Discipleship – Love, Trust, Christ-likeness

Many Christians consider discipleship to be only something the disciples of Jesus went through to become apostles. Others consider discipleship to be something only pastors have to go through. Before we look at what discipleship is, let’s look at what discipleship is not.

Discipleship is not another program.

Discipleship is not simply a workbook to complete.

Discipleship is not about ego or title.

Discipleship is not about boosting membership numbers.

If any of those areas become the focal point of discipleship then the point of true discipleship has been misplaced. I don’t presume to have all of the answers here, but we cannot simply treat this important element of the Christian faith lightly or as just another component to what we’re already doing. I cannot stress it enough but Discipleship in your church is NOT just another program or a stat line in a monthly report! Discipleship is and should be the life blood of spiritual maturation and biblical/doctrinal understanding. It’s not catechism, or indoctrination, please don’t misunderstand what is being said here, Discipleship is mentoring others in the very foot prints of Christ.

I remember my youngest son, Ethan, watching me in the bathroom one morning as I shaved in front of the mirror. Earlier in the year he had received a toy shaving kit which included a plastic faux razor. As I made my shaving stroke up my neck, I glanced over and Ethan was copying me. I shaved my chin and again Ethan mimicked my motion with his little plastic razor. Every movement I made while shaving, he copied me and we both laughed but I will never forget my son wanting to shave just like his daddy.

In a very real sense we too are to copy the movements and emulate the behavior of Christ, who is our heavenly example of godly living here on earth. Holiness is the primary purpose, but discipleship is the conduit by which holiness happens practically. How did the Jesus’ disciples learn and grow in their faith? They did so by watching the actions and teachings of Christ while learning at His feet. When Jesus called his first disciples he said, “Come follow me!” And the Bible says they left their nets and followed him (Mark 1:17). His command was the command of a Rabbi, a teacher who said to these men you can be like me, you will be my disciples.

How does that match up with how the present day Church is leading people into forms of mentoring and discipleship? Perhaps there are some wonderful examples of mentoring and discipling going on out there but by and large many churches fall short in this aspect of ministry. Where does a new Christian go after becoming saved? Do they just get put into a Sunday school or to warm a pew for the next twenty years or more? When people get up from the alter and profess Christ in their lives and want to learn and live it we as more mature Christians ought to come alongside them and help cultivate a healthy long term relationship with Christ. We as elders of churches ought to become their example of godly living so that they too will emulate and reflect Christ in their lives.

Discipleship is also about trust. Have you ever been thrust into a mentoring program and been told this is your mentor? Don’t get me wrong, some wonderful stories and testimonies might come from these times, but by and large discipleship cannot be forced upon people who are unwilling. Also discipleship is a two way street. Without a developed comradely, understanding and relational side, the mentor to the mentee relationship is just an obligation and not a longing. When we look at scriptures we find disciples of Jesus loving him, wanting to be like him. Sure they made lots of mistakes…LOTS of mistakes! But there was trust within that relationship, a relationship that changed lives not mandated and dictated terms of submission. True discipleship requires time, love, patience and trust. Without an invested caring, reciprocated relationship, discipleship can and will only go so far. Because if the truth is spoken in love, and yet love isn’t present, why should the one being discipled comply and change?

How have you been discipled? Was it just some program you had to attend? Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with programs, but discipleship and discipleship training is not JUST a program! The disciples of Jesus spent many many hours with their discipler, with their Rabbi. They ate together, they laughed together, there was fellowship, there was trust and genuine love sparked change…not edicts or mandates, but love. Who do you want to emulate today? Who can you ask to come along side you so that you can become more and more like Christ? We cannot do this Christian thing alone, we need help, we need mentors in our lives!

A song that says it all for me is “To be like Jesus” . The lyrics speak for themselves:

“To be like Jesus!

This hope possesses me,

in every though and deed,

this is my aim, my creed;

To be like Jesus!

This hope possesses me,

His Spirit helping me, Like Him I’ll be”

Our goal, our mission : To be like Jesus

Our objective: To find Christian Elders who can challenge us, whom we can trust, and who will hold us accountable in love.

March 7, 2013 9

A Sloop, A Squall, A Savior

The Rabbi finishes his teaching and instructs his followers to get into the boat and head out into the lake. He settles himself down into the creaking bow as the sounds of the water lapping and splashing become his lullaby. He is exhausted from human contact and needs to rest for just a little while. With his eyes closed and his breathing a rhythmic tune for the sandman, his disciples chatter about the day. What did Jesus mean about the mustard seed? Were they to go out and gather this seed to become great leaders of faith like him? Their conversation continued while a couple of the disciples cast out nets to bide their time in the dusk of the day. Their learned profession casting nets into the waters would inevitably feed them tonight.

