Showing posts with label Discipleship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discipleship. Show all posts

Monday, July 24, 2023

Jesus Sent the Disciples to Tell His Story (Witness)

While on a trip in Brazil a long time ago, my interpreter said, "Here, Tara, here!" When I asked him later why he chose those three women for me to share the story of Jesus he said to me, "They were people of peace."

This was the first time in my life I heard about seeking the people of peace. I had read the passage numerous times, but in this moment I caught the truth found in Matthew 10:13.

It's been a couple of days since I had time to do an evangelism Story so, today, I wanted us to turn to Jesus and see what He expected of the disciples. Remember, we want to examine the action words that we are able to do today. 

As I read Matthew 10:5-13, I circled the action words that Jesus commaned the disciples to do when they went to go share the good knows about Jesus.

Please keep in mind in verse 1 it says that Jesus gave them all authority to go and do the miraculous.

1. Go in Jesus' authority not your own.

2. Go.

3. Proclaim the kingdom of heaven. 

What is the kingdom of heaven? 

It is God 's dwelling place. 
You are invited to join Him through Jesus. 

Believe in Jesus and you are a part of the kingdom of heaven.
 
This means you will repent of yours sins and move from darkness to light.

4. Heal the sick. This is God's work. Our role is pray for it in faith. 

5. Raise people up from spiritual death.

6. Cleanse those that are ostracized and bring them back into community. 

7. Give freely the truths you have been given.

8. Find worthy people. These are tge people of peace that are willing to let you share about Jesus.

9. Stay with the worthy people and disciple them.

10. Greet with a spirit of welcome.

11. Give your peace to those that are ready to receive.

12. Hold your peace and move on if a person is not open to receiving the truth about Jesus.

In all of this know that you will have those that want to stop you as you go.

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Suga's Story


***This is a fictional account that is based upon a composite of stories taken from a team of storytellers. The names have been changed to protect the storytellers. Every scene is based on a true story that has been told of what is happening on the field.

I heard a car humming in the distance, so I got up from the fire where I was cooking to go see what was causing the noise. A small white van was approaching our village as the dust was kicking up and swirling in a dust storm behind it. When it pulled to a stop several of the village elders walked out to greet the family as they climbed out of the van. It was a husband, wife, and five children. It isn’t typical for us to have someone come to our village because it usually takes two to three hours to reach us from where the city people live.

I paused and watched as the head elder listened to the man speak as he motioned to his wife. The elder motioned for one of the women to come over to him and they introduced the women. The women walked away to our gathering area, so I hurriedly wiped off my hands and rushed over to see what was happening. At first, I stood at the edge of the gathering space in the courtyard waiting and hoping that I might be welcomed to come join them.

The women were seated on a grass mat and the elder’s wife was pouring tea from the pot for the women. It is our custom to offer tea when someone visits. It is very offensive to not accept the tea, but if the tea is accepted this means that the person accepts your hospitality. The visitor reached out and accepted the small cup of tea being offered to her. She cupped it in her hands as she sipped it nodding with pleasure at the soothing comfort it brings to the dry throat.

My friend looked over at me, “Suga, the woman has come to tell us stories. Please help me gather the other women so we can listen together.”

I was so excited! I hurried to get my mother and sisters to come! I said, “Mom, hurry! There is a visitor, and she wants to share some stories with us!” My mom and my sisters looked up with curiosity and got up to follow me. By the time we gathered around in the courtyard there were about four other women already there. The woman stood up front with a beautiful shalwar kameez in bright yellow with silver sequence on it. The sun made it sparkle as she moved around. She was so elegant and a bright contrast to the mud walls behind her.

She said, “Hi, my name is Senda. Thank you for welcoming me so kindly in your village today. I would love to share with you some sacred stories.”

We all sat up a little taller when she said they were sacred stories. We wanted to bring honor to our guest as she told them. In our tradition, it was our custom to gather and listen to sacred stories being told.

