PB Devotional

Have you ever thought about the everyday opportunities God gives us to love, care for and help people take next steps? Discipling people doesn’t always require a big elaborate plan. Maybe it’s a friend who is struggling with reading his Bible every day. Or, maybe it’s the coworker who is going through a difficult time and needs care. These opportunities for discipleship are right in front of us, but we don’t always know what to do.

When we feel like we don’t know what to do, we can look at Paul’s example of what discipleship looks like. Paul cared for people just as a mother would care for her child. He didn’t see people as projects or throw his weight around claiming he was better than them. He only discipled them because he wanted them grow in their faith and take next steps.

“As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children. We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory. Therefore, we never stop thanking God that when you received his message from us, you didn’t think of our words as mere human ideas. You accepted what we said as the very word of God—which, of course, it is. And this word continues to work in you who believe.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬-‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

The Ordinary Days