Out of the East a rumble is heard. The wary fishermen are all too familiar with the temperamental shifting of the wind and the rising swells that sometimes swoop down onto the lake. They become nervous. The small sloop isn’t even halfway across and soon this storm will overtake them. Another rumble echoes off of the wooden mast and continues to roll out into the horizon, this time accompanied by a bright flash of lightening as the pressure of the air changes around them. This is going to be a big storm, and they have nowhere safe to go, they are vulnerable. The wind suddenly picks up and the idle chatter of conversation is carried out past them as the howl of this squall begins. Jesus is still asleep.

Simon Peter looks over at his brother Andrew and they exchange a momentary glance of concern. The wind starts to increase the chop of the waves and soon enough the boat is hurtling forward on a rollercoaster that has everyone’s stomach in their throats. First up a tall breaking wave and then down into the depths only to repeat again over and over. The rain begins to pelt them with larges droplets and soon they are drenched from head to toe and the bottom of the boat looks more like a big bucket of water. Still Jesus is asleep. How much more can this little boat handle? They begin to wonder this as another strong gust has them bracing for another crashing wave over the bow. Concern gives way to fear, fear gives way to dread. This could be their last night and that realization is evident on each of their faces. Finally, after another crash of lightening that strikes too close to them and a roar of thunder that is felt in their chests they seek the only source of hope that they have left; Jesus. He is still asleep, the day had been long and he was very weary from travel. One of the disciples places firm hands on Jesus’ shoulders and shakes him awake. “Help us Teacher, can’t you see that we are about to die!” Jesus looks up into his disciples’ face and sees sheer panic and terror as the swell screams and tears through the boat and crashing waves.

Jesus takes off the now soaking cloak from his body and makes his way to the prow of the boat. He stands up boldly before the storm as all of the disciples are behind him huddled together quaking in fear. He raises his hands as if he wants or dares the storm to strike him. Then in a loud voice he yells out into the squall. “STOP, BE STILL!” The disciples witness something astounding. It doesn’t happen incrementally, or taper away like a receding storm, but all at once everything becomes calm. Everything! The waves cease their rising and crashing. The wind that threatened to blow them away simply went away. The roll of thunder and crash of lightening suddenly disappears as if the storm has decided to go elsewhere. All is calm.

The disciples look up at their teacher, amazed. Jesus stands there before them says to them; “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Then something clicks within them, and they are terrified. Who is Jesus? Did that just happen? So many questions run through their minds. But the evidence is right before them; Jesus has just stopped a storm with His words. The air that was once filled with pressure from the storm is now filled with rebuke of the disciples’ lack of faith. “Do you still have no faith?” These words will echo in them for some time. It will remind them and spur them on for years. Their Rabbi, God’s one and only son, has shown them what faith can do. The disciples will never forget this moment. It will be forever engrained in them, forever a living example of God’s power that is alive and active in the world. Perhaps, just perhaps Christ’s words rings even truer when He said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. “ (John 14:12,13)

I’m not sure about you, but I can identify with the disciples! I too have doubts. I too struggle with a waning faith from time to time. Sometimes the storms that invade my life seem to crash over me and threaten to capsize all that I am and possess. Many times I respond to Jesus just like the disciples when crisis comes my way, “Help me Jesus, can’t you see that I am about to die!” But the Son of God, the same Jesus who calmed that storm so long again with mere words still speaks to the storms in my life today! He speaks to your storms as well! How’s your faith? In whom is your faith today? Perhaps, if it’s not in Jesus, the storm calmer, life giver, Messiah; you could be sinking and afraid. Cry out to Him, have faith in Him and He will be there to help you in your tempests and your storms. “Peace, be still!”

March 6, 2013 1

Question: “Why Did God come to Earth?”

“It is only because he became like us that we can become like him.”

-Dietrich Bonehoffer

Jesus came to earth. That impact alone has been felt through time, like a ripple in an ocean that eventually became a tidal wave. God came to us! This one statement should touch us in a way that no other statement on earth can compare itself to. The Creator of this planet, and everything else for that matter, descended to our level…descended to become one of His creations. Why? Why would He do this? What would the motivation be for Almighty God taking on human form? Was He bored? Was there nothing else to do? Obviously there must be a reason.

