Discipleship Unveiled

Have you ever wondered why children learn so fast? We have all observed enough to know that children are quick studies. They have the power of curiosity! That curiosity produces a million questions. We also can use questions to spur our curiosity and the curiosity in others. If I give you information that you are not interested in, you are going to forget it. Undesired information has little value. However, information that is provided in response to a question has ongoing value and activates our learning and reasoning. Walking In The Spirit You will find that questions are a powerful mechanism that God uses throughout the scriptures. Why? To activate our thinking. To reveal information that we would not otherwise discover or realize. Did you ever notice that Jesus answered questions with questions? It was to activate the other persons thinking. The Holy Spirit works in a similar way. Here's how. Have you ever had a question come to mind about something in the scriptures...

Have you ever been in a discussion/argument/debate where you were right but felt like you lost the argument? Well that shouldn't happen! As Christians we have the words of life and yet when we get in a philosophical discussion it can get muddled and confusing where all parties get lost in the semantics. This doesn't need to happen. If we learn to listen, we can become expert at planting and watering the Word of God. When we engage folks when we are out and about, it's fun to get to know people and share our lives with them. These moments can provide fantastic opportunities to deliver the Gospel. The scriptures tell us that we are to be  wise as serpents  and  harmless as doves . Paul reminded us that time is short and Jesus directed us to deliver the Gospel and make disciples . This all seems like our Father is telling us to go in with a strategy! Listening is a critical piece of our strategy for taking advantage of opportunities and creating opportunities ...

Listening is a superpower that you just cannot do without. We hear about it but we may not think about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Listening is not a passive ability. Therefore, we have to actively engage it. Listening requires focus and must be practiced for it to be developed. The power of listening requires a thoughtful approach and a strategy. There is a reason we have trouble being good listeners. In much the same way that our curiosity has been stolen , our ability to be a good listener has been taken as well. Since our culture is designed to drive curiosity from us, it has also taken our ability to listen with it. You can't have one without the other. The importance of being a good listener cannot be over emphasized. It is a core function of learning, reasoning and understanding. It is a superpower for knowing the Lord and a superpower for communicating. Listening Is Commanded Jesus insisted that we be expert listeners. Anyone with ears ...

By Reverend Bob Griffith - Guest Writer Faith in the Lord was a growing process for me and when I crossed over that line and started trusting the Lord I have to say it became second nature for me. Now everything I do is by faith in the Lord. Every situation now is automatic about listening to what the Lord is saying or what His Word says. I don't panic any more or get confused. I trust the Lord will get me through the storm or take it away. Either way I have faith in Him. We all come to the Lord in different ways, some slower than others. Once I got God's Word in me I wanted to help others by showing them that reading God's Word and doing it is the quickest way to get where the Lord wants you and where you want to be. I want to lead others to love Him and His ways, as I do. God is awesome and all powerful and He has great plans for you as He does me. Yeah, these steps are the way I came to my cool zone. It takes time but God is a redeemer of time and I hope t...

By Reverend Bob Griffith - Guest Writer I'm the type of person who doesn't like doing things twice or doing things that turn out fruitless. If God was real and he actually has a purpose for why I'm here, I wanted to know. After reading the scriptures I knew I had to make a commitment to Him. Why? Well first, I needed a Savior. That was clear to me. Surprisingly, what I noticed in God's Word was that when He would tell me in scripture what I should do, there was a blessing behind the command as well. For instance… Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. - Psalm 37:5 KJV Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. - Proverbs 16:3 KJV These blessings are awesome, because God is showing and telling us, if you do your part He will do His part and you will be blessed. My relationship with the Lord began to change drastically. I was having a relationship with Him that was real. I no mo...

This one strategy will eliminate nearly every frustration and much of the confusion when discussing the scriptures. Periodically we end up in philosophical discussions about life. When discussing or debating the merits of the Word of God, with other Christians or non-Christians, why is it difficult to get our point across?  Remember the age-old debate about who's responsible in a conversation? Is it the speaker or is it the listener? Who is responsible for a misunderstanding? There are reasons that both can contribute to any confusion. So let's talk about a solution. There is a strategy we can follow to help both parties in a conversation. It is relatively simple but does require some focus and practice and it cannot be stated enough. It is this:  Stay on topic! The tongue of the wise makes knowledge appealing. - Proverbs 15:2 NLT Why Were We Talking About This? Have you ever been caught up in a debate and before you knew it the topic shifted so many t...

Have you ever wanted to share the Gospel or scriptural wisdom but couldn't come up with an ice breaker to segue into your topic? A great way to do this is to open with an attention grabbing statement or question. So what kind of attention grabber is good to open with? It would depend on your topic. A good idea is to open with your conclusion. It can also be a statement or in the form of a question. Have you ever wondered why there is no evidence for evolution and yet it is the only origin philosophy taught in public schools? I think it's scary they teach evolution in public school even though there is no evidence to support it.  Your Attention Please For those of you who hold an evolutionary philosophy, I know that I now have your attention. For those who are unsure if there was a creation or an evolution or some combination of the two that explains our origins, I probably have your attention as well. I bet even a creationist would be wondering what I was goi...

Our goal in delivering the Gospel or the Word of God in any particular situation is not necessarily that we are heard, but that others are listening, curious and thinking. Let's take every opportunity to put folks in the best position we can so they can thoughtfully consider what we are sharing. When sharing your faith it's a good idea to do what you can to keep the other person engaged, curious and thoughtful. One way to do that is to let them have a place of power. Ok, now what does that mean? The place of power is simply how you position yourself and the other person when engaging in a conversation. Here are a couple of examples of the place of power. Sit or stand lower than the other person.  Open posture.  Ask questions.  Listen very closely. Recap what you understand they said and meant. Creating Opportunities To Connect The purpose of letting someone be in the place of power helps them relax and keeps their thoughts out in front of their feel...

Our body language is always speaking. People are listening... with their eyes. In the same way our emotions can get out in front of our thinking process, the body will try to speak before you think, and this can move others to the defensive. We want to avoid doing this. So when is it important to know when my body language is working against me? It's usually when we are in tough conversations with others. An example would be discussing things such as life, philosophy, politics, a misunderstanding or sharing the wisdom of God or the Gospel. The idea is to keep ourselves thinking and helping the other person to continue to be thoughtful and thinking as well. When they are faced with new ideas, especially ones that challenge their preconceived ideas, it's a good idea to help them maintain a thoughtful demeanor. Our body language can hurt or help that process. A Calm, Cool Demeanor We have discussed Conversations With Non-Christians and Conversations With Fellow Christ...

God's ways are extremely interactive. I love it and I hope you do too. We have discussed opportunities to share the Gospel with non-Christians in, A Convo With Non-Christians , but what about engaging other Christians? Be Of One Mind The Lord wants us to be one. We have a lot to talk about. Unlike non-Christians we have the entire breadth of the scriptures to connect with. We have so much in common and to figure out what those things are requires some "we time." You'll never see people on the same page unless they stragegize together. Look how many times the scriptures tell us to be of one mind. How can we do this if we barely know each other? That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. - Romans 15:6 NKJV Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together fo...