Characteristics of a Jesus Disciple

 November 21, 2024

Thursday

Ever once in a while, a disciple of Jesus must check to see if he has the characteristics of a disciple. Sure, there are lots of scriptures that people will turn to that indicate they are following Christ but there aren't really that many that point out what a disciple is. In fact, if you get these right the other things will fall in place.

John records what Jesus said about being a disciple.

1. A Jesus disciple abides in His word. That means that he is in it every day. God's word reveals the truth when the world continues to spread lies.  A Jesus disciple knows the truth and does it. He shares it with others. Therefore, others know he is a Jesus disciple.

John 8:31–32 (NASB 2020)³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

2. A Jesus disciple is characterized by love for everyone. He loves those that are easy to love and those who are hard to love. Love is measured in sacrifice .(Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.) Thus, a Jesus disciple is more than hot air. He doesn't merely say he loves us but works to meet the needs of others. Thus, people can see the love of a Jesus disciple.

John 13:34–35 (NASB 2020)³⁴ I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another.”

3. A Jesus disciple bears the same type of fruit that Jesus bore. The fruit of the Spirit is evident in a Jesus disciple. There is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When all of these are present in a Jesus disciple everyone knows he is a disciple of Jesus. Thus, he will bear the fruit of others becoming Jesus disciples.

John 15:8 (NASB 2020)⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.

If you can't say that you have these three characteristics, don't despair. Just confess and commit yourself to being a Jesus disciple. Let today be a step on your journey.

How to Walk with God

 November 20, 2024

Wednesday

Many believers have no idea what we are talking about when we mention walking with God. They may assume that it means going to church every Sunday. Unfortunately, that is just religion. Being religious is following a set of rules or patterns that the follower believes will please God. There is no walk with God in this. It is just repeating a pattern and trying not to do what has been prohibited. The God of these followers is impersonal and boring.

Walking with God requires a conversation with Him. It requires seeing what He is doing. It requires complete commitment to join Him no matter what the sacrifice might be. It has no lags in which the person does nothing for days or weeks or even years between these conversations. It is exactly what it says it is: it is walking with God and doing so daily.

Right now, I believe I am seeing God do something, but I am not sure. I will not join Him on a hunch. I must know that He is calling me to join Him in what I believe I see Him doing. So, I have entered into a prayer that asks God to specifically act in that calling. In other words, I have put out a fleece so that I can know that it is God. If nothing happens, I will know that it wasn't from God. Either way, this is an exciting way to walk with God.

Some people notice patterns. You must become one of those people to recognize that God is working. If three people come up to you and say that you are a natural speaker or teacher or something else, you must ask if God is in this. Is He moving you to do something with your spiritual gift or your talent. That doesn't mean that you immediately go to another country as a missionary. It means that you place yourself in God's hands by asking Him to specifically reveal if He is working where you think He is working.

If you want to walk with God, you must obey. You cannot be like Jonah who was told to go to Ninevah and took off for Tarshish. You cannot be like many of the Christians around you that never get beyond showing up at church on Sundays. While obedience is optional in the sense that a person must choose to be obedient, it is also required to walk with God.

I challenge you to look around and see where God is working. If you don't know, stop and ask God to reveal this to you. Then, ask God to let you join Him. He may say, "Come on!" You will absolutely need to act at that point. Don't let your feet grow cold. Tell someone what God has led you to do right away. Then, do what is necessary to join Him.

This is what it is to walk with God. It is what God wants for you.

Micah 6:8 (NASB 2020)⁸ He has told you, mortal one, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

Join Jesus Now

 November 19, 2024

Tuesday

I realized the other day why Peter called out to Jesus so that he could join Jesus walking on water. It is actually very simple. The Lord wants us to join Him in what He is doing. When Peter said, "If it is You, Lord, command me to come out to you on the water," he knew that only Jesus would be able to do that and even want that. Jesus wants us working with Him rather than for Him. He wants us joining Him rather than we think up things to do and ask Him to join us. Of course Jesus said, "Come."

If our eyes are open to the work of the Lord we will see Him working. The only thing we need to do is join Him. If we don't know if it is Him, then we must put out a fleece to make sure that it is. Putting out a fleece is not questioning whether the Lord will do what He has said He will do. It is making sure it is Him that you are joining.

Do you see the Lord working anywhere right now? Is He working on your heart to change what you are doing right now? Does He want you to change professions or locations so that you can join Him? Peter had to change locations when he got out of the boat to walk toward Jesus. It might be that scary. Peter had already changed professions to follow Jesus. 

