Prayer Journal

Friday, November 7, 2003

We should clear up a misconception before we expound on this verse. Not every disciple is a student of the right cause. Similar to Jesus, the Pharisees had disciples too. But they were cronies and as such were pawns in the hands of religious bigots who sought to discredit Jesus.

When Jesus called the Twelve, he called them apostles because they walked with him, were taught by him, were sent to do his work in His name and were given power over demons. (Mark 3:14) These disciples were righteous by virtue of the righteousness of their instructor/leader. In the same way, though perhaps naive, the disciples of the Pharisees were unrighteous for the same reason. On the other hand, many of the disciples of John the Baptist followed Jesus after the death of their master because they were pointed in the right direction and trained right.

We make a big deal of education and in some cases, it's justified. Personally, I'd feel uneasy if my dentist got his diploma over the Internet and learned to work on teeth by reading "Dentistry for Dummies." But some of the greatest men of God in history never stepped into a seminary putting to rest the idea that pastoring God's people mandates a diploma, degree and doctorate. In reality, anyone who honors God by service through discipline, dedication and devotion is a more fitting candidate for pastoral ministry. Believe it or not, most pastors and teachers were never discipled themselves, but still use their education to teach others how to do what they've never experienced.

Have you been discipled? This may be hard to believe, but probably less than one percent of those claiming to have been saved were discipled and about that same percentage have never discipled anyone themselves. Considering our Lord's Great Commission to disciple the world, it might be hard to imagine those statistics.

Even though discipleship is often discussed in religious circles, it's seldom practiced. That's because we've been duped into thinking that discipleship is a profession rather than the practice our Lord patterned for us. Discipleship is like on the job training or apprenticeship; its in the arena of discipline, responsibility and accountability that we prepare ourselves to continue the work of our Master.

Are you a competent to disciple someone else? Are you now or have you ever been discipled by someone else who was qualified to do it?" One thing for sure, you need to be in one of those groups. If you're spiritually mature, you need to disciple someone younger in the faith and of the same sex as you. If you're not spiritually mature, you need to be under the care of someone who will do it and knows what they're doing.

The next move is yours. Will it be obedience to the Master or will you plead ignorance. Oh I'm sorry - you can't plead ignorance any more because you now know what to do. Your only choice is between obedience or disobedience to God's word.

Just Thinkin'... WebServant

Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

Copyright © 1998-2003 James R. Green and Prayertower Ministries
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