A Disciple Is a Living Sacrifice

 

Someone has said that the problem with a living sacrifice is that it can crawl off the altar. I haven't, at least, for long. In fifty-three years of following Jesus I have never entertained leaving Him. I don't think I have ever been tempted to stop following Jesus.  

The initial call of Jesus, to me, was: Leave everything and follow Me. As I read the Scriptures, that's what I thought The Call was all about. I still think like this.   

I was twenty-one years old, and just born again. Sitting in my Lutheran church on a Sunday morning, I was reading the bulletin. One announcement said: "Our church needs a youth leader. Please pray that God would give us someone to lead our youth."  

As I read this, I felt a burden. To pray. I did.

Next Sunday came. The announcement was still there. I felt a burden. It felt weightier. I prayed for a youth leader for my church.  

During that week the burden grew. I felt concerned. My church needs a youth leader! Sunday came. I read the announcement in the bulletin. I remember thinking, "Oh no. You have to be kidding me!"  

When I became an apprentice to Jesus, one of my leaders placed a book in my hands. It was The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I read this: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” At that time I was immersing myself in the four Gospels. I wanted to hear the voice of Jesus. Bonhoeffer sounded like Jesus to me.  

Unbelievably to me, I became the youth leader of Tabor Lutheran Church. I am eternally grateful to Jesus for seeing something in me that transcended my human abilities. I learned that such things can only be discovered and experienced if I die to myself.  

I am a living sacrifice, offering myself to the Lord.  I want you to do the same.

DECLARATIONS

 I am my Beloved's and he is mine.

 Every day I say to Jesus, "Have your way with me."

 I sacrifice my entire being on the altar of God.

 In being a living sacrifice I am on the road that leads to life.

 Here am I, Lord. Send me.

 All to Jesus, I surrender. All to Him I freely give.

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship.)  

A Disciple of Jesus is Interruptible

 

(For the most part, if not entirely, this has changed.)

I used to be irritated when something I was planning to do got interrupted. I saw interruptions as intrusions into my schedule. This has changed. It happened when I positioned Jesus as my Lord. Jesus taught me that, in his kingdom, the interruptions are my life.  

I was in the Illinois Army National Guard for six years. During this time of service, I experienced several interruptions. One time my unit was called up to do flood duty, as river waters were overflowing and threatening homes in Rockford, Illinois. We were out protecting against vandalism for a week. Needless to say, whatever plans I had were on hold.  

Another time, when I was in college and had much to do, we were called up to do riot control. Campuses across the nation were protesting the war. Kent State University had experienced violence. It was a dangerous time in our country. I was dispatched to the campus of Northern Illinois University. That's where I was going to school! Now, I was on campus, dressed in military clothing, carrying an M-16. Obviously, I missed some classes.  

Whenever our company commander called my unit to assemble and go somewhere, I got up and went. This is because I was in his service. When in the service, my plans were set aside. 

The same kind of thing happens with Jesus. He is my Lord. I am in service to him. He is on a mission, and I am a spiritual soldier in the Lord's spiritual army. When he calls, I get up and go!  

Linda and I live an interruptible life. Interruptions are our life. We've been living this way for our fifty years together, and we love it. Yes, when we get a call in the middle of the night, we are tired. At least for me, I'd like to roll over and sleep some more. But it is exhilarating, often after the fact, when Jesus says, "Drop what you are doing, and follow me!"

We know the Lord has plans and purposes for us. We are in service to Him. This is not some special calling, reserved for a few extra-fanatical saints. This is basic, boots-on-the-ground Christian living.  

Hardly a day goes by without Jesus calling us to go here, or do this, or reach out, or help with this, or call this person, or give here. As this happens, our schedule changes. We believe this is the normal Christian life. I don't know how I could live without it.  

Disciples of Christ are not too busy to be interrupted.

Life is a series of divine interruptions.  

I want this kind of life for you.

DECLARATIONS

 I love being interrupted by Jesus and responding to his callings.

 I see the Lord's plans and purposes for me as superior to my own plans.