True disciples do what their Master tells them to do. They must consider the cost and determine that they will finish the calling they are called to. The greatest reason the gospel is not being preached throughout the world with the power of the Holy Spirit is that most Christians never step out to join the Lord in what He is doing. The moment it looks like they must change what they are doing to join Him, they balk. They want Jesus to be there for them when they need Him rather than become disciples who join Him in whatever He is doing.

I wanted to be a missionary when I first went into the ministry. I even applied to become one. The problem was that the people at the missionary appointing board kept asking me about my calling. I didn't have one. Jesus was working on the mission field but He wanted me working with Him right in the US. That doesn't mean that I stayed in one spot. It also doesn't mean that I didn't do short term mission trips. It just meant that joining Jesus was not permanently overseas. At first, I was disappointed but over the years I have realized that I need to be where Jesus wants me to join Him.

Most people are retired by my age. Retirement isn't a biblical word. That doesn't mean that I must be paid to do ministry forever. It means that I am to join Jesus forever.

So, if you think that you see Jesus working, ask Him to command you to come to Him. That's what Peter did. He wasn't able to keep it up at that time. Yet, his life is not characterized by his failures. He is known for his faith. Be known as one that walks on water.

Matthew 14:22-33 (ESV) ²²  Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³  And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴  but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵  And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶  But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷  But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” ²⁸  And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹  He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰  But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” ³¹  Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²  And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”  

God's Method of Getting Rich

 November 18, 2024

Monday

There are plenty of preachers telling you how to get rich. They believe that God can be manipulated to cause riches to fall into your laps. Or, at least, that's how it seems. They pick on desperate people who will send them money so that God will cause a windfall in their direction. Of course, these people see these preachers getting rich and assume that they must know what they are talking about. Any investigation will reveal that these preachers are getting rich off of the money being sent in by desperate people.

Gambling is something that intrigues people. Some people might think: "Who knows? Maybe this preacher has something here. I don't mind sending him or her a thousand dollars with a ten or even a hundred time pay off."

It is interesting that each of these preachers use the same pattern though they try to change it up so that they can be unique. They all call it "seed" money but they will claim some divine knowledge of how much that money needs to be. Thus, some will choose some odd number like $1028 so that it sounds like they have heard a specific word from the Lord.

Of course, these preachers have branched out to those who aren't so interested in being rich too. Therefore, they claim that "seed" money which represents faith must be sent in to get your daughter off of drugs or see that your son is saved or heal your granddaughter from a terminal disease. Who cares how much money it costs if those things would come about? People send it in.

What they don't say, though they should, is, "I believe God is for sale." They are saying that His favor can be bought with money. No one answers the question: "What use does God have with money?" While it is true that money can keep a person from being committed to God, simply giving Him money will not buy Him off.

Too many times people who are rich enough do not depend upon God for anything. They sit back and relax. Their bank accounts are filled but their account in heaven is empty. Being rich on this earth will mean nothing to someone in eternity.

God's riches are found in hearts that obey Him. The heart that loves Him with everything it has puts more value in eternity that all the riches on this earth. The heart that walks with Him closely and struggles in the tests He sends puts treasures in heaven that will make all the money in this world pale in comparison.

If you want true riches, commit yourself to the Lord without reservation. Make yourself a slave to Him. Make yourself one who will obey without question. Make yourself someone who goes nowhere without Him.

Then, you will be rich. Really rich.

Luke 12:16-21 (ESV) ¹⁶  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, ¹⁷  and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ ²⁰  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Vengeance Belongs to the Lord

November 17, 2024

Sunday

People have no idea how ungodly they can be. They do not believe in true justice because they try to exact their own type of justice when they believe they have been done wrong. It amounts to vengeance. It takes a life all its own. Their actions have ensured that there will be no justice. 

Years ago, I had someone do me very wrong. He told me that he would give me a raise after three months of working for him. When I went in after four months he threatened to fire me for asking for the raise. It was a time that I was really short of money. I knew I could hurt his business but the Lord intervened. The Lord told me to leave him alone.

A few months later, I quit to do what I believed the Lord wanted me to do. I thought little about what had happened to me after that. I learned about a year later that the business he worked in closed. It was one of the largest of its kind just months before but it now no longer existed. This man who had refused my raise was now out of work himself. That was much worse than I could have done to him. I realized the Lord will deal with those who give Him the opportunity to exact justice.

Vengeance protects the person with whom you have a problem. The Lord does not step between you and your own efforts to claim vengeance. Your own efforts are limited but God's actions are not. He can make things much worse for the sake of redeeming the person than you can in condemning the person. Thus, if you want real justice, leave them alone. Allow the Lord to take over.

