Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- March 6, 2014
“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. John 1:39
Disciples are made, not born. God makes them. God makes them for His glory. He makes them so they in turn will make disciples. The Lord makes disciples who serve the needy, feed the poor, and reach out to the rich. Disciples are trained by the Holy Spirit to follow the Spirit’s leading. They learn to make much of their master Jesus and make less of themselves. Disciples schooled by the Spirit bear the fruit of the Spirit. They are made to invite others to meet their Savior Jesus.
Disciples begin as followers of Jesus at their new birth, but they quickly learn that to grow in Christ requires time with Christ. Unhurriedly they seek to be still at the feet of Jesus in prayer. They listen and learn from their Lord. Moreover, disciples of Jesus are not infatuated by gifted men and women of the faith. They respect and learn from these seasoned leaders, but only for the purpose of growing in their devotion to Jesus Christ. Disciples are made to follow God, not man. Like John the Baptist, humble and wise Christian leaders point people away from themselves to Jesus.
“He [Jesus] must increase, but I [John] must decrease” (John 3:30, NKJV).
Are you engaged in discipleship training? Are you intentional in your intimacy with Jesus? Start today to be a stronger disciple tomorrow. Aging is meant to mature a heart to become more like Christ. Similar to a good wine aging well, so a disciple’s faith grows robust in intentional intimacy with the Lord. Just as these two early disciples accepted Jesus’ invitation to come and see Him, Jesus invites us to come and see. Spend a day seeing your Savior’s heart and hearing His voice.
Furthermore, invest time in those around you to grow in their faith. God makes disciples, but you can be a facilitator in their faith development. Perhaps you start a monthly book club with three or four like-minded friends. Read Christian classics like, A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God. Sign up for iDisciple: https://www.idisciple.org. Most of all, do life with a few equally committed individuals who love God and love people. Search the Scriptures together for God’s answers to life’s questions. Disciples are made by their Maker to grow with each other and remain faithful.
“Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith” (Acts 14:22).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, make me into a dedicated and loving disciple of Jesus so I can disciple others for You.
Related Readings: Mathew 28:19; John 13:5, 35; Acts 6:7, 19:9, 20:1
Post/Tweet today: God makes disciples, but we can be a facilitator in their faith development. #disciplesaremade
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Loved this one
This is a beautifully written truth!! I say.. Amen and amen!
Brother, I appreciate your heart . Disciples are made. You referenced Matt 28:19, where Jesus gives us the mandate to make disciples. We see further in 2 Tim 2:2 where Paul tells Timothy to entrust to faithful men, so that they may teach others also. Making disciples is an act of obedience. If one believes that we are sealed with the HS at the time of our salvation, why are there so few disciple-makers out there making disciples. The church in America is a mile wide and but an inch deep because Christians are not making disciples.