Approaching God
Ask God to open your heart to the possibility of being a disciple in a new way. Reflect on James 4:10 and remember the immense sacrifices the first disciples made.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up.”
Listening to God
Being a disciple of Christ does not always produce the outcomes that we would have hoped. In fact, Christians are called to lifestyles that go against cultural norms and consequently face suffering and adversity. What might God be saying to you through the Word in Titus 1:7-9?
“Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.”
Talking to God
Are there ways that you have set aside your title of disciple in the past week or month for a more culturally accepted title? Is there a quality you are exhibiting that doesn’t match up with pure discipleship? Ask God to help you focus your efforts on exhibiting the qualities of a true disciple and leader listed in Titus. Is there one quality He is revealing to you that stands out among the rest?
Responding to God
What did God reveal to you about your walk as a disciple of Christ? Boldly ask Him to assist you in replacing a quality of this world with a quality of true discipleship. What might be a small action step you can take today to live into that characteristic of discipleship?
Surrendering to God
“Leader God, I humbly recognize that as a Christian, I often exhibit qualities that do not reflect my discipleship with you. Surround me with the support and encouragement that I need to actively pursue a life of discipleship so that others may know the power of your love. Amen.”
By Ashley Zuverink
A HISTORICAL SIDEBAR
For John Calvin, discipleship can be described this way: “almost forgetful of ourselves, surely subordinating our self-concern, we try faithfully to devote our zeal to God and his commandments. . . . Accordingly, the Christian must surely be so disposed and minded that he feels within himself it is with God he has to deal throughout his life. . . . For he who has learned to look to God in all things that he must do, at the same time avoids all vain thoughts. This, then, is that denial of self which Christ enjoins with such great earnestness upon his disciples at the outset of their service [cf. Matt. 16:24].”