We will never overcome evil by evil. That means that you don't fight fire with fire. You fight fire with water! You act in the place of Christ to sacrifice before those who would harm you. If discipline must be performed on someone outside of your authority, you must allow the Lord to administer that discipline. 

Thus, you will have no regrets for the things that you have done and have said. Few people understand this.

Romans 12:19-21 (ESV) ¹⁹  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰  To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. 

Bat Crazy People

 November 16, 2024

Saturday

I just read the testimony of someone who experienced road rage from another driver. I wondered why someone would get so irate at such a minor mistake. The person had not gone when the light turned green so a tap of the horn was used to "wake them up." At that, the person went bat crazy. This person chased the person who tapped the horn, making dangerous moves with their car and hurling obscenities verbally and visually. The other person suddenly turns to get away from that crazy person.

If this story only happened once, then we could chalk it up to one crazy person but we see this type of road rage continually. It is not rare to be passed by two cars chasing each other down the road at dangerous speeds while trying to cause each other harm. This is simply not rational.

So, I have an idea why this may be true though I certainly do not have the psychological or sociological training to back it up. I believe that people who do not know how to receive forgiveness also don't know how to give it. Thus, they have learned to overlook what has happened to them but have not learned to put these things away. This results in the accumulation of slights and hurts and even circumstances that went the wrong way. This accumulation sets them on edge. If their emotional meter has ten points, they have the anxiety, frustration, disappointment and discouragement of nine points before anything else happens. They cannot keep it under control if anything brings their emotional meter up two points because they don't have two points left. So they go crazy.

Our post Christian society thinks that it doesn't need God. Yet, this same society desperately needs forgiveness. Forgiveness is the most prevalent divine attribute of the follower of Jesus Christ. Knowing forgiveness is the catalyst for forgiving others. Forgiving others allows the Christian to release the pressure being built up by all of the stressors each of us face. It can mean that a Christian can operate with their emotional meter on a one or two rather than a nine. It can mean that Christian operating at this level will be able to absorb anything that would bring that meter up two points.

Forgiveness is so important that those who don't forgive also don't really have salvation. That doesn't mean that they must forgive before they become Christians. It means that becoming a Christian causes them to forgive. Just saying that they are Christians without forgiving is just lip service. That is why churches can be as violent as those in the world. They have not received forgiveness because they have not truly believed in Christ for who He is as the one who has taken away their sins. They overlook rather than forgive sins until they can't overlook it any more. Then, they go bat crazy.

The scripture that says that God won't forgive those who won't forgive has always bothered me. Now, I think I may have a grasp on it. Those who won't forgive have never received forgiveness.

This world will, therefore, become more violent as their is a smaller percentage of people who know Christ. There will be a smaller percentage who have received forgiveness. There will be a larger group that are running on nines on their emotional meter.

 Matthew 6:14–15 (NASB 2020) ¹⁴ “For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses.

Just Be Generous

 November 15, 2024

Friday

We were created to be generous. Since we were created in the image of God and that image is in His attributes, generosity was created in us. After all, who has been more generous than God? He gave His only Son for us.

Then, why aren't all people generous. All of the attributes of God within us were corrupted in the Fall. Greed displaced much of our generosity. The Fall made us self-centered. A self-centered sin nature cannot boast having any good within it.

Still there is the remnant of God's creation in all of us. This is why so many stories have villains who show some good, some loyalty and even some generosity. It as if the world wants to say, "Hey, we're not all bad!" Yes, it is true that there is hardly a human who has shown no compassion or attribute of God at some time.

Generosity looks outside of ourselves. We give to others without expecting anything in return when God's attribute of generosity moves us to. We may not know the persons we give to but we know we must give to them. Thus, in a disaster the greatest forms of generosity come out of people who may not be Christian. 

People don't receive God's attributes when they become Christians. They receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves people to give when He is not quenched.

On the other hand, many Christians are just as stingy or even more so than non-Christians. The Church records that very few people give to the Church as they should. Most people can't see the disaster of lost souls. They don't realize that millions of people are marching into hell even as they read this blog. They don't realize who has their hearts when they are stingy or greedy.

So, we should be generous. Generosity must have discernment but if we take an assessment of our giving to anyone or anything, most will not get near ten percent.

It could be that the lack of generosity is what keeps you from getting that close to God. Jesus told the rich, young ruler to sell all that he had to follow Him. Jesus said that because that was the very thing that was dragging him down. It is like holding onto a chest of gold as you sink below the ocean waves.

Be generous. It seems simple. Try it out and see if it is more blessed to give than receive.

2 Corinthians 9:11–12 (ESV) ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. ¹² For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.