The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

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#256: Don't Put Out The Spirit's Fire Apr 24, 2021

Show notes

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but occasionally, I will read a bible verse that stops me in my tracks. The verse catches my attention and the spirit of God won’t let me go. So, sometimes I’ll meditate on just one verse of scripture for several days. Not long ago, I read a verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It says, Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”

I thought, “What an interesting verse!” The Apostle Paul is clearly giving us a caution and a warning. Watch what is happening in your spiritual life…don’t let it die. Don’t let the fire burn out.
Fire is one of the most frequent biblical images for God’s presence with his people. The connection is made in such passages as Exodus 3:1-5 (Moses and the burning bush), Exodus 13:21 (the pillar of fire), Leviticus 9:24 (fire from the Lord consuming the burnt offering), I Kings 18:24 ("The god who answers by fire—he is God."),

In the New Testament we see Matthew 3:11 ("He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."), Acts 2:3 ("They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire.") and Hebrews 12:29 ("Our God is a consuming fire.").

But here we see Paul’s caution to “not put out the Spirit’s fire”. The words “put out” refer to putting out a literal fire. You can put out a fire by dousing it with water, by covering it up (to keep it from oxygen) or you can let it run out of fuel. Normally, you don’t put out a fire by accident. The fire goes out because someone takes steps to put it out.

How would you put out the Spirit’s fire in your life? Well, I think there are a lot of things that can do it. Disobedience would do it. Harboring sin would do it. Criticizing someone else’s love for the Lord would do it. Holding bitterness in your heart would do it. We can put out the Spirit’s fire by saying no to the Lord.

We can also quench the Spirit’s fire by not using the spiritual gifts that God has given us. What a blessing it is that God would give us spiritual gifts, but what a tragedy to not use them.

But one of the most common ways of putting out the Spirit’s fire is by neglect.

I grew up going on camping trips with my family. One of the things I loved the most was sitting around the campfire at night. We roasted marshmallows, told stories, and laughter a lot. If you’ve ever built a campfire, you know it needs attention to keep it going. If you build a campfire, no matter how many logs you have, or how high the flames, eventually it will burn out. You have to stoke the fire and continue to add wood.

On occasion, as the fire begins to burn down, a piece of wood will fall out of the fire. The log that bright orange with fire, in just a few minutes will become a black charred piece of wood. But if you take that same log and put it back on the fire, it won’t take long for it to glow once again.

I’ve seen Christians who were passionate for Christ. You could say they were “on fire for God.” But overtime, with neglect, they became cold. The fire had gone out.

I hope this speaks to you. Let’s listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, “don’t put out the Spirit’s fire.” Watch your spiritual life. Pay attention to your spiritual disciplines. Maintain a passion for Jesus by pursuing him.

Today’s Challenge: If your spiritual fire has gone out, believe that it can burn again. Return to Jesus, repent, and let him fill you with his Holy Spirit. If you will draw close to God, he has promised that he will draw close to you.

#255: The Greatness of God Apr 23, 2021

Show notes

I read one time about a newspaper ad for a missing dog. It read “Lost – one dog. Brown hair with several bald spots. Right leg broken due to a car accident. Rear left hip hurt. Right eye missing. Left ear bitten off in a dog fight. Answers to the name: Lucky.” I don’t know about you, but that seems like a very appropriate name!

In our culture today, names don’t usually carry any specific meaning or significance. But we know that in the Bible, names convey great meaning and weight.

In Genesis 1:1, the very first verse of the Bible, it says, “In the beginning God created…” Who created the world? God did. God is mentioned in the very first verse. In verse 1 the name God is the Hebrew word “Elohim.” Primarily it means “strong one” or “powerful one.” It also reveals his power to create. This particular name of God is found in the Bible over 2500 times. It is found 32 times alone in the 1st chapter of Genesis.

Have you ever thought about how the Bible begins with a simple declaration that God exists? It does not provide an explanation for his existence. The Bible just states that He is.

God is the creator of all things. He is the “Elohim” the powerful one, who is able to speak a word and bring stars into space, planets into being, living animals and man to life. We see a God who is awesome and creative. He is powerful.

Deuteronomy 10:17 – “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome.”

Humans are impressed with power. Every time I am on an airplane I am impressed with the power of the plane filled with passengers and luggage and it still has the ability to thrust into the sky.. I was impressed when I stood at Niagara Falls on Canadian side and watch the roaring water. But are we still impressed by the power of God?

