Week 8: Check!

5 a.m hike to watch the sunrise with some of my beautiful YWAM family!

Highlights from lecture notes on the topic 'The Cost of Discipleship' taught by Jeremy West:

• Being a disciple is showing what I believe in so much I would give everything up
• Do not turn your privileges into rights; we complain and do not want to be told what to do because we believe it is our right to do what we want
• We hear things, think them, agree with them, and are at times moved by them, and by doing so we convince ourselves that we are living the life we "agree" with. Are we dreaming an ideal instead of living the truth?
• There are no great people of God, only a great God of people
• Identity in Christ is sacrifice of identity in self; individualism, not independence
• Be careful not to defend our objectivity in language, entertainment or clothing. Why do we do it?

  

  Decided to rock dreads for the next 3 weeks!

• We are willing to take the blades of glory, but are we willing to take the lower spot? Are we willing to listen and clean our rooms, turn in our journals on time, and clear up small disputes?
• Grace is free, but discipleship is extremely costly. It cost Jesus everything, why would it cost us anything less?
• If I cannot say sorry or admit my mistakes, I should not be in leadership
• Legalism= man made standards and goals to make us better
• We sanitize our wants by calling them desires
• Discipling others and being discipled is worth my discomfort
• Being "relevant" shrinks our sphere of influence quickly and drastically the enemy always wants to split generations, being "relevant" in language and dress will do just that
• We have to burn our ships, that does not mean we will never sail again, we just have to let God take us to a new dock

While the lectures were amazing, it was the way the speaker presented the material: with respect. There was a passion in his eyes radiating his desire for us to grow in our faith, no matter how discomforting the information would make him. Jeremy was honest, convicting, and respectful. He said one thing that made me want to cry, he said, "You are worth it." Me becoming closer to the Lord is worth more than his comfort. Me leading others closer to the Lord is worth more than my comfort, am I living this out? This week has opened my eyes to the way I live. I often complain, slack during work duties, not always turn in things on time, allow my room to become messy, do not make my bed, just because I do not want to; they are an inconvenience to me. The cost of discipleship is being faithful in the small things. If God cannot trust me in the small things, there is no way God will trust me in the big things. He is worth my discomfort.

The city lights are slowly working their way into my heart!