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Monday, February 15, 2016

Importance of One on One Discipleship~



   Good Morning readers, I hope your staying warm in these frigid temperatures weve been having. I hope to now be able to get back into a regular schedule of my blog, when I don’t blog for numerous reasons I really miss it, its like a outlet for me, it’s what God has placed on my heart  to share with you all. So with that being said Today’s topic is “Why is Discipleship so important to a Christian’s spiritual walk”?
  A disciple is a follower of Christ, so Discipleship is when someone who is spiritually mature in their walk with Christ comes alongside an individual who is not as far along in their walk and helps them grow in their spiritual journey. Growing in the stages of spiritual maturity is a process, and this blogs theme is not so much the emphasis of what those stages are, but why is one on one discipleship important. I will mention the 5 stages of the spiritual process, for those who do not know what they are.
1. Spiritually dead, this refers to those who are not believers yet, and have not turned their life over to Christ.
2. Spiritual infant- a new believer, has accepted Christ, but needs a relationships with others who know Christ, needs ongoing guidance, just like a infant does, relies on their parent for for everything.
3. Spiritual Child-Has gifts, but can be prideful and arrogant at times, sometimes does things for the wrong reasons. Needs to be connected, still learning how to follow Jesus outside the church.
4. Spiritual Young Adult-Following and working alongside others and focused outward, but still at times can think they know it all, strong in the Lord but can be naïve at times, unrealistic and easily become discouraged when faced with failures., but do have a place they feel called to serve!
5. Spiritual Parent-Not perfect until Heaven, but serving, Sees that this life is not all there is, so they have a Eternal perspective , they are  continually looking for opportunities to reach out and serve and find others why they can minister to and guide them on their own spiritual walk, help them grow from spiritual milk to solid food. They are the older men and woman who have a heart for the younger men and younger woman.
Now you know what these stages are, there are different aspects of a Christian’s life that contribute to growing to become more Christ like. Fellowship with other believers, being part of small bible study or community group, doing your own bible reading during your daily devotions, if you are married having a time of bible reading and prayer with your spouse. Another aspect very important is one on one, discipleship in different stages of our walk. Lot of us at some time has been disciple by another older Christian who was further along in his or her own spiritual walk.
You may ask isn’t the above a lot? Yes, it is, but each plays a important role in helping us grow .Like right now I’m discipline one of my cousins on a weekly basis. She started coming to our church the end of last year, gave her life over to Christ. Started coming to our community group and then I asked her if she would like to start discipleship with me and she was so excited. It is so wonderful to see her spiritual growth, she is hungry for the word, and Gods word, and just recently told me she wants to be baptized, which im so excited about.
While looking online this morning I found 2 quotes that really sum up why its important for us to discipleship, But before i go any further I want to emphasize one point so there is no misunderstanding of what im trying to convey! WE are all disciples of Jesus, WE are all told to share the GOOD NEWS!!!!!Tell others, who Jesus is, and what HE did and how they too can be saved. BUT discipleship is when mature Christians are taking another under their wing and  walking alongside them and helping them understand on a more deeper level, what does being a Christ follower look like, As Christians what is require of us and how do we go about doing it!
Here are the quotes I found online.” The one indispensible requirement for producing Godly mature Christians is Godly mature Christians!” BY: Kevin De Young  which why discipleship is so vital to the equation. mature Christians are spiritual parents who are helping others grow and become all God has meant them to be, and  each time someone reaches that spiritual maturity, they need to step out of their comfort zone and pray and ask God to reveal who they can help to grow. We are not called to live a life that God gave us alone.
   I think of a new mom who just had her 1st baby. She will seek out the guidance and encouragement, and advice of those moms who have been a mother for a while, they will learn and become the kind of mother God has meant them to be. in the same way those of us who have been walking with the Lord for awhile and continuing to walk close to him  have a obligation to seek out those we can disciple and help grow up  to be the men and woman God desires!
  We will never stop learning, once we think we know it all that is when we become prideful and sin creeps in. The Christian walk is really about growing more like Christ and living our lives transformed by the renewing of the mind and heart. Here is the other quote I found:”Growth and development take time, learning takes practice. Discipleship is a journey and true conversion is a continuous process. By: Brad Wilcox
  We cannot become stagnate, and just get stuck in a stage, I realized for awhile in my own walk that’s what happened to me. I’ve been a Christian just about my entire life, I grew some, but then  got content with where I was, instead of striving to grow and expand my knowledge, until finally the holy spirit convicted me and told me, I could no longer just sit there and not grow. I was bearing fruit, but not praying for eyes to see more, to understand more, I was not using all my gifts and wasn’t living up to the woman God wants me to be!
   I challenge you to examine your own life and see where you are. Seek his FACE, dig deep into His word, and if you think you need discipleship seek out someone, pray that someone comes and talks to you about your walk and helps you. or if you are ready to go out and find someone to disciple, then don’t wait ,God has equipped you with every good work, He has given you all you need to do what He asks, just be willing and ready. Discipleship is important, its not enough to just go to church, community group, and personal devotions especially if you’re a new believer, you need that solid food to help you grow, help you mature up in Christ Jesus! And always  stay humble, let that be our prayer!

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