-
Wilderness Temptations
After 7 months in the Old Testament, my D-Group just moved into the New Testament using NT260. I read this week, once again, about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness right after His baptism and His pubic ministry began. I began to try to put the temptations the devil used with Jesus into current application for my life. The enemy continually seeks to pull our focus from what God has called and commanded us to be and do for Him. Perhaps you can relate to one or more of these that I identify with. You can find this series of temptations in Luke 4:1-13 (also found in Matthew 4:1-11, in a…
-
Daily Nurture
I love this time of year and being able to have color on my deck! I spend a LOT of time out here and though I’m not a great gardener, I love flowers. During this season, I must water these daily, even twice a day on a couple if it’s really hot and dry. If not…they look like this! You can see what happens if I neglect to nurture these beautiful flowers daily. It also remind me of what happens in my spiritual life if I neglect to nurture it continually. In John 15 we see the image of being attached to the vine and being severed from the vine.…
-
WHOSE Plan?
How many of you are list makers? You like a plan and you like to stick with it? You set out the day with YOUR plan and check off each item as it is completed. I get that. How many of you, like me, often make this plan without consulting with our Creator? Who knows the plan and purpose of our day (and life!) better than He does? Sometimes I move into my plan without remembering this! As I look back over many years of ministry, I see times I pushed my plan through at any cost. Then I remember those times when things weren’t going according to my plan,…
-
I Wonder If….
If I am training for a marathon, I will not only prepare my body physically for the race, but I will also learn from others who have run races before me. If I want to run well and make it across the finish line strong and on two feet, I will prepare long and hard ahead of time. Otherwise…well, you know. I will quit early in the race or I will crawl across the finish line, half dead! I actually understand this because I ran a 3 mile race MANY years ago. I trained hard and I still struggled to make it across the line without throwing up! So, in…
-
Pruning for Greater Harvest
When we lived in Tyler, Texas, my parents moved close by and had a home on 10 acres. This land included a peach orchard of about 60 trees. My dad was so excited…then we had peaches! But he saw that many of the limbs were so heavy with peaches, they broke. He learned that you must prune the trees back so they can produce healthier and a more abundant amount of peaches. I have had several Knockout roses in my yard, and for years, I’d enjoy some blooms but I never cut them back. I’d see my neighbors huge bushes full of blooms. Finally I decided to pinch off dead…
-
Strength as We Mature
If you haven’t read the other posts in this series, you can read those here: (1), (2), and (3). This post is a follow up and the final post in this series. I’m very encouraged by the church trend predictions from Carey Nieuwhof 10 Predictions about the Future Church and Shifting Attendance Patterns especially these two: If this is true, are we ready as church members and as disciplemakers to serve selflessly? Do we just continue to do Bible study after Bible study without our lives being transformed as a result of what we are studying? Are we leading women’s Bible studies in this way? If so, it’s time for…
-
More Spiritual Maturity Indicators
The last couple of weeks, we’ve looked at the need for discipleship and some indicators of maturity as a disciple. Today I want us to consider as few more indicators. Some time ago, Kathy Ferguson Litton, Director of Planter Spouse Development at the North American Mission Board, wrote a blog post (What Spiritual Maturity Really Looks Like) on this subject and I’ve adapted from that post for us to consider this list of indicators. Some of these I’ve personally experienced and wondered why. Now…evaluate your own growth using this assessment. How many of these can you answer “true”? For those you struggle with, pray for God to help you take…
-
The Look of Maturity
For a caterpillar turned butterfly, we know what maturity looks like. There are stages of growth that we recognize if the larvae is growing properly inside its encasing. If you need a refresher science course, I found this interesting video showing how this happens,! We know what to expect for the butterfly-to-be. What about spiritual maturity? It’s not so cut and dried is it? If we are to grow as a disciple of Christ and become a disciple maker, as Matthew 28:18-20, instructs us, then we must assess whether growth is happening or not. So what are some things we are to look for? Let’s ask ourselves if we are…
-
Is Discipleship Optional?
I just finished a weekend leadership training and my topic was discipling women. We looked at what spiritual maturity looks like and how to disciple women into the future. SO, I want to ask you the question in the title. “Is discipleship optional?” If you’ve read this blog for very long you may have seen me write about not being personally discipled when I became a believer as a preteen. I had no idea until my early 20’s that there were “NEXT” steps to take after salvation. These steps have nothing to do with receiving salvation and everything to do with understanding salvation and living for His purpose, not mine.…
