Are You a True Disciple of Jesus Christ?

August 27, 2025

Hello family, May Jesus have mercy on our souls and help us in our daily walk in Him.

This is my 12th day in Solitude. By the Lord's Grace, I have continued fasting with only water, and it is becoming easier each day because the body has adjusted. So, no pangs of hunger but occasional weakness. But glory to the Lord, He renews my strength each day to continue this journey.

At the beginning of this journey, Jesus put it in my heart to read the Gospels while in Solitude. By His grace I went through the Book of Matthew in my first week and now I am reading the Book of Luke.

This morning, I was reading Chapter 5 where Jesus Started calling his 12 disciples. A passage in the text convicted my heart and I meditated upon it.

Luke 5:8-11

⁸When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you.”

⁹For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.

¹⁰ His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!”

¹¹And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Notice the notice what it says at verse 11"they left everything and followed Jesus."

Next, Luke 5:11,27-28

¹¹And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.²⁷Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him.

²⁸ So Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.

Again, notice verse 28

"Levi got up, left everything, and followed him."

The disciples of Jesus, when they encountered him, literally abandoned everything and followed Him.

Let's not for a moment imagine it was not literal abandoning of everything and following Jesus. Apostle Peter’s words confirm it was literal.

Matthew 19:27

²⁷Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?”

I know for sure I have given much to follow Jesus but I wondered have I given up everything.

We have to understand Christ wants to be given first place in our hearts and in our lives. Who and What possesses our hearts? What or who sits on the throne of our very being?

I wondered, am I just a believer or am I a disciple of Jesus? Because from the example of Apostles Peter and Matthew ( Levi) we know how a disciple behaves.

Luke 14:33 says,

"So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple."

“Luke 14:26 (CEV)

You cannot be my disciple, unless you love me more than you love your father and mother, your wife and children, and your brothers and sisters. You cannot follow me unless you love me more than you love your own life

These are very strong words from Jesus Christ but, unfortunately, these are His conditions to be his true disciple. Jesus, have mercy on us. In my heart I have mixed emotions of joy and anxiety. I am questioning my real status in Jesus.

Flashes of scripture went through my mind because I know I believe Jesus is Savior and Lord. But this is what scripture says;

Matt 7:22

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. “

Am I really doing the wil of God? In this case, the will of the Father is that I abandon everything and follow Jesus.

James 2:19.

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

Belief alone, without action, will crash on judgment day. There is a good example in the Bible of someone who believed and even obeyed but fail to put God number one in his life

Matt 19:16-22

¹⁶ And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” ¹⁷ And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” ²² But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

Jesus, help us understand this battle over hearts so that we could "guard our hearts”. What have we yielded our hearts to, that has taken the place of Jesus? Is it our spouses, our parents, our children, our friends, our social status, and privileges in life, our work, our selfish ambitions, riches, talents or skills, even our calling in the ministry.

Definitely, we all have different callings, therefore our sacrifices for Jesus will look different. But in our "stations in Christ”, have we "left everything" and followed the leading of Jesus?

Let these words of Saint Paul help us in our discernment.

1 Corinthians 7:29-31:

²⁹ But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So, from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage.

"Those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away."

Paul is teaching Christians to have a detached approach to all things in our lives, including spiritual things. We are called into a relationship with Him to abandon ourselves to him denying ourselves and carrying our crosses joyfully as He chooses.

This is what Jesus asked of Sister Josefa Menendez.

" ...forget yourself. Love and fear nothing. I want what you do not want, but I can do what you cannot. It is not for you to choose; you have only to resign yourself into My Hands.”

May Jesus give us the grace to desire only what he desires and treat everything else as refuse.

“Enye easy ooo” That's Twi, a dialect in Ghana meaning “It's not easy but the grace of God is sufficient.”

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