Walking with God: The Heart of True Discipleship

“Only by walking with God can we hope to find the path that leads to life. That is what it means to be a disciple. After all—aren’t we ‘followers of Christ’? Then by all means, let’s actually follow him. Not ideas about him. Not just his principles. Him.” — John Eldredge

Being a disciple of Jesus isn’t like being a student in a classroom. A student studies to gain knowledge—facts and skills to navigate the world. Discipleship goes deeper than just learning information. Yes, it involves learning truths and principles, but it’s not just about filling our heads with knowledge. What discipleship is truly about is the transformation our hearts. To be a disciple is to become like the One we follow, to let his character shape ours. And if we’re to take on the character of Jesus, we must walk with him—day by day, step by step.

I think John Eldredge captures it beautifully in the quote above: discipleship is “walking with God.” Discipleship is not learning basic Bible doctrine or living according to the right moral standard (though those things are important); it is living a life that is actively pursuing Jesus. 

How do we do that? I believe this journey unfolds through three vital practices: leaning into community, embracing spiritual disciplines, and following Jesus’ example of love.

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Community: We Don’t Walk Alone

From the beginning of humankind, God said it’s not good for us to be alone (Genesis 2:18). We were made for relationship—with Him and with each other. Jesus didn’t teach in isolation from people; he gathered disciples around him, living and learning together. The early Church followed this example, devoting themselves to fellowship (Acts 2:42-47).

Walking with God happens best when we walk alongside others. Christian community offers:

• Encouragement and Accountability: Friends in faith spur us on and keep us grounded.
• Shared Wisdom: We grow as we study Scripture and share the ways God is working in our lives.
• Strength in Struggle: Bearing each other’s burdens lightens the load and deepens our trust in God.

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Spiritual Disciplines: Staying Close to the Guide

Walking with God doesn’t happen by accident—it takes intention. Spiritual disciplines are the habits that keep us connected us to God, tuning our hearts to His voice. They are also the way we “practice” the character of Jesus. Consider:

• Prayer: Talking and listening to God builds a living, breathing relationship.
• Scripture: His Word is the map for this journey, renewing our minds and guiding our steps.
• Rest and Worship: Pausing to honor God—whether through a Sabbath or a song—restores our souls.
• Giving and Generosity: Blessing others with what God has given us and trusting Him to continue to provide for our lives.
• Fasting: Going without food for a period of time to express our grief and repentance or to teach us how to say no to our flesh.

These aren’t duties to perform; they’re invitations to draw near to the One who knows the way and develop His character.

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Loving Others: The Fruit of the Journey

Jesus tied loving God and loving people together (Matthew 22:37-40). Our walk with Him shows up in how we treat those around us. Discipleship isn’t just the maturity of our heart—it’s the transformation of our character:

• Serving: Meeting needs reflects Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve.
• Forgiving: Extending grace mirrors the mercy we’ve received.
• Sharing: Inviting others into this walk multiplies the joy of following Him.

Love isn’t optional—it’s the evidence of a life shaped by King Jesus.

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Step by Step, Together

Walking with God isn’t a sprint to perfection; it’s a steady, lifelong hike. Some days we’ll stumble, but the call is to keep going—together. Community keeps us moving, disciplines keep us close, and love keeps us true.

This is the path to the life Jesus promised: full, abundant, real (John 10:10).

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So, where are you today? Are you walking with God, or just thinking about it? Let’s take the next step—side by side, eyes on Jesus, hearts open to what he’ll do along the way.

Shattered Dreams: An Unexpected Blessing

 

Part 1 of 4 in the "Shattered Dreams" Series

We’ve all heard it before: we matter to God. And part of us wants to believe it. But life has a way of wearing down our confidence in that truth. If God really cares about us, then why didn’t He ___________? Fill in the blank: Heal your loved one. Save your marriage. Open doors that remained shut. Make life easier.

Either (a) we’re blowing it, or (b) God is holding out on us. Or some combination of both, which is where most people land.
— John Eldredge, Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

Take a moment to reflect on the dreams you once had for your life. What did you envision for your family, career, friendships, home, and future? If we’re honest, most of us are not living the life we imagined.

