Christian vs Follower of Christ

Looking at this title you'd think "...but a Christian is a follower of Christ." That is what a Christian should be, yet if you were on the street and asked someone are you a Christian? They'd probably quickly answer yes. BUT if you asked are you a follower of Christ? They'd hesitate and ask "what do you mean?" Funny how a Christian is a follower of Christ yet many people don't govern their lives according to His teachings. Isn't that the very definition of a Christian?

I haven't been to many other countries ,but from missionaries I know personally and other testimonials, Americans seem to take on the term Christian easily without the actual FOLLOWING CHRIST attribute that it's name implies. How is it we've gotten into the habit (and teach others) to profess an identity without performing ANY of the characteristics of that identity? Okay that may sound a bit confusing so I'll put it like this. You say I am a Christian. However, your words, the things you watch, your attitude, and lifestyle don't even remotely resemble Christ. You profess Christ as Lord however you haven't submitted your life to him proving He is Lord. The majority of Christians want to see how much they can get away with and still be considered saved by their own definitions. There is only one way to accept Christ into your life. It's not by words, but by submitting your life.

Don't you find it strange that someone can admit to being a Christian yet take a pause if you ask them if they Follow Christ. Please don't be deceived there aren't degrees of Christianity. There's only black or white, no gray. You are either a follower or you're not. When you look at the life of Christ can you say "Yes, I do that!" Or " The next time this happens I'll react like Christ?" Do you read about His life and see how you are growing more and more into his image? I hope the answer is yes, because you're on the right track. If not, don't be upset or try to justify your actions. Dig into the word of God and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truths. More important than revelation is your obedience to what you are learning.

Christ gave an example of two people. One person heard his words and did them. He said that person is wise because they have built their house on a strong foundation when the storm came. The second person also heard the word but did not do them. He called this person a fool because they've built their house on sand. When the same storm came their house was destroyed. (Matthew 7:24-26)

The difference? DOING what you hear. You only deceive yourself if you think you are taking on the name of Christ without walking/living by His words.

"Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" Luke 4:4

Grab your highlighters and highlight this section:
You only live by the word that you obey. If you don't obey it then you're not living by it.

If you are observing Christ's life and implementing the same principles in your life as He did you should be able to strongly answer "Yes!" regardless of how the question regarding your faith is posed.

Don't Let Your Sword Grow Dull

Out of the 10 knives I have one good knife that I use for chopping and cutting through thick/tough foods. It has a nice grip and handle on it. You wouldn't want this knife to come near a finger because it cuts through meat like cutting through butter. Well, that was the knife when I first got it. As I was washing my "favorite" knife today I noticed that through so much use it's growing a bit dull.

If I don't sharpen the knife it won't chop,cut, slice like I know it could. The effectiveness of the knife solely depends on my up keep of it. If I sharpen it, it can continue to do its job effectively.

This makes me think about our weapon of warfare...the SWORD also referred to as the Word of God.

We can't let the word of God grow dull in our hearts. The Word of God is effective but if you don't sharpen yourself in it, it cannot work on your behalf. It can't pierce the enemy when he attacks.

We have an awesome shield of faith that will quench the enemy's every fiery dart.  So imagine an arrow that's on fire coming towards you, but once it makes contact with your shield, instead of melting into the material of the shield, or instead of having to drop the shield and run, your shield puts the fire out and the arrow is ineffective. You are left unharmed. Bless God for such as unique shield.

Not only do we want to be protected to withstand against the enemies darts, we want to be able to throw some punches too, right? We want to get a few wounds in on him for trying to affect our health, our finances, families, community, city, state, etc. He wants us to fall back into the ways of our "old man." So be on the look out for temptations too. Satan shouldn't get away scott-free without a scar on him. Hence, our Swords need to be sharpened daily in the Word of God so we can slice and dice him out of our lives. Learn and understand the word of God so when Satan makes his attack you can say "You are a LIAR. The Word of God has said...." We take this lesson from Luke 4 when Jesus was being tempted Jesus always told Satan what God said. Let's follow suit. The Word of God has many purposes, but let's not forget that it is a WEAPON OF OUR WARFARE!
                       

     SHARPEN YOUR SWORD AND GO TO WAR UNAFRAID!