Daily Devotionals
Monday, September 30, 2024 (Mary Ann)
All aboard the Discipleship!
“…Therefore go and and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 19-20
Known as the Great Commission, this was Jesus’ charge to his disciples after his resurrection and before he returned to his Father. But he meant it for all believers for all time.
So we are Jesus’ disciples, and we are to disciple.
I love looking around the room Monday nights at our RCC Bible study. Tables of women of all ages and backgrounds, who invest themselves in each other by sharing experiences, lessons learned and personal insights they’ve received from our study (Ephesians currently) and their lives. There is laughter. Sometimes there are tears. But always there is growth. And a whole lot of love.
One author I’m reading puts it this way: “God desires to pour an abundance of spiritual and emotional capital into your life — directly and through other believers. And he wants to use you to pour spiritual and emotional capital into the lives of others. Along the way, you’ll be changed. Others will change. You’ll grow. Others will grow. You’ll feel loved. Others will feel loved. You will experience God and his community in a new and personal and supernatural way. And so will others.
“God calls this process of spiritual investing ‘making disciples.’ It’s the heart of the Great Commission. It’s the secret of a healthy, joyful, secure, and significant life.”
But it doesn’t end in the parking lots of church or Rachel’s. There’s a big ol’ world of people out there who desperately need the saving grace of Jesus, and time is running short. Maybe you won’t go to some remote village in Sri Lanka or Mozambique to win souls and make disciples. More than likely your discipleship will focus on family members. Or neighbors. Or co-workers. Or social media connections. (Think of what the Apostle Paul could have done with Facebook!)
Jesus had an assignment: to reveal God and redeem sinners. As disciples, filled by his Spirit, we have an assignment, too: to tell his good news to those around us. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they call on him to save them unless someone tells them? Romans 10:13-14
Remember when Jesus was first recruiting his disciples? To the fishermen, Peter and Andrew, he said, “Come follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:17
So that’s our assignment, Sisters. Let’s board the Discipleship and do some people fishing!
Mary Ann
“…Therefore go and and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 19-20
Known as the Great Commission, this was Jesus’ charge to his disciples after his resurrection and before he returned to his Father. But he meant it for all believers for all time.
So we are Jesus’ disciples, and we are to disciple.
I love looking around the room Monday nights at our RCC Bible study. Tables of women of all ages and backgrounds, who invest themselves in each other by sharing experiences, lessons learned and personal insights they’ve received from our study (Ephesians currently) and their lives. There is laughter. Sometimes there are tears. But always there is growth. And a whole lot of love.
One author I’m reading puts it this way: “God desires to pour an abundance of spiritual and emotional capital into your life — directly and through other believers. And he wants to use you to pour spiritual and emotional capital into the lives of others. Along the way, you’ll be changed. Others will change. You’ll grow. Others will grow. You’ll feel loved. Others will feel loved. You will experience God and his community in a new and personal and supernatural way. And so will others.
“God calls this process of spiritual investing ‘making disciples.’ It’s the heart of the Great Commission. It’s the secret of a healthy, joyful, secure, and significant life.”
But it doesn’t end in the parking lots of church or Rachel’s. There’s a big ol’ world of people out there who desperately need the saving grace of Jesus, and time is running short. Maybe you won’t go to some remote village in Sri Lanka or Mozambique to win souls and make disciples. More than likely your discipleship will focus on family members. Or neighbors. Or co-workers. Or social media connections. (Think of what the Apostle Paul could have done with Facebook!)
Jesus had an assignment: to reveal God and redeem sinners. As disciples, filled by his Spirit, we have an assignment, too: to tell his good news to those around us. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they call on him to save them unless someone tells them? Romans 10:13-14
Remember when Jesus was first recruiting his disciples? To the fishermen, Peter and Andrew, he said, “Come follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.” Mark 1:17
So that’s our assignment, Sisters. Let’s board the Discipleship and do some people fishing!
Mary Ann
