Discipleship Unveiled

There are three basic ingredients that go into our walk with the Lord. Prayer, reading the scriptures and connecting with other Christians. As much as we are grateful to the Lord for our new life, we still find that we struggle to do even these seemingly simple things. Why is that? It's because we do not understand the process of growing in the Lord. We need to be discipled. It is a vital part of coming to know the Lord and designed to bring us together that we can be of one mind, as the scriptures instruct us to do. Without discipleship, we see growing in our walk much differently than the Lord does. In fact, the ways of the Lord are difficult to understand until we grow into them. As a new creation in Christ we grow through having our mind renewed. There is a way that God sees that we cannot. God has a thought process that our old nature, which is the only way we knew, cannot understand. We need to adopt a new way of thinking or we simply will not know God or who He is...

We continue to drill down through the  Three Phases of Salvation , into   Sanctification , and finally, with a focus on repentance. Repentance & Renewing Your Mind There will certainly be more to be said about all of the aspects of falling into sin and returning to obedience but here is a quick outline to use as a guide when we do fall. The path of repentance is the process of recovering from our sin and is the mechanism of renewing our mind. ~~~~~~~ Falling Into Sin So, let's say we fall into sin. Jesus takes up our case and presents it to our Father.  ~~~~~~~ Conviction The Holy Spirit then immediately brings conviction. ~~~~~~~ Godly Sorrow This conviction brings sorrow. If we have a worldly sorrow we remain in our sin and ineffective. If we have a Godly sorrow it will bring us to repentance... every time!  Sorrow can be as quick as, "Wow! I know that is not who I am in Christ and I want to be like Jesu...

We continue our look at the Three Phases of Salvation , focusing in on Sanctification. When we are sanctified we are going through a process of becoming Christ-like. This is where we respond to an ongoing work of the Lord. The response on our part is obedience in faith. It's important to note, that all phases of salvation, Justification, Sanctification and Glorification, are done in faith and the growth is from the Lord. In sanctification we grow in Christ through obedience done in faith.  Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit [Rob: Justification] and soul [Rob: Sanctification] and body [Rob: Glorification] be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. -  1 Thessalonians 5:23 NASB Becoming Christ-like  What we see in this stage is an opportunity to grow, stumble, recover and then continue to grow. In our relationship with the Lord, even though we are separated from...

It is sometimes debated that fasting is not part of the New Testament and not a necessary or effective part of walking with the Lord in our modern day. This is an easy fix. Jesus said: "And when you fast..." - Matthew 6:16 NLT "But when you fast..." -  Matthew 6:17 NLT "Then they will fast." -  Matthew 9:15 NLT The command to fast, and certainly the expectation to fast, from Jesus was pretty clear. Fasting is a function, much like faith, that works the same way in the New Testament time as it did in the Old Testament. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. ... So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. For Abraham is the father of all who believe. - Romans 4:12, 16 NLT...