The Cost of Discipleship

I finished reading The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer this morning. I made some notes from the book, and now I will go back and study the notes and expand them. Some of what I have learned so far is that the cost of grace is and was high, because is cost a man His life. We cheapen grace when we accept it without any evidence of change in our lives. We should be different, our lives should reflect Jesus. Wouldn't it be great if someone commented to you one day, "You look like Jesus"? For a disciple of Christ, that would be the ultimate compliment!

The main thing I learned from Bonhoeffer's book?...how much more I have to learn....

Moving on...

I was in Waco Sunday morning. My family and I had planned on attending a local worship service there, but plans changed (as they often do with family) so I had my own personal worship service in the lobby of our motel. This is the scripture God revealed to me...so appropriate, just what I needed:

1 Therefore leaving the elementary[1][Lit word of the beginning ] teaching about the Christ[2][I.e. Messiah], let us press on to maturity[3][Or perfection ], not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, if God permits. Hebrews 6:1-3 NASB.

Getting Started

I became a Christian when I was 15 years old, and there was a change in my life, but I never really felt like I became a disciple of Jesus Christ. It recently occurred to me that if we are to fulfill the great commission and "make disciples", then we must first be disciples. I actually completed a significant discipleship course several years ago, called "Master Life". It was a very good course, and I learned a lot, but even so, I did not start considering that I needed to see the world through Jesus' eyes. A morning "quiet time" was not enough. Memorizing scripture was not enough. Witnessing to others was not enough.

I recently read "Just Like Jesus" by Max Lucado, and that got me thinking, but what really got me going is a book I haven't finished yet, "The Cost of Discipleship" by Deitrich Bonhoeffer. I have also just started a book called "The Training of the Twelve" by A.B. Bruce. Further, I started with Matthew this morning reading and taking notes from the Gospels.