What Are the Marks of a True Disciple?

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 10, 2011 at 5:55am

David,

 

Good word.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Rita Cullimore on March 10, 2011 at 5:20am

Christ's atonement is for ALL sin...past, present, future.

We need to concentrate on what God's Word says. Especially the New Testament. That is the Will of God for our lives. The Old Testament is so we can recognize the sins one can commit. The New tells us of the promises Christ gave us with our rebirth. We need to stick to God's promises in the New Testament.  As the Bible says, *you can't store new wine in old wine-skins*. Many of are trying to mix the New with the Old. That isn't going to work.

We have three parts---spirit, soul, body. The spirit in us, as Christian, is communicating with the Holy Spirit Who guides and teaches our spirit. The soul is led by our mind. Our mind needs renewing. We need to let the Holy Spirit renew our mind in keeping with our spirit. We need to be ever conscious of what comes into our mind. Is it from the Holy Spirit?

If not, discard it and let the Holy Spirit put the right thought there.

True disciples will try and accomplish this...discarding wrong thoughts for right ones.

Criticism of another Christian is a wrong thought. I know...I've done it a million times! Now I am trying to regenerate my mind with thoughts of how the Holy Spirit would want we to think and ultimately speak.

We also need to think the right thought before we speak. Words kill. In just a few words, we can turn a person AWAY from Salvation. And never know that we did it!

We need to speak the good things of God without criticism. It wasn't that long ago that we were headed towards the cross.

 

Great topic, and probably long overdue.

Blessings,

Rita

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 10, 2011 at 5:56am

Rita,

 

Excellent, reminding us of the "Battle Field of the Mind."

 

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 10, 2011 at 6:04am

Greetings all,

(The following was a message I preached at the beginning of 2003 to challenge us)

 

Evaluate yourself in each of the following areas using a scale of 1 -10. 1 being the least and 10 being the best

 

The one another principles fight against selfishness and reveal how much we are controlled by self or by the Spirit of God.

 

As we enter 2003 my key word for this year is "Self." We all are tuned into to life radio station "WIIFM" (What’s In It For Me?) To some degree. This is an area we all can use improvement in.

 

1. Be devoted to one another. Romans 12:10

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

2. Live in harmony with one another. Romans 12:16; 1 Peter 3:8

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

3. Accept one another. Romans 15:7

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

4. Instruct one another. Romans 15:14

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

5. Use your gifts for one another. 1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Peter 4:10

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

6. Share with one another. 2 Corinthians 8:7, 13-15

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

7. Greet one another. 2 Corinthians 13:12

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

8. Serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

9. Carry one another’s burdens. Galatians 6:2

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

10. Be kind to one another. Ephesians 4:32; 1 Thessalonians 5:15

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

11. Forgive one another. Ephesians 4:32

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

12. Look to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

13. Bear with one another. Colossians 3:13

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

14. Love one another. Colossians 3:14; 1 John 4:11-12

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

15. Admonish one another. Colossians 3:16

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

16. Encourage one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:25

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

17. Build one another up. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

18. Live in peace with one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:13

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

19. Spur one another to good works. Hebrews 10:24

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

20. Confess your sins to one another. James 5:16

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

21. Pray for one another. James 5:16

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

22. Be hospitable to one another. 1 Peter 4:9

Is this principle evident in your life? _______

 

These 22 principles teach us a very important truth ... "Life is not all about ME!"

 

Lord Bless,

LT

 

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Permalink Reply by OldPilot on March 14, 2011 at 10:58am

LT, 

 

If am sure that you figured it out that I am a military pilot by my screen name. As a military pilot we love checklists & I really love your checklist for Christian Love. Thanks for a neat list.

 

OldPilot (aka Dana)

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 14, 2011 at 2:03pm

OldPilot,

 

I am glad you liked it. Thank you for serving our country.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 10, 2011 at 3:54pm

Amanda,

 

I have some questions about it. Do disciples fast? What if they don’t fast? Are they still disciples?

Jesus specifically mentioned that His disciples (the 12 in context) will fast. We do not see a command to fast in the N.T. outside of the gospels. Fasting is a good principle for a Christian, but not a command.

