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True Disciple: A Follower of Jesus

A disciple of Jesus is a follower of Jesus. Someone who merely acknowledges Jesus as a great religious leader is not a disciple. Many people have only a mental nod to who Jesus is.

The first step of becoming a true disciple is when an individual receives a spiritual revelation of the reality of who Jesus is and their own need for a Savior. The seed for this revelation is the Word of God when one hears the Gospel. This revelation creates a strong desire to follow the One, who has the words of eternal life.

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The Bible in a Capsule: God’s Plan of Redemption

The story began long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It begins even before the events of the book of Genesis. The Bible tells us that the Son of God is eternal, not only in the future but also in the past.

The Word of God proclaims, “He [Jesus] indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Pet. 1:20 (NKJV). God the Father designated God the Son to be the one and only sacrifice for sin from before the beginning of time.

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Obscurity of Earth and the Known of Heaven

In the world of social media and in the nature of man, there is a desire by many to be recognized and perhaps even be famous.  Many want to become the next  TikTok or YouTube sensation.  Perhaps we should be more concerned about being known in Heaven.

We should not seek fame but seek to be more like Jesus. It is more important to be obedient to His purpose than to desire His help with our plans. If we are faithful to His purpose then we will be among those known in Heaven.

Most of us will live in obscurity on earth. The vast majority of us will be completely forgotten two generations after our death. Most graves are eventually unvisited. Remember, those old forgotten family photos that hang on Cracker Barrel Restaurant walls next to an old rusty relic were once real families.

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How Not to Pray!

Prayer is as simple as a conversation with God. It is a privilege we possess and too often neglected. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7 NKJV).

Though I do not want you to overthink praying, there are a few emotional mistakes that are not theologically correct. Let’s explore a few.

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Spiritual Burden

As a child and young man growing up in church, I often heard people use the word “burden” quite often. Pastors would say they had a burden for their church. Friends would speak of “carrying a burden” for a family member. I don’t hear people use the term much anymore but I am very familiar with the term and the experience. I would define “burden” as a deep concern planted by the Holy Spirit to motivate us to prayer and action.

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Eternal Destiny Cloaked in an Unplanned Pregnancy

The village girl who had no worldly aspirations was chosen to be the earthly mother of a Heavenly Son. Her dream was to marry a common craftsman and fill his quiver with arrows called children. She saw not much more in her future than drawing water at a village well and baking flat bread. The faithful tasks of a wife and mother for the care of her family was her hope. She dreamed of moments of joy and fulfillment scattered among the mundane. This was her only view over the horizon.

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Instinct and Discernment: Radars of Protection

I am amazed at the programming in creation by our Creator. Mankind, being the pinnacle of His earthly creation, has the greatest capacity for logical reasoning. Animals including man also have instincts. Instinct is part of the intellectual design God “hardwired” into his creatures for them to survive in this world. Instincts are not things that need to be learned, yet they can be sharpened by experience and reasoning.

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A Southern Delight: Nanner Sammijes

Yep, nanner sammij, you heard it right! To those of you in the northern latitudes, I am not speaking in tongues. Nanner sammij is the correct term, pronunciation, and spelling (perhaps) for banana sandwich.

My years in elementary school were in the sixties. Only the spoiled kids had metal Roy Roger lunch boxes. Most of the kids who brought their lunch to school carried it in a brown paper bag. This made for a combination of memory-making aromas.

Nanner sammijes was the frontrunner of the aroma generators. The fruity nanner smell, the aroma of bread, and the microbial growth in the mayonnaise had a multiplied effect. Then all of that Petre dish combination was filtered through a brown bag. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. It was a unique smell that put wrinkles on my gray matter. When I think of the lunchroom at Duck Springs Elementary School, this peculiar, yet fragrant smell returns.

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Fake Fruit on Dead Trees

“Fake fruit on a dead tree”, is a phrase my pastor, Bro. Bradley Petrey, recently used in a sermon. It describes the look some folks try to portray in Christian circles. I told him, “I do not like the condition it describes but I loved the phraseology.”

Jesus used something similar when He said, “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. / A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit” (Matt. 7:17-18 NKJV).

The fruit depends on the tree. Said another way, the tree determines the fruit.

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