Going to church doesn’t make you a follower of Jesus. Neither does reading the entire Bible. Neither does taking a class about Christian doctrine. Knowing the teachings of Jesus doesn’t make you his disciple. Volunteering to help your church doesn’t prove that you are a Christian either.
If we take these and other similar tests to prove whether or not we are Christians we may find ourselves to be surprised on judgement day. It is scary to think that we might be attending a church service our entire life, yet not know the leader of that Church. A modern day take on Matthew 7:21-23 might sound like this:
I thought this article had some interesting insight. What do you think?
Ideas on what to do when your “quiet time” goes silent.
Most of us know we’re “supposed” to do devotions every day. And so we slog along, crack open our Bible every day and hope to pick something up by osmosis before we forget what we’ve read. Why do devotions seem so … pointless? What do you do when you know you should be doing them, but it just feels empty and insincere to do them? Do devotions even matter?
The following excerpt is from the online Jewish Encyclopedia regarding the Jewish and Christian perspective on the “Kingdom of God.” The article begins by giving a short overview of the development of the Jewish understanding of thiws concept followed by some commentary on the transistion of the idea into Christianity. Here is some of the except which I thought was interesting:
It is the approach of this Kingdom of Heaven, in opposition to the Kingdom of Rome, which John the Baptist announced (Matt. iii. 2; comp. Luke i. 71-74, iii. 17). Jesus preached the same Kingdom of God (Matthew has preserved in “Kingdom of Heaven” the rabbinical expression “Malkut Shamayim”), and when he said, “the kingdom of God cometh not by observation [that is, calculation] . . . for, behold, the kingdom of God is among [not within] you” (Luke xvii. 21, Syriac version), he meant, “It does not come through rebellion or by force” (see Jew. Encyc. iv. 51, s.v. Christianity).
Watch this amazing video featuring Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan from 1930:
Anne Sullivan must have been quite a woman of love, compassion & patience. How long must it have taken to teach and work with Helen Keller, a woman born blind and deaf?! Yet Anne Sullivan did not see someone disposable, but rather someone who had value and was worth spending her time and life with to teach and care for. Amazing!
Watching this video again brought to mind some things I have been thinking about recently. Discipleship takes time. Have you ever been working with someone to bring them along in their faith? This isn’t a one-time momentary thing is it? If you are the mature believer in a relationship with someone coming along in their walk with the Lord you have to be ready to committ your time and love to this person. Teaching someone to observe all the Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19-20) doesn’t just happen on Sundays either.
I have seen recently two billboards in my area which show John 14:6 next to a picture of a cross. I thought it was cool that people had taken the time and money to rent the billboard with these ads rather than the usual. Seeing this billboard now got me thinking. I wonder if John 14:6 is the best verse to put up there - if you only had a few lines and a few seconds - what would you put up on your billboard for one month? John 14:6? A different phrase? Something else altogether?
Matthew 5:48 - “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Surely Jesus doesn’t mean “don’t ever make a mistake or sin” does he? How could this be? Doesn’t he know “nobody’s perfect?” What is Jesus saying here? Is this an impossible verse?
Luke 14:33 - “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
Surely Jesus doesn’t really mean “give up all your stuff” does he? How could this be? He probably just means be willing to give up all your possessions. But then again, that’s not what he said. What is Jesus saying here? Is this an impossible verse?
Going to church doesn’t make you a follower of Jesus. Neither does reading the entire Bible. Neither does taking a class about Christian doctrine. Knowing the teachings of Jesus doesn’t make you his disciple. Volunteering to help your church doesn’t prove that you are a Christian either. 
I thought it was cool that people had taken the time and money to rent the billboard with these ads rather than the usual. Seeing this billboard now got me thinking. I wonder if John 14:6 is the best verse to put up there - if you only had a few lines and a few seconds - what would you put up on your billboard for one month? John 14:6? A different phrase? Something else altogether?