On one hand, that’s not entirely a bad thing. Many of our youthful dreams were built on unrealistic expectations. Achieving them might have led to an outcome far different from what we expected—perhaps even worse. Think of the lives of celebrities who have everything we think would bring happiness, yet struggle with addiction, depression, and broken relationships. Or consider if you had married your first crush—would it have truly been a fairy tale?

We recognize that not all unfulfilled dreams are tragic. Yet, there are dreams we believe are essential to our happiness. The single person might believe that marriage is the key to joy, while a married person may long for the freedom of singleness. We might think a specific job, possession, or achievement will finally make us content. And when those things do not happen—or are taken away—we feel crushed. We cry out, “God, don’t You care about my happiness? I thought You loved me!” And often, we are met with silence. We pray, plead, and wait, but God seems unresponsive.

But does silence mean God doesn’t care? Scripture tells us otherwise. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (1 Peter 5:7, NLT). This leaves us with a dilemma: either the Bible is untrue, or God has a different plan for our lives than we expected.

I am convinced that God’s plan is far greater than our own. The challenge is that His definition of a “wonderful life” often looks nothing like ours. We dream of being served, but God calls us to serve. We dream of financial abundance, but God calls us to generosity. We dream of recognition, but God calls us to humility and quiet faithfulness. To lead us into His better plan, God often allows our dreams to break.

Why? Because as long as we cling to our own visions of happiness, we prioritize achieving them over pursuing holiness. That is the fundamental difference between our dreams and God’s: we long for comfort, but He desires our transformation. We seek happiness, but He seeks our holiness.

What Is Holiness?

Holiness is a word we use in church, but rarely in everyday conversation. I like to define it simply as being separated from the ordinary. Through salvation, God sets us apart from the world because His people are to represent Him in everything we do. Holiness is both the position we have in God’s Kingdom and the calling He has placed on our lives.

Because of this call to holiness, shattered dreams are not the end of life—they are the beginning of something better. They force us to shift our focus from temporary fulfillment to the eternal purpose found in the Kingdom. When our dreams crumble, we are invited into a deeper trust—a faith that rests not on our circumstances but on God Himself.

So, what if our broken dreams are actually God’s mercy? What if, in allowing them to fall apart, He is leading us to something infinitely better? The question is not whether God cares—it’s whether we are willing to trust that His dreams for us are better than our own.

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Stay tuned for Part 2 in the "Shattered Dreams" series as we continue exploring how God’s plan transforms our understanding of life and fulfillment.

Lessons from the King: Judging Others

 Imagine being accused of a crime you didn’t commit—not because of hard evidence, but because a computer said you were guilty. That’s what happened to Jason Vernau, a medical entrepreneur who spent three days in jail after being falsely accused of check fraud. AI-driven facial recognition software flagged him as a match for a bank customer involved in fraud. The twist? Jason was at the bank that day—but only to deposit a legitimate check. The technology made a hasty connection, and the investigators ran with it, failing to dig deeper or consider the full story.

“This is your investigative work?” Vernau asked in disbelief. “You have a picture of me at a bank and that’s your proof? Where’s my fingerprints on the check? Where’s my signature?” The charges were eventually dropped, but the damage was done—all because of flawed judgment based on incomplete information.

Too often, we’re not so different. We jump to conclusions and pass judgment on others without knowing the whole picture. But as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus calls us to something better—a righteousness that reflects humility, love, and mercy rather than condemnation.

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A Kingdom Heart

In our series Lessons from the King, we’re diving into the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus teaches us what it means to live as citizens of His Kingdom. Early in this sermon, He sets the bar high:

“Unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Matthew 5:20, NLT).

The Pharisees’ righteousness was all about rules, appearances, and exclusion. Jesus, however, calls us to a righteousness that flows from the heart—a transformed desire and will, rooted in allegiance to Him as our King. That’s where true change begins.

Today’s lesson from Matthew 7:1-7 challenges us to reject the judgmental spirit of the Pharisees and embrace Kingdom values instead. To understand this, let’s look at how Jesus critiqued the Pharisees in Matthew 23:2-4, 13. He condemned their hypocrisy—they burdened people with rules, judged them harshly, and declared them unfit for God’s Kingdom, all while refusing to lift a finger to help.

Kingdom citizens, Jesus says, must be different. Our righteousness is built on humility, mercy, and love.

