Devotions for Disciples

ByJim Stephens

Scripture:  John 1:43  (Click link for scripture in Bible Gateway)

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, be my disciple.” (John 1:43 NLT)

When we started out on this year of GraceNotes Daily Devotionals nearly six months ago, I had a sort of general (but kind of specific!) idea of where we were going with it. For several years I’ve been more and more convinced that as a follower of Jesus Christ I needed to focus much more specifically on the stories of Jesus himself. I’ve read through the Gospels many times over the years, but this year is different!

After much prayer, conversation, and thought, I decided to start with Matthew, work my way through his Jesus story, then on to John’s gospel. I really had no idea how long it would take or when I’d finish or what I’d do to finish out the year when we completed Matthew and John. I thought maybe I’d move on to Acts and write about how his followers carried on the work of the Kingdom. Well, here we are, just finished Matthew, and it’s almost the end of June! So today, I’m catching you up on our plan, and tomorrow we’ll start in John’s gospel.

Devotions for Disciples: I am approaching every verse, every chapter, and every story from a discipleship perspective. Most devotionals I’ve looked at (And there are many!) are focused on Inspiration, Encouragement, or Topics. GraceNotes is about getting to know Jesus better, learning to see and hear and think like Jesus. It’s also about getting to know ourselves better, and above all, about being changed. Keep these words and thoughts in mind as we move on through the year: Discipleship, Transformation, Discovery, Obedience.

Invite others to join us on our Journey of Discovery for the rest of 2023. Sign up to receive GraceNotes:  http://resourceministries.org/devotionals/

I’d love to hear how this discipleship devotionals series is working for you! Please click the reply button on your email and give me some input! Thanks so much, Jim Stephens

Prayer:

Father, Thanks for the upward and onward call to be disciples of Jesus! We say “Yes!” Keep us discovering, learning, and becoming more like our Master! In Jesus Name!