The Reason:

John 3:16 tells us plainly the reason for God coming to us as a man. “God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life!” God loved us! Not just the world that He created, but the men and women that He created in His own image…you and me! God came to our level so that we might be saved.

Wait.

Saved from what? Was there some sort of cosmic invasion? Were there still dinosaurs out there that needed vanquishing and we needed protecting? No! So what were we saved from?

The answer is that we were saved from ourselves. Huh? What does that mean? Romans chapter three puts it plainly for us: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” –Romans 3:22-24 (NIV)

Everyone on this rock that we call Earth has sinned. Everyone. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned.” Back up a few verses and it also says, “There is no one righteous, not even one…” Romans 3:10 (NIV) Since Adam and Eve broke God’s heart in the garden of Eden and committed the first sin, everyone who has ever lived carries this ‘sin gene’ within themselves. There is no one on Earth that is good enough, holy enough or perfect enough to merit meeting the expectations of “righteous”. So this is why God had to take on human form and save us. He came to save us from ourselves. To save us from our own punishment that is certain death without his redemption and sacrifice on our behalf. God knew we needed a redeemer and so He provided a way for us to be saved. Why do this for us? Because He loves us that much! He loves us more than we could ever comprehend or understand. He loves us even before we reach out and reciprocate (or try to reciprocate) that love. Then and only then can we truly understand what Jesus was saying when He said, “The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” –John 10:10 (ASV)

Do you need some assurance today that you’re loved? Do you realize just how important you are to God himself? He extends His arms of love to us today and still says to us “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly!” Our Father in heaven invites you to experience real life today. If you need help learning more about this great love He has for you, begin by reading the gospel of John…read the gospels and especially read the very words of Jesus. Don’t miss out on the abundant life that God has for you! Don’t miss out on His love. Begin today…I dare you!

March 4, 2013 1

Sometimes we let go

Sometimes we just let go
Hand over fist
A Judas kiss
Wrapped tightly in blankets
Comfort of angels
Wings enfolding
Pain unfolding
Sometimes we just let go
Arms upholding
Strength midst weakness
A friend through the mess
Tears like rivers
Fears collapsing
Cascading
Down around
Still letting go
Breathing one
Last time
Looking up
And out
His face
Love’s embrace
Peace, extreme peace…
Sometimes
WE
LET
GO.

Today…
Tomorrow…
Heaven knows
Not I
Nor you
Whose eyes
Shall be waiting
Be looking at us
Whose embrace
Whose face
In that place
When
We
Let
Go.

February 25, 2013 0

On Grace and Good Friday…

On Grace:

Sometimes laughter is

the medicine best consumed

Removing any bitter pill

catching our fill of joy

hopefully by the bucket full

While we scratch and scrape to obliterate

The evidence of the empty

Other times there exists

this wish, this droaning desire

the brush fire of urgency

to unwind the vivid recall

that catches our fall

into this levity

we attempt,

we yearn to protect

this fragile sanity

casting shadows on the walls

of our iniquities

all the while struggling

refraining from peering

at that tree on Calvary

Could this be our undoing?

The unraveling of life’s

Guilt and selfishness

We have been pursuing this…

We the murder guilty

Hands crimson and stained..

Our eyes struggling to ignore it

Pulling our attention away

Yet discovering the end of our wit

Our wisdom, our inadequate understanding

Yet this heart,…

This shackled slave to self

is crash landing

bailing out…expanding panic

I think I’ll be sick

As I find myself wading

Through my own filth

Which eclipses feeble strength

Within these tired hands

This vacant soul…

Hallowed and emptied out

I have lost control

Shattered, bits and pieces

Sharp and jagged

Course as no longer whole

And glancing once more

Rugged cross in view

Life’s blood is spilt

Redemption, salvation, new life

Comes Crashing through…yet I will not

Comprehend it… just yet

No, not yet…

For hell has to relinquish

Diminish in the world…in me…

Then three days

Three gut wrenching, tear bursting

Sleep fleeting days…

To grave side

Torn pride, without guide

I will make my way

To mourn, to break again

But only then…only then

Will I meet nail shattered hands

Light from the cave of death

I will catch my breath,

I will catch His grace

And from His lips I will

Hear I love you, this…

This…was all for you.

February 13, 2013 0

Here comes the pitch…

“Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you”

Psalm 55:22

I always get this image in my mind when I think of this passage of some guy throwing this big heap of cares in the general direction of Jesus like a pitcher would a ball to home plate. Yet when I pause and truly consider the implications of such a passage however, I quickly realize that this passage is about my cares, my concerns, my frustrations. Everyone who reads this passage ought to find some peace of mind in the knowledge that this verse is for us!

