FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “B|Disciplers”

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God designed us all to be teachers.  Now some he called to do it for a living (and we are SO grateful for them), but we all have an instinct to teach others what we know.  Share a time when you taught someone.  Maybe you taught them how to do something, or maybe you shared information you had learned that they didn’t know.  Who did you teach?  What did you share?  Was it fun?

READ

Have someone read 2 Timothy 2:1-7.

THINK

Paul was what we call a discipler.  Yes, he was also a disciple: a follower of Jesus.  But he was also a disciple-er: one who made more disciples.  He had a passion for helping people come to know Jesus AND in helping them continue to grow in their relationship with Him.  We see a lot of his teachings in the letters he wrote to churches, but we really see him coach younger pastors in his letters to Timothy and Titus.  He offers wisdom, tips and tricks, guidance in tough situations, and even correction at times.  Through it all, Paul’s desire is that these people would grow closer to Jesus in relationship and Christlikeness.

Paul may have been a master, a “professional” discipler, but this is something we are all designed to do.  I think God gave us that teaching gene because he knew we’d need it to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus.  A lot of times we think only pastors can do that, or Sunday School teachers, or…adults!  But ANYONE can disciple someone.  If you’ve known Jesus even a little longer than another person, you can help them learn about our Savior and build that relationship.

APPLY

Who could you disciple?  A younger sibling or neighbor?  A friend at church or school?  Someone who sits next to you in the break room or in the sanctuary?  What are some ways you can reach out to “younger” believers and help them grow?  Work together and brainstorm some ways you can disciple others and help them be more like Jesus.

PRAY

Dear Jesus, thank You for teaching me how to be more like You.  Help me disciple others in the same way. In Your Name we pray.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “B|Admonishers”

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If you aren’t already, sit with your family in a circle.  (Around the living room or kitchen table is fine; no one has to get on the floor.)  Study the person on your right.  Think of two things you really like about them or things you’re thankful for.  Now think of something you wish would change.  Maybe something they could do better or a trait they need to work on.  Now go around the room and share your thoughts in this order: compliment—criticism—compliment.  

Which was easier to say?  Which was easiest to hear?  Most of us are uncomfortable correcting others.  Was it easier to say the criticism or to hear it said to you?  We don’t like to be corrected by others, but sometimes it can be even more difficult to do the correcting, especially when that person is someone we like and respect.

READ

Someone read Galatians 2:11-14 and see how Paul handled a time when he disagreed with a lead disciple.

THINK

Paul had a hard time getting traction among the disciples after his conversion, but thanks to Barnabas, he finally started to feel welcomed by them.  He and Barnabas went to Antioch to build the church in that town, and at some point during their tenure, Peter came to visit and check up on them.  Paul shares in his letter to the Galatians that while Peter was with them, Paul noticed that Peter was acting in a way that Paul thought was wrong.  Now, this is Peter.  Peter!  One of Jesus’ closest friends.  The guy who walked on water and “on whom Jesus will build his church.”  THAT Peter.  But Paul still knows that Peter is not treating some people the way Jesus would want.  Basically, Peter’s being a little two-faced.

Paul has a choice.  He can dismiss his thoughts and keep the peace, or he can risk rocking the boat and share his impression in the hopes that Peter will respond well.  It’d be so much easier just to keep quiet.  After all, Peter’s a leader in the church.  He’s been walking with Jesus a LOT longer than Paul has.  He knows what he’s doing, right?  How many times have we had the same kind of conversation with ourselves, trying to talk ourselves out of an uncomfortable “accountability” conversation with someone we know isn’t acting Christlike.  But Paul shows us that, when it comes to growing in our faith, when it comes to holy living, part of being a part of the family of God means we have those hard conversations.  In love and humility, we admonish other believers when led by the Holy Spirit.

APPLY

Is there someone you know who needs to be corrected?  Perhaps you’ve noticed some un-Jesus attitudes or behaviors in a friend or a family member.  Take time to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in how to share that impression with him or her.  It can be hard, especially if it’s a good friend.  But being a good “neighbor” means we correct those we love to help them grow even closer to Jesus.  End your time together praying that the Holy Spirit would help your family members be loving correctors when necessary.

