Discipleship Series – Passing and Failing Tests

Today's post is part of May's Christian Writer's Blog Chain, the topic “Nurture” I hope you will follow the links on the right side bar to the other bloggers on our chain. Be blessed.

Life is full of choices. Every action we take is based on a decision we have made through the information and experience we have stored in our memory. We are trapped in this scenario until something changes, either positive or negative to the experience modification portion of our memory. Each experience changes our process in making a choice.

This experience modification begins at birth and continues throughout our entire lives. Infants cry because they want something. They have learned that crying brings results either, food, attention or removal of an uncomfortable situation. As infants, we've learned how to get what we want, but as we grow in experience, we've also learned how to modify the results aka the sin nature.

During the course of our lives, we've learned what we can do and what we can't. What things are socially acceptable and the things that are not. We develop a process of living, either choosing a moral standard or going against moral convention. All these choices are a result of our memories and how we use them. There is one important factor that comes into play, the God factor.

Although we make choices based on our experiences, God is always present. He has spoken into each of our lives at many important junctures. He was the one that placed another option in our path. He was the one who opened doors and gave us talents, we have to choose to follow or not. God loves us so completely, He never leaves us without an option. He wants our recognition and praise, but most of all, He wants us to nurture our relationship with Him.

Jesus nurtured His disciples with love, patience, acceptance and revealing to them the invisible Father. His disciples received what He gave, yet there was reciprocation, they needed choose to accept the experience modification by choosing to use the things He had taught them.

The following is an excerpt from Footsteps of Jesus – Becoming a Disciple

Chapter 19 – Forsake Former Goals

Meeting Jesus changed everything. In His presence, my broken moral compass was exposed. I had a perverted sense of right and wrong. With the help of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word, my compass was corrected and I was set on a new path.

The conflict came not with my spirit but with my flesh. The old self and emotions still wanted control. My mind had not been renewed to the truth, which directed many of my actions of what I thought were best for me. This sinful thinking drove my moral compass off it's designed course, which made it difficult to trust anyone.

There were many years of broken relationships in my wake. Some of my doing and some that were done to me. When Jesus wanted my complete trust, my old mind said, “Well that was OK for salvation, but life choices, those were still mine— or so I thought.

When I had enrolled in college, I wasn’t completely on-board with some of the courses they told me I needed. One of the administrators explained that some life experiences or previous coursework could be transferred in toward graduation. I pursued all the credits I could get with the hopes of shortening the length of training.

Most of the previous experiences or coursework I submitted were rejected which upset me. Using the persuasive skills I had learned in the world, I tried my case.

Isn’t that the way we sometimes approach the Lord, explaining our service resume and things we’ve accomplished? We go about presenting our case to be spared from a difficult time or intensive training that may be painful. We begin praying (begging) unceasingly when we are presented with a challenge to our comfort or status.

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The Lord never leaves us where we are, but always shows a better way. We must prepare to receive, accept what His Word says and nurture the seeds of His love and truth for the change modification to occur in our hearts. Nurturing a relationship includes trust and action.

Final post in the Discipleship Series – Start Walking


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