At the command of God the world came into existence. There is power in his voice and his his words. He is a God who can do all things.

Today when you pray remember that He is creatively powerful!

The Hebrew word for create means “to create out of nothing.” God Elohim brings design out of disorder. He created the cosmos out of chaos.

Psalm 95:6 – “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”

Psalm 121:2 – “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

So, what is our proper response to the greatness of God? There is only one response. Worship. Worship is our natural response to the power and creativity of our God. The more you know God, the more you feel compelled to worship.

Worship is personal. It’s hard to worship someone you don’t know. Worship is not just singing songs. Worship is personal communion with God. This is why John said in…

Revelation: 4:11 – “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Today’s Challenge: Think about the God we serve. His name is Elohim – He is the strong, powerful, creator God. He is worthy of your worship, your praise, and your devotion. If you have a need in your life, remember his greatness. There is nothing he cannot do.

#254: God's Offer of Forgiveness Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

As we become a disciple of Jesus Christ, one of the critical truths we must understand is our need for God’s forgiveness. Sometimes I hear the gospel message being shared and there is an absence of any discussion of sin and forgiveness.

The reason we need Jesus in our lives is because we are sinners. We need his forgiveness for our sins. We need his grace, his mercy, and his pardon.

This truth is critical if we are going to have an understanding of our salvation. You see, when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not just believing in his existence. We are believing that his death on the cross was sufficient payment for our sins. When we decide to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are deciding that we will no longer trust ourselves, which is incapable to save.

King David understood this when he wrote Psalm 51:4 – “Against you, you only, I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”

When we sin, we are “missing the mark.” We are falling short of God’s standard of right living. We are rejecting the way he has designed for us to live and are following our own desires. This is what sin is. Jesus says because of our sin, we owe God a debt.

When Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s prayer, which is a model for praying, one of the things he prayed was, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.”

How amazing it is that God offers us forgiveness. There is nothing more wonderful than knowing that all of your sins have been forgiven by God. What peace this brings into our lives!

As we read the Bible we learn that we are sinners and are in need of God’s forgiveness. As we read God’s Word our sin becomes visible in our lives. The Bible tells us God’s Word is like a mirror, it reveals to us who we really are. It’s at moments like this that we all face a temptation to downplay what’s going on in our lives. We say things like:

I’m not that bad!
I’m ok…I’ve got this under control!
I wouldn’t really call it a sin, it’s more of a weakness, it’s a struggle that I currently have
Well…no one is perfect!
Yes, I could improve, but compared to other people…

Here’s the truth: What matters is not how I see myself, nor does it matter how I compare to other people. What matters is how God sees me.

God’s forgiveness is our ur greatest need. You see, sin is our rebellion against God. It’s our determination to live by our own rules. It’s a rejection of God’s standard of living, for one we feel is more convenient and more enjoyable.

We think we need a lot of things, but our greatest need is forgiveness of sins! Unless we are forgiven you and I will never have a relationship with God.

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This is why Jesus came. Because of God’s great love for us, he sent his Son, Jesus to come and die in our place. The Bible says, he became sin for us. He took all of our sin upon himself, and he died as our sacrifice. He is our substitute. The death of Jesus satisfied God. We no longer have to die. Forgiveness is offered to us as we place our faith in Jesus as the Son of God, and as we trust the finished work of Jesus on the cross in our place.

Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us”

Acts 10:43 – “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name”

Today’s Challenge: You are never closer to the grace of Jesus Christ than when you confess your sins to him. Today if you need his forgiveness, don’t hesitate or delay. Stop where you are right now. Confess your sins to God. Ask for his forgiveness. He offers it freely.

#253: Believing that Change is Possible Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

Over the years I have met with so many people who wanted to change some aspect of their life. Sometimes it was a habit, an addiction, or a hangup that they wanted freedom from. Sometimes they wanted to see their marriage change, improve and be healthier. Other times, people wanted to change by stepping out in faith to follow God’s purposes for their lives. It’s been my honor to share scripture and to pray with these individuals who were wanting to change.

Most of us would say there are things in our lives that need to change. We feel it. We are not happy about certain things. You might say, “I don’t like the way I respond. I don’t like it that I get so angry. I need to change certain habits. I’m struggling with some sins and I haven’t been able to stop.” Or maybe you would say, “I’m stuck in the past, and I can’t move forward. I haven’t been able to forgive, I haven’t been able to let go, I haven’t can’t seem to go forward and focus on the future.”

