Becoming the Church: Lessons for Todays Disciples

7 Things the Disciples Knew about Following Jesus (That We Forget)

But is the struggle worth it? This is the hopeful realization that drives evangelization. Is this popular religious indifference warranted? Are Christians who toil for the cause of Christ wasting their precious time? Would you take it? Oh, but if you win—you win millions. He saw that if you believe in Christ—or at least die trying—you will gain everything as God promised.

If God does not exist, it does not matter how you wager, for there is nothing to win after death and nothing to lose after death. But if God does exist, your only chance of winning eternal happiness is to believe, and your only chance of losing it is to refuse to believe. It often means turning from the things that come easiest—things that satisfy our natural urges. But the ability to freely choose to say no to our urges and impulses is what makes us distinctly human.

This is why we do not lock up dogs and chimpanzees for rape and murder. To say no—and yes! This is true freedom. Christianity is hard because it aims to soften hearts.

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One of the tough facts of Christianity is that we must face up to the fact that we are fallen. We are often not what we ought to be. What makes Christianity hard is that it reminds us of our imperfections. We are much too prideful to enjoy such a thing—and this, I fear, is where the skeptic checks out.

How to Be a Disciple of Christ

We must follow God's principles. They are for our own protection. We live in a hostile world that has willfully rejected its Creator God, and we, as His children, are not immune to the world's trials, tribulations and temptations. Once we learn this hard lesson, and we outgrow the childish notion that we know better than God, then it's easier to submit to Him and say, "Lord, forgive me, I was wrong I've been living a life you disapprove of and I want to change.

Help me to live the life you approve of.

To repent is to regret your sin, denounce your sin, turn from your sin, and turn to God. Jesus said, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel " Mark 1: The Apostles " went out and preached that people should repent " Mark 6: Jesus declared, " I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish " Luke We all want a Savior.

What Is Evangelization? (¶10-27)

To be a disciple of Christ, we need a sovereign Lord. How do we accept Jesus Christ as sovereign Lord? We need to give Him the place in our lives that He deserves and requires, and repent of our old ways.

• THE ORAL TRADITION OF THE APOSTLES;
• Justice Under Pressure: A Comparison of Recidivism Patterns Among Four Successive Parolee Cohorts (Research in Criminology).
• Matt Nelson?
• JesusWalk: Disciple Lessons from the Luke's Gospel, Bible Study by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson.

And we must be open to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit who will continue to convert us as we follow Christ. If our faith is alive, it will be aroused again and again as we mature as disciples. We can only share what we have received; we can hold on to our faith only if it continues to grow.

The continuing story of salvation in Christ involves each of us one by one as well as society itself. How else could it be? Conversion speaks of the change of heart that, as a member of the Church, each one must undergo. The Gospel speaks across time and space to each human being, each mind, each heart. It asks us what we think about our lives, how we hope, whom we love, and what we live for.

If faith is not transforming each heart and life, it is dead. But faith is not something that only happens to each of us individually or privately, within ourselves. The Gospel also speaks to society itself, with its values, goals, and systems. The Gospel must overflow from each heart until the presence of God transforms all human existence.

Sometimes this means that, as believers, we must confront the world as did the prophets of old, pointing out the claims of God to societies that are blind to God. More often, however, this means that we must let our faith shine on the world around us, radiating the love of Jesus by the everyday way we speak, think, and act. The fruits of evangelization are changed lives and a changed world—holiness and justice, spirituality and peace. The validity of our having accepted the Gospel does not only come from what we feel or what we know; it comes also from the way we serve others, especially the poorest, the most marginal, the most hurting, the most defenseless, and the least loved.

An evangelization that stays inside ourselves is not an evangelization into the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Force of the Gospel Itself Evangelization happens when the word of Jesus speaks to people's hearts and minds. Needing no trickery or manipulation, evangelization can happen only when people accept the Gospel freely, as the "good news" it is meant to be, because of the power of the gospel message and the accompanying grace of God. Our message of faith proclaims an eternally faithful God, creating all in love and sustaining all with gracious care.

We proclaim that God, whose love is unconditional, offers us divine life even in the face of our sins, failures, and inadequacies. We believe in a God who became one of us in Jesus, God's Son, whose death and resurrection bring us salvation.

• How to Be a Disciple of Christ!
• Disciple Of Christ.
• Hope Decoded.
• True Freedom: Spinozas Practical Philosophy.
• LEurope enseignée: patrimoine(s), identité(s), citoyenneté(s) (Enseigner autrement, sous la direction de Nicole Lucas et Vincent Marie (IUFM de Bretagne)) (French Edition).

We believe that the risen Christ sends his own Spirit upon us when we respond to him in faith and repentance, making us his people, the Church, and giving us the power of new life and guiding us to our eternal destiny.