Jesus, I give you permission to call on me to help and serve any time, any place.

 I see my life as a series of divine interruptions.

 It is a great privilege to be in service to Jesus my Lord.

 I am like Peter, leaving my nets behind to respond to the call of Jesus.

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship.)  

Master/Slave Marriages

 

(My back yard)

Linda and I have been privileged to meet with many marital couples over the years. We have seen God heal and renew broken marriages. We have seen marriages that should have experienced healing but remained in their sickness.

One type of troubled marriage is the "master/slave" marriage. We also call this the "controller/controlee" marriage. Instead of the mutual submission marital model given us in Ephesians 5:22-23, the husband takes on a false, dictator-like position on being "the head of the house." He imprisons his wife in a world of his own making. He fails to see his role as head of the house as being like Christ to his wife, and loving her as Christ loved the church and gave his life for her.

I meet a lot of control freaks and controlees. Many marriages are the coming together of these anti-types. Every control freak needs a controlee, and vice versa. 
This is very, very bad. Keith Miller writes: "control is the major factor in destroying intimate relationships." (Compelled to Control: Recovering Intimacy in Broken Relationships., p. 7) 

Why do we do this? Why try to control others when we can't control our own selves, and are often out of control? Miller writes:

"The fear of being revealed as a failure, as not being "enough" somehow, is a primary feeling that leads to the compulsion to control other people. When we were children, the fear of being inadequate and shameful was tied to our terror of being deserted or rejected and we had little control over getting what we needed. To counteract that basic terror, we have evidently been trying all our lives in various ways to "get control" of life. This includes controlling other people." (14)

A controlling person is an un-free person. Insecurity is the emblem of control. Instead, God wants to free us from the terrible burden of always having to get our own way. "Walking in freedom" and "controlling other people" ("always getting our own way") are oppositional.

The control-freak-husband (or wife) crushes the spirit of the other person, who wears a sign saying, 'Crush me." The destructive cycle is: "I'm in control of you"/"Control me" - "I'm in control of you"/"Control me," and so on, round and round they go. This destroys marriages and relationships. The antidote is trust. Because where trust is, control is not.

Begin breaking free by learning trust in God. Pray to be less controlling than you now are. Pray to be less controlled by others than you now are. Trust God even when you don't trust other people.

Go basic, repeating and praying Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
    Run to God! Run from evil! (The Message)

Get help for your marriage.

You can be a team, a loving, mutually submissive partnership, the kind of kingdom marriage we see in Ephesians 5.

A Disciple Grows in Compassion

 

 

​Jesus looked on the crowds and, 

seeing they were like sheep without a shepherd, 

had compassion on them.  

Matthew 9:36

In my fifty-four years of following Jesus, my compassion for people has grown.

The word compassion means to feel with others. Jesus told me, years ago, that my capacity for feeling with others must increase. Here is one way Jesus has mentored me in compassion.  

I had just finished my seminary degree. My plans were to go immediately to a doctoral program. This did not happen. I applied to two universities. Both applications were too late. I would have to take a year off my studies.  

I needed a job. My sister-in-law Lora was working as a teacher at United Cerebral Palsy Center of Will County, Illinois. She suggested I apply as a teacher's assistant.

I interviewed with the Director of the United Cerebral Palsy Center. Her name was Gretchen Lantz. For part of the interview she took me to the boys' bathroom. She said, "I don't want to mislead you. You will be spending a lot of time in this room toileting handicapped boys and young men."  

I took the position. Over the next year I fell in love with students like James, Helen, David, Jimmy, Tony, James, and Gail. My heart aches a bit as I write these names. I grew to feel with them. That feeling is still part of me. Jesus, my Lord and Teacher, had a brilliant idea for me. He was mentoring me in having a heart of compassion.

When the year was over, I enrolled in a doctoral program at Northwestern University. I continued working as a teacher's assistant at the Cerebral Palsy Center for two additional summers. The disabled students had become my instructors.  

I began to look at others in order to understand, not judge. The more understanding I gained, the more I felt with them. Just as Jesus is able to “sympathize with our weaknesses,” so am I.  