Do you have cares? Concerns? I know I do, and what I am reminded of is that I don’t have to carry these concerns and troubles alone. I am reminded of the promise at the end of this verse, not only do we find peace of mind in that we can cast our worries, concerns and cares onto Him, but the verse promises that He will sustain us through it all! The word sustain is an interesting word to me it means to support, to keep something in position and also to nourish. With so many descriptive definitions of this one solitary word I can begin to find more comfort in what it is that He will do for me when I relinquish control of my cares and concerns.

He will hold me steadfast, support me and also nourish my feeble strength…now that’s a promise worth checking out today! I’m at the pitcher’s mound…here goes.

February 12, 2013 0

Calling… the freaks, the geeks, the rejects and the not good enough!

Mark 2:13-17 (NIV)
¹³Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. ¹⁴As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

The sounds of the crowd echoed off of the small lean-to as they passed. Some of the people scowled as they walked by then shaking their heads in disgust and finally disappearing out of sight. This repeated numerous times within the hour, and the occupier of the rickety shack was used to the looks his line of work emitted from the population. He was a tax collector after all, and the reputation of such an established profession was despised by most and avoided by the rest. The whispers and cursing under the breath was all a part of the hazards of the job. He lets the moment pass by, exhales a deep breath, and then bends over the weathered table again to resume his work.

He is so consumed with his “paperwork” that he almost misses the most epic moment of his life. As the sound of rustling paper replaces the echoes of the passing crowd he begins to sense that he is being watched. He looks up from the stack of papers still needing to be inspected, and sees a man looking directly at him. He doesn’t know how long the man had been there just looking at him, but the tax collector is nervous. “No one looks directly at a tax collector” He thinks to himself, “Why is he just staring at me?” he wonders. Then the most peculiar thing happens. The man calls this collector of taxes by name, “Levi, come with me” He says. For a moment, for one single solitary moment, Levi is absolutely still, as if he is firmly glued to the ground within his work space. “I can’t just get up and go…can I?” He wonders to himself. His entire future hinges on this one pivotal moment in time and he doesn’t know it yet. On one hand if he says “no I’m not going anywhere, I have work to do” then things will remain the same. Taxes will be collected, harsh expressions on faces, and he will always be unwanted within many social circles around town. On the other hand, if Levi does go with this teacher what will happen? What will happen to his family? Will he be able to return home? So much hinges on this decision, so many variables and yet Levi, finding the strength to move once more picks himself up and makes the decision to follows Jesus.

Levi, known to us by the name of Matthew made a crucial decision that day which would not only change his life, but the lives of all those who would one day read his writings also known as the gospel of Matthew, one of the four gospels of Jesus Christ.

Isn’t it amazing that Jesus selected a tax collector, a profession despised by most people in society to help him spread His story of redemption to the world! Among his other disciples were the rejects, outcasts and the not-good enoughs. He turned the world upside down with His message of love, redemption and grace. He used both men and women, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, the educated and the street smart to convey this all inclusive message to the lost, seeking, and broken.

Still today, the Lord calls to you and to me to follow Him! We may be far from perfect. We may be lacking education, self-confidence, social and peer acceptance and many other inadequacies. Yet He calls us, and can use us if we are available to accept His direction for our lives. Matthew couldn’t have imagined that day where Jesus would lead him, yet he followed. We too are asked to do the same. “Follow me” Jesus says to us…what will your answer be?

February 12, 2013 0

See you on December 22nd?

Well some of you might be reading this from a bunker today…ok probably not. Chances are you’re still working, attending school, or whatever you’re doing in your ordinary day. Isn’t it interesting how a calendar created by a long dead civilization has caused so much panic in our world? It probably hasn’t impacted your small corner of the world, but it’s impacted others – just look at the news today to confirm that! But the fact of the matter still remains that most people get a little concerned in the face of complete and total annihilation. I suppose it makes sense, but to me it just seems like needless panic about something none of us has any control over…so why get bent out of shape about it?

Matthew 6:25-34 says; “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

These were the words of Jesus, and if he had something to say about worry then I think everyone should pay attention. No matter if it is the impending “end of the world”, or that bill that you’re not sure how is going to get paid. Stop adding worry to your life. Of course Jesus was speaking to the people of His day, the living “worry” was different than it is today but it is still applicable to us here at “doomsday”.

In the old hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus”, there’s a part in the song that say; “Take it to the Lord in Prayer”. Perhaps that’s what you need to do today if there is worry in your life, whether it’s big or small. Take it to Him in prayer, and allow that peace that passes all understanding to break through your worry…and it will.