Senda said, “This is the sacred story of Jesus, the Son of the Most High God. It is told in the Sacred book called the Bible. In the Bible we are told this true story.

One day an angel spoke to a young maiden named Mary who was engaged to be married to Joseph. They lived in the land of Nazareth near Galilee. The angel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, favored one of God, the LORD is with you! You will give birth to a son, and you will call him, Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The LORD will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign forever. His kingdom will know no end.

Mary asked, “How can this be? I am still a virgin.”

The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. The child you will give birth to will be called holy—the Son of God. Even now your cousin Elizabeth in her old age will give birth to a son. She is six months pregnant even though she had been barren. For nothing is impossible with God.”

Mary responded to the angel by saying, “I am the LORD’s servant. Let it be as you have said.”

Then the angel departed from her.

I wondered at the story Senda was sharing with us. I wondered, why was this young maiden was so important? Why was her baby called the Son of God? How can I know more about this Son of God? He sounds so wonderful and powerful. Why have we never heard of this Son of God before? How can I learn more? As these questions were rolling around in my head Senda asked us a question.

“Would you like to hear the story again?” Everyone in the group nodded in agreement. So, Senda told us the true sacred story again. This time I listened with anticipation expecting the angel to tell the young maiden to not be afraid. It was if I was seeing the story unfold in my mind’s eye as she told the story. I was no longer there with our small group, but in the village with the young maiden called Mary as the angel talked to her.

When Senda finished telling the story she said, “May God honor the telling of His sacred story.”

Senda then asked, “What do you learn about God in this passage?”

At first, we all just sat there and looked at her. No one responded. We were not accustomed to someone asking us our thoughts when someone shared. We just listened. So, Senda coaxed us and said, “It is okay. I would love to hear what you think and what you have to say about the story. By answering it will help all of us discover truths together.

She asked again, “What do you learn about God in this passage?

I thought in my mind, “You said the baby was God’s Son!”

One of the women in the group said, “God sent an angel to talk to the young girl.”

Senda responded by saying, “Yes, God sent a messenger to the young girl. That was good. What else?”

Another woman said, “God was the Most High God!”

Senda responded, “Yes! God is the Most High God. There are no other gods like Him. What do you learn about His Son?”

“He would reign forever, and His kingdom will have no end!” my sister cried excitedly from the back of the group.

“You are so right! Very good! So, we have discovered that the Most High God sent His Son to earth to be born as a baby and that as He grows up His kingdom will last forever. What else do we learn about the Most High God?”

I whispered it aloud, “Nothing is impossible for Him.”

It took me by surprise when Senda said, “Yes! That is right! Nothing is impossible for the Most High God!” As she straightened her head covering that was slipping off her head she then asked as she made quiet eye contact with each of us, “What about Mary? What do we learn about Mary?”

One of the women raised her hand to get Senda’s attention and when Senda nodded acknowledgment she said, “Well, she was young and engaged.”

That hit me for a moment. Mary wasn’t married and she was told she would become pregnant with a child. This would bring shame upon her, shame upon her family, and shame upon her village. Why would God ask her to do that? I was too afraid to voice what I was thinking. I didn’t want to shame Senda by questioning her. But, I really wanted to understand.

My thoughts were interrupted by one of the women saying, “She was willing to listen to the angel and ask him questions.”

WOW! I hadn’t caught that either time Senda told the story. Mary questioned God’s angel! We don’t even sit in the same area as the men in our village much less talk to them. We would never consider asking them questions in response. What kind of God allows a woman to ask His angel questions? The more I thought about Senda’s sacred story the more I started to ask questions in my heart about the Most High God. It seems like He honored women, and He was willing to let women talk to His angels. He didn’t shame Mary. He lifted Mary up by blessing her. What kind of God gives women such honor? What kind of God gives women such freedom to speak? How can I know this Most Hight God?

“Yes! Good! These are great answers,” said Senda. “What do you learn about her response to the angel of the Most High God?”

One of the women whispered, “She said she was the Most High God’s servant and agreed that it should be as the angel suggested.”

