consenting and committed

I have received a complaint that my last post was a little, shall we say, shallow? I will refer back to the cold medicine and move on. I am feeling better by the way, thanks.

I read something this week from Pastor Skip in Albuquerque that has stuck with me all week. Quoting from his blog, he wrote "... there's a difference between one who believes in Christ and one who belongs to Christ's cause; there are many who consent to being a follower of Jesus, but then there are a few who are committed to becoming mature, discipling others and spreading His Kingdom." What am I? What are you? Are we believers, consenting to be His followers? Great, but there is more. There is growth, a "commitment to becoming mature". I know I am following Him, even when I find myself questioning I come back to this statement "where else could we go Lord? You have the very words of life?" There is nothing else for me but to follow Him. Consenting to who He is and what He has done for me implies a decision. Committing to becoming mature implies action. Commitment to spend time with Him daily, in His Word and in prayer. It is a commitment to allow my life to cross with others and tell them about the Father's love and what the Son did to save them. It is also a commitment to pour my life into those believers that also want to keep growing mature (Ephesians 4:14-15) so that we can encourage each other in Him. To me that is the heart of discipleship. I for one am renewing my committment to keep growing and I am looking out for those who want to encourage me and to be encouraged along the way.

Read the rest of Ephesians 4 for a reminder of how far we have to go and the road map to getting there.