DISCIPLESHIP… IS A PROCESS

“Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, ‘You are truly My disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”  (John 8:31-32 NLT)

By definition, a disciple is a follower, one who accepts and assists in spreading the teachings of a Master. A Christian disciple is a person who accepts and assists in the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Christian discipleship is the process by which disciples grow in faith and are equipped by the Holy Spirit for ministry. This process requires believers to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting to examine their thoughts, words and actions and compare them with the Word of God. This requires that we read, study and apply biblical teachings; pray regularly; participate in worship and fellowship with other believers; and reach out in witness and mission sharing the love of Christ in word and deed. 

-- From “Got Questions Ministries” 

#6235

THE DISCIPLINE OF SERVICE

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  (Mark 10:45 NIV)

As the cross is the sign of submission, so the towel is the sign of service. When Jesus gathered His disciples for the Last Supper they were having trouble over who was the greatest. This was no new issue for them. “And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest” (Luke 9:46). Whenever there is trouble over who is the greatest there is trouble over who is the least. That is the crux of the matter for us, isn’t it? Most of us know we will never be the greatest; just don’t let us be the least.

Having lived out servanthood before them Jesus called them to the way of service. “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:14-15)

In the Discipline of Service there is also great glory. Service enables us to say “no!” to the world’s games of promotion and authority. It abolishes our need (and desire) for a “pecking order.” 

-- Richard J. Foster in “Celebration of Discipline”

#6198

IN THE MIDST OF A STORM

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)

One evening an exhausted Jesus was sleeping on the little seat placed at the stern of Peter’s boat when a sudden squall arose on the notoriously stormy Sea of Galilee. As the splashing waves broke upon the boat and the disciples found themselves bailing water, they panicked and rushed to the stern of the boat where Jesus was sleeping. Shaking Him violently, they cried out despairingly, “Master, the tempest is raging. The billows are blasting high. Don’t you care we are sinking?” Brushing off sleep, Jesus arose, went briskly to the side of the boat, stretched out His hand, and spoke peace to the storm: “Peace, be still.” (Mark 4:35-41)

What a magic moment! What a privilege to have witnessed one of the most spectacular miracles of Jesus’ ministry, His subduing the waves and wind with the mere sound of His voice. What a thrill to have been there for such an event. But then immediately Jesus turned to His disciples angrily and rebuked them: “Where is your faith!” They had missed the real blessing. What could have been more of a thrill than witnessing the miracle of Jesus calming the storm? The miracle Jesus wanted to show them was not the miracle of calming the storm, but of calming them in the storm.

…With Jesus in our midst, there is nothing to fear! 

-- Leonard Sweet in “A Cup of Coffee at the Soul Café”

#5727

DISCIPLINE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE - Part 2

"Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”  (1 Corinthians 9:26-27 NIV)

[Disciplines] are the “means” -- the positive set of directions for the Christian life, often called the “means of grace.”… These means of grace are not a method of deserving God’s grace, but a pattern by which we enable ourselves to be receptive to grace and remove the barriers that God permits us to erect as the price of freedom. These tools, or aids, are ways by which we open ourselves to God’s free grace. In using them, we shape our lives in order to become open to God’s presence. They give our Christian pilgrimage a definite shape, in an age in which there is a general sense of loss of direction and confusion about right and wrong, along with an accompanying sense of God’s absence. 

-- Howard L. Rice in “Reformed Spiritualty”

#5477

DISCIPLINE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE - Part 1

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV)

Discipline in the Christian life is not a luxury. Without it we become confused, lose our way, compromise our principles, and discover that we are not the people we had intended to be. No one is so sturdy in the faith that the temptation to surrender bit by bit does not erode conviction. Days go by and we discover that, instead of growing in grace in these days, we have wasted them. 

-- Howard L. Rice in “Reformed Spiritualty”

#5476

DISCIPLINES FOR SPIRITUAL LIFE

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”  (Acts 2:42 ESV)

The persons and ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus Himself, both rich in the practice of activities designed to strengthen the Spirit, were held constantly before [early Christians]. So, wherever early Christians looked they saw examples of the practice of solitude, fasting, prayer, private study, communal study, worship, and sacrificial service and giving -- to mention only some of the more obvious disciplines for spiritual life.

These early Christians really did arrange their lives very differently from their non-Christian neighbors, as well as from the vast majority of those of us called Christians today. We are speaking of their overall style of life, not just what they did under pressure, which frequently was also astonishingly different. 

-- Dallas Willard in “The Spirit of the Disciplines”

#5475

FINISHING WELL

Those who end well have disciplined lives… To get to this point, the New Testament uses numerous athletic images. In 1 Corinthians 9:25-27, Paul pictures a runner. He said run in such a way that you win. But then he added, “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.” Therefore he said, “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” The writer of Hebrews said, “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1) He too is talking about discipline.

A Christian who finishes well will practice spiritual disciplines… There will be the disciplines of abstinence such as fasting, silence, solitude, frugality, sacrifice, and chastity. But there will also be the disciplines of engagement such as prayer, fellowship, worship, study, service, confession, and submission.

These will help guard our inner lives. The disciplines will not become an end in themselves. For they are really disciplines in response to God’s grace. Grace and discipline are spiritual friends, when kept in the right order. Spiritual disciplines become a means of grace that help us get to the finish line. 

-- Donald W. Sweeting & George Sweeting in “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half”

#5402

WELL-BEING IN THE LORD

“For I know the plans I have for you" -- this is the LORD's declaration -- "plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  (Jeremiah29:11 CSB)

Well-being is found in the renewal of disciplined lifestyles, committed relationships, and the receiving and giving of acceptance. To experience deep well-being is to be self-confident yet unself-conscious, self-giving yet self-respecting, realistic yet hope-filled.

-- David G. Meyers in “The Pursuit of Happiness: Who Is Happy and Why”


#4588

THE DISCIPLINE OF SIMPLICITY

The discipline of simplicity is not the most pleasant of spiritual disciplines, but it remains one of the most important. We so easily allow our lives to be defined by possessions, status, and all manner of social expectations. Being a disciple means shedding ourselves of anything that blurs our vision of Christ... Periodically we must shed ourselves of some "stuff" so we can focus our lives on Christ again.

-- Mark Galli, editor of Christian History magazine


#3480

GEOGRAPHY AND SPIRITUALITY

We know that anything we do repeatedly shapes who we are.  In the spiritual life we call such intentional repetitive practices disciplines.  But what about the things around us that we see repeatedly?  Does our environment shape us?  Does the geography that we live in shape our spiritual lives?  Did the rolling hills of southern Indiana that I grew up in shape my soul differently than that of someone who grew up in the open spaces of eastern Montana or even of southern Illinois?  And what about urban spaces -- tall buildings and bus fumes, parks with statues and pleasant streets, dark alleyways and dingy houses, subways and spaghetti-like highway exchanges?

And what about these "special places" where God's presence was especially near?  In your life is there such a place (or places) -- maybe a campground, a church sanctuary, a mountain view, a cityscape, a beach, or a simple clearing in the woods?  One such holy place for me is the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of northern Minnesota.  An incredibly beautiful area of lakes, trees, boulders, sky views, and portages, it always invites me to praise and prayer and to a different level of closeness to God than does my everyday life.  Its features have embedded themselves into my soul.  Is there any place that works this way for you? 

-- Susan W. N. Ruach in Leading from the Center, Winter 2003


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