This is how disciples of Christ feel. Apprentice yourself to Jesus, and you will experience the same.  

I would not be Jesus's disciple if I looked down on the people Jesus came to rescue. In my weakness, Jesus came to me and loved me. In the same way, I am to love others.  

Disciples of Christ go deeper. This is where the Pharisee missed it, as he said, “Thank God that I am not like these other horrible people.” He failed to understand that he was. The result was, no compassion.  

The secret to a compassionate heart is understanding. The more I comprehend about a person, the more I feel as they feel. The more I feel as they feel, the more I love.  

I want to be more like Jesus! He sympathizes with my weaknesses. His influence causes me to grow in compassionate understanding of others. Who am I to look down on others in their infirmities?  

My dear brothers and sisters, I long for this to be your experience.

DECLARATIONS  

I am increasing in compassion towards others.  

I focus on understanding people, not judging them.  

I know that understanding always precedes evaluation.

My heart goes out to people who are struggling.  

I am a rescuer of people.  

As a student in the School of Jesus, I am learning how to love as Jesus loves.

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship.)

(Join me for) Defending Christian Morality: A 2-Hour Zoominar

 

REGISTER HERE:  https://hsrm.org/rsom 

A Disciple Leaves Their Comfort Zone

 

I am an apprentice in the School of Jesus. Jesus has taught me this: Without leaving my comfort zone, it is impossible to please Him. (Hebrew 11:6)

The last thing I wanted to be was a public speaker. My comfort zone includes staying in the background. Unfortunately, there were things in school that required me to be in the foreground.  

In elementary school there was something called “Show and Tell.” A student would bring something to show to the class. Then, they would share about it. I feared Show and Tell!  

One school day I told my mother, “I’m feeling sick. I think I should stay home from school today.” She responded with a question: “Do you have Show and Tell today?”  

Yes.  

When I was in Cub Scouts, we were putting together a “TV show” for our parents. We made a large cardboard TV set, with a hole for the screen. Each kid was supposed to position his face in the opening and deliver some lines, like it would look on TV.  

I had a diminished role in this production. I was to tell two jokes. I am horrible at this! To this day, no one has ever requested that I tell them a joke.  I was probably eight years old. We were in someone’s basement. The TV was set up. Parents were sitting in folding chairs, in theater rows. 

I was nervous.  

When the dreaded moment came, I got in the box, and looked out at my parents. I felt sorry they would have to witness what was about to happen.  

I started telling the first joke. I made no eye contact with the audience. Then, I forgot the punch line. I just stopped talking. And that was it. I said no more. I exited the cardboard box.  

Is it possible to die of embarrassment? I was a fish out of water, a square peg in a round hole, a stranger in a strange land. Out of my comfort zone.  

I told myself I would never do this again! And then, I met Jesus. I became his follower. I learned that, when you are following Jesus, you are, by definition, out of your comfort zone.

Just being out of your comfort zone does not mean you are following Jesus. But follow Jesus, and you will be out of your comfort zone.  

Every time I follow Jesus, I am moving outside my comfort zone.  

For his disciples, this is the normal Christian life.  

Linda and I took a day off this past Monday. When Monday came to end, we counted six things that God called us to do, that day, which were out of our comfort zones. Linda observed, “That’s just one day out of our life!”  

Jesus has taught me that this is life in His kingdom. Every time I share my story with someone, minister to people, pray for their healing and deliverance, give sacrificially, and love unconditionally, I enter a different world.  

I still get nervous when I speak publicly, which is a lot. I am so thankful Jesus calls me out of my comfort zone and into His redemptive kingdom!  

Without stepping out of your comfort zone it is impossible to please God.

DECLARATIONS

When Jesus calls, I follow.  

Jesus is always leading me out of my comfort zone.  

My life is pleasing to Jesus, because I am a person of faith.  

Like Jesus, my life is not about staying in some "comfort zone."  

I am comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable for Christ.  

My life of faith is a day-by-day adventure!

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship.)  

Church: Performance-Based or Spirit-Formed?

