Chuck & Deb

A DISCIPLE IS DYING TO LIVE

“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”

(Luke 14:27)

An old Green Beret was explaining their attitude toward the possibility of death during the Vietnam War. He told me the way they were able to operate so efficiently in some very dangerous situations was to count themselves dead already. They saw themselves as dead to their futures, families, and fame. They had only one driving value – complete the mission. In a real sense, this is the same attitude we need to adopt in our relationship with Christ. He calls us to place our lives on the cross, an instrument of death. Like the Green Beret, we also die to our futures, families, and fame. We die to all except one compelling value – Him! We are to love, serve, glorify, and become like Him. But there’s a big difference between the follower of Jesus and those who are fighting this world’s wars. The disciple’s death leads to eternal life, abundant life, real life. This is the way of true discipleship – we die to live!

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A DISCIPLE IS A REFLECTION OF THE LIGHT

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12)

I did a lot of “hiking” at night when I was in the Army. We didn’t normally use lights, so it was great when the moon gave us a little illumination — the fuller the better. But there where nights when the moon did us absolutely no good. The earth was blocking the sun and the moon was completely blacked out. We were left to grope around in total darkness. We all know why: the moon has no light of its own. It merely reflects the light of the sun. This parallel is so true for those of us who follow Christ. The disciple has no light of his own to shine in this world. And the more the world gets between us and Jesus, the less the Savior’s light can be reflected. But when there’s nothing between us and the Son, man oh man, does that light shine! Of course it’s not physical light that we’re reflecting, but spiritual light. The attributes of God Himself are being reflected in our thoughts, words, and deeds. We look like the Son to a dark, dark world. Reflecting with you!

I’ll be off the net for about a week. Back to blogging then!

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A DISCIPLE IS A LIGHT

“You are the light of the world.”
(Matthew 5:14)

I was holding a flashlight for my dad as we worked under the car. As my mind would drift to other things, so would the light. My father had to remind me to shine the light on the spot where he was working. Jesus reminds us that this is exactly what we should be doing as His disciples. Our spiritual job description is to illuminate where the Father is working. As we live our lives and do the good work of His Kingdom, it should be obvious to the people around us Who God is and what He’s doing. The light that we shed is meant to illuminate Him and His glory. But just as I did with my earthly dad, we may also do with our Heavenly Father. We can get distracted and begin to shine the light on ourselves, pet doctrines, worldly philosophies, or even other people. It takes a certain kind of spiritual concentration and the power of the Holy Spirit to stay focused and to keep the light squarely pointed at His Kingdom. Let your light shine…in the right direction!

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WHAT DO DISCIPLES DO ON REALLY BAD DAYS?

I’d like to take a break from my series “Reflections on the Great Commission” and share an excerpt from a prayer letter I recently received. Josh and Mandy Brown are missionaries ministering in a cross-cultural setting in Detroit, Michigan. In the letter Mandy describes a situation and response that’s worth being reminded of as disciple of Jesus. Let’s let her example sink deep into our minds, hearts, and actions.

“I came back to Michigan on December 26th to return to work while Josh has remained in WA with his dad and brother to continue grieving the loss of Diane. By the time I got home it seemed that anything that could be wrong was. I got a pretty bad cold, our heater was broken, my luggage was lost on the flight back, most of our friends were out of town, and Josh’s car was stolen & completely destroyed and our insurance won’t cover any of it, and my first nights back to work were miserable!

All I wanted was for Josh to be home to fix everything. I quickly became bitter with him for not being here to take care of his poor, pitiful, pregnant wife and allowed the frustration to continue to grow over the next couple of days. Thankfully in one of my quiet times our great God spoke to me with a strong rebuke…

Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” – Jeremiah 17:5-8

God revealed to me that the root of my anger and frustration was that I had been putting my hope and trust in my husband rather than in my God! I longed for a sense of security and protection but I was looking in the wrong place. God showed me that HE allowed all of this to happen, especially when Josh wasn’t home, so that I could really learn to trust in HIM rather than the strength of man!”

