Tag Archives: #GrowingAsDisciples

Here Am I, Send Me

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 293 - Isaiah 6:8 - Here Am I, Send Me - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 293 – Isaiah 6:8 – Here Am I, Send Me – Growing As Disciples

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)

Send Me

You can do that. I can do what? You can send me. Not only can you, but I want you to send me. I am at your disposal. I am ready for your use. There is no place I would not go for you. There is nothing that I would not do for you. How do you know that to be true? Well, I’m not exactly sitting around being idle right now. I believe that I have been listening attentively to your call. Have I heard you completely? Probably not. Have I responded to you perfectly? Probably not either. But it is the desire of my heart to be fully used by you. I want to bear fruit for your kingdom. I want to bring glory to your name. One day, I would like to hear you say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I want to have fully used all the gifts and talents, abilities and resources you have given to me. I want nothing to have gone to waste. When you and I look back over my life I don’t want to have any regrets. I don’t want to see that I missed great opportunities to have served you. Yes, I can see that in you. 

What confidence do you have that you will be faithful and fruitful for me? My confidence does not rest in myself; I can tell you that without a doubt. I am relying on you. I believe that you will make me faithful. I believe that you will make me fruitful. My job is to come to you. My job is to listen to you. My job is to follow you to where you lead me. My job is to do what you ask of me. So, my life and what I think and say and do is in your hands. I am entrusting myself to you. How do you feel about that? I feel very good about that. I am not filled with worry. I am not experiencing anxiety. I am at peace. I am filled with hope and joy. I know that my life is in your hands. You will not allow me to miss what I couldn’t see. You will not allow to fail to do what you have given me to do for you. You will help me to keep on loving and following and serving you. You will help me to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. Yes, I will, you can be sure of that. Follow me. Yes Lord, I am. Yes, Lord, I will. That is very good. Yes, it is. Send me. Yes, I will. 

Lord, here I am. I am at your service and ready for your use. I will listen attentively to your guidance and follow your instruction. I will get out of my comfort zone to go and do what you ask of me. Give me your thoughts to think, words to speak and deeds to do. Amen

Key Question… How willing are you get out of your comfort zone to go and do what the Lord asks of you?

Living It Out… Listen attentively to the Lord so you can hear Him calling you to go and serve Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will use you to accomplish His purposes and fulfill His plans.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you have made yourself available to serve the Lord.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you allow the Lord to use you for His purposes to fulfill His plans.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 293 – Isaiah 6-8 – Here Am I, Send Me- 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

I Will Wait For Him

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 294 - Lamentations 3:21-26 - I Will Wait For Him - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 294 – Lamentations 3:21-26 – I Will Wait For Him – Growing As Disciples

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:21-26 (NIV)

Wait

That has not been my strong point. That has not been one of my gifts. What has not been one of your strong points? What has not been one of your gifts? I have not been good at waiting. That’s probably a dramatic understatement. Being constantly on the move and running ahead of you would better describe my life. I have been impatient. I have been impulsive. I have been reactive. In the past, I have seldom waited quietly before you. What problems has all of this caused you? I can’t begin to tell you all the foolish decisions and dumb mistakes I have made by racing ahead of you. I have made a well-worn path out of retracing my steps and starting over because I have not waited for your guidance or received your instruction. I have certainly wasted a lot of time and expended a lot of energy because I have not quieted myself before you so that I could hear from you. Yes, I know.

You mentioned the words, “in the past”, what are you now doing differently? You have done a work in my life. I am not who I once was. How so? You have made me able to sit quietly before you. It is now my joy to rest in your presence. It is my delight to taste of your goodness and kindness and mercy and love as I meet with you in the morning. I never thought words like that would ever come out of my mouth. But there is no place I would rather be than in your presence. There is nothing I would rather do than listen to you. That is very good. I will tell you one thing I have learned, without a doubt. What’s that? No time is better spent than the time I spend meeting with you. Why is that? You love me. I love you. It is so good to recall how you have led and guided me through life. You give me comfort. You fill me with hope. My heart and mind and life is filled with thanks and praise to you when I consider all your goodness to me. You have been faithful to me. You encourage me. You lift me up. You keep me moving forward with you. You lead me to where you want me to go. You give me what you want me to do. You hold on to me as I hold on to you as we walk together through life. Could anything be better than that? No, it could not. Could I hope for more? No, I could not. So, I will keep on quieting myself before you, as I wait for you. All my hope and joy and peace is in you. That is very good. You are very good. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, I have been impatient. I have had a hard time sitting still. I have wanted to be on the go. I have wanted to make some moves. Frequently, I have run ahead of you. I have not waited before you. I have not sought you. Help me to wait and listen to you. Amen

Key Question… When has the Lord delivered you out of great difficulty as you have waited quietly before Him?