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Do Not Judge—Or Do We?

“Judge not, lest you be judged” (Matthew 7:1-2) is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible—and often misunderstood. At first glance, it might seem like Jesus is telling us to avoid all moral discernment. But context is key. Just a few verses later, in Matthew 7:6 and 15, He instructs us to discern wisely—about who we share the Gospel with and how we identify false prophets.

So what does He mean?

Jesus isn’t forbidding us from recognizing right and wrong. He’s warning against the kind of judgment the Pharisees practiced—condemning others and shutting them out of God’s Kingdom. That’s not our job.

When we rush to condemn, we risk two consequences:

1. The standard we use on others will be turned back on us—by people and ultimately by God. If we refuse to forgive, we won’t be forgiven.
2. We’re stepping into a role reserved for God alone, who sees the full story of every heart.

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Start with Yourself

Jesus drives this home with a vivid, almost comical image:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3-5).

It’s ridiculous to imagine someone with a log sticking out of their eye trying to help someone else with a tiny speck. Yet that’s what we do when we judge others without examining ourselves first.

This isn’t about ignoring sin in others. It’s about humility—recognizing that we only see a fraction of their story while knowing our own flaws all too well. The Pharisees acted righteous without being righteous, condemning others while ignoring their own hypocrisy.

Jesus calls us to confess our sins, turn to God, and approach others with mercy. Only then can we offer help rather than judgment, pointing people to Jesus with love.

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Wise Discernment, Not Blind Acceptance

Lest we think Jesus wants us to throw caution to the wind, He adds:

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs” (Matthew 7:6).

Here, He calls for discernment. Dogs and pigs were unclean animals in Jewish culture, often symbols for those hostile to God’s ways. Jesus isn’t saying we should write people off lightly—He’s teaching us to focus our efforts wisely.

If someone has shown contempt for the Gospel, rejecting Jesus outright, we shouldn’t waste energy forcing it on them. They might “turn and tear you apart,” derailing our mission to share God’s love with those who are open.

This is why Jesus taught in parables: they revealed who was truly seeking God and who wasn’t. Our job is to share what’s holy with the receptive and pray for those who resist, trusting God to work in their hearts.

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Living as Kingdom Citizens

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged” might be famous in our culture, often wielded as a shield for bad behavior. But Jesus isn’t endorsing blind acceptance. He’s calling us to rise above the Pharisees’ condemnation and embody Kingdom values.

We’re to be humble, knowing we’re sinners saved by grace.
We’re to be merciful, offering help rather than exclusion.
And we’re to be discerning, focusing on those open to God’s truth while praying for His enemies.

The big idea is this: Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven don’t condemn but show humility, love, and mercy to others.

It’s tempting to judge—especially when we hold God’s Word and see where others fall short. But Kingdom citizens realize God has been merciful to us, and we’re called to extend that grace to others.

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A Challenge and a Prayer

When the urge to judge strikes, hit pause and pray. As Scot McKnight puts it, “We are to conclude ‘that is wrong’ and ‘that is good,’ but we must not pronounce ‘you are condemned by God.’”

We’re citizens of the Kingdom, not the King. Only He knows the heart.

So today, thank God for Jesus, who makes us part of His Kingdom. Ask Him for wisdom to examine your own life first. And pray for someone who needs His forgiveness—maybe even someone you’ve been tempted to judge.

Let’s live out the righteousness of the Kingdom, reflecting our King’s heart in all we do.

Sunday Prayer: Don’t Judge

"Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use." — Matthew 7:1-2 (CSB)

Heavenly Father,

You see every heart, and Your judgment is perfect. I come before You asking for help with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7: “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.” Lord, I confess it’s easy to point fingers, to measure others by my own flawed standards. Forgive me for the times I’ve condemned instead of loved, for when I’ve been quick to criticize without grace.

Give me wisdom, God, to see people as You do—to judge rightly when I must, with humility and truth, not pride or harshness. Let me remember that the measure I use will come back to me, and soften my heart to reflect Your mercy instead. Help me to leave room for Your justice and to trust You with what I can’t fix.

Thank You for Your forgiveness that covers my failures. Teach me to extend that same forgiveness to others, so I can live free from bitterness and full of Your peace.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen.