Lena's Discipleship Journalin' to John 13 Today

Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom…once a day is gone, it is gone forever, it can never be relived or redone.
Jesus knew not only the day, but also the hour. He knew. Do we? He had a time here on earth for a purpose, so do we. The sooner we catch a hold of that and engage in it, the less time we’ll waste at it.
There is a time to live and a time to cease from living (here on earth), There is eternal death and eternal life, both are eternal. We began eternal and end this life passing on to our eternal destination. What we did here, determines where we are there. These days are to decide and then to help others decide, whatever effort that takes.
That’s what life’s purpose here is all about. There really is nothing else here to live for, really. Things, such as a career pursuit to make a name for one’s self or to get rich in goods or to be worldly successful, that are of purposes outside of the purpose of opening up new avenues of gospel message influence, is vanity. After we cross over to the other side of eternal vision, we’ll wonder why we spent so much of our lives on what we spent it on. We’ll wonder why we worked so hard for physical goods and spent our lives getting things, while we ignored or stepped on people to do so. We’ll see all we worked for burn up like smoke, except that which we spent our lives on for eternity.
Let’s get it now, that way there will be no regrets that way later on. We can see with vision now, as Jesus did, we can know the number of our days or what our days are numbered for.
Jesus showed the disciples the full extent of His love, the Love of a Father who sent Him to do so. Do we show our disciples the full extent of our love? Do we love? Do we have disciples?
As Jesus was leaving the earth there were a few things He left us with –
1- Love one another, as I have loved you, in laying down my life for you, love, wash as I would wash, give yourself up as I am.
2 - Then He said, Receive the very Spirit that lives in Me as a member of the Godhead. Wait and receive the Holy Spirit, who will help you be who I am, while I’m not there with you.
3 - Lastly He said, Make disciples.
As He did we are also to do. Do you have spiritual disciples? To have some, one must first be one. Are you a disciple? A disciplined learner? A student of God’s word, accountable to another who is more learned in the word and the spirit than you are? Do you look up in accountability, or do you only fellowship and give account to those who are at the same level as you?
Jesus said if I do not wash you, you have no part in Me.
The first step of an eternal life walk and of being a disciple is to be washed by His blood. Only a spotless Lamb could be a sacrifice. We are all living sacrifices unto God, holy, acceptable and well pleasing in His sight, if we are washed by the blood we can also wash with the blood. Do you ever allow another to see your dirt and wash you? Are you that close, that open with anyone, or do you defend your rights to be dirty?
Are you willing to take the cup of blessing and the bread of life? At what cost? Have you given your life over to it, a willing sacrifice upon God’s holy altar, or do you come and go as you please? Doing whatever you deem right or wrong on your daily path? Can anyone else tell you where to go or not go?
We receive Him, but it is because He already summonsed us to Himself. It’s not like it was our great idea and we have accepted Him. He died for us, accepting us. Without that acceptance we are dead in our trespasses and sin. Our exchange is a passionate one. We give our whole lives as appreciation of this righteous action. There is no other proper response. We can’t just try out some of this faith walk.
This year God is asking Christians.
Are you for Me or against Me?
Are you all in or just some in?
Are you a whole heart or a half heart?
Do you give your all to Me or just some?

Do you know He’ll pass those by who still have the spaces reserved for responses to other lovers? He has a plan, an accomplishment, it’s like an interview, He’s got to choose those whose hearts are a flaming fire, burning for His will. God’s will is not a sample platter, we can take and leave some.
With great anguish one was separated out, one who would betray Him. God hates separation. He despises it. Separation is the very reason Jesus came. It is excruciating to His heart of love. Hatred, strife, contention, rebellion, and sin all separate. He came to destroy this work and its power to take us out of His hands.
His death nullified this power and took its rights away from our enemy, now the only part still left to deal with is inside of our own personal hearts and freewill choices. If we want to we can stay separated. If we choose that, He’ll honor it and pass us by, not insisting on His own ways.
Anyone who welcomes My messenger, welcomes the one who sent Him….
How many people who bear the name of Christ, as messengers of God Himself, who are leaders, preachers, teachers, who have chosen Him, have we rejected? Maybe it was because we didn’t like how they speak, what they said, how they said it, or something in their lives we saw.
This is very serious. It gives us a so called excuse to not be a disciple, and there is no excuse for that. God does not take excuses on this and validate them at all. No excuse is valid where being a disciple is concerned. David was a disciple of Saul! God used Saul to discipline and teach David forming the character of Christ in his life. We do not pick and choose our natural family and those who God places around us to tutor and govern us, why do we think we can choose who spiritually trains us? That is deception, watch out for it.
Betrayal is mere denial. Even Peter denied-betrayed Christ, he just repented. John asked, “Who is it Lord?” Hey it could be you, it could be me. I don’t even know my own heart, which is why I stay close to Him, so He can keep showing me the dirt and washing me clean.
Your love for one another will show the world I am who I and you say that I am. It’s a love for those God chose for us to be around, the ones we did not choose for ourselves. It is a love for the tutor who is so unfair, the one we are a disciple of who we are being made uncomfortable by. It is a love that goes beyond the touchy, you make me feel so good, phase. It’s a love that stays when things are not so pretty, when I’m challenged to change who I was for who He is. That love will confound the world. They already know physical “love”, they already know sensual “love”, they have it down sometimes seemingly better than we do. The love they don’t know is one without conditions, the one that does not deserve love, the one that is based on covenant rather than contractual commitment.
Dying for Him, means living for Him here now. Don’t leave your post, go away from your assignment. Don’t skip class today. Become a disciple. That will take the death of self, for someone else will tell you what to do, and you won’t initially like it, unless you see beyond into eternity!
Jesus told a disciple that whenever he was a young man he could go wherever he pleased, do what he wanted. Lead himself, even decide what he’d do spiritually speaking, but when he got older (in his faith walk) others would lead him and tell him what to do, it would be like they were binding his hands and feet, leading him this way and that. That would be the sign of his growth from a young man into a developed son.
God sent His Son to save the world, now He’s looking for sons who will be led by the direction of others. That is a sure sign of growth. Independence and rebellion have no place where God is taking us this year!
Are you coming with us? Disciples follow. Come follow Me….says the Lord (Be aware, I’ll ask you to follow a human being.)