Living It Out… Wait for the Lord to guide your life along the path that He has laid out for you to walk.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will guide your life as you wait quietly before Him.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are waiting for the Lord to guide you through life.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you wait for the Lord to guide you through life.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 294 – Lamentations 3-21-26 – I Will Wait For Him – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Just As He Had Done

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 295 - Daniel 6:10-12 - Just As He Had Done - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 295 – Daniel 6:10-12 – Just As He Had Done – Growing As Disciples

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands–in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” Daniel 6:10-12 (NIV)

Pattern

That is what I want to develop in my life. What do you want to develop in your life? I want a daily pattern of meeting with you in prayer to be developed every day in my life. That is a very good and ambitious goal. I don’t think of it as a goal. Why is that? I think of a goal as being aspirational. I think of a goal as being something to hope to achieve. A goal may or may not be attainable. I may not meet every goal that I establish as a priority. Meeting daily with you in prayer will not be an aspirational goal that I hope to achieve. Why is that? I want meeting with you daily in prayer to be an established fact. I want meeting with you daily in prayer to be a rock solid, never ending pattern in my life. Not meeting with you daily in prayer will be unthinkable and inconceivable to me. You are very sure of your desire. Yes, I am. That’s good.

What steps will you take to establish our meeting daily together in prayer? I will set a time and a place to meet with you in prayer. Why is that essential? Life is busy. Life gets hectic. Life places almost limitless demands on my time. If I only meet with you in prayer when I get around to it, we will not see or hear from each other very often. That would not be good. That won’t happen, because meeting with you in prayer will be my first priority with everything else being a distant second. That’s good.

Why do you so desperately want and need to meet daily with me in prayer? I want to live in an intimate relationship with you. I yearn to live and walk closely with you. I want to live my life in a constant and ongoing dialogue of prayer with you. Weren’t you only going to meet with me in a set place at a specific time? That is just the starting point. That is just the beginning. It is my hope and desire and plan that our specific times of prayer will carry over to every moment of everyday of my life. That will be very good. Yes, it will be.

What do you hope to receive from me as we meet together in prayer? I hope that you will teach me to pray. I hope that you will give me prayers to pray. I hope that you will sustain and strengthen and guard and guide my life as we meet together in prayer. I hope to hear your voice as I meet with you in prayer. I hope to make known all my praise and thanks and worship to you as we meet together in prayer. I will certainly do all these things in and for you as we meet together in prayer. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, I will make it my daily pattern to meet with you. I will withdraw from the busyness and demands of life to draw near to you. Help me to live in an intimate relationship with you. Sustain and strengthen and guard and guide me through all the difficulties in life. Amen

Key Question… What spiritual disciplines have become a consistent and ongoing pattern in your life?

Living It Out… Develop a life of prayer with the Lord so you can live in an intimate relationship with Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that it will be well worth your time to develop an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are developing an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you meet with the Lord in prayer on a daily basis so you can live in an intimate relationship with Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 295 – Daniel 6-10-12 – Just As He Had Done  – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

The Lord Your God Is With You

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 296 - Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord Your God Is With You - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 296 – Zephaniah 3:17 – The Lord Your God Is With You – Growing As Disciples

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Rest

That definitely does not come naturally to me. What does not come naturally to you? Rest does not come naturally to me. Why is that? I am much more likely to be doing things. I have liked to be busy. I liked to go places and do things. Does rest seem like a waste of time to you? Does rest seem to have no good purpose to you? I suppose it sounds pathetic to admit, but yes, rest has seemed like a purposeless waste of time to me. You couldn’t be more wrong. I have had that suspicion. What would you think if I were to tell you that resting is not easy? I would be interested in hearing more. Rest can actually be a form of hard work. How can that be? If you were to set aside all your urges to be busy doing things would that be easy or hard for you? That would be exceedingly difficult for me. There you go then. You understand some of the difficulty of entering my rest. I guess I do. Yes, you do.

