Wheat field Banner

Gleanings From The Word

Tag: great commission

  • Disciples – what are they?

    Disciples – what are they?

    Jesus and his disciples

    Last night we watched the 2016 movie “Risen”. It’s the tale of a Roman soldier sent to find the body of Jesus. He encounters Jesus and the disciples and eventually becomes a believer. It’s the sort of story that’s been told before, and there is a fair bit of artistic license, but it was an okay watch.

    There is a scene where Peter and the soldier are discussing how Jesus, with a full body, can disappear, and Peter admits to not understanding. Peter says, “We are followers, we follow to find out.”

    That’s a good line and fits the movie. We are all followers because we want to know Jesus better. Yet, in another sense, it’s woefully inadequate. We are more than seekers of knowledge. As his disciples, we follow the master in order to become like Him, to follow his instructions. It also keeps the follower as the center of the search not the Lord.

    As disciples, Jesus should be our focus and Lord. We do our part to bring about the answers to the Lord’s Prayer. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10). God changes hearts and minds, but we have labor to do to bring about the kingdom.

    Perhaps you never considered the fact that being a Christian was never meant to be a passive activity and isn’t primarily about you (or me). All true believers are disciples and have been given a task to accomplish by Christ Himself

    And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20

    We all have a differing role to play in that commission and have been given different spiritual gifts to accomplish it. Yet we are called to do our part to bring about the kingdom.

    Yes, we are called to grow in Christ. Yes, we are called to know. Yes, we are called into a deeper relationship with him.

    But if all that stays internal and passive, we are not being true to our calling. Our relationship with Jesus is intimately personal, but it is also public, and we are commanded to take it into the world.

    I pray, that as you grow in Christ, you grow in true discipleship and are used greatly by the Lord.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Step Out of the Boat Faith

    __________________________________________ 

    # Right Belief Must Become Right Living

  • On Mission

    On Mission

    We are on a mission from God

    Jake "Joliet" Blues and his brother Elwood

    The 1980 action musical comedy “The Blues Brothers”  is a madcap romp with the key players Jake “Joliet” Blues and his brother Elwood out to save an orphanage from destruction.

    It’s an insane, completely unbelievable story and anything but reverent, but somehow it works. It has an R rating, and while in some ways it is mild compared to the movies out there, parental discretion is definitely recommended on this one, and it won’t be to everyone’s taste.

    There is a line in that movie that sticks out in my memory. One of the brothers declares they “are on a mission from God.” That’s a dubious claim at best, but still memorable.

    Like the fictional Blue Brothers, you  and I are on a “mission from God.”

    As Christians, we often talk about what we are saved from. We are saved from the consequences of our sin, an eternity of well-deserved suffering, and separated from God.

    That is worth celebrating. None of us deserves the incredible mercy shown to us by Christ. No one is even close to good enough to earn an eternity with the Lord on their own merit.

    That aspect of salvation is certainly news that needs to be shared and is worth proclaiming to everyone. They, too, can be saved from hell.

    Yet, we often forget that while we are saved from that fate, we are also saved for something. 

    We are His ambassadors.

    Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV

    We are missionaries, evangelists, and teachers.

    And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

    We are peacemakers

    If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18 ESV

    We are to love others.

    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 ESV

    I could list many others, and I am sure you could do so easily as well.

    The Christian life isn’t one of passive waiting for Jesus to return. You and I are on a mission from God. We are the church set apart to bring glory to God.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Check out these posts

    Read the Word

    Squirrel away – store up God’s Word in your heart