Gtcotr/ws120617
Note:
Today at about noon Central Time, 1pm Eastern and 8pm Israeli Time, President
Trump signed into action the process of officially recognizing Jerusalem as the
capital of the nation of Israel both by proclamation and by moving the Embassy
of the United States from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He began the immediate process
of hiring contractors and those responsible to begin building the new US
Embassy facilities. President Trump articulated the concerns and the realities
in a very good way and covered all of the issues with grace and yet with
firmness. He called on everyone to seek and pursue peace. I felt the speech was
given with sensitivity to the issues at hand and yet acknowledged the reality
of situation and the reality that Jerusalem is the established capital of this
longstanding democracy. Well done president Trump.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said
to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow Me.
Recently
I was asked by the leader of a large organization of Churches to give him one
statement that summed up my life’s calling. Specifically, he asked me for my
“Life Message” as he put it.
Without
hesitation I replied: “Discipleship – Building a tier underneath yourself and
raising up runners for the next lap.”
When
I say the word discipleship, I am talking about making people more like Christ,
not more like me. In order to please God you do not have to become more like me
however, in order to be more pleasing and useful to God you will need to be
less like you and become more like Jesus. God encourages and accomplishes this change
in our lives best through the process of discipleship. The process of
discipleship teaches:
·
Deny yourself
·
Take up your cross
·
Follow Jesus
Out
of the many pursuits in life, discipleship is the most noble of them all. For
the disciple there is an element of laying down one’s life for a greater cause
while for those who make disciples it is a giving of one’s life to making
others more successful. Both are expressions of the sacrificial love of God.
Taking on the responsibility to raise others who will run farther,
last longer and do more is a divine call God has given to each generation and
to every one of us.
It began with His first 5 Commandments in the Book of Genesis given to Adam and
Eve.
Genesis 1 NKJV
27 So God created man in His own
image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and
God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every
living thing that moves on the earth.”
1.
Be Fruitful
2.
Multiply
3.
Fill the Earth
4.
Subdue the Earth
5.
Have Dominion of the works of God’s hands
Genesis 9:1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
It
is the established will of God that we birth, grow and fill the earth with both
our natural and with our spiritual children. Jesus said it in such a time and
manner that we refer to His last words as the Great Commission given to every
Believer in Christ.
Matthew 28 NKJV
18 And Jesus came and spoke
to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 “teaching them to observe
all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even
to the end of the age.” Amen.
How
can we make disciples with both our natural and our spiritual children? First
by example and then on purpose by taking the time necessary to invest our time
and attention in their lives. Here is the process used by Jesus. Peter and Paul
both used this same simple approach.
1.
Allow life to offer the subject matter
2.
Share a principle or truth concerning that matter
3.
Supply a scripture reference to insure the principle reflects Christ
and not our own personal opinion
4.
Give a life application opportunity
We
are either making others more like us or more like Christ. Our children are
watching and our opinions influence others. Let’s take account of what our
words, attitudes and actions are affecting the lives of others around us.
Teach
your children to build their lives on the Rock …
