Remix: Student Devotionals

Becoming a Disciple - Week 3, Day 1

A 1974 Ford LTD (Dilapidated Follower)

When I turned 16, my parents got me a car.  It wasn't a brand-new car. It was a 1974 Ford LTD Station Wagon with wood panels on the side. It was a beat-up, run-down, rust bucket. It was a piece of junk, but it was my piece of junk. This car took all the pressure of driving away because if I hit anything, it wouldn’t hurt this car. Oh, no! I was a lean, mean fighting machine. Watch out, world, here I come. I’m bad, I’m bad, and you don’t have a car like this, and you are sad, so sad.

Not many of my friends drove around in a car that was over ten years old and blew smoke like an industrial waste pipe. No matter how much I tried to cover up the fact, my poor old car was dilapidated. What? Don’t you know what dilapidated is? It means to be beat up, run-down, of no value. I’m sure this Ford LTD Station Wagon didn’t start out this way. I’m sure off the factory line, it was a good-looking car as far as station wagons go. And I’m sure the person who bought the car when it was brand new enjoyed many meaningful moments with this vehicle. But over time, like so many other objects, the car probably wasn’t kept up as it should be. It probably wasn’t cleaned or tuned up as often as it should have been. And probably when the rust areas began to form, the car owner was too busy or didn’t really care enough about keeping the car in tiptop condition, so it just got more and more beat up. Yep! That old car of mine was definitely dilapidated.

That old car reminds me of a character in the Bible who was also dilapidated. His name was Demas. He is mentioned in the Bible only three times in three verses in three different books.

Demas can be found in:
· Colossians 4:14
· Philemon 1:24
· 2 Timothy 4:10

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:10 that “Demas, because he loved the world, has deserted Paul and has gone away.” (Paraphrased by ME.)

Demas claimed to be a follower of God and a helper to Paul (the greatest missionary ever) but didn’t really love God as much as he loved the world. Demas loved the world’s values, the world’s pleasures, and the world’s lifestyle more than he loved God. Demas is what I call a “used to be a Christian.” You know, he used to be excited about the things of God. He used to like to read his Bible; he used to pray; he used to go to church.

Like that old 1974 Ford LTD Station Wagon with wood panels on the side, after time, Demas began to rust out, get beat up and became of no value to the kingdom of God. I guess Demas grew tired of trying to keep himself tuned up, or maybe he just got too busy. Bottom line: Demas became dilapidated. It happens all the time. One day you are really living for the Lord, and everything is fresh and exciting to you, and then the newness of the Christian life wears off, and you grow tired and bored.

THE WARNING SIGNS OF BEING A DILAPIDATED DISCIPLE ARE OBVIOUS.
1. You love sin more than you love God.
2. Your sins are controlling you emotionally, physically, etc.
3. You begin not to take spiritual things seriously. You skip church services when you go, or you find something else to do entirely.
4. Spiritual things don’t excite you anymore…they bore you.

You don’t care any longer for the things of God. You only seek after those things that please you. There is a cure for a dilapidated follower of Christ. Repent. Repent of your sin. That means to turn away from your sin. Go in the opposite direction of where you were heading. Ask God to help you to see your sin like He sees your sin.

Get back into God’s Word. Start reading your Bible again. Read James or 1 John. Those are two great short and Spirit-packed books of the Bible. Read one chapter a day.

Pray daily. Set aside time to talk to God about where you and your life are headed.

Get accountable. Tell a trusted friend or adult about your struggles. Let them know what has been getting you down, and ask them to keep you on your spiritual toes.

Don’t look back. Refuse to lose. Realize Satan is a liar and a jerk. Stop listening to the one who wants to ruin your life. Listen only to the one who wants you to have life abundantly…that means a blow-your-mind kind of life.

Are you dilapidated? Are you beat up and rusted out? Do you feel like you are of no value to the kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived. Take spiritual things seriously, and don’t be a Demas.

Time Out:

1. Are you a dilapidated disciple?

2. Look up Colossians 4:14, Philemon 1:24, and 2 Timothy 4:10. Demas loved the world. How does the world take away a person’s passion for Christ?

3. Look at the steps again to protecting yourself from dilapidation. What steps do you need to put into action in your life so that you will never become dilapidated?

4. Do you take spiritual matters in your life seriously?

5. How have you grown spiritually in the past three weeks?

Memory Verse

"Then He said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me."

Luke 9:23