Maybe you are desperate for change. Maybe you would say, “If something doesn’t change in my marriage…” “If something doesn’t change in my career.” “If something doesn’t change in my character…” “If something doesn’t change in my heart…”

Here is some good news! God is in the business of changing lives. The Christian life is fundamentally a changed life. His change is not something that you can simply do by yourself. It’s going to take the power of God in your life and it’s going to require you to cooperate with God. Maybe it’s here that we struggle. We pray God please change me and we sit back and expect it to miraculously happen. But change requires that we cooperate with God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

How does change happen? This verse of scripture says that it happens when we are in Christ! We sometimes struggle because we focus on externals instead of the internals. We are looking at changing our behavior. God wants to change our hearts. Real and lasting change begins on the inside! Once we place our faith in Christ, he begins to work on the inside. We began a process of inner renewal. Every day we put off the old man, the old life, and we put on the new life in Christ.

Here’s an important principle to think about today: Change occurs when we decide to cooperate with God’s change process. It won’t happen without our cooperation.

I remember reading one time about a German tourist who had checked into a hotel near Miami International Airport. That night in his room he noticed a terrible smell. But travelers sometimes put up with discomforts, so he didn’t do anything about it. He slept in the bed without complaining to the front desk. The next morning, when he woke up, the odor was even worse. When he checked out he told the attendant. Later that morning a maid cleaning the room discovered the source of the odor. Under the bed was a dead body.

There can be things in our life that smell. Our character, our attitude, our lifestyle often is offensive to others, and to God, and even though we know we need to change, we just put up with it. We live with it.

Change requires a decision to cooperate with God! You can make that decision today. You can make a decision to follow Jesus today. You can decide to surrender your life to God today!

Today’s Challenge: Maybe you have given up thinking that your life could change. 1 Peter 5:5 – “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Today, humble yourself and ask God for the grace and the power to change. Cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and watch what God can do.

#252: Letting God Use Your Life Apr 20, 2021

Show notes

I have a conviction. Can I share it with you? Here’s my conviction: I believe God wants to use your life for his purposes.

You might be thinking: “Me? God wants to use me?” or “why would God want to use me, when he has so many other options?”

I get that, but based on what I see in scripture, I believe God wants to use your life.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Imagine this…there are good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do. Your life has a purpose. You have a mission. There is a task God has prepared for you to do.

It’s easy to think, God can’t use my life. After all, I’m not like this person or that person. But as we read the Bible we begin to see God uses all kinds of people. And just about every person God used had some reason why God shouldn’t have used them.

Abraham lied. Sarah laughed at God's promises.

Moses stuttered. David's armor didn't fit.

Hosea's wife was a prostitute.

Jacob was a liar.

David had an affair.

Solomon was too rich.

Jesus was too poor.

Abraham was to old.

David was too young.

Lazarus was dead.

Naomi was a widow.

Paul persecuted Christians

Moses was a murderer.

Jonah ran from God.

Gideon and Thomas both doubted.

Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.

Elijah was burned out.

Noah got drunk.

Peter denied Jesus.

The Bible is literally filled with imperfect people that God used for his kingdom purposes. If God can uses these people, he can use you.

Now that we have established that God wants to use your life, the next question is how does God want to use you?

It’s often said that God works at the intersection of our gifts and our passions. Where do your gifts meet your passions? That may be God’s purpose for you. What are your skills, talents, abilities, and spiritual gifts? What are you passionate about? What needs burden your heart?

Your ministry may also come out of your own pain and brokenness. God loves to take our mess and make it a ministry. If there is a particular brokenness in your past, you have an understanding and a compassion for others going through the same thing.

Finally, what doors are open before you right now. Sometimes we overlook the opportunities that are right in front of us. I’ve learned that as we are faithful in the small things, God gives us opportunities for larger things.

When you feel that you can’t to it, just remember that God can use people with or without the natural ability and proper background. God can, and often chooses to, work with raw material. God prepares and empowers those He chooses to do His work.

It’s not about our ability. It’s about our availability.

Today’s Challenge: Believe that God does want to use your life. If God can use someone like me, I know he can use someone like you. Let’s make ourselves available to God. There is tremendous joy in serving the Lord.