Would you be shocked to learn that you will not come to know me unless you enter my rest? No, not really. It is my hope and desire for you that you come to enter my rest. Would you like a preview of what you will learn as you enter my rest? Wow, a preview! I love previews. I always want to know what is coming next. As you enter my rest you will come to know that I love and care for you. As you enter my rest you will better understand how I have rescued and saved you from a life without me. As you enter my rest you will know that I delight in you. I delight in you so much that I rejoice over you with singing. On the day that you gave your life to me there was rejoicing in heaven. Does that blow you away? Yes, it certainly does. You, the God of the universe, who made everything, have all these thoughts and feelings toward me. Who I am? You are my child. I am your Heavenly Father. Come to rest in my love. Let my love quiet all your fears. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. Come to rest in my presence. Come now. Yes, Heavenly Father, I will. That will be very good.

Heavenly Father, thank you for being with me to help me. You rescued me from a life without you. How wonderful it is that you love and care me. How fantastic it is that you delight in me and rejoice over me with singing. I love you with all that is within me. Amen

Key Question… How has God’s love for you put life into perspective and quieted your fears?

Living It Out… Allow God to show you how much He loves and cares for you as you rest in His presence.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that God will help you to come to know and live in an intimate relationship with Him.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how God’s love for you has quieted your fears.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you rest in knowing how much your Heavenly Father loves and cares for you.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Day 296 – Becoming Like Christ – Zephaniah 3-17 – The Lord Your God Is With You – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Give Good Gifts To Those Who Ask

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 297 - Matthew 7:9-11 - Give Good Gifts To Those Who Ask - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 297 – Matthew 7:9-11 – Give Good Gifts To Those Who Ask – Growing As Disciples

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11 (NIV) 

Good Gifts

It has been a joy and delight of mine to be a giver of good gifts. I have liked to consider what someone might want and need as a gift and then give it to them as a surprise. I have wanted to greatly exceed their expectations, as well. For me, it has often been true, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I have frequently had more joy and satisfaction in giving a gift than in receiving a gift. Obviously, it is true, that I still do very much like receiving good gifts especially if they come as an unexpected surprise. This comes as no surprise to me.

No one is a better giver of surprise and wonderful gifts than you. You think so? Yes, I do, without a doubt. If I have any small quantity or quality of being a giver of good gifts, it has only been true because you have made me in your image. I am only a giver of good gifts either because of how you have made me or because of what I have heard or seen or received from you. It pleases me that you know and understand how you have come to be a giver of good gifts.

What will you do differently, now that you better understand that I am a giver of good gifts? What will you do differently, now that you have come to believe that it is my joy and delight to give good gifts to you? I will make my needs and wants known to you. I will more readily bring my prayer requests to you. I will not foolishly think that some need or want is too big or too small to ask of you. I will trust that you will keep on giving good gifts to me. Yes, I will.

There is something I would like to ask you. There is some help I need from you. What is that? I would like more wisdom to know what to ask of you. I would like you to help guide my prayers. I know that you both given and granted the desires of my heart. How so? Well, for example, you have been both giving and granting my desire to know you. No gift is better than that. I’m glad you think so. In the past, I might not have thought of or considered asking for that as a gift from you. I want you to keep on giving and granting me desires that come from you. I want to be able to ask for and receive what you want to give to me. Does that make sense? It makes a lot of sense. Do you believe that I will hear and answer this prayer of yours? Will I give you this good gift? Will I help you to ask for all that I want to give to you? Without, a doubt. Of that, I am very sure. You are correct. That is what I will do in and for you. Thank you, Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank you for being a giver of very good gifts. You have richly blessed my life far beyond my hopes and dreams and desires. Help me to learn to keep on asking for the good gifts I need from you. Help me to receive all you want to give to me. Amen

Key Question… What good gifts are you are now asking your Heavenly Father to give you?

Living It Out… Ask your Heavenly Father to give you the good gifts you need from Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that you can ask your Heavenly Father to give good gifts to you.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group what good gifts you are asking your Heavenly Father to give you.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you ask your Heavenly Father for the good gifts you need from Him?

