Are you a leader or a follower? Do you like blazing new trails?
Or are you more comfortable a well-defined path?
Do you regard difficulties as challenges or as setbacks?
Are you the kind of person who will keep pressing in to get what you're after?
How far will you go to realize your dreams?
A disciple is one whose dream is to be like Jesus.
Don't confuse being a Christian with being a disciple. Every believer is a Christian but not every believer is a disciple. Disciples are believers who are committed to going deeper and deeper with the Lord than — as deep as they can go. Most believers are content just to be saved. They're just happy to have their ticket to heaven. The demands of the deeper life in Christ don't really attract them.
And with good reason: those demands are high. In Luke 14:25-33 Jesus sets out the demands of discipleship in such terms as bearing a cross, counting the cost and forsaking all. Not for the faint of heart!
The deeper things of the Spirit are reserved for those who are willing and determined to press in and claim them—to plunge headlong into the wellspring of the very heart of God! Paul was this kind of person. He was a trailblazer: "…I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation…"
And he was willing to pay any price to touch the heart of Christ: "…I…count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…" He understood that this would require single-minded determination: "…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
You don't have to be a trailblazer to be a disciple. You don't have to be a natural leader. All you need is an abandoned love for Jesus and a heart that yearns to be like Him. It's what Jesus calls hungering and thirsting for righteousness—and He promises satisfaction.
The deeper you go into the palace, the fewer the people. Why? Because few people are willing to pay the price of moving deeper. The demands of learning the protocols are too high. What about you? Are you willing? The cost is high but the reward is worth it. How far will you go?
"Salvation is free, ... but discipleship will cost you your life." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Or are you more comfortable a well-defined path?
Do you regard difficulties as challenges or as setbacks?
Are you the kind of person who will keep pressing in to get what you're after?
How far will you go to realize your dreams?
A disciple is one whose dream is to be like Jesus.
Don't confuse being a Christian with being a disciple. Every believer is a Christian but not every believer is a disciple. Disciples are believers who are committed to going deeper and deeper with the Lord than — as deep as they can go. Most believers are content just to be saved. They're just happy to have their ticket to heaven. The demands of the deeper life in Christ don't really attract them.
And with good reason: those demands are high. In Luke 14:25-33 Jesus sets out the demands of discipleship in such terms as bearing a cross, counting the cost and forsaking all. Not for the faint of heart!
The deeper things of the Spirit are reserved for those who are willing and determined to press in and claim them—to plunge headlong into the wellspring of the very heart of God! Paul was this kind of person. He was a trailblazer: "…I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation…"
And he was willing to pay any price to touch the heart of Christ: "…I…count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord…and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death…" He understood that this would require single-minded determination: "…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
You don't have to be a trailblazer to be a disciple. You don't have to be a natural leader. All you need is an abandoned love for Jesus and a heart that yearns to be like Him. It's what Jesus calls hungering and thirsting for righteousness—and He promises satisfaction.
The deeper you go into the palace, the fewer the people. Why? Because few people are willing to pay the price of moving deeper. The demands of learning the protocols are too high. What about you? Are you willing? The cost is high but the reward is worth it. How far will you go?
"Salvation is free, ... but discipleship will cost you your life." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Prayer
Lord, I love You. I want to be like You.
I want to plunge headlong into Your love and know Your heart.
I want to plunge headlong into Your love and know Your heart.
Give me the wisdom to count the cost and the courage to take up my cross.
Forsaking all, I will follow You..
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