Print Article 8 Devotionals PDF

Article 8: Our Vocation - Love and Disciple-Making
We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor, and justice for the oppressed. With God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's commission, we are to make disciples among all peoples, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

 Devotional for the Week
John 15:5 (Read as a Family)

Jesus has declared that he is the Bread of Life; the Light; the Gate; the Good Shepherd; The Resurrection and the Life; the Way, the Truth, and the Life... ending with what we read here: "I am the vine." Jesus is saying that we can do nothing without him. He compares himself to the vine and us to the branches. A vine is the source of life for the branches. It is what gives food and strength and nutrients to the rest of the plant. Jesus is making a comparison here: In the same way that the vine strengthens the branches, Jesus gives us great strength and power. But we have to stay connected to the vine if we want to have a full life, a meaningful life. If we do not put our trust in this "vine," it will be impossible for us to bear fruit.

This idea of bearing fruit is one that can be hard to understand. "Bearing fruit" means that when we follow Jesus, our lives look different. When we are connected to Jesus, plugged into God, rooted and planted in God's word... We are joyful; we serve those around us; we care about people when they are hurting; we reach out to the kid who sits alone at the lunch table. We reflect God to the world. "Bearing fruit" doesn't mean we get to lead an easy life. But it does mean we lead a full and fruitful life. It means that we can rest in the knowledge that our Savior will provide for us.

• If you were to look in a garden, what happens to a plant if it is separated from its roots? (explain how this is similar to a vine and its branches)
• When is it difficult to stay connected to God? What keeps us from staying connected to God?
• What does it mean for us to "bear fruit?" Does your life "bear fruit?" How?

Prayer: Confess the areas where you haven't been allowing God to be the vine in your life. Ask for him to be the provider for your life, for your family, for the world. Thank God for his grace!

Family Activity Options:

• Buy some flowers this week, or cut a flower from its roots and place it in a vase. Check in with the plant— every morning— and watch how the plant slowly dies throughout the week. Talk about how being disconnected from God is like a plant being disconnected from its roots— it is cut off from its source of life and no longer offers fragrance and beauty to the world. Encourage your kids to stay connected to Jesus.
• Buy a plant at the store (maybe an herb or something small) and plant it in your backyard or in a pot on your window sill. Let your kids get their hands dirty. Perhaps each child could have their own plant. Talk about how when we are planted in God, rooted in God, we bring life to the world.

~Blake Riboli

Monday
Genesis 1:28

What a privilege to be trusted by our maker! When Chris and I discovered that were having a fourth child we were both overwhelmed and humbled by the thought of being trusted to raise another one of God's precious creations. I can't begin to count the times that I have felt unprepared to parent my children, or how often I feel like a failure as a mom (or as a failure at a lot of things, for that matter).

Then we found that we were having a girl. Honestly, I felt like I was still recovering (with open wounds) from getting two daughters through adolescence! I was amazed that we were being asked to do it again. At times like these I know there is something deep that God wants to teach me about who he is and who he created me to be.

I've often asked, "Lord, you know me, so why do you assign me the tasks that you do?" I sense God saying to me that he loves me and trusts me...which is equally humbling and scary, and, frankly, I don't get it. So I rely on my firm belief that he knows what he is doing – and it is not my job to figure that all out. All I must do is step into what he is calling me to, out of gratitude and in obedience to The One who gave everything for me. And so I do; often doubting my ability, but trusting him; frequently doubting my wisdom and crying out for his.

It is in the power of God's Spirit that we go forth as followers of Jesus with loads of responsibility to care for all that he has entrusted us with. Although we may not believe that we are qualified or prepared to do what he asks of us, we must remember that when he created us, he saw that "it was very good."

Lord, sometimes our job descriptions per your Word seem overwhelming. But you know why you ask us to do things we feel we cannot. Increase our faith and our trust in you. Give us courage to walk forth in the adventure of following you and give us boldness in knowing and pursing what is right in order that this world that you have given us charge over reflects every beautiful aspect of our Creator.

~Mayra Macedo-Nolan

Tuesday
John 15:5

Your dad's leg.

At age 5 it seemed as though it was the safest place in the whole world. Like a koala bear on a branch you'd cling to your dad's leg in times of uncertainty. You had comfort and assurance. Then would come the time where he'd encourage you do something hard. The slide was Mount Everest. Your bike without training wheels was a wild steed waiting to buck you off. But somehow, someway, him being there with you made you feel something. He'd show us how to conquer that slide. You'd watch him with your eyes fixated on his every move to show you how it's done. It was comforting to know that being with him would enable you to do tasks that you never thought possible. It was comforting that him being in the same space as you would encourage you to brave the unknown.

Jesus had twelve shadows. And his shadows multiplied with every miracle and truth that was pointing people to the truth that they were truly following the Son of God. The shadows were his disciples, and they hung on to his every word and action, hoping that if they stayed close enough to see and touch Jesus that He would change them from the inside out. Spending time in the presence of Jesus does something powerful to our inmost being. The more that his words become our meditations, and his actions become our actions, the more our lives look like his love. The NBA player has the coach. The student has the professor. We spend our time around the experts to show us how to master tasks and excel and grow. Jesus is more than an expert or your average brilliant teacher. His powerful presence, grace, and mercy enable us to show fruit, a fruit that is transformational from the inside out.

How does the time you spend with Jesus change the way you live?