I thought to myself, “That is what I want, too! I want to be the servant of the Most High God and do as He asks!”

“Yes! That is right! Mary said she was willing to be the LORD’s servant. She was willing to do as the LORD asks. I would like to share with you a little bit about my story and why I am here.”

I leaned in because I wanted to know everything about why Senda came to our village this day!

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Solar Powered Bible

I am so excited about these new Solar Audio devices that Audio Scripture is testing out, that can be requested and distribute at a lower price point. They can be charged with the sun or with with a USB port charger. 

They can be uploaded by our team leader Jonathan to hold the Bible, Leadership lessons, discipleship training, evangelism training, music, etc. in different languages.  The larger device even has a flash light that has four levels of brightness that is 3x's better than an IPhone.

How might you use these?

In the US....

With the elderly that need to just listen. 

With someone in crisis that is having difficulty focusing so they can just listen.

With the blind.

With someone in the hospital.

With children.

With someone wanting to learn English. 

With anyone that prefers to listen and not read. 

For refugee empowerment.

For inner city encouragement. 

Keep one in your car in case you drive in an area where you don't get radio reception. 

Teams traveling over seas can take these as gifts to give out in the heart language of the people. Whether you are visiting family, going on a business trip, or going as a church team. 

Over seas...

Teams can do distributions of devices in the language of the people. 

Teams can leave behind with extra training content so that teaching can continue when they leave. 

We have a friend on our prayer team that always carries a device with him here in the US. He prays and sees who God wants him to give it to. He finds ways to be generous with God's Word through solar devices. 

They come in different colors. 

How might God be encouraging you to distribute God's Word through a solar device today?

Contact info@audioscripture.org to order 1 or 100 or 1,000! 

Please share this post!

Sunday, March 21, 2021

What is discipleship?

What is discipleship?

My very first memory of someone trying to disciple me happened in my stepsister’s bedroom when I was about five years old. Dorcas, my cousin, was five years older than me and I thought she was the most amazing person in the whole wide world. She could tell stories in such a way that I just wanted to stop and listen. And on this day as I sat on the floor leaning against the yellow flower print bedspread, Dorcas told me that I was a sinner and that I needed to ask Jesus to be my Savior. I was five at the time. I honestly had no clue what she was talking about, but if Dorcas said that I needed God’s forgiveness because I was a sinner then I was going to kneel and pray because she said so. I got on my knees and leaned with my elbows against the bed and prayed what Dorcas told me to pray. I was clueless that this was Dorcas’ attempt to disciple me or to show me how to become a follower of Jesus. I honestly do not even know if she understood that was what she was doing. But this is obviously what she had been told she should do and so she did. 

What does it mean to be a disciple? I feel like my life has little glimpses that later became profound moments that shaped me over time. Each of these little moments added up so that I could understand discipleship. My memory of Dorcas reminds me of the day that John the Baptist pointed Jesus out to his disciples and said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” (John 1:36). And immediately the disciples of John just got up and started following Jesus. One moment, they were the disciples of John and the next they were the followers of Jesus. Did you catch that? A disciple follows the one they want to learn from. This disciple transition happened in part because as Jesus' ministry began, it was time for John's ministry to end. John clearly explained to his disciples he was sent to prepare the way for the Christ, the one to take away the sins of the world. As John's testimony pointed to Jesus, as the true Lamb of God, Jesus started inviting men to be His disciples by asking them to come and follow Him. So, John's disciples stopped following him and started following Jesus.  

