Taking Next Steps with Jesus

Find a friend who has 15 minutes to share with you and God.   Sit with them, call them, text them, FaceTime with them, Skype, start a note and pass it to them...grab lunch, a cup-of-joe, invite another friend, involve the waitress...who knows who God has in mind...why don't you ask Him who He wants you to talk with, and then do it.   Ok, ready...here we go: ______________________ Open your Bible and read together:   " Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.   Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.   Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.   And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And...

 " The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."                                 --John 10:10 ___ I'm not sure where this will find you today, or what your world looks like.   I'm not sure how your heart is right now; wrestling, celebrating, asking, hoping, grieving, wanting.   I am sure though, that you want a good life.  A full life.  A satisfying life.  A life of meaning and a direction in life that fulfills you.  Even if you are at a point where you are angry  and bitter, I'll bet that it comes from life letting you down either by someone else's choices, your choices, or from living in a broken world. I think that the child's comments sum it up clearly, "That's not fair!" There is something in us that tel...

34  Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35  You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe [ e ] for harvest. 36  The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37  You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38  I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”   John 4: 34-38 NLT https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+4&version=NLT Who's on your list? Once we start on this disciplemaking journey that Jesus has invited us on, He begins to change us and shape us to be like Him.   Since the Holy Spirit is daily shaping us to like Jesus, how do we intentionall...

This morning I sat with my kiddos and we talked about a disciplemaking life and the normal parts of helping each other take next steps with Jesus together.  Study the Bible together.  Pray together.  Love one another.  Worship--celebrate who God is and what He is doing. In this we trust that God is going to show up, and do great big God things and help us to hit the target He has for us. When we talked about loving one another, we looked at the story in the Bible where Jesus washed His disciples feet.  It's funny, but at the passover meal, the meal where Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, the disciples were arguing...about...stinky feet.  Yup.  Stinky Feet. Only the lowest servant would wash feet...cause the streets, well they didn't have cars, they had horses and oxen...and well, it was messy.  The fact is that they wore sandals, and their feet were dirty and stinky. I want to give you a link to a video from the Jesus Sto...