Monday, February 16, 2015

Personal Growth

Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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"But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 26: 16-20
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A friend and I started a book study on discipleship written by Francis Chan & Mark Beuving titled “Multiply, disciples making disciples”. It has been an enjoyable and profitable study thus far and I wanted to share a couple things that have been reinforced for me over the past three weeks.
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First, I was reminded how spending one-on-one time with another believer dedicated to the study of scripture and to talk through questions about God’s word is a very important part of our spiritual development. Reading and studying alone, listening to pod casts, joining a small group, and Sunday services are valuable parts of the way by which we grow as mature believers but time spent one-on-one can really help us hone our thoughts and beliefs.
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Next, I was also reminded through this study how important it can be to actually put pen to paper and write out the answers to the questions being studied. In this day and age of e-mails, text messages, Facebook posts and Tweets we rarely have opportunities which require us to take the time to write out responses or answer questions that are greater than 128 characters in length. In studying this book I have been reminded of the value I receive through writing out on paper my answer and then reviewing it and rewriting it until I am comfortable with my response and willing to share it with others. Here are the first two questions from the book that Andy and I discussed.

Question 1
Up to this point in your life, would you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ? Why do you say that? Do you see evidence of your faith as described in Luke 6:40?

Question 2
Read Ephesians 2 carefully and take some time to consider the truth it presents. Do you trust in the death of Christ for your salvation? Do you ever struggle with believing you need to do something to save yourself?
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Lastly, I have been reminded that every single person we come in contact with was created in the image of God and through our actions (our choices) we can be either a blessing or a burden to them. The choice is ours.
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Grace & Peace