It can be and will be exhausting to pursue the marks of a disciple UNLESS you know that the very Spirit of God is at work within you and that “He who began a good work in you WILL bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus!” (Philippians 1:6). Jesus did not send His disciples into the world to accomplish His mission by their own effort! He told them plainly that He was sending His Spirit to empower them and to work IN them and WITH them and THROUGH them. Trying to please God by your own effort will surely fail, but God is more than able to keep His promises and to supply to believers all we need to fulfill His purposes. Someone has defined “grace” not only as “undeserved favor,” but also as “the empowering presence of God, enabling us to be what He calls us to be and to do what He calls us to do.” While many get caught in “performance-based” living that is outlined in a myriad of “self-help” books, God calls His children to rejoice in His grace and to pursue a life of obedience out of humility and thanksgiving. There is both privilege and responsibility for believers: the privilege of receiving God’s grace and being one of His children through faith in Jesus Christ, and the responsibility to live by the power of the Spirit, setting our hearts and minds on pleasing our Father in heaven. “Dependence” is the last mark of a disciple of Jesus, and it refers back to the previous five by reminding us that we are not alone in living the life of a disciple of Jesus!!