I have been thinking about the discipleship process a lot lately. By discipleship I mean where an experienced Christian helps a new believer learn the basics of their new faith.
This discipleship process might be done as a part of formal group classes, one-on-one lessons, or by working your way through a book with someone to help if you have questions.
As I have been thinking about this I wondered how many people who were discipled in one of the above ways go on to become Ministers themselves?
I know in my case I had someone who talked to me and prayed for me before coming to Christ. When I did, they gave me a booklet to work through and continued to pray for me and answer questions I had.
It would be interesting to know what percentage of people who are discipled go on to be Ministers. I might see if any studies have been done on this I think.
God Bless,
Dave
Today is Australia Day. My overwhelming thought today is thankfullness. I am thankful that I live in a country…
- that has stable government with no violent uprisings
- that we have a medical system where most people can get the treatment they need
- that we have a welfare system that helps those who are unemployed or not able to work
- that we have the freedom to practice our faith in our own way
- that we have a strong economy due to the mining sector
- that has good education systems in place to allow people access to learn
- that has lots of wide open spaces to explore
- that we have access to clean drinking water and a wide variety of foods
I love living in Australia. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else in the world. Happy Australia Day everyone.
God Bless,
Dave
One of the things I have started to do recently is look at how some of the Bible books start and how they end. I try to find the spiritual “bookends”.
As I was thinking about the book of Psalms recently I found that Psalm 1 talks people being blessed if they meditate on God’s Word day and night. It says they are like trees planted by streams of water that produce fruit in season.
Fast forward 149 chapters to Psalm 150. This talks about praising God with dancing and all types of instruments. It finishes with “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD (v6).”
As I pondered this I realised that the more I read about and meditate on God and His ways, the more I want to praise Him with all of my life. It makes me want to dance, sing and make a joyful noise that Psalm 100:1-5 talks about!
Finding the spiritual bookends of a Bible book can be a great devotional tool to keep you praising God.
God Bless,
Dave
One of the shows I have just started watching recently is Wesley Impact. I have quite enjoyed watching it so I thought I would share it on my blog.
Here is a snippet from their website…
“Wesley Impact! is a fresh, exciting program featuring people whose lives have been transformed; singers who inspire us with the beauty of their talent and practical Christian teaching that encourages and challenges us. Joining Rev Dr Keith V Garner live in the studio are guests from all walks of life – from those who have tasted the heights of success to those who walked in the depths of despair, our guests openly share their amazing life stories. Wesley Impact! can be seen on the Nine Network every Sunday at 5.30am and is also repeated on the Australian Christian Channel on Sunday at 7.30am.”
The thing I really enjoy about it is the simple format. There is a song, an interview, a short message and another song. I have found it to be quite encouraging every time I watched it.
If you would like to find out more about the show or see past episodes you can find them here.
God Bless,
Dave
Hi all,
I recorded a new free MP3 audio today. It is some thoughts I have put together from John 15:1-17 and titled, “Vines and branches”.
I have also added some sermons I did towards the end of last year that were recorded. If you are interested, you can find them here.
God Bless,
Dave
