Saturday, February 23, 2013

 

I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The above message exemplifies the love of Christ and what I want to strive for.

What does it mean to become a disciple of Christ? Today, I read the following passages:
Luke 10:38-42, 11:1-13, 12:13-40, 13:23-24, 14:16-33, Omni 1:26, Mosiah 2:34 and Matthew 13:44-46

After reading through these scripture passages, I came up with a list of what it means to be a disciple of Christ.



a.       Choose the Savior over all else
b.      Pray, seek and ask for the Spirit and whatsoever is needful
c.       Beware of Covetousness
d.      Lay-up treasures of spiritual virtues
e.      Have great faith that the Lord will provide for appropriate wants and needs
f.        Seek the Kingdom of God
g.       Fear Not
h.      Be watchful for the Lord
i.         Keep the Commandments, endure to the End
j.        When the Lord calls, answer
k.       Be willing to forsake all to follow the Savior
l.         Trust in Heavenly Father’s ability to bless in ways that are best for you



What does it mean to count to count the cost of following the Savior? I didn't really know how to put that in a list format, but as I've been thinking about it, it means that I need to realize that when I make this commitment to be a disciple of Christ, I will be required to make decisions to give up or forsake things that will be a sacrifice to give up. It may be relationships that are inappropriate, activities that keep me from properly prioritizing my time or drive the Spirit away, or opportunities that may seem good at the time, but for whatever reason, may need to be given up for purposes I don't understand.

After perusing the above list, I felt like I needed to focus on applying the teaching of praying and seeking for the Spirit and whatever else might be needful. Lately, I’ve notice that I haven’t been praying as regularly and that when I do pray, it tends to be repetitious. I’ve realized that I need to be more particular in having regular prayer morning and night and making sure that I spend time during prayer, where I’m just listening and trying to understand what things I need to do or change. Then, I need to trust that Heavenly Father will answer my prayers in the perfect way for me. I believe that if I focus on building the habit of having regular, meaningful prayer, I will have an increase of the Spirit in my life, I will receive needed direction, and my relationship with Heavenly Father will be improved. I’ll have more confidence and greater faith and I'll be a more effective disciple of Jesus Christ. I love Jesus Christ, I hope that as I try to improve in my habits, that I will be a better disciple, that I will exemplify his love and charity.




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