Marks of Discipleship - Spending Time with the Teacher Copy

Discipleship isn’t about checking religious boxes—it’s about living from your identity as God’s beloved, deepening your relationship with Christ, letting your mind be renewed, showing up in community, and serving the world with love. In this devotional series, Pastor Nate shares reflections on different aspects of discipleship.

“Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind”
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect – Romans 12:2

and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator. – Colossians 3:10

to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. – Ephesians 4:22-24


Our minds are a gift from God and the scriptures are clear about the importance of studying, learning, and growing in our understanding of God and the world.  Disciples of Jesus are committed to always learning more about the teaching of Christ.
 
In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul urges the Christians in Rome to be transformed by renewing their minds.  This is a powerful reminder that we should never believe that we have everything figure out.  We are called to remain curious, to recognize that we will never be able to fully understand everything about God and so there is always need to learn from the experiences and insights of others; always need to grow in our understanding of who God is and what Christ taught.

We are all a work in progress and we are all being continually transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and one of the key ways this transformation happens is through study and intellectual growth.  As disciples we must remain committed to learning from our Teacher Jesus.  Our powerful minds are an invaluable gift from God and God intends for us to use our intellect to learn and grow and better understand how Jesus is calling us to live today.

Pastor Nate

No Comments


Categories

Tags

Abide Academics Acts 2:42 Advent Aging Centering Prayer Children of God Christmas College Connection Cosmic Christ Courage Doubt Elijah Faith Forgetfulness Genesis God with Us God's mission God\'s mission Good News Hebrews 11:1 Holy Spirit Hope Identity Isaiah 25 Jesus Kingdom of God Lent Marks of Discipleship Mercy Messianic Secret One Simple Tool Practice Presence of God Providence Questions Reason Reconstruction Sermon on the Mount Spiritual Practices This We Believe Trinity Trust Uncertainty Universal Christ abundant life allegiance art assumptions banquets baptism beginnings blessed to be a blessing blessings blessing breathe burdens calling care catechism celebration census change church communion community compassion confession control covenant creation cross daily bread death discernment discipleship discomfort division early church easter emotions encouragement epiphany ethical dilemma exile exodus expectations faith in daily life faithfulness fear feast food forgiveness freedom fundamentals generations generosity gift good friday grace gratitude grief guidance history holy week humility immediately incarnation interruptions joy justice justification laws life of faith life light of the world love majesty mentor mission trips music mysticism nature new life ordinary ways of God party patience peace pentecost perseverance personal podcast poetry political prayer promises read reconciliation redemption relationships representatives rest resurrection sabbatical reflections salavation salvation seasons sermon service shepherd silence sing sin societal issues songs stewardship suffering theology of the cross theology time transformation unexpected unity unseen vocation water weakness wisdom wonder words and actions worship zombies

Archive

 2025