Quotes About Discipleship

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (14:26). This verse teaches us that the only men and women our Lord will use in His building enterprises are those who love Him personally, passionately, and with great devotion—those who have a love for Him that goes far beyond any of the closest relationships on earth. The conditions are strict, but they are glorious.

Our Lord makes a disciple His own possession, He becomes responsible for him. "Ye shall be witnesses unto Me." The spirit that comes in is not that of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to Him. The secret of the missionary is—I am His, and He is carrying out His enterprises through me.

Jesus did not say to make converts to your way of thinking, but He said to look after His sheep, to see that they get nourished in the knowledge of Him. We consider what we do in the way of Christian work as service, yet Jesus Christ calls service to be what we are to Him, not what we do for Him. Discipleship is based solely on devotion to Jesus Christ, not on following after a particular belief or doctrine.

The "show business," which is so incorporated into our view of Christian work today, has caused us to drift far from Our Lord's conception of discipleship. It is instilled in us to think that we have to do exceptional things for God; we have not. We have to be exceptional in ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, surrounded by sordid sinners. That is not learned in five minutes.

Without a master you cannot possibly awaken to enlightenment, so follow a qualified master and accomplish whatever he commands. (p. 31)

The wisdom of God's Word is quite clear on believers being unequally yoked. And marrying someone who is not a Christian - who is not a daily disciple of Christ - is being unequally yoked, regardless of what their beliefs might be.

First, a disciple is called to walk with Christ; they profess faith in Jesus Christ. Second, a disciple is equipped to live like Christ; they are engaged in a process of spiritual growth and transformation. Third, a disciple is sent to work for Christ; they serve the Lord.

THE BIBLE TELLS US, "Go and make disciples … baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19). Sometimes we get this confused with, "Go and make workers … browbeating them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

For many of us, following Jesus in this world will not require literally dying. But it might require downsizing our lifestyle. It might mean taking vacation time to go on a short-term mission trip when we could be just relaxing. In any case, it's all about identifying with Jesus and saying, in light of the Great Salvation, "Jesus, I want to go where you're going and where you want to bring me.

Your job is be God's tool for the purpose of forming the image of God's Son in your children.

Good biblical busyness is a powerful defense against debilitating doubt. The more you give yourself to the devotional, discipleship, and missional things God calls all his children to, the more you will be reminded of the enormous blessing and eternal importance of what it means to be a child of God and a part of God's unstoppable mission of redemption.

We were a Christian family in active participation in a vibrant church, but what we were involved in lacked one of the primary and essential ingredients of healthy New Testament Christianity: a trained, mobilized, and functioning body of Christ. It was Christianity devoid of Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12, and Hebrews 3:12–13. For

Norman Wirzba writes, "The extent and depth of our Sabbath commitment is the measure of how far we have progressed in our discipleship and friendship with God.

Wisdom is about the lifelong process of being formed into mature disciples, who wander well along the unscripted pilgrimage of faith, in tune to the all-surrounding thick presence of the Spirit of God in us and in the creation around us.

And all this talk of dying and being crucified and hidden doesn't describe a one-time moment of conversion when we "become Christians," as if that's final. If things were only that easy—a one-time transaction of "accepting Jesus" and then it's over. Dying describes a mode of existence we agree to once we enter the holy space of being a follower of Jesus—surrendering control, dying, all the time.

Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work they must do.

And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love the LORD your God.

Now then, get up early in the morning, along with your masterís servants who came with you, and go as soon as it is light.”

So Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will follow you.” “Go on back,” Elijah replied, “for what have I done to you?”

So Elisha turned back from him, took his pair of oxen, and slaughtered them. With the oxenís equipment, he cooked the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow and serve Elijah.

So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment, take my staff in your hand, and go! If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not answer him. Then lay my staff on the boyís face.”

I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.