Instant Discipleship

SOCIAL MEDIA! It’s all the rage! All you have to do is click on the Like button, the Follow button or the Friend button and you become a Follower. Instant Discipleship! You don’t even have to add water and stir!

But is it Really Discipleship?

The Pharisees considered themselves Disciples of Moses, but I’m not sure old Mo would claim them. And I am quite sure there are folks who call themselves Disciples of Jesus about whom there will come a day when he says to those who claim to have acted in His name, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

     What does a Genuine Disciple do? What makes a real disciple different from the fake kind? What is at the heart of True Discipleship?

First, it’s a matter of “Being” before “Doing.” Jesus said, “You must BE born again.” Paul wrote, “Let this mind BE in you which was in Christ Jesus.” You may be able to act differently than your nature for a while but eventually your actions will speak volumes about who you are!

So, secondly, being a true disciple because your faith is in Christ, should lead to Doing the works of the Disciple. Didn’t Zaccheus give back what he stole? Didn’t Peter change his ways after denying Christ three times?The True disciple begins to act like one and that’s where the Disciplines of Discipleship come in.

 Remember Breath, Eat, Run?

Just as physical growth requires Breathing, Eating, and Exercise, so does spiritual growth. But for our spirits, breathing is living in and practicing God’s presence. Eating is taking in God’s word both to understand what He has said and to let it affect our hearts and lives. Exercise is how we keep from getting spiritually fat. We share, give, act, do, and run the race set before us.