What hinders your daily walk with Jesus? What is it that keeps you from living as a Disciple in all areas of your life? What keeps you from being a complete disciple in Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry and Evangelism?
My children have gotten into the Wii and play target games. I tried to play the other day and did OK but I didn't know where all the targets were, all the secret things to shoot at, so my score wasn't that high.
Knowing what to aim at or what hinders you from going forward in your walk as a disciple is important. God tells us through the author of Hebrews...
Hebrews 12:1-3 - 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
The passage says... let us throw off everything that hinders. In order to do that we must be able to identify that which hinders us. Is it the crowd we hang around? Is it an addiction? Is it our appetite for life, for sin? What is it that hinders you? Identify is and throw it off so that you can more fully follow Christ as His disciple.
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3 comments:
Well the worship part I do not have much of a problem with other than surrounding noises (people talking, laughing during worship time). Noises distract me from focusing on Who it is we worship, and when someone around me distracts me by chatting and laughing when we are supposed to be worshipping, I get annoyed. I guess if I was really in worship mode those little distractions would not really bother me! I love worship time! It can be done anywhere at any time!
Fellowship….. ACK! There is that word!! I am not a social person, but I am getting better with it. I tend to be very introverted for the most part. Funny thing is the Lord has put in positions where I HAVE to deal with people. I was a volunteer EMT on an ambulance for 12 years and you pretty much have to deal with people there. Then he provided me a job where I am constantly dealing with idiots, errr I mean people all day long. As if that was not enough, He also put me up on a stage where I have to actually TALK to people when I perform with my guitar. Interaction is not a strong point of mine, but I really love talking with people. Before I left home to come here, we had started fellowshipping with some different people at out church and I actually had fun! Just do not tell my wife that! That said, some of the coolest fellowship times I have had is when my wife and I were in small groups at our church back when I was not on the road all the time. We may be looking at that when I get home this spring. I still do not ever see myself going to a men’s conference or weekend thing though.
Discipleship, I am not a consistent Bible reader and that is one thing I am striving to do better. How can I disciple others when I cannot disciple myself just by spending an hour a day in God’s Word?? I am real big on accountability and I am blessed to work with a strong believer back home. We hold each other accountable for the things we say and do and we also try and do the same for some of the newer Christians we work with. He keeps on me about my Bible reading too.
Ministry…. Well I try and get involved musically as that seems to be where my gifts and talents are. I try and encourage others in their endeavors as well. Prayer is a huge tool for ministry and another short fall of mine as well (I can see I am a mess here). Without prayer, I feel a ministry is doomed for failure. I tried to use my time on the ambulance squad as a ministry. I feel the Lord led me away from there and back into the music area and that is where I have been concentrating my efforts for the past several years. I try and look for a way to share some Light in this dark world and just try and drop a seed here and seed there as I go by. I think we all need to seek God in where he wants us to serve in ministry. I am always amazed by the faith of those who are missionaries in other places through out this world! Talk about people having faith! They are always an inspiration to me.
Evangelism…the E word. Guaranteed to scare the bravest person to death. This is NOT a strong point by any means with me. I shy away from this all the time. One reason is of course the Pride thing (which is actually funny as I have never been one to worry about what others think of me). The other reason I shy away from Evangelism is I do not know the Bible that well (the poorest excuse there is I know). I also do not like unannounced visits (EE training and I did not get along well with that one). I was never one who liked someone showing up unannounced at my door, or walking up to me on the street and start “preaching” at me, and I cannot do that to someone else. I do not have a problem sharing with someone who asks questions, I am just not one to go out and hit the streets per say.
I think what hinders us from really being proficient with these things is laziness, pride, unwillingness, and lack of knowledge and lack of prayer for guidence and direction, and I am guilty on all counts.
Mike
One of the hinderances that I threw off in 2008 was entertainments. When I let go of television or movies in the evenings, it freed me up to read more books, listen to webcasts, work on projects. I think the American society places too much emphasis on being entertained.
Tricia
The church as an organization has been my biggest hindrance. Church people are more interested in growing programs than growing people, and are quick to make judgments on those who do not share their particular point of view. Sometimes it's hard to tell which is more important, the work of the Lord, or the Lord of the work.
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