~Perry Hawkins

Wednesday
Micah 6:8

When I was a teenager I was super lazy. I would do my best to find ways to get out of being responsible. Here's an example: taking out the trash. During the summer my parents would be at work and when they came home the trash would be full. They would get angry with me for not emptying it. And I would usually say something like this: "But you didn't tell me to empty the trash before you left." They would respond to my excuse by reminding me that taking out the trash was my responsibility no matter what. I shouldn't have to be told to do it because it was always expected of me.

This is how I think about Micah 6.8 – it's where we find our standing orders. Some of us might be tempted to begin our relationship with Jesus and then do nothing. Sometimes we even say things like: "I don't want to do anything until I get clear confirmation from the Lord." Well, here is clear confirmation! Micah 6.8 contains the basic expectations that God has for people who believe in him.

What do these expectations look like?

God wants us to act justly. He desires for us to do what is right and to fight for what is right for others. God doesn't want us to sit idly by when there are grave injustices in our world and he doesn't want us to sit idly by when our lives become filled with ungodly behavior. Instead we are called to act justly!

God wants us to love mercy. Part of our job description is to be people who give second chances. Can you imagine your life if no one ever gave you second chances, if no one ever showed you mercy? So God in this passage is asking us to love mercy in our relationships and also in our wider world.

God wants us to walk humbly with him. This is active, not passive! Our relationship with God should result in God moving us from one place to another. But in that process we must walk with him humbly, always remembering who we are. We're not God and at the end of the day we're all sinners in need of grace like everyone else!

This passage is a clarion call for us to get in the game and to begin actively following Jesus!

~Matt Barnes

Thursday
James 1:27

Twenty years ago I met a man who discipled me more than any other regarding unconditional love. Ole Uca is a Maasai tribesman in East Africa. I met him while working on a project related to a Lake Avenue Church missionaries Byron and Lisa Borden. His understanding of "looking" after widows was anything but academic.

Ole Uca was a widower himself once. He was a poor older man with no cows and a few goats. He had become a follower of Jesus through the Borden's work in his rural district of Kenya. Though illiterate, he listened intently to the Word of God, was discipled by it, and obeyed what he learned. And this Word went deep.

In traditional Maasai culture, a widow without children in the village would be abandoned by her clan because she had nothing to offer and the extra mouth to feed put others at risk. She would usually die of exposure or wild animal attack. This was considered an appropriate, sensible action. Ole Uca learned in the Scriptures of the high value God places on the most vulnerable and the commands he gives his followers to care for widows, orphans, and migrants in particular.

As we worked side by side, Ole Uca told me about his wives (plural). Where once he was a widower, now he had three wives. He was still desperately poor materially, but not in Sprit. He would not see these widows abandoned and turned out to die, instead he married them as an act of obedience and mercy.

I was stunned by this sacrificial and counter-cultural act he undertook. In his culture, multiple wives is common and he used this common reality to save the lives of these three women. Ole Uca taught me everything I know about unconditional, costly, and creative love.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress...

A Prayer of Commitment
Father to the Fatherless, Companion to the solitary:
Grant in me a heart tuned to compassion. Give me courage to love in ways others will not even contemplate. Grant me faith to act in love toward those around me, those who are most alone, those most alienated, those most overwhelmed by life, those with the fewest resources at their disposal. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear so that in fact, the religion I practice is more than just acceptable to you Father, but is in fact celebrated by you as an accurate outworking of your heart and work in the world.

~Scott White

Friday
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Once a month I get the joy of serving communion to members of our Shepherd's class – church members with developmental or physical challenges. Each time I teach and present the communion elements, we have a wonderful dialogue about who is Jesus and why He saved us. During these times, I am reminded of the fact that our faith must be strong but at the same time it must be like the faith of a little child.

In 1Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul reminds us that Christ's body was broken for us and His blood was shed for us. Further he reminds us that as we take these elements we are doing what the Lord asked of His disciples and us at the last Supper.

Let us remember His death on the cross for our sins and the privilege of being His child. Next we are to follow His Greatest Commandment to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and soul and to love our neighbor as we love our self, because He first loved us. Finally we are called to obediently follow the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations because He has graciously equipped us to be His ambassadors (His hands and feet) on earth.

So friends, as you come to the communion table each month, come with a heart ready to receive your Lord's forgiveness, love, and hope for the future so that you may pour out to others as you go out into the world.

~Bill Mead

Saturday
Romans 6:1-4

"Presenting Issues" are issues that push us to seek help. It's the 'last straw that broke the camel's back'. They are not the root cause of our problem but they have caused us enough pain that we reach out to a friend, pastor, or counselor.

A friend once asked to meet for coffee to discuss something he was struggling with. He started talking about his difficulty in making a commitment to his long-term girlfriend. This was not a new topic for us but the fact that he brought it up and that she was pregnant was new. This reality caused him enough pain that he was ready to seriously discuss the topic.

As we talked more about his struggles, he was able to realize that his fear was not committing to his girlfriend; it was the fear of divorce. He talked about how his parent's divorce affected him as a child. Unconsciously, he was making sure not to repeat the mistake by not making a commitment. He was able to make the connection by himself without me saying anything. His motivation to be honest with himself came from the pain caused by his actions that were not honoring God.

This experience opened up a door for my friend to re-commit his life to God, make a genuine commitment to his girlfriend, now wife, and build a firm foundation for his marriage.

God's grace is evident in his life now. He looks back at that moment of crisis as the moment of truth.

Romans 6:1 asks "1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?"

The answer is given on verses Romans 6:2-4.

By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

~Tsega Worku