Apr 16, 2016
I·den·ti·ty- the fact of being who or what a person or thing is
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. But now in Christ Jesus you who were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:1 & 13
As the year in School of Discipleship continues, it is amazing that one doesn’t just get to know the Lord more intimately, but one also gets to know themselves through this challenging year of being discipled.
In class, the Lord has been teaching me to recognize the importance of knowing my true identity. All of Mankind has identity. Our identity may come from many areas in life including family or friends, job, money, or even the past. The Lord has been challenging me in this regard: In the way I live, where is my identity rooted from? If my supreme identity comes from anything other than Christ Himself, I will soon realize that whatever else I root my life in will be earthly and thus will diminish. As a child of God, I have the amazing privilege to know and be known by an ever infinite God, and must recognize my value in this, rather than anything else that bids for my life. I am ultimately not who anyone else says I am, nor known supremely by my weaknesses or failures, but I am who CHRIST alone says I am!
Does Christ complete me? Do I feel as if I need that one thing, aside from Christ, in order to “feel” complete? What makes my heart race and receives my awe? In what is my identity really found when everything else is stripped away?
Though I have been greatly challenged in learning my need for a complete self-denial, the Lord has been teaching me that my absolute only boast, and ultimately life, must be in Christ. I have and am absolutely nothing without Him, but am everything in Him. It is unfortunate to know that I can go through the daily tasks of serving the Lord, without ever realizing who I am as His blood bought child, and miss out on the relationship that our Father longs for with His children.
So when I am tempted to believe that other things will somehow satisfy, or to ‘amen’ what the enemy would have me to believe, I must remember that as a child of God, He is the one who makes me who I really am. In Christ, my identity is completely sure since He never fails nor changes forever.
—School of Discipleship student
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Apr 13, 2016
It seems unbelievable that we have just over five weeks left until we are finished our year! I remember that the end looked so far away, but yet, how quick the time has flown. I can hardly grab on to one day until the next one budges in. God has and continues to be so very gracious and faithful!
As the year winds up, God has been challenging me to trust Him like never before, as I seek Him for future plans ahead! I am challenged in my walk with Him, questioning myself, “Do I really trust God?” “Am I too proud or smart to let the Sovereign Ruler of the universe lead and guide me?” I believe that it is in these times of my insufficiency that God can even begin to grant me the grace to start trusting Him. I am sorrowed at how often I take the invitation to trust God lightly, sprinkled with a bit of groaning or whimpering! Oh, may He grant me the grace to completely and wholly surrender and submit my all to Him!
So, in closing, I firstly praise God for this year with it’s beautiful times of challenges as well as victories! How unworthily blessed I feel to have been a part in the School of Discipleship program! It has truly been a journey that I believe will impact my entire life! Praise and glory to the Lord!
—School of Discipleship student
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Apr 10, 2016
School of Discipleship Vision/Goal 8: Understand that the Christian life and ministry cannot be lived apart from God’s help.
When arriving at Gospel for Asia’s School of Discipleship program in January 2014, I was blessed to learn what the vision for the program would be. After just over a year and a half of having the privilege of being discipled and trained in the ways of God, I feel as though it is this core value that has become an increasing reality in my life.
When first pondering upon this truth- the Christian life made possible only by Christ- it seemed rather like a gimme. However, only now has the Lord been teaching me in a greater measure of the significance and necessity of His Spirit being preeminent in my life.
In a recent message we heard by Major Ian Thomas, he states, “ Christ is the only One capable of living the Christian life”. Oh the thought! When I ponder upon this, I must humbly conclude that this is the only thing that makes sense. I find myself coming repeatedly to quick failure when attempting to live the Christian life in the flesh. One author put it well when he declared, “There is nothing more nauseating than the flesh trying to be holy”.
Although the Lord has had to remind me of my neediness for His Spirit, I am blessed and relieved by the liberating thought that I simply will never have what it takes to live for Christ, but He sure does! I am challenged to remember this beautiful promise! My flesh must die, and then I will be able to live. It is in the moments of feeling strong that I invite a dangerous conception of following Christ in my own so called strength. Through self-denial, I must stay needy and completely dependent upon Christ alone.
Praise God for His Spirit that does indwell us, as we can be sure that His power and enabling that has kept us until now will continue to sustain us until the end.
“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. 2 Corinthians 13:4
—School of Discipleship student
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Apr 8, 2016
Praise God! We are already in the last third of the School of Discipleship year, which seems absolutely absurd! Truly, God continues to amaze me!!
We had the privilege of hearing our leader, Bro. KP, teach about depending on God. A few words he said caught me a bit in my tracks. He said, (in my summarization) “We must remember that God cannot fill His Spirit and blessings into hands that are already full.”
So often, I desire that God would fill me with His Spirit. I want to be full of Him. But I then question myself, Is God able to fill me with Himself, if I am already full of other things? Do I even possess the room? In absolutely everything that God gives, which far exceeds anything earthly, why do I still find it excruciating, to empty my hands of everything earthly, in order to hold on to Him?
Some of a quote that puts this well is in the journal of Jim Elliot. The quote reads,
“Father, let me be weak that I might lose my clutch of everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions, Lord, let me loose the tension of the grasping hand. Rather, open my hand to receive the nail of Calvary, as Christ’s was opened, that I, releasing all, might be released, unleashed from all that binds me now. So let me release my grasp.”
Oh, that I would learn the blessedness of depending on Him, surrendering to Him, clinging to Him, and seeking Him! Only then, can I really be a true disciple of His, and discover His true worth!!
—School of Discipleship student
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Apr 6, 2016
In School of Discipleship, we dug into the area of submission. I know, I know, it’s not really a top favourite thing to learn, but Praise God we did! As a class, we read the book by Brother KP, called Touching Godliness. This book was something I know the Lord needed me to read!
I don’t really think I knew the vastness of submission, until reading and learning these materials. I think one can become so numb and senseless to it, as one continues to have the selfish mindset of rebellion. There is so much that God taught me in this unit! I learned that when I rebel to my authority God has placed over me, I am ultimately rebelling against God who sovereignly placed them there! I then become easy prey for the enemy to seek and destroy. Even when I submit half-heartedly, I am living in rebellion. What?!? I thought when I rebelled, it was because I was right!! No, no, I am learning that it is more like a lack of faith and God’s promises! This is truly a startling thought to ponder!
I truly give thanks to God for this unit! Thank-you also to the facilitators that so clearly taught this, not only in the unit, but also by example! Now, the hard part come, where I must pray for strength to live out what He has taught me. I believe this will be a battle that my flesh must continue to war against. But, Praise God for His grace! He reminds me that He is on my side in this war against self-centredness!
Father, may my focus be on You always! Even when I struggle to want my way, teach me to let go and cling to You! I praise You for your unending grace and patience as I walk this journey of life.
—School of Discipleship student
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