Enjoy your day…and we’ll see you on December 22nd…right? 😉

December 21, 2012 0

The First Christmas.

Mary, seated on the back of a donkey, grimaces again as this journey seems to never end. In her discomfort, who could blame her if her attitude had turned sour amidst the many miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem? Their journey, almost four days in the making, travel weary, dusty and dirty… Mary and Joseph press on despite the constant protests by their only source of transport, the gray stubborn mule who brays every now and then breaking the pensive silence along the many miles. Over the next horizon a sight which both excites and disheartens at the same time. Bethlehem spills into their vision over the rocky crags and dusty path. It’s not a huge city mind you, but it is this young couple’s destination for the mandated census. What began with excitement having reached the end of their discomfort on the road, not settles into a strained sight. Many sojourners have also made this journey reaching Bethlehem before them. Lines of people stream in and out of Main Street; the population has drastically increased and in Joseph’s stomach settles a whole list of doubts, and fears. A series of “what if’s” float through Joseph’s head. “What if there is nowhere to stay? What will I do to help Mary get off her swollen feet? What if…what if…what if. Doubt climbs from Joseph’s stomach and into his heart as these questions become valid as they near yet another establishment offering shelter from the road. Joseph never imagined that following his supernatural visit by a heavenly being things would seem harder than before. After all, wasn’t Mary with child not of human origin proof enough, why couldn’t the Angels or even God assist in providing a place to find comfort and rest for a few days? For a brief moment He let these doubts take up residence and then as quick as an exhale of breath, he shook them off. “No.” God would provide, his messenger was certain proof of that. Casting the doubts and fears away again, Joseph and Mary continue on down the thorough fare of Bethlehem in search of bed and food.

Mary grimaces again; the contractions are closer this time, no thanks in part to the bumpy road and jarring hipbones of the mule she is seated on. It’s only a matter of time before what had been prophesied nine months earlier, would become tangible and also audible in the cries of a new born child. Mary has contemplated since the start of the journey what the baby’s features would be like, whether they would differ from any human on earth. She has felt him stir continually in the womb; he is certainly an active, healthy baby. Nearing another establishment on the far side of town, Mary breathes heavily trying desperately to remain calm in the midst of uncertainty as to where or if they can find a place to have this child. She hums the song she has hummed since the first time she felt him stir…the voice of a mother singing to her yet unseen child, is there any better picture of love than that of a love for child by their mother?

Joseph returns, but not with news of a warm bed and a room exactly…where will we be staying? The question lingers on Mary’s face before another contraction erases all concerns of comfort and replaces it with panic and a “get me off of this animal!” look on her face. Behind the small home, now converting into motel of sorts, is a place for travelers to house their mules and other journey weary animals. It’s a cave…not a four star hotel, not even a hostile on the roadway. But it’s a place to rest, and at this late hour, also a place to welcome into the world a child who is Savior of it. This is not exactly how Joseph envisioned God’s son would enter into this world. A palace would have seemed more fitting, or perhaps at least a large bustling city in a stately home, but this was not to be. He spreads the straw on the ground for Mary to get comfortable, taking off his outer garments; Joseph wraps Mary in his cloak. In the presence of livestock and the smell of dung and feed, the Savior of man enters our world. Isn’t it interesting that not only does he enter our world in the lowliest of states but Jesus amidst the earthy smells of a barn cries his first cry? The King of kings, the one who was present at the beginning of creation is now in the presence of his creation, and he is as defenseless as…well a baby. Could the scene be any more out of the ordinary? While kings and those in power jostle for more power and control, Jesus enters the world with neither…yet the entire existence and hope of the world weighs in the balance of this child laying in a feeding trough of animals. It boggles the mind. It also reminds us too of the eternal rather than the temporal. The Savior, foretold many years before this age, was here…and who was there to welcome him and invite him in? Animals, a handful of celestially shocked shepherds and eventually a few wise guys from far away.

Will you invite Him in this Christmas? Will you welcome our Savior again, renew your relationship with Him? Share it, declare it and be partakers in His birth.

“O come let us adore Him…Christ the Lord”

Adeste fideles laeti triumphantes,
Venite, venite in Bethlehem.
Natum videte Regem angelorum.
Venite adoremus (ter)
Dominum.

Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine
Gestant puellae viscera.
Deum verum, genitum non factum.
Venite adoremus (ter)
Dominum.

December 11, 2012 0

Tag: Jesus