Discipleship

Biblical discipleship is a model of how Christians could and should live their lives in reflection to Jesus' example and His mission. It involves not only a personal faith with God, but sharing that faith with other people, and building up more disciples.

A Scriptural reference to biblical discipleship is found in Colossians 1:6-10: "…All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God."

If you study the last verse in this passage, you will find that Paul is encouraging people to walk worthy of the Lord, please Him in all respects, bear fruit in every good work, and increase in their knowledge of God. This is the heart of biblical discipleship. As Christians, we need to know who God is and be firmly established in His word. God challenges us to live lives that are pleasing to God as detailed in Romans 12.

Another aspect of biblical discipleship is that we have to show others who God is and what being a Christian is all about. Your faith cannot be kept to yourself.

A third aspect of biblical discipleship is stretching our knowledge and understanding of God, and again sharing that with others. Knowledge is not merely to be accumulated it should give us direction for living.

Examples of biblical discipleship abound in the Bible. Almost all of the disciples participated in this style of discipleship, and it is what caused the growth of the Christian faith following Jesus' departure. If you study the New Testament, you will find that all of the disciples lost their lives professing their faith, and trying to encourage and build up others. We need to understand God's will for us, gain spiritual wisdom and knowledge, please and honor God with our lives, bear good fruit, grow in the knowledge of God, be filled with God's strength and love, have great patience and endurance, and above all, give thanks.

By following the model of biblical discipleship, we should be concerned with evangelizing those who don't know God and help them fulfill God's purpose in their lives, we should be involved with discipling others encouraging their spiritual growth and development, and then equipping others, giving them the tools to make a difference in the lives of others. That is biblical discipleship, and it is a model that we should practice in our lives today.

Living Romans 12

Who better to minister to youth, but youth who live by the Spirit; to reach single moms with children, but single moms with children; to reach widows, but other widows; to reach the men, but men. Discipleship is not just about learning doctrine, but is about transfer of life from the mature to the less mature in the faith. That is done by hanging out together and caring for each other. We are supposed to be ONE family, not a bunch of disinterested dysfunctional family fragments.

I am currently reading through Romans 12. It hits this problems on the nail. We must be one body, we must not think more highly of ourselves than is proper, we must honor one another, we must be hospitable, share our gifts with one another, and even love our enemies. But all of that is not possible until, in view of God's mercies, we surrender our life as a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice to God and let Him transform us by shaping our thinking in a way that we can understand the will of God correctly and then do all of the things describe in Romans 12.

That transformation happens as much in healthy Spirit filled fellowship as it does in Bible study, prayer, guidance by the Holy Spirit. Life experience is part of the process. When one part of the body is hurting, the whole body is hurting. Let's be healthy, seek Christ, and live as He lived - totally sold out to the Father!

Cafe Connection will resume this summer. Be part of the fellowship of women!

Time

Some time ago, I read about a German farmer who had settled in Guatemala and became prosperous. While sailing back to Germany to visit his family, he discovered a tropical flea had taken up residence under a toenail and laid its eggs.He was fascinated with this process and wanted his family to see the exotic insect. So instead of dealing with the painful problem then and there, he let the toe fester. By the time he got to Germany, blood poisoning had set in; and the farmer died.One of the most important challenges for Christian leaders is recognizing what is urgent and what is not. It is easy to spend your time on good things that keep you from investing your time in the most important things.

As you set priorities for the coming week, think about what you can do with your time to make the greatest investment in the work of the kingdom."Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity" (Eph. 5:15-16).

Cancel Courageous Living Bible Study

We are going to cancel our Courageous Living Bible study classes due to limited enrollment. We will be starting our Connect Groups in May and will offer it agian at that time!

If you have any questions please let us know!

Be Still

I have always wanted to be more like Mr. Rogers. He went to work everyday, took OFF his blazer and put on a comfortable sweater and those comfortable tennis shoes. I have to take off the comfortable stuff and put ON the blazer to go to work! Mr. Rogers always had the calmest, quietest voice that could soothe even my restless spirit! I would stop my activity when I heard Mr. Rogers sing about it being a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Often I would slowly wander over to the television set, sit down and let Mr. Rogers visit with me for a while. We still need to make time to rest and be still.

What do you do on those days when you can't find a quiet spot to stop and be still?

Run The Race

Most races are won in final laps. The last quarter-mile of a mile race will determine who wins. It's not how you start life but how you finish it. Many have had a great beginning only to have a poor showing at the end, while others have great disadvantages and go on to win the race.

Determine to run the last quarter-mile as a winner. The Apostle Paul said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Right is Right

In the world in which we live today, morality is such a relative term. People say, “Well, that’s fine and good for you, but don’t impose your morals on me.” And we’ve fallen into an era of moral relativism unlike any our nation has ever seen.

What’s right is right! And under God, His people must take decisive action and stand by what He says is true. If your position is of God, stay with it, because it will never fail. And while the world will go back and forth like the waves of the sea, God’s truth remains planted firmly.

Maybe today, you find yourself struggling with what is right in a certain situation. And maybe you even know what God wants you to do. The question you must ask yourself is, “Am I going to do it?”

God’s Word will never lead you astray. So step out in faith and do what is right. You’ll be glad you did!

IT’S ALWAYS RIGHT TO DO WHAT’S RIGHT. SO WHEN FACED WITH A TOUGH DECISION, DO WHAT GOD SAYS AND YOU’LL NEVER BE DISAPPOINTED!