How are you making disciples?

"My study of discipleship in America has been eye-opening. Almost every church in our country has some type of discipleship program or set of activities, but stunningly few churches have a church of disciples." ~ George Barna

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." ~ Matthew 28:19-20

Luke 9:23 ~ Who are you following?

The Cross

The old cross is the symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being.

The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-bye to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended.

The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more. ~ A. W. Tozer

"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it." ~ Luke 9:23-24

Are ALL of your energies and resources dedicated and consumed upon godliness?

No Manliness = No Maturity!

No Discipline = No Discipleship!

No Sweat = No Sainthood!

"...Exercise (constant, unhindered, intense, self-sacrificing commitment) thyself rather unto godliness (everything that is in complete accordance with God). For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour (strenuous toil) and suffer (agonize) reproach, because we trust (faith is the source and reason) in the living God (the giver of willpower and strength), who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." ~ 1 Tim 4:7-10

What does it mean to be crucified - A.W. Tozer

There are three marks of one who is crucified:

1. He is facing in only one direction.

2. He can never turn back.

3. He no longer has any plans of his own.




"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." ~ Gal 2:20

Resolved to Run - To Win!

"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." ~ 1 Cor 9:24-27

"No one attains remarkable eminence or success without a resolute and habitual self-denial in subordinating every secondary point to the primary object." ~ Charles Bridges

"Greatness is never achieved nor dreams realized apart from great discipline." ~ Kay Arthur

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." ~ Heb 12:1-4

Are you drifting?

"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord."

"We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated."

~ D.A. Carson

Good Advice From John Wesley

John Wesley

How to Read the Scripture
If you desire to read the scripture in such a manner as may most effectually answer this end, would it not be advisable,

1. To set apart a little time, if you can, every morning and evening for that purpose?

2. At each time if you have leisure, to read a chapter out of the Old, and one out of the New Testament: if you cannot do this, to take a single chapter, or a part of one?

3. To read this with a single eye, to know the whole will of God, and a fixt resolution to do it? In order to know his will, you should,

4. Have a constant eye to the analogy of faith; the connexion and harmony there is between those grand, fundamental doctrines, Original Sin, Justification by Faith, the New Birth, Inward and Outward Holiness.

5. Serious and earnest prayer should be constantly used, before we consult the oracles of God, seeing "scripture can only be understood thro' the same Spirit whereby it was given." Our reading should likewise be closed with prayer, that what we read may be written on our hearts.

6. It might also be of use, if while we read, we were frequently to pause, and examine ourselves by what we read, both with regard to our hearts, and lives. This would furnish us with matter of praise, where we found God had enabled us to conform to his blessed will, and matter of humiliation and prayer, where we were conscious of having fallen short.

And whatever light you then receive, should be used to the uttermost, and that immediately. Let there be no delay. Whatever you resolve, begin to execute the first moment you can. So shall you find this word to be indeed the power of God unto present and eternal salvation.

Are You a Man of God?

Elijah the Man of God

Give me a man of God—one man,
Whose faith is master of his mind,
And I will right all wrongs
And bless the name of all mankind.

Give me a man of God—one man,
Whose tongue is touched with heaven’s fire,
And I will flame the darkest hearts
With high resolve and clean desire.

Give me a man of God—one man,
One mighty prophet of the Lord,
And I will give you peace on earth,
Bought with a prayer and not a sword.

Give me a man of God—one man,
True to the vision that he sees,
And I will build your broken shrines,
And bring the nations to their knees.
~ George Liddell

Is Christ Precious in Your Eyes?

"Reader, remember this: if thy knowledge do not now affect thy heart, it will at last, with a witness, afflict thy heart; if it do not now endear Christ to thee, it will at last provoke Christ the more against thee; if it do not make all the things of Christ to be very precious in thy eyes, it will at last make thee the more vile in Christ's eyes." ~ Thomas Brooks

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed." The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by presence, lean by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear.

