I joined a Bible Study a few weeks ago that has been phenomenal. I'm surprised I waited this long to share it. There was a lot of great information, so I thought I would need to break it up into sections. What I am sharing is not the study in it's entirety, just what really spoke to me. If you are interested in knowing more, let me know. I would be happy to share!
All of these are excerpts from "Following Christ" by Joseph Stowell.
Followers don't cut deals with Christ. They just follow. It is a relationship that confronts the uncertainty and fear with unflinching trust.
...had it ever crossed their minds (the disciples) that there may be more to life......
We, too, are looking for something or someone above and beyond ourselves to give meaning and purpose.
Jesus summons men to follow him not as a teacher or a pattern of a good life, bust as Christ, the Son of God. While following Christ does not always mean-as it did for the disciples-leaving our careers, it will mean radically altering our view of them.
...in the end (the disciples would) rather follow Him than their own dreams and aspirations-at great personal cost.
A true follower should ask the question, "What would Christ have me do with the skills he has given me?"
As a result of their commitment to follow, they are having an incredible impact for Christ.
Christ offers a fresh view of life and new hope to all who will follow Him.
He will fulfill all your inner longing and establish stability in your world.
Christ no only fills the emptiness with significance but also leads us in life ways that, unlike the pagan paths, are stable, certain, and successful.
His offer of life is far deeper and more expansive in every way than piles of possessions and the fleeting pleasures of life.
Christ never measures life by the benefits but rather by the essence of life in the long view. And the essence of life and the long view demand that we have Christ at the center of life as the singular pursuit of existence.
Perhaps our struggle to fully embrace Christ as leader related to the fact that we feel that we are, in effect, merely "grandstand Christians." While Christ has indeed done spectacular things for others that validate His claim to lead, He really hasn't done all that much for us. A cognitive, ritualistic, distant relationship with Christ rarely cultivates good soil for followership. It's the real encounters with this Leader that make Him so compelling. It's His personal touch that convinces us of the value and worth of this relationship.
He is more than just a piece of their lives- He is the compelling reality of their existence.
And just in case you think that He hasn't done anything for you lately, remember how active He is every day, keeping our anything that would be more than you can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).
Putting our heads on the pillow at night should be an exercise in ecstatic gratitude for the fact that Christ and His angels have been busy on our behalf, guarding and guiding us all the way through the day and guaranteeing that we cannot be fatally damaged by an adversary who seeks to destroy us.
As we have noted, following is simply a matter of unqualified obedience to the incarnate God of the universe. If benefits alone were the motivation, the followers of the first century would have bailed out immediately, since for many of then, to follow meant being marginalized, maligned, and somethings martyred. Both Christ and His cause were so compelling that they were followers regardless. This is the kind of followership to which we must aspire.
...it is still unconditional followership that Christ both demands and deserves.
Followers in the fist century were not above the temptation to follow Christ for all the wrong reasons. Scripture relates that after the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd followed Christ across the sea the next day to see if He would feed them again. He sternly rebuked their stomach-first motivation for following and refused to do anther miracle to satisfy misplaced affection.
They placed all their hopes and dreams for their future in His hands without negotiation. Although they were at times imperfect followers, they nevertheless remained undaunted in their commitment to continue to follow Him.
An entire civilization was forged that for centuries would be based upon Christ's ways and reflect His justice and righteousness in its law.
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