#251: God of the Lonely Apr 19, 2021

Show notes

The other day, my wife and I were eating at a restaurant, here in our town. We were sitting in an outdoor patio. I noticed an elderly man come in a few minutes after we arrived. The hostess sat him at a table nearby. No one came to join him. He ate alone. He did not pull out his phone and scroll social media, like I probably would have done.

I wondered why he was alone. I didn’t want to assume that he was lonely because on occasion I’m by myself for a quick lunch at a restaurant too. My thought was that perhaps he was a widower. My wife and I decided to engage the man in conversation and quickly a smile crossed his face as we talked together. I left the restaurant wondering how many people nearby are lonely. They feel all alone.

Early in 2018, the United Kingdom appointed a minister of loneliness. A recent study showed that over 200,000 elderly people in Britain had not had a conversation with a friend or relative in a month. As the New York Times reports, research is showing that loneliness can be more deadly to your health than smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And it’s not just older people. University students report feeling very alone because they feel rejected or they don’t fit in.

I once read a study done by the American Council of Life Insurance -- it reported that the most lonely group in America are college students! That was surprising to me -- but according to the report -- it's true! Next on the list are divorced people -- then welfare recipients -- single mothers -- rural students -- housewives -- & of course -- the elderly! Loneliness has become an epidemic.

Genesis 2:18 - “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” God is concerned about our aloneness.

We are relational beings. We hate to be alone. God created us for relationships. This is why we consider solitary confinement to be a punishment. We can stand almost anything in life if we know we are not alone.

But we have found out that even the best of friends cannot meet our desire for the ULTIMATE friendship. Even people with whom we share a a lot in common can’t be around all the time. Lifelong friends move away or die. The most understanding of friends can’t always comprehend what we’re going through. And even the most trusted of friends don’t always prove dependable.

We might ask God, “Why would You make us crave for significant relationships but then deprive us of that very thing?” To which God would smile and reply, “I know you have that longing and I have supplied a way to satisfy your need. I offer you Me. I am the ultimate Companion. I understand you—everything about you. I have been there. I have lived life as a human being and unlike other friends I can and will be with you WHEREVER YOU GO in life.”

Because of Jesus—because of EMMANUEL—God is with us—ALWAYS! In Hebrews 13:5 God says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Psalm 139:7-10 – “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

The fact is we will never go where God is not. As Acts 17:27 says, “He is not far from each one of us.” God is ALWAYS with us and through our personal faith in Jesus we can experience God’s ever-presence wherever we go.

Today’s Challenge: If you feel lonely, I encourage you to make time today to worship God. Listen to some praise and worship music. Sing along. Express your love and worship for God. As you do, you will experience his comforting presence. Recognize today that you are not alone. He is with you.

#250: The Inner Life of the Christian Apr 18, 2021

Show notes

I’ve been playing guitar since I was 9 years old. I’ll never forget that first guitar my grandparents gave me as a Christmas gift. If you don’t play guitar, what you may not know is that you have to constantly tune the guitar to the correct key. Even if you tuned it last week, or yesterday, or even a couple of hours ago, it can be out of tune. It takes regular attention to keep it sounding beautiful.

Our hearts are a lot like stringed instruments. We can tune them up by being in church, spending time with other believers, worshipping God, or by reading and applying God’s Word, but without regular tune-ups it doesn’t take long for our hearts to drift out of tune. And the longer we neglect tuning our hearts, the further they drift.

The Bible describes the inner life of the Christian as the heart. It’s not our physical heart but it’s the core or the center of all that we are. It’s critical that we pay attention to our inner life and that we keep our hearts in tune with God.

Today I was reading from Proverbs chapter four. Listen to verses 20-23. It says, “My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Why is it important to guard the heart? Why do we guard the inner life?

•Because your heart is extremely valuable.

We don’t guard things that are worthless. I take my garbage to the street every Thursday night. It’s picked up on Friday morning. It sits by the curb all night, completely unguarded. Why? Because it is worthless.

Not so with your heart. It is the essence of who you are. It’s the part of you that connects with God and other people.

The condition of your spiritual heart impacts every part of your life (walk with God, faith, emotional life, relationships, ministry, career, education).

•Because your heart is the source of everything you do.

In vs. 23 Solomon says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

In other words, it is the source of everything else in your life. Your heart flows in to thoughts, words and actions.