If you’re not in the ministry, how can you help with the Great Commission?
We are called to be a missionaries in our sphere of influence. We are able to pray for others. We have the privilege of supporting the work through sacrificial giving.

This statement is a paradox. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." What does it really imply?
He who lives for and retains self will lose his soul. He who comes to Christ and surrenders to Him loses this life, is born-again and gains eternal life in Christ.

To be a disciple means you want to imitate Christ and become like Him. If you don’t want that, how could you be His disciple?

What does it mean “to imitate Christ?” This is our goal, but it is not a simple external activity. To imitate Christ means to take on the nature of Christ as the Holy Spirit lives in us. There is a change where the old is gone and the new has come. There is a maturing that reveals the Fruit of the Spirit blossoming in us and through us. This is the Christ life, Christ in you the hope of glory. Too many want to do it themselves. Here is an interesting quote by E.E. Shelhamer: “If you want to fight your own battles, God will give you the job, but you will have a hard job of it.”

 

We are supposed to love as He has loved us. It should be a visible love, evident to the world, not just an occasional good deed. It requires commitment and has a cost. We are sometimes ridiculed and belittled, even hated.
Yes. The Bible even goes further and says: (1JN 4:19-21) “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

 

But there is something else, isn’t there, that marks a true disciple? Won’t their life have blessings? Won’t they have peace and joy?

Define blessing. For me it is enough to know Christ and be know by Him. In Him we find peace and joy. Read the life story of John Bunyan or Brother Lawrence. In fact I recommend reading “Practicing the Presence of God” by Brother Lawrence. You can read it online.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 10, 2011 at 7:08pm

We are all works in progress once we are born-again. At the same time, love is not an option. Love is a command. We cannot pick and choose whom we want to love. The key is understanding love as God sees it and not to define it as the world would define it.

 

Lord Bless,

LT

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 11, 2011 at 5:52am

God is the judge, not us.

 

Until we learn (which is a lifelong process) to love like God we cannot understand the hate of God that is found in His love.

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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on March 11, 2011 at 1:16pm

LT, this is a truth well said!

 

Psalm 97:10 says "Ye that love the LORD, hate evil"

 

Notice it does not say "hate evil people", but rather to hate evil itself. Hate the acts, hate the temptations, hate what it does, but do not hate the person who does it. God alone knows what motivates a person, and why, to do evil. And God has compassion even on the worst sinner.

 

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Permalink Reply by Leonard T on March 15, 2011 at 9:11am

Primarily it is part of the sanctification process as is a life-long journey. Following Christ is a journey that we embark on the day we are saved. Scribe has pointed out that in the early days one does not really know what dying to self means. This comes over time as the Holy Spirit illuminates our minds and reveals our hearts and actions to us. We are to respond to the light of the Word and work of the Holy Spirit over the course of one's life as the Word and the Holy Spirit do their work in our lives.

 

Lord Bless,
LT

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Permalink Reply by ScribeD on March 11, 2011 at 1:26pm

Amanda, if you read the accounts of the Disciples of Christ in the New Testament, you will see them failing as you have said... all the way up to, and beyond, the day of Pentecost. Partiality against the Hellenists (Jews from Greece), hatred of gentiles, betrayal, rivalry, sectarianism and more.

 

God called King David "a man after my own heart". David had terrible failures, not the least of which was his murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba. God did tell David that his sins would cost him greatly and that those very sins would lead to very wretched situations in his descendants lives; eventually causing the division of the Kingdom.

 

However, God still calls David "a man after my own heart". Why do you suppose that is? Is God contradicting Himself, or is He seeing something in David that compels him more than the sin repulses Him?

 

What we know of Jesus' original disciples is that they eventually learned and gained wisdom of the Spirit - eventually they understood the purpose of Christ and they were transformed.

 

Do you think Jesus wants to shut you out? Or do you think he wants to lead you, like a good shepherd, to find lush green pastures and to drink from still waters? Do you see The Good Shepherd as hunting you down, as a lost sheep, to roast you on a fire, or to restore you to His flock?

 

 

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