One of the great phrases I use from Dallas Willard is this: “There is a cost to following Jesus. There is a cost to not following Jesus.” We need to weigh both costs.
Continue reading “Is Jesus worth following?”Tag: Discipleship
The downside of evangelical American Christianity
My reading has me in Micah for a few days and as I read it I get this picture of Israel that the prophets portray over and over. Israel is “weary” of serving God. They have some sense of obligation, but they are in love with the gods of the age and want to pursue other lovers. Yet, they know Yahweh is there and they need to “appease” him. The question becomes: “Okay, God, what do you want? What’s it going to cost me this time?”
Continue reading “The downside of evangelical American Christianity”His words are still life
My love affair with the written word of God has been lifelong. Over the years I have grown in my love and understanding. The written word has led me to the Living Word (Christ), but that written word is still precious to me.
Continue reading “His words are still life”The space for discipleship
I am not good on many names in big market Christianity. I know I have loved Hillsongs worship for decades. A story about one of their worship leaders/songwriters being shaken in his faith was something that got my attention.
Continue reading “The space for discipleship”We can’t settle for simple sets of rules
One takeaway from the excellent conversation I listened to on the podcasts I referred to in my last post was this insight: when we are tired of making too many decisions in our lives we fall to fundamentalism. There is a hard right and a hard left fundamentalism, but those are the areas we go to when we’re done trying to work through too many decisions or too many perceived gray areas.
Continue reading “We can’t settle for simple sets of rules”Renouncing all to follow Christ
33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. (Luke 14:33)
Christ can’t have me following him with all the junk I want to carry. He knows I won’t make it, so he calls me to jettison my junk to obtain his treasure.
BEING salt and light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. (Matt. 5:13, NIV)
A disciple of the kingdom who does not LIVE like a disciple of the kingdom is worth about as much as tasteless salt or invisible light.
