{{2014_04_16_t1.jpg}} {{2014_04_16_t2.jpg}} {{2014_04_16_t3.jpg}} [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/de/doku.php/jn_de_2014_04_16|Deutsche Version]] [[Start|| Wiki Start]] [[topics_collection_vi|| Topics Collection vi ]] ======What following Jesus NOT means ...====== Wednesday, April 16, 2014. We have been looking into the first chapter of the Gospel of John over the past days. Jesus starts to collect followers. But what does it mean today to follow Jesus? What do you think? {{2014_04_16.jpg }} **Misunderstanding ...** There are those popular misunderstandings of what "faith" means. Before we go and talk about what the biblical faith actually is, let us briefly touch some misunderstandings. First of all: people have thought that faith is if you think that there is a God. People have had the idea that with the pure acceptance of the existence of God you would be a believer. But that is quite far from what the bible says and what Jesus is teaching. It does not make you a believer to think that God exists. The bible warns you: even the bad spirits know that there is a god - and they are full of fear! There is another misunderstanding: just talking a lot about Jesus, or just the oral confession that Jesus is Lord will not make you a believer. There are many people who talk a lot about Jesus. There are even those whos profession is it to work for the church or some fraternity or order. But working for the Lord does not make you a believer either. To put it into an image: sleeping in a garage does not make you a car. Imitating some actions of holy people does not make you holy. It might help you to find the right way, but it is not yet the right way. {{ 2014_04_16_2.jpg}} **Believer ...** > The bible warns us clearly. Jesus says: Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Mt 7:22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Lu 6:46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Following Jesus is first a matter of belief. It is something which happens in your heart. If you do not trust him, you are not a believer. If you do not trust your life into his hands, with all what it is, you are not a believer. But then, there is also the question of obedience. How can you trust him fully, but not do what he has said. He has shown that he is not like the human emperors, who are seeking their own advantage. He is seeking your advantage - but with knowledge and insight into what humanity is about. He has been part of the creation. He is called "love" and "truth" and "trust". Faith is not about some superficial activity. It is not about sitting in nice church buildings. It is not about another hobby or some leisure activity. It is about your heart, your whole personality. It is about your trust and about the center of your life. It is about true love. Faith is a fascinating new birth of what we are and what we will be. (Roland Potthast) [[http://www.jesusnetwork.eu/en/doku.php/topics_collection_vi|... more texts]]