Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Patience”
Our Bible verse for today: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.” Acts 2:42 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Discipleship takes time and patience.”
Acts chapter two describes a time in the early church in Jerusalem. It was shortly after the day of Pentecost and there was excitement, enthusiasm, and great commitment in the church. The believers spent a lot of time together eating, worshiping, praying together, caring for one another, engaging in acts of ministry, and growing in their relationship with the Lord. Their passion for Christ and for spiritual growth was such that they were willing, even eager, to devote time to those things. As a result, there was great spiritual growth – and great spiritual power – in that church.
True discipleship takes time. There’s no way around it. If we want to grow spiritually then we have to invest the time and do the things whereby the Holy Spirit of God can bring about that spiritual growth in us. Doing that is called “Discipleship”. It’s a process that involves the practice of the basic spiritual disciplines of the Christian life. It is intentional, focused, consistent, and is continued over a prolonged period of time.
The editors of “The Mission of God Study Bible” offer this insight regarding Christian discipleship:
“A fully developed disciple of Christ will have engaged in a process that may be better understood as a progressive manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, empowering a person to reflect the character of Christ.”
Also, “The goal of all believers should be to connect to God and to each other, personally grow through an intentional spiritual process, serve, commit to sharing their faith, and exalt God through daily devotions and worship.”
What was described there is good discipleship. It empowers the individual believer, but also, as we read in Acts chapter two, when an entire group is committed in that manner and truly engaged in spiritual growth, the impact is profound and unmistakable.
Good discipleship takes time and patience, but it results in spiritual growth and is therefore well worth the investment.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 