disciple

February 10, 2015

Don’t Give Up!!!

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

​​1 “I have told you these things to keep you from giving up. 2 People will put you out of their synagogues. Yes, the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are offering service to God. 3 They will do this because they have not known the Father and they have not known me. 4 I have told you these things now so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. “I did not tell you these things at the beginning, because I was with you then. 5 Now I am going back to the One who sent me. But none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?–John 16:1-5 NCV
​Jesus is warning His disciples and us th​at there will be times when the path will not be so smooth. There will be times when we are mistreated and offended for the Gospel’s sake, but we need to press on. Paul thought he was doing a service for God when he was persecuting and killing Christians. He was walking in darkness but he encountered a powerful Light that changed his life. As long as Jesus was here with the disciples He knew that He would be the target for all the abuse. But now that He was leaving, He knew that He had to reinforce the things He had been teaching them. We need that same encouragement every day in our lives. It is easy for us to become frustrated and want to give up, but we have a friend that sticks closer to us than a brother. He is always with us. As Paul learned after his life-changing event, we must suffer with Christ. There is a cross for each of us to bear. But we must remember and hang onto the conclusion that Paul came to in his journey.
18 The sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be shown to us. 19 Everything God made is waiting with excitement for God to show his children’s glory completely.—Romans 8:18,19 NCV
6 God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again–Philippians 1:6 NCV
Post 02-10-2015

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December 4, 2014

“To Whom Would We Go?”

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”​
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”​ 70 Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” 71 He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would later betray him.—John 6:66-70 (NLT)
​Jesus​ is asking us the same question today, “If you don’t accept Me and My words, whose words will you accept?” Do we answer as Peter did, “To whom would we go?” If we truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and His words give us eternal life, why would we look anywhere else? We must understand that hearing the Gospel and knowing the Scriptures is not salvation. The “head” knowledge has to become “heart” knowledge. The devil knows the Scriptures but he denies the Kingship of Jesus. Unless we become “born again” and allow the Holy Spirit to make us a new creation, we are not the children of God. There are people who go to church every Sunday, but never understand that they have to do more than just hear the Word. They have to believe it and allow it to work inside of them. Why did Jesus choose Judas knowing what Judas would eventually do? The same reason that He died on a cross for all of us knowing that not all of us would accept that truth. It is a love that the human mind cannot understand
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.–John 3:16 (NLT)
Post 12-04-14

November 28, 2014

Believe

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”​ 29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.–John 6:2​8​-29 (NLT)
​In its simplest form, the​ “work” that Jesus came to do was to save the world. He could have done that by going straight to the cross, dying and being resurrected. But there were many things that God wanted Him to do while He was here. This work included miracles to draw people to God. It also included living a sinless life as an example for us to follow. Just as the work that Jesus did included more than death and resurrection, “the only work God wants from you” is to “believe the One He has sent” includes more than just believing. But believing is the first step and if you don’t believe and receive the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to do the rest of the work.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”—Matthew 9:36-38 (NLT)
Post 11-28-14

November 17, 2014

Honor, Power, and Authority

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23 so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.​ 24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.​ 25 “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. 26 The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. 27 And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.—John 5:22-27 (NLT)
​God​ the Father has honored His Son by giving Him complete authority to judge us. It is the Father’s desire for us to honor His Son just as He has honored Him. If we dishonor the name of Jesus, we dishonor God our Father as well. God breathed life into us, when He created us, He is the source of our physical life, as well as our spiritual life. The Father has given this life-giving power to His Son. Because of His obedience, even unto death on the cross, Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.—Matt. 28:18 (NLT)
Now that we are in Christ and Christ is in us, we have access to the Name and the authority of the Name of Jesus. Just as Jesus only did what He saw the Father do and only said what the Father said, we must speak only those words that we hear Jesus speak and do only those deeds that the Holy Spirit leads us to do.
—Post 11-16-14

November 7, 2014

Why?

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

1 Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. 4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.”8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”—John 4:1-9 (NLT)
​Jesus​ didn’t need this woman or anyone else to draw the water for Him. He needed a point of contact with her, so He asked her for water. She, being a Samaritan was definitely surprised that a Jewish stranger would speak to her at all. But Jesus knows how to reach each one of us. Although she was totally unaware of it at the time, Jesus had a plan for her. He “needed” her to evangelize a whole town. Isn’t it strange that His disciples were already in town, why couldn’t they evangelize the town? Because Jesus had a plan for this woman to be His witness for this town. When God calls us to witness to someone, do we ask “why”? There are hundreds of churches with pastors and teachers, why can’t they do the witnessing? Because God loves us and He has a plan for each of us to be a part of His work here on earth. Jesus doesn’t “need” us anymore than He needed this woman, but His plan includes each of us. Don’t cripple the Church body by refusing to do your part.
Post 11-07-14

November 6, 2014

The Spirit Without Limit

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

31 “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.​ ​32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them!​ ​33 Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. 34 For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. 36 And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”—-John 3:31-36 (NLT)
​John​ continues to explain to his disciples who Jesus is and why he must decrease as Jesus increases. John’s understanding of all of this is beyond human knowledge. He tells us that Jesus speaks God’s words because God gives Him “the Spirit without limit”. Jesus agrees with this statement:
So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the​ ​Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.–John 5:19 (NLT)
​John continues to explain that God has put everything into the hands of Jesus. Jesus also agrees with this statement:
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth—Matt. 28:18 (NLT)
​This​ is why Jesus could say “your sins are forgiven” and “this day, you will be with me in paradise”. When we accept this truth about Jesus, we are forgiven of our sins and on our way to heaven for eternity. But on the journey, we have a purpose and a work to do, just as John and Jesus did. The work could never get us to heaven, but it does get us rewarded when we get there. When God calls each of us to do a work, He enables us to do that work by the Holy Spirit. We have access to “the Spirit without limit”. How much of that we receive is up to us. Just as we could not be saved without asking for and reaching out to accept the forgiveness, we cannot access the power of the Holy Spirit without asking for it and reaching out to accept it. Can we do the works that John and Jesus did? Jesus says we can:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.—John 14:12 (NLT)
Post 11-06-14

January 20, 2014

Paul’s Instructions to Timothy

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.


1.Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus.2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. 3 Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer who enlisted them.5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules. 6 And hardworking farmers should be the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor. 7 Think about what I am saying. The Lord will help you understand all these things.–2 Timothy 2:1-7 (NLT)
Paul’s instructions to Timothy are an expansion of the instructions that Jesus gave us in the great Commission. Jesus said to “go and make disciples of every nation”. Making disciples is more than salvation. It includes mentoring new converts. This takes time and patience. Paul’s instructions are applicable to us today. It isn’t just the pastor’s job to mentor new converts, it takes the whole body of Christ, the Church. It is the pastors’ job to equip each of us to do that. Our doing the one-on-one mentoring is one way to become a good steward of our time.
Post 01-20-14