The condition of your heart determines the direction of your life. Jesus said it this way in the New Testament: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” (Luke 6:45)

•Because your heart is constantly under attack.

Think about this: Solomon’s word are a warning. “Guard.” He implies you are living in a combat zone. You don’t have to guard something, unless it is under attack.

We do lots of guarding, you and I. We lock our cars. We guard our homes, by locking the door. You guard your money by making wise investment and by living on a budget. You guard your family by being careful. But this scripture reminds us that more than anything else we might guard, we should guard our hearts. It should be our highest priority. Solomon says, “above all else…”

Today’s Challenge: Pay close attention to your inner life. Guard your heart. Ask God to reveal anything in your heart that does not please Him. Surrender these things to the Lord.

#249: Effective Prayer Apr 17, 2021

Show notes

One night years ago, when one of our daughters was just a two years old, my wife woke me in the night to tell me our daughter was sick. She had a very high fever and as I put my hand to her forehead I could feel her high temperature. We happened to be visiting my wife’s sister. She and her husband heard the commotion and got up to see if everything was alright. I’ll never forget the four of us standing in their hallway in the middle of the night as we prayed for God’s healing. As we prayed, my hand was our little girl’s forehead. She was burning with fever, but as we cried out to God, he healed her, right there, in an instant. I felt her hot forehead cool down to a normal temperature. Together we rejoiced at the miracle of God’s healing.

As powerful as that time of prayer was for our family, there have been other times when no miracle came. I’m sure that if you have served God for any length of time, you have your own similar stories. There is one thing we can agree on. Prayer is sometimes a mystery.

I am encouraged by a little verse in the book of James. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Listen to this verse…prayer is powerful and effective. Almost all Christians believe in prayer. We believe God hears prayer. We also believe he answers prayer. But often we wonder if we are doing it right. We wonder why our prayers don’t seem to be more consistently effective.

James is instructing us as believers in Jesus. He is saying prayer should be a regular part of our lives no matter what our circumstances. We should pray when we are in trouble, when we are happy, when we are sick, and when everything is going well. In other words, prayer should be our natural response to life. Paul said, “Pray without ceasing….pray continuously!”

The effective prayers of a righteous man can accomplish much.

As Christians, we’ve got to come back to understanding the power in prayer. When we rely on organization, we get what organization can do. When we rely on education, we get what education can do. When we rely on eloquence, we get what eloquence can do, but when we rely on prayer we get what God can do!

James tells us that prayer is powerful and effective, but it is not the greatness of the man praying that makes prayer work. It is the greatness of God that makes prayer powerful. Sometimes we have stopped praying because we have forgotten how great God is.

James says the condition to effective praying is a righteous life. This is someone who recognizes the grounds of his righteousness reside in Jesus, and whose personal walk is generally consistent with the righteousness that he has in Jesus.

Prayer is not just throwing up needs. Prayer is relational. Imagine your teenager gives you a list of needs and wants and then disappears to their room. There is no engagement, no conversation, and no relationship….just a list of demands. How would you feel about meeting those needs?

Prayer is relational. We enter into a relationship with God through prayer. We talk to him in prayer and give him our needs and concerns. But should we approach God without any concern for the condition of our relationship with Him? But this is what happens in a lot of people’s lives.

James reminds us here that we need to take care of “first things first.” Deal with your spiritual lives, and then bring your needs before the Lord.

Today’s Challenge: Let’s come back to the strong belief that prayer is powerful and effective.

#248: Jesus, The True Vine Apr 16, 2021

Show notes

When I was a kid my grandmother had a red plum tree in her backyard. When the fruit was ripe, she made the most delicious red plum jelly. I have great memories of eating the jelly with butter on hot biscuits. As I think back, I never remember my grandmother doing anything to get the tree to produce the plums. There was nothing she could do to help the tree along. The tree had been planted in the right location. It was in the right environment with plenty of sunshine and water. The tree naturally produced the fruit.

One of my favorite passages of scripture in the New Testament is found in John chapter 15. It’s Jesus teaching about you and I abiding in him. It’s here that we learn that Jesus is the true vine.

John 15:4-5 – Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Jesus is the source of life. Like a branch getting nutrients and water (life) from its connection to a vine, we get our “sustenance” from Jesus. It is through our “abiding” with Jesus that we are able to live a fruitful life. If we are disconnected from Jesus, we are like a branch that has been broken off the vine. We are unable to accomplish anything that really matters.

