“You can lead a soul to Christ in anywhere from twenty minutes to a couple of hours. But it takes from twenty weeks to a couple of years to get him on the road to maturity”
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”
(1 Peter 2:9 NASB)
“Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
(1 John 4:4c NASB)
“We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ”
(Colossians 1:28 NASB)
I read this from an excerpt of a wonderful book on living for Christ by Pastor John MacArthur and knew it was a great opening for where our church is at with discipleship:
“You can pay nothing to earn salvation; yet living for Christ is a serious matter of discipleship. To be a Christian means to rely on Christ’s power rather than your own and to be willing to forsake your way for His. Being a Christian can mean facing persecution, ridicule, and tribulation. Jesus forewarned the disciples, “‘If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you’” (John 15:20).
But with His warning about the cost of discipleship, the Lord promised that your heart would rejoice “‘and your joy no one will take from you’” (John 16:22). And He also told His followers to “‘be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’” (16:33). You won’t escape the difficulties of discipleship, but Jesus will enable you to handle them.” - John MacArthur
Our challenge daily is to do battle with the things of the world which rise up in conflict against what we say we believe and how we act. I once heard the truism that we all should have someone in our life from which we seek advice, and someone we in whom we pouring out advice. This path defines what my former Bible teacher called the “Triple L” club – Life Long Learner.
How is that going for you? Can you say you have been seeking His path, will, and course of action? Have you been able to replicate these things in the life of someone else? Your spouse, children, co-workers? If not, I encourage you to actively seek out those mentors – Place yourself on the path of Biblical discipleship and start now down the path of the “Triple L” club!
Let me know if you want to talk about this further, or how I can show you how to start down this wonderful path of discipleship today!
For Him,
Jeff A. Daukas
Elder/Shepherd
Cornerstone Church
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