Discipleship

Can You Be a Christian Without Being a Disciple?

February 13, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

I heard a caller on a radio show ask, “Can you be a Christian without being a disciple?” I have been wrestling with this same thought of late. Before diving in, we should define the terms, so we are all on the same page. The term “Christian” now means many things in our world, but for this discussion, I mean someone who has trusted Jesus is who He says He was and has surrendered their lives to His Lordship.

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A disciple, again for our discussion, is someone who is constantly and consistently pursuing Jesus, desperate to live their lives as He lived His. My inclination is to say you cannot be a Christian if you are not a disciple. I could be wrong but let me give you some reasons for my belief, and then I’ll say a few words about why I might be wrong.

Set an Example

January 27, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Many of us have walked with God for a long time. My faith journey now spans over 45 years. There have been trials, but I have never regretted my decision to follow Christ. I cannot imagine life without Him, nor do I comprehend how people survive what life throws at them without having Jesus as their rock, fortress, and their deliverer (Psalm 18:2).

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While I appreciate my current relationship with God, I must note that it comes with a heavy responsibility. If you are a mature Christian, you share the same burden. The responsibility entrusted to us is not only to model the life of Jesus to those who do not yet know Him but to be an example for those who are newer to the faith.

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Explaining God’s Will for Your Life

January 23, 2020 by Tim Sherfy

Love God, love others. That is the will of God for your life in four words. Our problem is not we don’t know God’s will for our lives, it’s that we lack the conviction to live it. For fun, I searched Amazon.com for books on God’s will for your life. The search came back with a staggering 3,000 results. Going with a conservative estimate of 40,0000 words per book, that’s over 120 million words written to help people discover God’s will for their lives.

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It makes me wonder how much money Christians spend trying to determine God’s will. Now you know it in just four words: Love God, love others. And that’s for free. You’re welcome. It gets even worse when you plug the same phrase into Google. That search yields over 224 million web pages discussing the topic.

Go and Tell

December 12, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

This blog is focused on discipleship. It’s my hope the words written here will instruct and encourage you to live your life wholly devoted to Christ and to become the person He created you to be. Much of my own life is spent learning more about Jesus and what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. My passion is to see others embrace and love Him for the holy and magnificent God He is. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t write from time to time on something even more important than devoting your life to Christ.

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There are still billions of people on this planet who have never experienced the love of Jesus. They don’t know Him like you and I do. Sadder still is the fact there are hundreds of millions who have never heard the gospel even once. Worst of all, these are all people who are destined for an eternity separated from God’s love, mercy, and presence.

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Live in Love

December 5, 2019 by Tim Sherfy

One of the things I learned from Brother Lawrence’s wonderful little book, “The Practice of the Presence of God”, is that any action which is devoid of love is worth little in the Kingdom of God. Love is the very essence of who God is. When you subtract love from any situation you are left with Godlessness. Where God is, there is love.

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Paul wrote in his letter to the church of Corinth no matter what else we might possess, no matter what skills or talents we have, if we don’t have love, we have nothing (I Corinthians 13). No amount of anything equals anything without love. When we love, we honor God. When we don’t, we dishonor Him. It’s a simple formula. Every follower of Christ yearns to live a life that looks like Jesus. The surest way to accomplish this is to live in love every day.

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