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 297 – Matthew 7-9-11 – Give Good Gifts To Those Who Ask – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Made Up Of Many Parts

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 298 - 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 - Made Up Of Many Parts - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 298 – 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 – Made Up Of Many Parts – Growing As Disciples

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 (NIV)  

Spiritual Gifts

It has been quite a process to discover my spiritual gifts. How so? Over the years, by lots of trial and error, I have discovered and been able to use the spiritual gifts you have given to me. That’s very good. Not only have I discovered what are my spiritual gifts, I have also discovered what are not my spiritual gifts. Sometimes, I’m sure that the process was comical. Why is that? Well, I have made many feeble attempts to function well outside of the gifts you have given to me. Can you give me an example? Yes, I can. At one time, I helped lead worship and I can barely sing at all. My singing was definitely not music to anyone’s ears. Your singing is like a joyful noise that I enjoy hearing. Ha, thank you, for that. I’m serious. Let me ask you a question. I’m listening. Who would need more faith to worship me with singing, a gifted singer or someone who can’t carry a note or keep in tune? I understand. Keep on worshipping me with singing. I delight in hearing your voice. Thank you, Lord.

There is something I do need to confess. There is something I would like to talk to you about. I’m listening. I have not always been completely happy or fully satisfied with the spiritual gifts I have been given. Why is that? I have looked around and compared myself with others. That is always a mistake. I know that now. But I wanted the spiritual gifts of others. I was envious of what others had been given. How about now? What do you think now? I am content. I am at peace. I am grateful and thankful. It is my delight and joy to fully use the spiritual gifts you have given to me. It is my hope and prayer that you will help me to bear an abundance of fruit for your Kingdom and bring much glory to your name as I use the spiritual gifts you have given to me. That I will do in and through you. Keep on fully using all the spiritual gifts I have given to you. Yes Lord, I will. That will be very good.

Lord, thank you for giving me spiritual gifts with which I can use to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. Forgive me for being envious of others who have different gifting. Help me to be content to faithfully use the gifts you have given to me. Amen

Key Question… What kind of process has it been for you to discover and begin to use your spiritual gifts?

Living It Out… Discover and use the spiritual gifts you have been given to serve others as a member of the body of Christ.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord has given you spiritual gifts to be used to serve others as an integral part of the body of Christ.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how the Lord has given you spiritual gifts to use to serve others.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you rely on God’s good favor and strong hand to guard and guide you as you serve Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 298 – 1 Corinthians 12-12-20 – Made Up Of Many Parts – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Extended His Good Favor

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 299 - Ezra 7:27-28 - Extended His Good Favor - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 299 – Ezra 7:27-28 – Extended His Good Favor – Growing As Disciples

Praise be to the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the LORD in Jerusalem in this way and who has extended his good favor to me before the king and his advisers and all the king’s powerful officials. Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:27-28 (NIV)

On My Side

I know that you are on my side. What does that mean to you? That is a good question. I may have stated my thought incorrectly. How so? I maybe could have and should have said that I know that we are both on the same side. If I were not on your side, you certainly would not have come over to my side. You have made me able to leave my old way of thinking and speaking and acting. You have turned my life around. You have helped me to turn away from my old life of sin. You pulled me off the road that led away from you. You rescued me from a life without you both now and forever. You have given me a passionate desire to love and follow and serve you. You have made it to be my delight and joy to live my life with and for you. So, in this sense I know that you are on my side. You love and care for me. You are guarding and guiding my life. You are making me able to know and do your will You have been leading me to where you want me to go. You have been giving me what you want me to do. That is what I mean when I say that I am on your side and you are on my side. You are encouraging and strengthening me to follow and serve you. You are making me able to be a witness for you in the world. You are helping me to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. Yes, I have done, am doing and will continue to do these things in and for you. You are correct. I am on your side.

Why is it critically important for you to keep on remembering that I am on your side? The road ahead will not always be easy. I will face difficulty and challenges as I follow and serve you. I will face opposition. I will experience attack. Discouragement, depression and defeat may try to overcome me. I must always remember that you are with me to help me. I must always believe that your good favor and strong hand rests on me. You will lift me up. You will carry me on to victory. You will help me to overcome every obstacle as I continue to love, follow and serve you. You will make me able to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. You will keep me moving forward with you. Yes, I will. You can be sure that I will always be with you to help you. Thank you, Heavenly Father. I will always remember that you are on my side. That will be very good.