I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ...Romans 1:16

~ Moorehead

Thoughts from E. M. Bounds

“Men are God’s method. The church is looking for better methods: God is looking for better men…What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use – men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men – men of prayer…”

“The training of the twelve was the great, difficult and enduring work of Christ…It is not great talents or great learning or great preachers that God needs, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God – men always preaching by holy sermons in the pulpit, by holy lives out of it. These can mould a generation for God.”

What do you thirst for?

Are You Willing?

Disciple

"A Disciple is a disciplined determined whole-hearted believer-follower of the the Lord Jesus Christ" ~ JRS

"A Disciple is a person-in-process who is eager to learn and apply the truth that Jesus Christ teaches him, which will result in ever deepening commitments to a Christlike lifestyle" ~ Anon

"I am resolved to follow God with all of my heart. Resolved also whether others do or not, I will." ~ Jonathan Edwards

Addition or Subtraction?

What is biblical salvation? Is salvation a matter of addition or subtraction? Most people in our culture think of salvation as:

Me + Jesus = salvation (happiness)

Freedom from the punishment of our sins is important and most people associate salvation with this result. Thus, salvation brings them happiness. Happiness is what is sought after. But when you think about the equation, other things bring us happiness also. We could substitute money, stocks, boats, cars, girlfriends (boyfriends or husbands or wives), promotions, a particular sin, and any number of other commodities into the equation which would bring us the end product of happiness. Jesus becomes interchangeable, expendable or only necessary in case of emergency. He becomes no more than one toy in a stuffed toy box. We see life as really all about me and what makes me feel good or happy. I’m going to be happy not going to hell; I’m happy not getting the punishment I deserve; I’m happy receiving God’s grace and mercy; I’m going to be happy living in a mansion for eternity, etc. So, while I’m living my life here and now, Jesus gets my attention, sometimes, but practically I live as a hedonist and/or atheist. This is a common mindset in America and especially among the younger generation. There is a major problem with this view. Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” Matt 6:24. God said it a different way in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

Biblical salvation is more accurately viewed as:

Jesus – me = Righteousness

Biblical salvation is when I’m taken out of the equation. I have nothing to add because in me dwells no good thing (Rom 3:10-12). Jesus is everything and I’m nothing. He is not just a toy, or stock, or insurance policy. Furthermore, salvation is more than freedom from the penalty of our sin. It is also freedom from the power of sin (Rom 6:2); freedom from the future presence of sin (Rev 22:14-15); freedom to serve God (Rom 6:13); freedom to worship God (Jn 4:24; Phil 3:3); freedom to have a relationship with God (Jn 1:12-13); freedom to be in a right relationship with God because of the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf (2 Cor 5:21). Righteousness is a matter of being right with God. Only when I come to God in humility, recognizing my total inability to please him because of my sinful and desperate condition, can I then embrace the righteousness which Christ gives freely as my Savior – for the purpose of me being in a right relationship to God the Father. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:3. Happiness is then the byproduct and result of being in a right relationship with God, but not what is primarily sought. The tax collector as recorded in Luke 18:14 had the right approach when he said, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”

What does this short mathematical lesson mean? It means we live in an idolatrous country. We have numerous gods. Like the residents of Athens in Acts 17:23, we have many gods and worship ignorantly, but we do not worship the true God. Who we worship is who we obey; who we obey is who we love; who we love is who we serve; and who we serve is our god. Many people who think they are Christians have a god in their lives of their own making, but it is not the God of the Bible. Like King Saul of 1 Samuel, they are wise in their own eyes and have selectively chosen to construct a religion and a god which benefits them. Jesus is no more than just one of many additions in their life for the end purpose of some advantage for themselves. The believer's mission is to influence those around them to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” (Matt 22:37).

In our evangelizing and discipleship we must be holding forth the word of life (Phil 2:16), confronting the world with the true God, and persuading men of a subtraction equation!

My first blog!

The evil world system is traveling at hyper speed. I see Daniel's words concerning the end when "knowledge shall increase." Dan 12.4 We MUST take every opportunity to proclaim the Gospel of God's Grace concerning His Son Jesus Christ. This is my purpose for blogging - evangelism and discipleship for the glory of God.

"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Cor 5:14-15, 17-21