It is so great to be back and writing blogs consistently given I've set apart some time to write more. I hope everyone is doing great and having a God blessed week. A special thanks to the people that have been keeping me in prayer over the past week about my focus and growth in Christ. You all have my genuine appreciation and gratitude. God has taught me so much just over the past few months and it has been great to see His sovereignty in my life and how gracious He is despite the fact I do not deserve His grace at all.
Today, I wanted to take some time to write about something that has recently impacted my life in a very amazing way. One of the most encouraging relationships a Christian can have outside of the Lord is a discipleship relationship. Not only is it beneficial, it is actually commanded in the Scriptures that we, as believers in Christ, pursue relationships that encourage us in our faith and further God's kingdom. One of the most popular verses in Scripture that speak about our Lord's command to disciple others is found in Matthew 28:19 which says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". This verse is not a request, suggestion, idea, or plea. It is an imperative, authoritative command from Christ with the purpose of communicating to us how important it is that we follow this command. I remember always thinking of this verse as a call to evangelism or a call to encourage baptism. I rarely thought of what it actually means to be a true disciple. After doing some research, the word disciple means to embrace or assist in the spreading of another person's teachings. According to the definition of discipleship, we are not followers of Christ unless we embrace and spread the truth of God's Word with others.
For me this is a very convicting passage of Scripture. How much time do I spend time talking or socializing with people and not even broach the topic of my Lord's wonderful gift of grace or the gospel? How do I work amongst people that have absolutely no belief in my Savior not take advantage of every opportunity I get to share the gospel with them? Of course there have been various occasions in which I have shared my faith with others or evangelized publicly. I have indeed obeyed my Lord's commandment to witness to others. But have I done it as consistently as I can possibly do? Have I managed to avoid a conversation with an unbeliever due to the fact that maybe it would cause a conflict? These are questions that as believers, I think we have all been guilty of not focusing on Christ-like conversations and relationships as much as we should. For me, this call to discipleship from Christ is an inspiration. If we are not carrying out Christ's last command to witness of His amazing love and grace, we are not achieving the purpose for which God has left us on this earth. We as Christians definitely need to be fired up and passionate to share His word with the world no matter what the consequences. Easier said than done, nevertheless, with the proper mindset towards life and having a strong desire to obey my Lord's commandment I will, if I am truly saved, "go therefore, and make disciples".
We are not only encouraged in Scripture to make disciples, but to be disciples as well. Ephesians 4:11-16 says, "And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
There are quite a few ways we as Christians can be encouraged and discipled in the ways of Christ. One is through attending a church that teaches sound doctrine right out of the Bible. By being a regular attender of a solid body of mature believers who love and want to grow in Christ, one can gain so much knowledge and discernment in the ways of the Lord. Another way to grow in discipleship is through relationships with people who honestly care about your spiritual well-being and are mature themselves in their faith. Some may ask, "How do I know which person I should ask to disciple me?" For me I have found that if I am socializing with people who do not truly live out the God-focused lifestyle, I will never grow in my spiritual life. In fact, it is more likely that I will be influenced in a negative way and end up getting more distant from Christ. When looking to be discipled, I believe it to be absolutely important to choose somebody that you feel resembles Christ as much as possible
Another important thing about discipleship is honesty. If a person you are discipling or being discipled by can't talk about the true genuine issues of the heart, you will never grow from that relationship. Without honesty, people don't really know how to keep you accountable in your walk with Christ and neither do they know how to best pray for you. It is key in discipleship to be completely honest and to make that person somebody you feel comfortable telling your more uncomfortable sins to. So yeah in addition to all of that, one might wanna make sure that there discipler is trustworthy as well as being a spiritual role model.
It has been an amazing experience being in a discipleship relationship myself over the last few months as I have seen relevant growth in my life due to accountability and prayer (To God be the glory). I encourage anyone who has not pursued discipleship before, to ask somebody you respect, maybe a parent or older/mature friend in the faith to help you in your pursuit of holiness.
And that is it for today! I hope that all of you have a great rest of the week and until next time, God bless!
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