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BEING JESUS AS THE BODY

For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12)

A young disciple asked me an excellent question: “Is the Great Commission an individual or corporate responsibility?” To which I answered, “Yes”! None of us has all the gifts and abilities needed to thoroughly disciple others. That’s why we are to function as the Body of Christ. Together, we become like Jesus in the fullest sense and can disciple others more effectively. That’s one of our primary tasks as the “Ekklesia” (the assembly, the church). I have benefited tremendously, both in being discipled and in making disciples in the context of the Body. I call it “discipleship by the village”. But the assembly must understand that this is one of their chief functions before God. Are you assembling with those who have a vision for the Great Commission and are they able to train and empower others for the sake of making disciples corporately? It works a lot better together!

BEFORE YOU SWING TOO FAR

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”
(John 14:12)

“Well, He was God!” is a common response by some of the guys I encourage to be like Jesus. As I’ve mentioned before, there are certainly things that we’ll never be able to imitate. But before we let the pendulum swing too far the other way, we need to take a harder look at the works we can imitate and the things we can’t. Miracles seem to be one of the bigger areas we dismiss immediately as “God’s department”. But we see several cases where others raised the dead, healed the lame, gave sight to the blind (all in His power, of course). But what about developing people? Can we be expected to teach the masses, train up laborers for the harvest, and invest in the next generation of spiritual leadership? It’s certainly possible! And considering our great commission to reach the world for Christ, shouldn’t we at least try?

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A DISCIPLE IS COMMITTED

But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)

As the legend goes, the Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortez set sail for Mexico on a mission. Once safely ashore, he had some of his men return to the ships and burned them. There was no returning to Spain until the mission was accomplished. The requirement of this level of commitment for the disciple of Jesus is no mere myth. For the disciple, it’s all of Jesus or nothing. There’s no “Plan B.” When Jesus called His first disciples, they were fishing. Upon hearing the call, they left their business, their families, and probably their reputations to follow the Rabbi. What kind of leader demands such allegiance? A Leader Who knows Who He is and what’s at stake. He is the King Who holds our very eternity in His hands. He also knows the consequences of ignoring such a call. He invites us to be all in for Him and His Kingdom or not at all. (Revelation 3.15-16)

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SOME LIMITATIONS OF IMITATION

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

My son clumsily walked into the living room sporting his little camouflage uniform and my combat boots. It was hilarious to see those huge boots on a four-year-old boy who wanted to be just like his dad. But as cute as it was, he was having an awful time walking. That perfectly illustrates some limitations of imitation. It’s not only important to figure out how to be like Jesus. It’s just as important to understand areas we will never be like Jesus. God may not expect you to be single all your life, wander the countryside of Palestine, have long hair and wear sandals, and live only 33 years. It’s important to identify the principles of becoming like Jesus and not just the forms. Attributes like compassion, obedience to the Father, introducing others to God, prayer, depth in God’s Word, etc., are principles we can all imitate. As we carefully read the Scriptures, we should ask this question, “How can I become like Jesus and practice the principles He modeled?”

WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

Ever try to make something — only to have it turn out to be a disaster? Many times, it’s because we put something together without looking at the instructions. And then we wonder why it doesn’t work like it was designed to! The same thing can happen with making a disciple. In fact, Jesus has strong words for those who make disciples and have no clue what they’re doing (Matthew 23.15). So what is a disciple of Jesus supposed to look like when we get done? Let me make this really simple. A disciple of Jesus is supposed to be like…well…Jesus! (Luke 6.40, 1 John 2.6, Ephesians 5.1) The first thing we need to do is to take a long, hard look at Jesus in the Scriptures and begin to emulate His character and ways. Then, we become not only a student of Him, but we begin to practice His ways and words and make them our own. The highest form of adoration is emulation. Now, we’re on our way to becoming disciples of Jesus and making disciples.

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A DISCIPLE ASKS QUESTIONS

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28:19)

I recently complimented an atheist on the fact that he asked good questions. I met him in the Food Court while I was sharing the gospel with strangers. That led to a friendship where we would periodically get together and talk about Jesus. It was important for me to provide an safe environment, where he could ask any question he wanted. And he asked a lot of them. Jesus did the same thing with His disciples. And what were the results? They were given the mysteries of the Kingdom of God! (Mark 4.11) That’s another crucial attribute of a disciple. They listen carefully and ask a lot of questions. As you read the Scriptures, ask God questions and pray that He will answer them. When you’re around other Christians, ask questions. Have two or three questions ready at all times to ask Christian leaders. Become a good question asker. By the way, my atheist friend is no longer an atheist –He’s now a follower of Jesus!

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