Quotes About Discipleship

Our churches are filled with "leaking" Christians who have not treated their emotions as a discipleship issue.

Allow yourself to experience the full weight of your feelings. Allow them without censoring them. Then you can reflect and thoughtfully decide what to do with them. Trust God to come to you through them. This is the first step in the hard work of discipleship.

True spirituality frees us to live joyfully in the present. It requires, however, going back in order to go forward. This takes us to the very heart of spirituality and discipleship in the family of God—breaking free from the destructive sinful patterns of our pasts to live the life of love God intends.

You Can't Do God's Work Your Way without Paying a Steep Price

There are many Christians whose salvation is genuine, but equally there are many people who claim to be "Christians" but are not actually true servants of the Lord. To be a member of this Order, you must be a genuine servant and follower of Christ.

Whenever my dad wasn't working, he'd take me along to pass out biblical tracts on street corners or in visits to the local prison.

Remember, Christ willed to be born poor, and He chose disciples who were living, for the most part, in poverty. Christ made Himself a servant of poor people. And He reminds us that whatever we do to help the least of the brethren--those most poor--we are personally ministering to Him.

Do they listen?" He held up a finger. "Every year one does," he said, ginning, "But that one makes it worthwhile. Even Jesus only did twelve. I try to get one a year.

The minute the church and pastors start saying what do people want and then giving it to them, we betray our calling. We're called to have people follow Jesus. We're called to have people learn how to forgive their enemies.

Love is the beginning, the middle, and the end of the pathway of discipleship. It comforts, counsels, cures, and consoles.

So today, at the end of the twentieth century, we have a phenomenon unthinkable in any other century: churchless Christians. There is a vast herd of professed Christians who exist as nomadic hitchhikers without accountability, without discipline, without discipleship, living apart from the regular benefits of the ordinances.

To carry our cross is to have such a commitment and identify with Jesus Christ and what He accomplished that I am willing to suffer the repercussions to that identification.

Shouldn't we just admit the obvious--that the New Testament call to discipleship, compassion, and giving leaves no room for the way many of us are thinking and living? Is it time to get beyond the theoretical stance of 'I'd be willing to give up anything if God asked me to,' and start actually giving up things in order to do what He's commanded us?

Giving up everything must mean giving over everything to kingdom purposes, surrendering everything to further the one central cause, loosening our grip on everything. For some of us, this may mean ridding ourselves of most of our possessions. But for all of us it should mean dedicating everything we retain to further the kingdom. (For true disciples, however, it cannot mean hoarding or using kingdom assets self-indulgently.)

Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31

if you have not learned to pay the smaller prices of following Christ in your daily life, you will not be prepared to pay the ultimate price in God's calling.

Nearly every deliverance God has brought to me has been progressive and has come about by believing and confessing the Word of God. John 8:31,32 and Psalm 107:20 are my testimony. In John 8:31,32 Jesus says, "If you abide in My word,… you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." Psalm 107:20 says of the Lord

Jesus said] If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And You will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. —JOHN 8:31B-32

The attitude of John reflects that of all of Christ's followers. As you minister to others, investing yourself in their lives, your objective remains the same: "He must increase and I must decrease." To the degree that you call attention to yourself, you draw attention away from Jesus. As you minister to others let this be your job description, the gauge of your success: You and your opinions become less and less important while Jesus becomes more and more important.

Leaders are readers, disciples want to be taught and everyone has gifts within that need to be coached to excellence.

Discussion Questions 1. Why does legalism appeal to almost every Christian at some time? To what extent are you a "just do it" Christian? What is the cure for legalism? 2. How do people change? How have you answered that question in the past? How do you answer it now? 3. List all the motives people can have for obeying God. What are your main motives for living as a disciple? How might you move to the higher motives?

Being a disciple maker is as simple as helping someone else experience the risen Jesus and draw closer to Him—just as happened in our own lives.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Matthew 28:19–20, NKJV

Whatever God gives us is to be shared. When blessed financially, we share with those in need. When we are given a special insight from God's Word, we share with a group or friend. When God lifts our spirits, we encourage the discouraged. When we have a roof over our heads and food on the table, we offer hospitality. Most importantly, when we receive the gift of salvation, when we are made His disciples, we make it our purpose in life to help others become disciples.