

There are six verses in the Bible that tell us exactly what a disciple is, or what it takes to be a disciple. Three of them are in Luke, and three in John. The three in Luke are of a negative aspect, saying unless we do these things, we cannot be Christ

[John81]

Amen!!! Great post!