When we embrace Jesus as the “true vine” we being to understand some things:

Jesus is the source of life.

Jesus is the master of the metaphor. He paints clear pictures of truth using everyday common things. I can imagine Jesus and his disciples walking through a vineyard…I am the true vine.

Real life is found in Jesus. How many of you discovered this truth when you became a believer? Like so many others, you probably thought, “Why did I wait so long to put my faith in Christ? Why did I think real life was found in other things?” Jesus is the source of life.

Jesus is saying in these verses that apart from Him we are unable to accomplish anything of lasting significance.

Obviously, this would get people’s attention. What we expect to hear is how we can “do anything if we set our mind to it” and “all we have to do is believe in ourselves.” But that is not the message Jesus gives to His disciples.

It is only through abiding with Jesus and staying connected to him that we have the power to accomplish his purpose for our lives.

It has the idea of consistent connection. It is a deep, close intimacy that lasts over time, as opposed to a casual acquaintance. It has the idea of Christ taking up residence in us, and our taking up residence in relationship with him.

Where there is no abiding…there is no fruit.

Jesus is saying that if we learn to ABIDE IN HIM, our lives become fuller…more abundant…more productive. We begin to experience the FRUIT that only comes when we tap into the power of an ongoing relationship with God. When we do this we have more love, more joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control.

John 15:8: “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” This is not a suggestion but an imperative. When we settle in with the Savior we will demonstrate abundant fruitfulness and bring glory to God. Conversely, if we do not remain in fellowship with Christ, our lives will not bear spiritual fruit.

Today’s Challenge: Is your life bearing the fruit of the spirit? Are you abiding in Christ? Recognize that it is impossible for us to bear the spiritual fruit out of our own human efforts. It only happens as we abide with Jesus, the true vine.

#247: What the Cross Means to the Church Apr 15, 2021

Show notes

One of the people who have inspired my faith is a man named, Jim Elliot. On January 8, 1956, he and three other men were attacked and killed by the Auca Indians in the jungles of Ecuador while they were taking the gospel to them.

Before he went to South America Jim wrote these words in his diary: “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like You, Lord Jesus.” ... “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep in order to gain that which he can never lose.”

Although the world would say that Jim LOST his life that day, the truth is he lost his life to Christ before he ever went. He surrendered his life to Jesus and lived a crucified life. The Aucas couldn’t really kill Jim Elliot that day because he was already dead; he was dead to self and alive in Christ. Today the Auca Indians have been reached for Christ.

You see the cross of Jesus Christ had a lingering impact on Jim’s life and how he lived it. Let me ask you, “What does the cross of Christ mean to you? What does it mean to us as believers?

For anyone who has a heart that follows after God, you realize that the cross of Jesus calls for something from us. You can’t just view the cross and walk away. It asks something of us.

Mark 8:34-37 - “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

You have to admit, these are strong words from Jesus. Let’s take a look, as Christians, at our response to the cross of Christ.

For us the cross means we are willing to lay down our rights.

"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself..." Notice that Jesus does not say, "Let him hate himself." He is not asking us to deny our basic humanity, our personhood.

The word, "deny" means to "disavow any connection with something, to state that you are not connected in any way."

Denying self means that we renounce our natural feelings about ourselves, our right to ourselves, our right to run our own lives. We are to deny that we own ourselves. We do not have the final right to decide what we are going to do, or where we are going to go.

Jesus is saying, “Let him give up his rights to run his life, let him submit himself to my leadership, to my Lordship." And this is fundamental to all discipleship. There can be no discipleship apart from it.”

For us the cross means we are prepared to sacrifice.

"Let him deny himself, and take up his cross..." What does "take up his cross" mean? The 12 disciples probably wondered the same thing!

For Jesus the cross was a place where he laid down his life in sacrifice for others.

Any circumstance or any incident in which God calls for us to sacrifice for his cause - is our cross.

For us the cross means we are ready to obey. "Follow me." This really means, "Obey me."

Now, we all struggle with this. I fail at this many times. Jesus is not talking about perfection as a disciple; he is simply telling us what discipleship means, what it involves. It involves following him. It means choosing to do or say what Jesus commands us to do or say. It means looking to him for the power to carry it through.

Today’s Challenge: Our response to all that Jesus has done on the cross is that we would take up our cross and follow him. Are you ready to follow? You can make that commitment to Jesus today.

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