Heavenly Father, I know you have given me work to do for you. Thank you that your good favor and strong hand are guarding and guiding me as I serve you. Help me to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. Bring others alongside me to help me. Amen

Key Question… When have you been encouraged because you knew God was helping you to do His work?

Living It Out… Rely on God’s good favor and strong hand to guard and guide the work He has given you to do for Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that God’s favor will rest on you as you do the work, He has given you to do for Him.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how God has given you work to do for Him.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you rely on God’s good favor and strong hand to guard and guide you as you serve Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 299 – Ezra 7-27-28 – Extended His Good Favor – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

For To Me To Live Is Christ

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 300 - Philippians 1:19-26 - For To Me To Live Is Christ - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 300 – Philippians 1:19-26 – For To Me To Live Is Christ – Growing As Disciples

for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me. Philippians 1:19-26 (NIV)

Abundant Fruit

That is what I want to accomplish with my life. That is my reason to be living this life. What do you want to accomplish with your life? What is your reason to be living your life? I want to bear abundant fruit for your kingdom. I want to bring glory to your name. I want to live my life with and for you. I want to go where you guide me. I want to do what you ask of me. I want to live the life you have called me to live. I want to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. I want my life to have counted for something. I want my life to have made a difference. I want to leave behind a legacy. Now, I need to make something clearer. What is that? I don’t want to leave a legacy that is about me. I want to leave a legacy that points others to you. I want to have helped others make progress in their life of faith with you. I want to have helped others to have gone deeper and further in their life of loving and following and serving you. There is nothing unclear about your hopes and dreams and desires. Well, that’s good. If there was any lack of clarity it would have been in and with me, not with you. I am stating what I want to be clear in my heart and mind and life. That is very good. 

Now, I know a couple things I would like to point out. What’s that? It is you who has fanned the flame of these hopes and dreams and desires within me. For this, I am thankful beyond measure. I am thankful beyond what my words could possibly express. All that is within me is thankful. All that is within me is grateful. You have given me a passionate desire to love and follow and serve you. You could not have given me a better gift. You could not have filled me with more hope and joy. That is very good. Yes, it is. It is far beyond good. Yes, it is. What else do you know? I know that you will keep on fanning the flame of my desire to love and follow and serve you. You will make me able to bear fruit for your kingdom. You will make me able to bring glory to your name. You will make me able to live my life with and for you both now and forever. Yes, I will. Thank you, Lord.

Lord, thank you for helping me through all the twists and turns and ups and downs of life. You have brought me though every adversity. You have helped me to become a bold witness for you. Help me to keep on bearing abundant fruit for you and bringing glory to your name. Amen

Key Question… How has the Lord used some of your trials and adversities to help you to bear fruit for Him?

Living It Out… Rely on prayer and help from the Holy Spirit to bear abundant fruit for the Lord as you go through life with Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that the Lord will use you to bear abundant fruit as you go through life with Him.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how the Lord is using your life to bear abundant fruit for Him.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you allow the Lord to use your life to bear abundant fruit for Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Philippians 1-19-26 – Day 300 – For To Me To Live Is Christ – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

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By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

We Continually Remember

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 301 - 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 - We Continually Remember - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 301 – 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 – We Continually Remember – Growing As Disciples

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 (NIV)

Mentioning

That has not been my continual everyday practice, I can tell you that for sure. What has not been your continual everyday practice? I have not been mentioning my fellow coworkers in Christ, every day in my prayers. Do you believe that it is critically important to pray for your fellow coworkers in Christ? Yes, I do. Do you believe that I am asking you to pray for your fellow coworkers in Christ? Yes, I do. Do you know that I will hear and answer your prayers as you continue to pray for your fellow coworkers in Christ? Yes, I do. If you believe and know all of these things, why have you not been continually praying every day for your coworkers in Christ? I’m not sure. I may not have been thinking deeply about engaging in that kind of prayer. I will tell you one thing for certain. What’s that? I will start praying continually and daily for my fellow coworkers in Christ. That will be very good.

