DISCIPLESHIP: THE COMFORT AND THE COST

“Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days; let them flow in endless praise.” - Frances Ridley Havergal.

Moments have a way of staying with us. There are sweet moments of joy, but there are also deep moments of sorrow. In life, we have joyful mountain top moments, and we have grief-filled valley moments. A life devoted to discipleship is a moment-by-moment life of surrender.

Discipleship is relational, intentional, and transformational. It is an investment of our moments for His Glory, empowered by the sweet Holy Ghost. The word discipleship in the Greek means a learner, a follower. To disciple means to extend an invitation to follow Christ. It is incarnational, inviting others to experience both the comfort and the cost of discipleship. It is an investment of our moments, to instruct, to invest, to model, to nurture, to equip, to love. As we learn from, and follow Christ, we are called to come alongside others to help them become learners and followers.

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

We see the comfort of His authority; we see the comfort of His abiding presence; we see the cost of our surrender and our obedience. Dear sisters, may we encourage those we disciple to passionately hide the Word of God in their hearts, study the Word in context, help them to abide in Christ, the true Vine, and to bear fruit. May we love them well and may the fruit of the Spirit be evident in our discipling. Amid a world filled with false doctrines, persecutions, and distractions, may we encourage them to be like the Bereans in Acts Chapter 17, who received the Word with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. May we nourish our disciples well, in His Word, in His love, in both the comfort and the cost of discipleship. A malnourished disciple will, in turn, make a malnourished disciple. In these times of shaking, may we nourish and equip unshakable disciples. “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” - Edward Mote.

Sweet sisters, our moments matter. Moments of love and instruction in our homes, in our families, in our friendships, in our pulpits, at our tables, and to the nations. We go, we preach, we care, we pray, we disciple, and we love - “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35 ESV

We love. As a church family, we continue to extend our comfort and love for our dear Lori, Bishop Gary, and their family. We grieve deeply, because we love deeply. In closing, a few moments that always stay with me are the last moments with my beautiful Momma, not knowing they were my last. We had just served warm gingerbread at church, and I walked her to her car. Almost 17 years ago this March, Jesus called her home suddenly that night. Our Good Shepherd called me to the pulpit to preach her funeral, and I followed. In officiating countless gravesides since, including my precious Daddy, the comfort of discipleship remains. He remains faithful, and He sustains.

Be encouraged, dear sister. Where your Good Shepherd leads you, He is faithful to sustain you. I am thankful for the loving, beautiful, solid women who continue to nourish me in the faith, and I am so encouraged by the women He has called me to disciple, as they continue to learn and follow. Never underestimate your investment in your everyday moments of surrender, and in your everyday moments of your discipleship; they matter for eternity.

Kelly, alongside her husband Kevin, currently serve as Assistant Pastors of the Newport, Vermont Church of God in Northern New England.  Kelly studied Christian Leadership online at Lee University and she is an Ordained Minister in the Church of God. She has a passion for sharing the Gospel and equipping the next generation of leaders.