What it is..

It's interesting that in today's devotional reading I found the following from Henry Blackaby:

Discipleship is personally transferring the full dimensions of your relationship with Christ to the person you are walking with. It is not the imparting of spiritual disciplines as much as it is acquainting another with a Person you love.

In quite a few of the past 19 years I have found so called church leaders attempting to call what they were doing Discipleship but in reality it was just the imparting of Spiritual Disciplines. 

To me, it's the difference between reading the manual that comes with a tool and the creative finesse of knowing how to make it sing like an orchestra conductor.  Having tools heaped upon you without the knowledge of them, without knowing how they benefit you and others really makes them useless. 

A Disciple followed so closely in word, deed, conduct, actions, to their Master that they were covered in their dust. As it used to be a saying "May you be covered in the dust of your Master". 

Are you covered in the dust of Jesus?
To be a Disciple meant to let go of what pleases you and to instead do whatever pleases your Master. 

To teach Discipleship is what Blackaby said.  To show your Disciple your relationship with God. To show them how it got there, to show them how to get there. To not only give them tools, but to show them how to make them sing.
Getting it right is very important.

It involves accountability. It involves a commitment on the part of the Disciple and the Master. 

We live in a world with so much going on that the level of commitment and the level of accountability is very difficult to obtain as it was in Jesus's day.  But it's not impossible.

How do children learn to walk?
How do they learn to take that first step?

It's the beginning that's the most difficult.

It also lays out the life of the Master before the Disciple.  So the Master is to be following their own disciplines. None of this do as I say not as I do stuff.

A follower of Jesus is to be doing as Jesus did.  Taking up your cross and follow is to do what Jesus did.  Putting to death your wants and desires and taking up what Jesus's wants and desires are.

This world is approaching its end.

It's not going to be accepting what God's been saying about it, but we must still persevere in teaching others, in showing others Jesus. 

People in all honesty and bluntness don't want to work at getting something.

It's going to take work to live out what you believe.  It's likely why it says in the New Testament that eventually people will gather around them teachers to tell them what their itching ears want to hear.  They want to be told this sin isn't so bad. That that sin is not going to keep you from God. That being a good person is enough to go to Heaven.

LIES!!!

Jesus is the only way, His truth is the only Truth, only in Him is Life!

His truth says no sin is acceptable. None!
His truth says none of our deeds are good enough to get into Heaven. None!
His truth says that ONLY through faith and trust in His finished work on the cross will save you. NOT Allah, not your works apart from a life apart from God. 

Where do you learn all this in detail? By Discipleship.  By being with other believers.  By being held accountable.  By obeying Jesus. 

Will you be giving up on what the world calls fun?  What's more important, obeying God or obeying the World?  You can't do both. God's idea of joy is true joy. Not the imitation joy found in the world.
God's idea of peace goes to the depths of the soul that the world will never achieve.
God's idea of love is more than an idea that the world offers, He demonstrated it by dying on a cross, after horrific torture. Then 3 days later arising from the dead.
His idea of love was to take your place.
His idea of love was to take your death sentence from sin upon Himself.
His gift to you cost Him everything. But because of His obedience to His Father, He now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  He intercedes for the believer. He's our advocate. He teaches us through the Spirit on how to be more like Him.
He forgives our sins. Casts them as far as the East is from the West. Remembering them no more. He cares for you in every moment of your life to say that "I am here. Trust me." He promised to never leave us or forsake us.  He keeps every promise He has ever made.

Would you rather know that kind of love or this beyond watered down lie the world calls love?

There's been many a man who have tried to experience all this life has to offer.  But the most detailed truth boils down to what it says in Ecclesiastes: vanity of vanities all is vanity.  It is all a waste apart from a real relationship with God. Wasted time, wasted effort.  You can try the world's escapes but will end up where you started having wasted time getting there.

I would rather learn more from Jesus than any other person in history.  I want to know more.  I pray to be shown more. I share what God shares with me.  The best discussions I have ever had are with people about what God has shared with them.

Jesus thought so much of me. Sinful, saturated in sin, me, to think of me when He was being beaten. I was worth it to Him.
Jesus thought so much of me. Sinful saturated in sin me, to think of me when He took the lashings.  I was worth it to Him.
Jesus thought so much of me. Sinful saturated in sin me, to think of me when the nails were being driven in. I was worth it to Him.

He said that I was worth it to Him.  If by dying He could save me, He would do it. 
If by dying He could make me right before God, He would do it.
If by dying He could wash away the stench and grime of sin from me, so that I could stand before Him. He would do it.

He did it.

For you too. Come as you are.  You can never wash off what sin has done to you.

Only Jesus has the power to cleanse you.

Don't waste another moment thinking you have to get your life straight.  I will save you the effort.  You can't. You won't.

Come to Christ as you are. Learn from Him.  He will take away your sin. Give you a new life in Him. 

Then you will find what you have been trying to find all your life. 

Then seek out a Church that preaches and teaches the whole Bible.  One that will help you grow in Christ.  One that will help you become a Disciple of Christ.

Jesus said my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  Trust Him.