Discipleship

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Fruit of the Spirit, Part IV

Just before the great passage in Galatians that expounds the Fruit of the Spirit comes a warning and a list of the opposites of the good Fruit, the destroyers of churches, relationships, and self! This all comes down to our willingness to either live a life that is led by the Spirit or one that is led by our flesh, that of our pride and will.

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The incarnation simply means God came to be a man. He was fully man while remaining fully God. That way He could identify with our plight in life. As He lived a normal human existence for over 30 years, He experienced all that we experienced, including all the emotions, relationships, and temptations.

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How do you feel about your relationship to God at this moment? If you are doing well, or if you are feeling "down," knowing about Holiness will greatly help you!

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Do you desire to fire your pastor? Perhaps you should fire them up instead!

Praying for your church is like filling a balloon with helium, the more it is filled, the more it will soar and not sore! For us to grow not just numerically, but in what is much more important, spiritually and in community to one another, requires our discipline and passion to pursue Christ more and ourselves less. We have to grow in Christ in a cherished, intimate growing relationship with Him as LORD over all and LORD over us. We are called to become purpose driven with His purpose at our helm of leadership and lives so that our trust and intimacy is rooted in Him and not in our...

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How is your prayer life? Is prayer your first response for all thoughts and encounters in your life?

Have you ever thought through why you do not spend more time with God? What aspects of your time and commitment hold you back from prayer? Most of us do not have the kind of prayer life we should have; in my experience, most people give up because either they do not know how to pray or they do not understand the significance of prayer. Others may have prayer lives but they are not godly or effectual prayers; these tend to be the prayers with only the self-interests or personal agendas in mind. We may know about prayer, but...

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Getting to Know You,

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. (Prov. 27:17)

The Small Group is the prime platform for establishing and instilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission that Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 12:29-31. The Small Group is also the vehicle with which to develop and experience authentic relationships and growing discipleship. This builds a Church of authentic community, poured out to His precepts and being in relational intimacy and fullness in Him. This is what we are called to emulate from our Lord. Because people will be...

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In Acts the Bible tells us we need to be in relationships for our personal and spiritual growth. As Paul and the early Christians taught and received teaching "from house to house," we too must respond in our walk with Christ in each others homes (Acts 5:42; 20:20)!

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What does it take to venture into radical discipleship? Trust! Trust is a response from our faith that pleases God! This is our prime purpose as a Christian: to glorify our Lord and enjoy our relationship in Him! We do this by being in Him with our full trust. It is a pivotal aspect of our growth in Christ, and the intention of sincere due diligence in acting out our faith--no matter what. However, many of us Christians today may sing about it and preach about it; yet, the actual exercise of it is abysmal. We forget that a uthentic faith in Christ as Lord is where our assurance and confidence comes from; that faith is...

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Do you listen to God? Most would emphatically say yes or at least think they do, pay attention to God. Or do we just listen to ourselves or snoop out the faulty trends? Consider these questions, why do you study the Bible? Why do you pray? Why and how do you worship? Is it a two-way communication? Or is it just you dictating to God? Now, consider one of the essential inductive questions that help us know and grow in the Word: what is in the way of my listening to God?

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In the theme of 'taking up the cross', we see the call for radical discipleship, to fully engage and trust our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all aspects of life and relationship, in all circumstances and endeavors. This involves and influences all that we are and all that we do. Thus, we must engage Christ as Lord without reservation or condition, further aligned by our gratitude...