Discipleship

No matter what happens in this life, no matter what job we lose, no matter what relationship ends, no matter how many people turn their back on us, we are not forgotten. Jesus has taken up our case.

Jesus shed new light on what agape looks like by establishing himself as the standard for agape love. In the end, we will best build beloved community as we love just like Jesus loved us.

It’s important to take time to help young people sort through their thoughts and feelings about tragic events. Whenever news of a school shooting spreads, our young people are impacted. Innocence ebbs away, and students—many who already struggle with anxiety—can spiral into confusion, fear, and even depression.

We need to make disciples, but we aren’t. From the data, it seems that people just lack an awareness or are unfamiliar or uncertain about terms such as discipleship, disciple making and the Great Commission.

When we learn to love those we had previously written off, we grow and become a little more like Jesus.

Review God’s faithfulness in my own life. When I take this step, I generally write a list of the ways God’s always taken care of me. When I see His past-tense care in front of me, it’s a reminder to trust Him with my present-tense questions.

Longing to know him ever more deeply

We never graduate to be above a trial. They will always come on this side of heaven. But we can be better prepared to walk through them if we are willing to listen to God in the middle of them. God used my getting sick for a few days to teach me to be honest with myself — how am I really?