discipleship

As I wrote yesterday, I have been doing a lot of thinking about discipleship and retirement. I retired a few years ago from full-time ministry, but as I discovered, I did not retire from being a disciple of Christ Jesus my LORD and Savior. I wrote of two aspects of discipleship (making Jesus LORD of our lives and making other disciples). But when I finished yesterday’s devotion, I thought of three more: Obedience, Love and Fruitfulness

Obedience is not something that we talk about much anymore. About the only time I hear it mentioned is in reference to obedience training for our pups. People talk about following your heart, doing your own thing, etc.

Obedience, however, is vital to discipleship. Jesus said, “Those who accept my commands and obey them are the ones who love me.” [John 14:21 NLT]

Love is also an integral part of being a disciple of Christ. It is the evidence that we are part of God’s family. [1John 3:10]

According to Scripture, love is not an emotion; it is an action. We love people by looking out for their interest, by thinking of them instead of ourselves.

Finally, disciples of Christ are to be fruitful. Technically, producing fruit is not our “job,” our job is to abide in Christ and the fruit will come – and that fruit we bear is the very character of Christ Jesus. [John 15:1-8]

And we are right back where we started. I retired from ministry a few years ago, but I have not retired from acknowledging Jesus as LORD, from living with hope amid a dying world. I have not retired from obedience, love, or bearing fruit. I have not retired from being a disciple of Christ Jesus.

Recently, I read a definition of “Disciple of Christ. It identified a disciple as someone who believes in Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior, intentionally learns from Him and strives to live more like Him.

I retired a few years ago from pastoring. I stepped down from full-time ministry. I’ve had some time since to think about what that means. It took me a while, but I realized that while I am no longer pastoring, being a disciple of Christ has not changed. I still must “intentionally” learn from Him and strive every day to live more like Him.

I found a lovely description of discipleship in 1 Peter 3.  “You must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” [vs 15 NLT]

I find several aspects of discipleship in that verse.  First, we must make Christ Jesus LORD of our lives. That requires putting Jesus first in everything. We must be set apart from the world with a focus on our LORD and seeking to please Him in every area of our lives. (Read Mark 8:34-38)

Second, we must be ready always to explain this hope we have as believers. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 28:18-20 that we are to take our message of hope into all the world and make other disciples.

Disciples do not reside in isolation. Yes, we ARE set apart from the world with our focus on our LORD seeking to please Him. But we live in this world among those who are bound in sin and desperate for life so that they might see the hope that is in us and want it for themselves.

Discipleship. We may retire from many things in this life, but we never retire from being a disciple of Christ.

September 6

(I am having problems with cervical vertebrae pressing on nerve bundles. Had the MRI, waiting on the neurosurgeon. Unfortunately, using a keyboard is extremely difficult and painful. So while I am getting this settled, I am going to rerun some old devotionals.  Thank you for your prayers and patience while I get this settled.)

“This is what the LORD says — your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.’” [Isaiah 48:17]

Jesus told His disciples and those who would believe on the LORD after them that “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” [John 14:26-27]

We are to be disciples of Christ. We are also to disciple others. That means we are to learn and then teach others the ways of the LORD, or as the LORD told Isaiah teach “what is best for [us].”

I want the very best God has for me. I want to walk in the way that will have the least obstacles, the least hindrances for my fellowship with the Living God. But I also want that for others … that is where I must take what I have learned through God’s Counselor, the Holy Spirit, and share it with those coming after me. And then they must take what they have learned and share it with even more.

Jesus taught His followers, and His followers taught others through the power and enlightenment of God’s Holy Spirit. That is the cycle of godly discipleship.  Unfortunately, we seem to have abandoned that God-given model. Now we have what I call the “pulpit-pew” model. The preacher preaches and the attendees attend. It doesn’t get much more involved than that.

If you want “what is best for you” and you want what is best for others … practice discipleship. There is nothing more exciting than to see others catch the fire of God’s Spirit, His love and mercy in their own lives as you teach them.