Is your church performance-based or Spirit-formed?

• Are you trying to attain your goal by human effort or by the empowering presence and leading of God’s Spirit?
• What would have to change for your church to become a Spirit-formed community?

James van Yperen, in Making Peace: A Guide to Overcoming Church Conflict, asks these questions. (p. 74). Van Yperen knows that many American churches are performance-based rather than Spirit-formed. This is not good, and explains a lot of church conflict.

He writes: 

"Pick up almost any book about church growth or leadership today, and the dominant theme will be performance—how you can do more and achieve more. Words like “effective,” “dynamic,” and “productive” describe the values and goals of leadership. Much is given to models and methods of leadership and growth. Little is said about spiritual formation." (73)

After beginning with the Spirit, many are now trying to "do church" in their own strength and by their own wisdom and efforts. (Galatians 3:3)

This distinction is key to understanding church conflict. The performance-based church creates an "audience," a bunch of "consumers," and audiences and consumers do what they do best: critique and complain. "A Spirit-formed community," in contrast, "is formed by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not the personality or gifts of a man or woman." (74) 

The questions of the Spirit-formed community are not: "Do you like the worship?" or "Do you like the pastor?" In the Spirit-formed church people are not worshiping to please you.

Van Yperen is so good here. He writes:

"When a church gathers around a central figure who leads out of his or her knowledge, experience, or gifts alone, the church’s identity is inevitably tied to the ego and self-esteem of the leader. It becomes performance-based. By performance-based, we mean that planning and evaluation are focused on human achievement. Success or failure is measured by the growth and size of the church, the number of conversions, the latest facility expansion, or whether people approve of sermons, music, and so forth. Identity is measured by position, power, and accomplishment." (Ib.)

Real "church" is about God and Jesus, not some pastor or worship team. The consumer-audience will not understand this. Some pastors and worship teams don't want to understand this. This is one reason why, in our context, we don't put some "great musician" on the platform with our worship team if they are not primarily a passionate worshiper of Jesus and walk in humility and self-denial.

A Disciple Worships the Lord

 

I want you to learn and grow in worship to our Lord.  

1984. In a forest preserve outside Lansing, Michigan. When I was assured that no one was looking, I raised both my hands high over my head. And I worshiped God.  

This was the beginning of something new. I was learning more about worship. I am an ever-growing student, and Jesus is my all-wise Teacher.  

I had already been a worshiper for fourteen years. I experienced joy as I sang new songs to the Lord. Often, especially when alone, my joy flowed in tears. I learned that, not only was it OK to cry before the Lord, but my joy was a vessel that contained worship.  

Worship is a lifelong learning experience.

Real worship springs from the spirit, and expresses truth. Disciples of Jesus learn to worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)   

Today is the day when authentic worshipers are being released, across the world. I am one of them.  

So are you.  

Remember - It’s all going to end in worship.   

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, 

like the roar of rushing waters 

and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 

“Hallelujah!

    ​For our Lord God Almighty reigns.  

Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!  

Revelation 19:6-7

DECLARATIONS  

I am a true worshiper of Christ.

Sometimes I break out in spontaneous worship.  

My spirit overflows in worship.  

My worship today is preparing me for an eternity of worship.  

When I think of all Christ has done for me, worship expands my spirit.

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship) 

Studying Jesus - A Brief Bibliography

 

(Jerusalem street)



One of my PhD qualifying exams was in Ancient Christology. Christology is still, for me, an area I study in. This is my first love: knowing Jesus, and making Jesus known. 

Here are books and websites I recommend for studying Jesus, with a few annotations. 

This list could be miles long! These are some I recommend. If you read these, you'll be well on your way in studying Christ and thinking Christologically. You will, increasingly, be able to separate the real from the false.

BOOKS ON JESUS

Gustav Aulen

• Christus Victor: An Historical Study of the Three Main Types of the Idea of Atonement

Ruth Haley Barton

• Life Together in Christ: Experiencing Transformation in Community

Richard Bauckham

• Jesus: A Very Short Introduction - a beautiful introduction to the Real Jesus by a great scholar.
• Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony - Bauckham delivers a strong case that the four Gospels are closely based on eyewitness testimony of those who knew Jesus. Note: all four Gospels.
• Bauckham's website is HERE. 