PRAY

Dear God, you loved me in my sin.  Even though I was way off base, you sent your Son to rescue me.  Your Holy Spirit continues to help me grow and overcome the sinful choices in my life.  Thank you, Father.  Would you help me have the courage to correct another believer, in the same loving way you correct me?  Lead to me help others draw closer to you. In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “B|Encouragers”

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Summer vacation’s here!!  Ten weeks of freedom from classes and tests.  You don’t have to do any homework, but you also don’t get to see most of your friends each day.  Which of your friends will you miss the most while you’re bumming on the couch this summer?  Go around and share why.

Now…who will you not miss this summer?  In addition to “no more classes and no more books,” whose “dirty looks” are you glad to be free from for a bit?

READ

Last week we read how Saul became Paul.  Read about how this new disciple is received by the others in Acts 9:26-30 and 11:19-26.

THINK

Paul had an amazing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, but he also had a horrible reputation after years of hating and hunting Christ-followers.  The original disciples were used to being terrified by this guy, so they weren’t eager to welcome him into their group.  How could they know he really changed?  Maybe this was all an act.  Maybe he’d change his mind in a week and arrest them all.  Maybe he’d destroy the whole church—all that they’d done to share Jesus with the Jews!

Enter Barnabas.  This was a guy the disciples knew.  He was a part of their church-building team, helping them share Jesus’ story with others.  So when he stepped in and spoke up for Paul, the disciples listened.  Barnabas shared about the ways Paul had changed and how he’d already made a difference for Jesus.  Barnabas backed up his words by choosing Paul to help him on one of his missionary journeys.  If you know much about Paul, it’s kind of weird to think of him as the “assistant missionary.”  After all, he wrote half of the New Testament and became the godfather of church planting.  And yet, it was the encouragement of Barnabas that helped give Paul the footing he needed to truly change the world—change history for Christ. 

APPLY

What would you do if that “dirty looker” showed up at church on Sunday?  It may seem hard to welcome that particular person into your K.I.D.S. class or into youth group.  Even if you watched them pray and ask Jesus to be their Savior, you may still hold on to all of the bad memories from how they treated you before.  But just like Barnabas, you can help someone become the person Jesus is making in them through encouragement.  When we treat people like who they want to be, instead of who they used to be, we act like Jesus.  When we give them the benefit of the doubt, when we pat them on the back for little changes, we help build that holy heart inside of them.  Who can you encourage even today?

PRAY

Dear God, help me to be an encourager.  Help me to look past the ways people used to be and see who you are making them.  In Jesus’ Name we pray.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.

FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “B|Neighbors”

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If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?  Bright blue eyes?  Curly hair?  More height?  Less weight?  The ability to post your brother in a game of one-on-one?  Take a couple of minutes to think about it, then when everyone has an answer, go around and share.  What are the chances that this change might actually take place in your life?

READ

We’re starting a new sermon series this week, centered around Paul and several relationships he had with others.  We’re reading about his first relational encounter this week.  Have someone share Acts 9 from the Bible.

THINK

Ok, so Saul had some serious flaws in his character.  It could be he always longed to be taller or maybe he had a crooked nose that he wished were straight.  But nothing in his life could have been as bad as his heart.  He was a Jesus-hater!  Saul was repulsed by anything that had to do with the supposed Messiah.  In fact, he was so obsessed with his loathing that he made it his personal mission to take down anyone who claimed to follow the Nazarene.  I bet just about everyone he met figured there was 0% chance that he would ever change.

Then Saul met Jesus.

It’s amazing how that one encounter, beginning that one relationship can change things so dramatically.  We get to watch Saul become a totally different person because of this meeting.  In fact, he changed so much, Jesus changed his name too.  Where Saul was a Jesus-hater, Paul was a Jesus-sharer.  This run-in with Christ totally turned his life upside-down.  Instead of focusing on the anger and hated he had for others, Paul became consumed with what he wanted to share with people: the love and hope Jesus has for each of us.

APPLY

That same hope is available to everyone.  Most of us have some things about ourselves we wished were different, and some of those things are pretty deep in our hearts.  No matter what you’re longing for today, know that Jesus holds the hope of your future.  Joy, love, peace, contentment—they are all realities when we live in relationship with the Savior.  If He can change Saul, He can transform all of us.  

PRAY

Dear Jesus, thank You for loving Saul, for loving him so much that You changed his whole life.  I know that You love me just as much, which means I can be changed just as much.  Fill me with Your hope for my future, Jesus.  In Your Name we pray.  Amen

REPLY

Did you and your family enjoy this devotional blog?  We'd love to know about it!  Our hope is to continue providing this weekly opportunity for families to do a devotion together.  If your family did this devotion, please shoot us an email, text or just post a comment to this blog.