I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
How to Make Disciples
Imagine being a disciple in Jesus’ day. Just before Jesus returns to heaven, He commands you to tell all nations the story of the gospel. In your travels, you encounter new people and cultures and share all that God has done through His Son, Jesus. People’s lives are changed because of God’s salvation and His working through you.
God asks us to continue to make disciples in His name because His is the only name that can offer salvation.
Disciple-making starts with loving others as God has loved us. It involves thoughtful teaching and instruction that points people toward a loving relationship with God. We can teach others about discipleship as we go about our daily lives. Here are two ways to get started…
Modeling
But as for you, promote the kind of living that reflects right teaching. Titus 2:1 NIV
If we want to help people know God, it is important to have hearts that demonstrate Jesus’ teachings. Jesus cared for the poor and the oppressed. He cared more about inward heart attitudes than outward demonstrations. He sacrificed Himself for the good of others. When we model Christ’s sacrificial love and compassion in our relationships, we are illustrating that we have been transformed by God’s love. The way we live will invite others to experience the same sort of love that transformed us.
Mentorship
Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still; teach the righteous and they will gain in learning. Proverbs 9:9 NRSV
As each of us grows in intimacy with God, we can offer wisdom to people we know. Taking time to listen to people’s stories and encouraging them to walk with God through their experiences can lead to a powerful mentoring relationship.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples the command to make more disciples. He declared that all disciples should be made in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a comforting reminder that when we make disciples, we aren’t doing it by our power.
God’s grace goes before us, and the Holy Spirit works in our hearts to transform us. This is all possible because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
So take a moment to think about someone you would like to see draw closer to God. How can you show up in their life today?
“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, ...
Fulfillment of God’s Promises
Hundreds of years before Jesus, the people of God were in trouble.
They were stuck in life, unable to help themselves, and perhaps beginning to doubt that God would save them. Have you ever felt the same way? If so, you might relate to the original audience of this verse—the exiles in Babylon.
The Babylonians conquered God's people and land, sending them hundreds of miles away. Maybe they thought that God had abandoned them, or that He couldn’t hear their cries. But God is always close—especially when His people call on His name.
Isaiah let his people know that God would provide a way out of Babylonian captivity. And God kept His promise, allowing His people to return home.
Generations later, many of God’s people saw themselves as being in a new exile. They were home, but all was not well. So they remembered this verse and its promise—that no matter how dark or desperate our situation might be, God is able to provide a path out of brokenness, ...