James Beilby and Paul Eddy, eds. The Historical Jesus: Five Views

Michael Brown

• The Real Kosher Jesus: Revealing the Mysteries of the Hidden Messiah

Greg Boyd

• Cynic Sage or Son of God?: Recovering the Real Jesus in an Age of Revisionist Replies - I was talking with Craig Keener in his office and asked, "What books do you recommend on Jesus studies?" Craig pulled Greg's book off the shelf and said, "This is very good."
• Crucifixion of the Warrior God: Interpreting the Old Testament's Violent Portraits of God in Light of the Cross
• Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence
• Boyd's website is HERE. 

Greg Boyd & Paul Eddy

• The Jesus Legend: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition - Among other things Boyd and Eddy debunk the idea that the Jesus story emerged from surrounding pagan myths.
• Lord or Legend?: Wrestling with the Jesus Dilemma - A more accessible version of their book The Jesus Legend.

James Charlesworth

• The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide - By Princeton New Testament scholar Charlesworth.

William Lane Craig

• The Atonement
• Atonement and the Death of Christ: An Exegetical, Historical, and Philosophical Exploration

Paul Eddy and James Beilby

• The Historical Jesus: Five Views

Craig Evans

• Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels - The great New Testament scholar debunks, among others, Bart Ehrman.
• Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence - I got this book as a Christmas gift, and began to read it last night. It is highly reviewed. 

Craig Evans and N.T. Wright

• Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened. This would be an excellent little book to read leading up to Easter 2013. 

Gordon Fee

• Pauline Christology

Gordon Fee and Cherith Nordling Fee

• Jesus the Lord According to Paul the Apostle: A Concise Introduction

Simon Gathercole, Robert Stewart, N. T. Wright

• What Did the Cross Accomplish? A Conversation About the Atonement

Gary Habermas

• The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ

Larry Hurtado and Chris Keith

•  Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels. I recently picked up this book and have begun to read it. 

Craig Keener

• The Historical Jesus of the Gospels
• Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts 
• Any of Craig's New Testament commentaries.
• Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels
• Lots of great, free material on the Real Jesus at Craig's blog HERE. 

J. N. D. Kelly

• Early Christian Doctrines

George Ladd

• Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God. This is one of the books to be read on the nature of "the kingdom of God." 
• A Theology of the New Testament (This was one of my seminary texts, which I have worn out (it's falling apart!)).

Amy Levine

• The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus

Michael McClymond

• Familiar Stranger: An Introduction to Jesus of Nazereth. This is another book Craig Keener strongly recommended to me. 

Scot McKnight

• The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited. Why read this book? Because it has two Forewards, by N.T. Wright and Dallas Willard. This book is about the Real Jesus and the actual Gospel. 
• Any of McKnight's New Testament commentaries. 
• McKnight's excellent blog is HERE. 

Richard Norris and William Rusch

• The Christological Controversies (Sources of Early Christian Thought)

Eugene Peterson

• Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers
• Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ
• The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus Is the Way

Stephen Porter, Gary Moon, J. P. Moreland

• Until Christ Is Formed In You: Dallas Willard and Spiritual Formation

Stephen Prothero

• American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon - A good read on who the Real Jesus is not.  

Fleming Rutledge

• The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ

Lewis Smedes

• Union with Christ: A Biblical View of the New Life in Christ

Klyne Snodgrass

• Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus. The best book on the parables ever written?

Mark L. Strauss

• Jesus Behaving Badly: The Puzzling Paradoxes of the Man from Galilee

Lee Strobel

• The Case for Christ
• The Case for the Real Jesus

Rankin Wilbourne 

• One with Christ: An Evangelical Theology of Salvation

Dallas Willard 

• Living in Christ's Presence: Final Words on Heaven and the Kingdom of God
• Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ

Ben Witherington

• The Christology of Jesus
• The Jesus Quest: The Third Search for the Jew of Nazareth
• What Have They Done with Jesus?: Beyond Strange Theories and Bad History--Why We Can Trust the Bible
• Witherington's blog is HERE. 

