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Thursday's Discipleship Response
John 13:35
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
~ Jesus
• In Christ I have been called and gifted to participate in building up His body through gracious works of service.
Pondering Point
Just like the original disciples sent by Jesus, we too engage the world not just with a message but with a method to accompany it. The message is the gospel; the method is love. Without this method, the message rings hollow and empty. In the New Testament, the book immediately following the gospels is the Acts of the Apostles. The acts of those first disciples are long done, but the current crop of disciples still have many more ‘act-ions’ to play out so that the message of Jesus is received. Let’s review our “acts” as disciples of Jesus:
Review
Are you acting like a disciple? Is your method of ‘loving one another’ aligned with God’s Word? Are you helping build up His body while you live among others?
Repent if necessary...
of inappropriate actions, of exhibiting a way of life that is mis-aligns with God’s desires for his disciples, or of failing to build up the body of Christ.
Return as necessary
to your God-given identity as a disciple united in Jesus and called to build up his body. Focus on abiding in His love before you prepare to return to the world with God’s method and message of Jesus’ love.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, let our actions be full of love, serving as a congruent basis for Your message that we bring to the world – one of grace and forgiveness and mercy and love and unity found in You. In Your name we pray. Amen.