The Greek word for disciple is mathetes and it means to be a pupil, learner, or student. Please read John 1:35-51, in this passage, we have the example of what it looked like those first days that the disciples started to follow Jesus. Who were the people that followed Jesus? We know that two of John's disciples followed Jesus, Andrew plus one more. Then Andrew took Simon Peter to follow Jesus while Jesus invited Phillip personally to follow Him. Phillip in turn invited Nathanael. I love that there is no set way that any one of them started following Jesus. Each one was invited or told in a different way. Did you notice that each one gave a different title that revealed something about Jesus' character? John pointed to the Lamb of God. John’s former disciples called Jesus, teacher, or Rabbi. Andrew called Jesus, the Messiah and the One Called the Christ and Philip called Jesus the One Moses and the Prophets talked about, Jesus of Nazareth, and Son of Joseph. Nathanael called Jesus the Son of God and the King of Israel. Even Jesus got in the name identifying and called Himself, the Son of Man.

What does this tell you about our invitation to follow Jesus or what might happen as we become a disciple of Jesus? One thing is for certain, our invitation to become a disciple of Jesus will come in many different ways and by different people. For some, it will be by a specific invite from Jesus Himself. Sometimes, people will point to Jesus and emphasize different truths about Him that will cause us to want to go and see for ourselves. I love how our invitation is so personal and so relational. I wish I could talk to each disciple and ask them why it was important for them to know that character trait of Jesus. It makes sense to me that John would tell his disciples that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Jesus is the final sacrifice that all of history had been waiting for. As I pondered this, I happened to notice something that became quite profound for me. As I looked at each name given for Jesus, I noticed that each one represented something unique about Jesus’ historical identity that His future disciples would need to know. This is what I saw:

  • Rabbi… HIS MISSION. He is our heavenly teacher. 

  • The Messiah... HIS GIFT. It is through Jesus we receive the gift of eternal life. 

  • The One Called the Christ... HIS TITLE. No one else holds this title. 

  • The One Moses and the Prophets talked about ... HIS HISTORY (HIS story). God planned for Jesus all along. 

  • Jesus of Nazareth... HIS EARTHLY HOME. This allows us to see Jesus’ earthly dwelling.

  • Son of Joseph... HIS EARTHLY DAD. This allows us to see Jesus’ humanity.

  • Son of God... HIS HEAVENLY FATHER. This allows us to see Jesus’ divinity.

  • King of Israel... HIS HEAVENLY KINGDOM. This allows us to see His kingdom.

  • Son of Man... HIS HUMILITY. This allows us to see His servant leadership. 

In knowing Jesus’ story through His character and different titles that He was given helps us to know His identity and as we know Him, we are better able to know ourselves. We will identify with a character trait that will help us grow in our relationship with Him which will in turn help us grow in our relationship with others.  

Did you also notice the disciples moved to action immediately? John pointed his disciples to Jesus. Andrew brought Simon Peter to Jesus and Philip brought Nathanael. Have you ever had a teacher that taught you something and it stayed in your head for days? And every time you spoke to someone you shared what you heard or learned? When we are a disciple of a teacher, we follow this person because we want to know what they know so that we can be like them. And when we have a teacher that catches our attention, we always want to bring someone along. Just this morning, I met with a young leader friend, Katie, that calls me periodically to meet, and she asked me, “What is God teaching you today?” I was more than happy to share with her that I read a truth in the John C. Maxwell, Leadership Bible that really blessed me. Christian discipleship is about multiplying Jesus in us so that we can multiply Jesus in others. We will do what we can to share what we have seen and heard. 

What if Jesus said to you, “What do you want?” Would you be willing to say, “I want to know where you are staying?” Are you open to respond to Jesus saying, “Come and you will see!” Would you be willing to follow Him? Are you willing to be like John the Baptist, Andrew, and Phillip and invite those around you to know Jesus and share with them what you discover about His name, character, or identity? Can you say you are a disciple of Jesus? WHO should you invite to follow Jesus? 

Tara Rye/3/19/21

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Walking in Discipleship: Jesus Calls His Disciples (John 1:35-51)

This particular story has always been a profound blessing to me. I love it because I see that when it comes to discipleship that it is meant to be unique for each person. Sometimes, we might call out a character trait of Jesus, and sometimes He might call out a character trait in us. We are uniquely and divinely called and in our calling, we are uniquely and divinely inspired! Check out what happened when several of the disciples started to follow Jesus.