N.T. Wright (No one, except Craig Keener, is writing more about Jesus than Wright is.)

• How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels . Remember that understanding the "kingdom of God" is the hermeneutical key to understanding the Real Jesus.
• Jesus and the Victory of God
• The Resurrection of the Son of God
• Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters
• Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship
• Wright's website is HERE. 

N.T. Wright and Michael Bird

• Jesus and the Powers: Christian Political Witness in an Age of Totalitarian Terror and Dysfunctional Democracies 

A Disciple Grows in Discernment

 

I began taking guitar lessons at age five. I have taught and played guitar for sixty-nine years. (How old am I?)

How familiar am I with guitars? Very! I am able to discern whether a guitar is in tune, or out of tune. I can hear chords played, and without looking at the guitar being played, tell you what chord it is. (Mostly, not entirely…) I can listen to a song for the first time, and (mostly) immediately play it. (Really accomplished guitarists do this better than I can.)  

I became a disciple of Jesus just before my twenty-first birthday. I have talked and walked and lived with Jesus for fifty-three years. (How old am I?) Jesus became to me, as one scholar calls him, a “familiar stranger.”

From the beginning, Jesus felt familiar to me. I felt safe, at home, with him. Coming to Jesus was a great homecoming!   

And, just as the first disciples found the ways and words of Jesus strange, like his use of parables, so did I. Yet I, like those disciples, was, and remain, attracted to him.  

I am familiar with Jesus, with more understanding coming daily. I am able to discern what is of Jesus, and what is not of Jesus. The discipleship principle I have learned is:  

Discernment is a function of familiarity.

Discernment is in direct proportion to intimacy.  

I want you to be familiar with our Lord Jesus. I want your spiritual discernment to increase.  

Apprentices become familiar with their teachers. My Teacher has taught me this: The more I know him, the more I see and understand him.  

This is what happens to disciples of Christ. May it be so, in you.

DECLARATIONS  

I am becoming more familiar with Jesus every day.  

I am able to discern spiritual realities.  

I can separate the good from the evil.  

Revelation from Jesus is increasing in me.  

It excites me to think there is so much more to Jesus waiting for me to comprehend.  

There is no greater privilege than knowing Jesus my Lord!

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship)

A Disciple of Jesus Grows to Be Like Jesus

 

I see you growing to be more and more like Christ.

I was a boy when Elvis Presley became famous. My parents bought me an Elvis album after I saw him on TV. I wanted to sing like him, and play the guitar like he did. I wanted to look like him.  

One day I took my Elvis album into the bathroom, and propped it up next to the mirror. There was Elvis’s picture, next to my face in the mirror. I found some hair gel, and a comb. I attempted to design my hair to look like Elvis’s hair.   

Afterwards, I remember walking to my friend John’s house, feeling a lot like you-know-who. John burst my bubble when he said, “So, are you trying to look like Elvis again?”  

Trying? We want to be like the people we worship.

1 John 3:2 tells me that one day, I shall be like Jesus. The apostle Paul writes, in Galatians 4:19, that I am now being formed into Christlikeness. This makes sense to me, since this is my glorious destiny.  

Every disciple begins to look like their teacher. Apprentices learn to do what their teacher does. Jesus says, "whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) That makes sense, since a disciple is in training to do the stuff their teacher has been doing.  

I learned this a long time ago. I believe it more today than when I first heard it. As one of the Lord’s disciples, I get excited when I think of being like the One I have come to worship.  

As I apprentice myself to Jesus, he forms himself in me; his character, his abilities.  

DECLARATIONS  

One day I shall be like the Lord Jesus.  

Today, Christ is forming his character in me.  

I am learning to love people as Jesus loves people.  

Christ is training me to deliver people from darkness.

The compassion of Christ grows within me.  

I want nothing more than to be like Jesus!

(From my book 31 Letters to the Church on Discipleship)