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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Christians Are Disciples
And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. (Acts 11:26)
A Christian by definition is a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth. Are you a disciple of the Lord Jesus? Am I?
What is a disciple? A disciple is someone who views another person as his or her master. The master speaks and the disciple listens and learns.
Where the master goes, the disciple follows.
The Lord Jesus told us that in order to be His disciples we would have to lay down our life in the present world, take up our cross, and follow Him.
What does it mean to lay down our life in the present world? It means to count we have died to all we hold dear and to embark on a quest for another security, another joy, another fulfillment. This is why it is difficult for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God. They find security, joy, and fulfillment by using their money. They have tasted the "old wine" and they do not desire the new.
To die to all we hold dear does not mean we neglect our family, our job, or any other responsibility. No true Christian neglects his or her responsibilities. But we must put all on the altar so there are no idols in our life. Only then can we have peace. God gives and God takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
The reason believers have difficulty serving the Lord is they do not have the sentence of death in themselves that they should not trust in themselves but in God who raises the dead.
What does it mean to take up our cross? Every would-be disciple is issued some factor in his life that acts as a prison. Usually it is something he wants very badly but in order to get it he has to break God's laws. He thirsts! Sometimes he must continue in a detestable situation he cannot change without breaking out of the Divine incarceration. He is shut up and cannot come forth.
He remains off balance all his life because of his cross, the thorn that pierces his flesh. No person can be a disciple of Jesus if he refuses to carry his cross. The individual who makes the best of it, concentrating on the joy that is ahead instead of his pain, will find in the end his self-will has been destroyed and he is at rest in the Father through Christ.
What does it mean to follow Jesus? It means to look each moment of every day to the living Lord Jesus, listening for His voice, watching for His Presence. When we do not trust in our own understanding but acknowledge the Lord in all our ways He directs our path. We do not always hear His voice (sometimes we do!) but He directs our path in any case.
Are you a disciple? Am I?
Are you a Christian? Am I?