Day 7
Devotional Point 4 today:
God spiritually shakes us.
Scripture 4 today:
“The words “once again” mean that these created things will someday be shaken and removed. Then what cannot be shaken will last.” Hebrews 12:27 CEV
Reflection 4 today:
Most of understand that the world we live in is quite transitory, any question about that from anyone will have been dispelled by the events of the last year and a half. This world offers no solutions to the difficulties we all face every day. Clearly the events of the last 18 months shook the church down to its foundations, some are learning from that and some not. The important thing is that this was not the first real “shaking” and won’t be the last, we need to see the great things that have dome from this and capitalise on them for those around us…
Question for the day: what has this 18 months of “shaking” shown you and what can you do to help others with this?
Tomorrow we will be going back to the 3rd of Rick Warren’s devotionals on A Faith that Works When Life Doesn’t. he has such great insight into the faith we need today, I think you will really like this one…
Day 6
Devotional Point 4 today:
Putting the word of God to action is key to spiritual success in becoming a disciple.
Scripture 4 today:
“We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 CEV
Reflection 4 today:
The author today covers a lot of ground, so I have chosen to focus in this verse in 2 Peter.With all that is going on in the world today, this brings the bottom line truth front and center to living in the world we live in. We don’t need extra preaching or music or anything else special, we have all we need in Him and His words, the Bible. if that is true, why don’t more people dig into it? Well, they either don’t understand this verse or they think they can do it better than God does.
Question for the day: how do we keep better focused on just going to God instead of trying out everything else under the sun, and how can we help others?
Day 5
Devotional Point 4 today:
God’s truths make the heart free of issues that come to convolute and destroy the work of learning and understanding—the making and walk of the disciple.
Scripture 4 today:
“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Matthew 13:16-17 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
These verses are the summary of this parable of the sower and the seed. The one important thing to all this is that although the soil the seed is sown on might be this way or that, the Heavenly Gardener can change and till the soil, it is not a fixed commodity. The disciple making process is best with really good soil, but God can use people living in any type of soil, it is all about seeing and hearing. The central core of that is the time we spend in God’s word and talking to Him in prayer.
Question for the day: How can we be more consistent in spending more time with God and hear and see better?
Day 4
Devotional Point 4 today:
It is essential for the disciple to develop their personal convictions and not walk in the convictions of their leaders…
Scripture 4 today:
“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” Luke 14:33 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
For the most part, we are taught from Day 1 to not totally commit to anything, but to keep our commitments private for no one to see or touch. A bit of the translation is lost in the English, because Jesus is not teaching hate in the disgust form, but rather the choice form. Now choosing Him can cause a lot of family and personal hate, but it is a daily choice, nothing more. But choosing, on a lot of levels is the essence of the Christian experience, choosing what to think, consider, say and every day… All choices, all made every new day the sun rises…
Question for the day: what choices do we need to take today to be a disciple?
Day 3
https://youtu.be/itsMsuWRVK8Devotional Point 4 today:
Confidence and unity are crucial to moving forward in making an effective disciple for the kingdom of God.
Scripture 4 today:
“so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
It seems to me that a central issue to that confidence we need is the confidence that we “fit in” with the rest of the body of Christ. But Paul takes this one step further, not only do we depend on each other, we actually belong to each other. Now this is a crucial concept in the issue of disciple making. We actually belong to each other, not is some sort of “have a nice day” perfunctory greeting sort of a way, but we actually belong to each other as do parts of one human body. This has to change how the “church” and the body works…
Question for the day: how do we make this “belonging thing” work?
Day 2
Day 2 of the making of a disciple… One of the great things to come out of the total lockdown of the world we live in is the “new” focus on discipleship, now that we understand that church does not mean this set of 4 walls at this address at this time, life is changing, there is hope yet…
My notes for today:
Devotional Point 4 today:
The law of God put in our minds and His word written on our hearts come alive and work together with our faith.
Scripture 4 today:
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17 NIV
Reflection 4 today:
All faith starts with the hearing of “the message”, which is a pretty big thing. There are 66 books of the Bible that are “the message”, and there is a lot to grasp from it. So even more reason to listen to do what it says. We have multiple means to do this today, yet we know that the average Christian only “listens” to the Word 12.2 minutes per week, not enough to make any real dent in what they believe and need to believe. So, the foundation to faith starts with the hearing of the message and having it work its work in our hearts…
Question for the day: what do you need to do to listen better to develop your own faith, and what do you need to do to help another with this?
Day 1