There is something else that I know I will need. What’s that? I will need your help. I will need you to give me prayers to pray. I will need you to guide my prayers. I will need you to teach and train me how to pray. Do you believe that I will do all these things for you as you meet with me in prayer? Yes, I do. What else do you believe? I believe that you will hear and answer my prayers. I believe that fruit will be born for your kingdom and glory will be brought to your name through the prayers that you give me to pray. I believe that work produced by faith will grow. I believe that labor prompted by love will grow. I believe that endurance inspired by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ will grow as you hear and answer not only my prayers but also all those who call on your name as they meet with you in prayer. Yes, all these things, and much more than you could hope for or even imagine will be accomplished as you and your fellow coworkers in Christ meet with me in prayer. Will you meet with me? Will you pray as I guide you? Yes, Heavenly Father, I will. That will be very good.

Heavenly Father, I will continue to pray for my fellow coworkers. Make us all faithful and fruitful workers in your kingdom. Help us to bear abundant fruit for you. Use our faith and hope and love in and for you to keep us joyously and energetically serving you. Amen

Key Question… How are you continually praying for your coworkers who are loving, following and serving the Lord?

Living It Out… Continue to pray for your coworkers in Christ so that your and their labor will be faithful and fruitful.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that Your Heavenly Father will hear and answer your prayers for your coworkers in Christ.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group the prayers you are praying for your coworkers in Christ.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you continually remember in your prayers before God, those who labor for Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 301 – 1 Thessalonians 1-2-3 – We Continually Remember – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Often Withdrew To Lonely Places And Prayed

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ - Day 302 - Luke 5:15-16 - Often Withdrew To Lonely Places And Prayed - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Becoming Like Christ – Day 302 – Luke 5:15-16 – Often Withdrew To Lonely Places And Prayed – Growing As Disciples

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:15-16 (NIV)

Withdraw

There is no doubt about it, that is what I need to do, right now. What do you need to do right now? I need to withdraw from the busyness of life to meet with you in prayer. Why do you need to meet with me in prayer? I’m running on empty. I am weary and worn out. I have been allowing myself to be swallowed up by the busyness of life. I have been running myself ragged. I am certain that I have allowed others to set the pace and agenda of my life. It seems like I have been chasing one great idea after another. None of them are bad. All of them are good. Something has give. Something has to go. My life is lacking a defined purpose and a focused direction. I’d have to say that my life is somewhat of a scattered mess. I need to pull back. I need to refocus. I need you to revive and refresh and restore my life. I need to receive guidance and instruction from you. I want to know where you are leading me. I want to know what you are giving me to do. For all these reasons, I need to quiet myself before you. I need to meet with you in prayer. Yes, you do.

Come to me. Draw near to me and I will draw near to you. Quiet yourself before me so you can hear me speaking to you. I will revive and refresh and restore your life. I will show you where I am leading you. I will show you what I am giving you to do. I have a purpose and plan for your life. You will receive guidance and instruction from me. I will strengthen you. I will empower you. Rest in my presence. In me, you will find hope and meaning and purpose. In me, your life will overflow with joy and thanksgiving. I will come. I will draw near. I will quiet myself before you. That will be very good.

I do know one thing for sure. What’s that? You are leading me to you. You want me to go deeper with you in prayer. You want me to learn to do the work of prayer. I don’t need to run here and there and everywhere. I don’t need to come up with a great idea. I don’t need to seek to achieve some great accomplishment. You simply want me to hear from you. You want me to pray the prayers that you will give me to pray as I meet with you in prayer. Yes, I do.

Lord, I will withdraw from the busyness of life to meet with you. I will not let the demands of life distance me from you. I will not allow myself to be swallowed up by all the demands of life. I will go to a quiet place so that I can hear from you as we meet in prayer. Amen

Key Question… How have you been revived, refreshed and restored as you have met with the Lord in prayer?

Living It Out… Make it your daily pattern to withdraw from the busyness of life to meet with the Lord in prayer.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that it will be well worth your time to withdraw to meet with the Lord in prayer.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how you are making it your pattern to regularly withdraw to pray.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you take time to withdraw from the busyness of life so you can pray.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Becoming Like Christ – Day 302 – Luke 5-15-16 – Often Withdrew To Lonely Places And Prayed – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com