[Church and Discipleship] Peace Be Still (13/13)

By Louie Rudin

The automotive metaphor was an admittedly feeble attempt to illustrate the difference between conversion and transformation. It is deficient at multiple levels and I humbly admit that, so please don’t contact me with hate mail addressed to “The Heretic”. Without question, it betrays our tendency towards consumerism and that is most certainly the last thing that I wish to perpetrate. What I do wish to accomplish is leave you with several key points that I believe are central to the Gospel. First, before any of this makes any sense at all, each of us must be engaged in a life-changing, turn-your-world-upside-down relationship with Jesus. This involves a daily time in His presence where we read His Word, intercede for those whom He has put on our hearts, and listen expectantly for His Voice. We need to find ourselves in a place where we would rather leave our homes in our underwear than to forego our time with the Father. Additionally, we must put ourselves in a position to allow God’s Spirit to have his way in our lives, or in other words, totally surrender our will to Him. This means that we cease to complain, whine, worry or seek revenge, but rather pray and trust God for the outcome of every situation that comes our way. In addition, we need to become a disciple and a discipler. Someone needs to be spending time with us in a mentoring and accountability role, challenging us to be risky and go to that next “place” where God is calling us. This is more than a once-a-month phone call, but a regularly scheduled (at least weekly) time where you come together and discuss life. What are you reading? Who are you praying for? What really blessed you this past week? What has been difficult? A life-on-life encounter that is an encouragement to both parties. As a result, we need to be doing the same thing with a few younger believers. If this isn’t happening, ask the Lord to bring you into someone’s life. It may be a co-worker or neighbor or possibly a complete stranger who doesn’t yet know Jesus. LikeChad.

Love God. Love people. Make disciples. Pretty simple. Very risky. Life changing. World changing. Kingdom building.