The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#476: The Danger of Instant Gratification Dec 06, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Guard your heart against the lure of instant gratification. While recognition feels good, know that you don’t need it. Let your heart say focused on doing the right thing for the right reasons.

Main Points:

1. We live today in a culture of instant gratification. We want to be validated for who we are and what we do and we want that validation right now.
2. The desire for instant gratification often stems from a deep insecurity, a longing to be noticed, recognized, and accepted.
3. Could it be that you and I serve God simply because we love him and want to obey him? Could our motivation be that we want to glorify and honor God in all we do?

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Colossians 3:23-24 - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Jeremiah 17:9 - “The heart is deceitful above all things.”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#475: Don't Look Back Dec 05, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

You and I are able to put the past behind us because it has been forgiven. Every day we experience new mercy and grace. We let go of old hurts, habits, and hangups. Sometimes we have to daily, intentionally let go of the old life. We choose new life in Jesus. We refuse to go back to who were and what we were.

Main Points:

1. There are many cautions in the Bible about looking back. God intends for us to keep our eyes on him as we move forward
2. Even though we have been forgiven of our sins and the record of our offenses has been washed away by the blood of Jesus, Satan still likes to remind us of our past.
3. Instead of looking back, look up. Reach for the daily strength God wants to give you. And look forward to the future God already has prepared for you.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Genesis 19:17 - “When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley!”
Genesis 19:26 - “But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.”

Luke 9:62 - “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#474: The Courage to Keep Going Dec 04, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Courage is not just seen in the big things. Courage is demonstrated every day. When you keep trusting God you have courage. When you don’t give up on your God-given dreams, you have courage. When you step out in faith and obedience, you have courage. When you persevere and refuse to quit when it’s hard, you have courage.

Main Points:

1. If we know we are doing the right thing, we need the courage to continue doing it, even though there are obstacles.
2. Sometimes everything within you will want to quit. Life’s circumstances have a way of making us feel like moving forward is impossible.
3. Repeatedly we see in scripture the call to find our strength in the Lord.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Proverbs 24:10 says “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”

2 Timothy 2:1 says, “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”

James 1:12 - “God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#473: Partners in Prayer Dec 03, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

God never intended us to practice our faith in isolation. This concept is not in the New Testament. Sometimes today I’ll hear people say, “I don’t need the church. I don’t need to be around other Christian. Jesus himself is enough for me.” While you may not feel you need other believers in your life, other believers do need you. In the Bible, wherever we see Christians, we see them coming together. We were meant to serve Jesus together. Nothing brings us together more than supporting each other in prayer.

Main Points:

1. When it comes to the topic of prayer, it can be so valuable to have a trusted friend as your partner.
2. Who is in your life? Who can you count on? Who is in your corner? Who will encourage you when you are discouraged? Who will pray with you when life is difficult? Who will hold you accountable when you are struggling? We are not meant to go through life alone.
3. Nothing brings us together more than supporting each other in prayer.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 - “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Matthew 18:19-20 - “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
James 5:16 - “Pray for each other so that you may be healed”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#472: God's Vision for your Life Dec 02, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

We can become comfortable and complacent and in the process lose our vision. We hear a lot about having a vision these days, so what is vision? The simplest definition of vision is the ability to see. In the Christian sense, vision is the ability to see God’s preferred future for your life. We hear it all the time. God has a plan, but can you see it?

Main Points:

1. When we have no God-given vision for our lives, we tend to wander. We might feel aimless and unsure of our future direction.
2. The truth be told, God doesn’t have one grand purpose for your life. He has many purposes.
3. The thing about vision is that it leads us forward. It’s not God’s will that we stay static. His will is that we keep moving forward to accomplish his plans for us.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Proverbs 29:18 says “where there is no vision, the people perish”
Ephesians 2:10 - “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Philippians 1:6 - “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#471: The Spiritual Discipline of Silence Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Solitude and silence before the Lord are helpful because it quietens our soul. Even if you find a place to be alone and there is no external noise, you still have to quieten the noise inside. Within us, there are the sounds of stress, anxiety, fear, and worry. Sometimes it’s harder to silence the inner noise than it is the external.

Main Points:

1. Our days are long and full. They are filled with activity and conversation. Rarely, do we find the time to be still and quiet.
2. In our silence, God is not silent. He speaks wonderfully and powerfully to our hearts and these are the words we desperately need to hear.
3. We must make sure that God’s voice is the loudest voice in our lives, but when we are listening to so much eternal noise, God’s voice often gets faded out.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Psalm 62:5 - “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”

Lamentations 3:26 - “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Psalm 37:7 - “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.”

Matthew 14:23 - “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#470: Rescued by God Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

The Big Idea:

Like a shipwrecked person on a deserted island, apart from a relationship with God we too are alone and isolated. But God, in His love for us, has come to rescue us. We are not abandoned in the darkness of sin’s power. Jesus has come to our rescue.

Main Points:

1. Jesus rescues us from the power of sin.
2. Jesus rescues us from the penalty of sin.
3. To be rescued, we must accept His rescue by putting our faith in Him.

Today’s Scripture Verses:

Colossians 1:13-14 - “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Romans 6:23 - “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Quick Links:

Connect on Social

Most Recent Episodes:

#469: God Will Provide For You Nov 29, 2021

Show notes

Episode 469 - Show Notes

God has promised to meet ALL of our needs. Not just our financial needs. There are things you need that are more valuable than money and possessions. You have spiritual needs, relationship needs, and the need for physical, mental, and emotional health. But God has promised to meet them all.
Let’s walk through this promise together. Paul says, “And my God will…” This is an unusual expression because Paul could easily have said “And God will meet all your needs.” But when he says “my God” he is making it very personal.
When Paul says “my God,” he wants us to remember that the same God who worked all the mighty miracles in the Bible is the same God who makes this amazing promise.
Next, he says “…will meet all your needs…” Nor might, may, but will.
“…according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” God will never go bankrupt. He has unlimited resources. God’s supply never runs out.
Regardless of what I see in my life right now, I choose to stand on the promises of God. This is where faith comes in. Faith is critical. Will you believe when you don’t see it?
There is no promise in the Bible that believers won’t suffer hardships or difficulties. But God does promise to be with us and I believe he makes a way for us to endure and to be satisfied.
Anyone can believe God will provide after He has done so, but faith precedes receiving. Will you believe God’s promise to provide for your needs before he does so? After receiving the promise, the result is a stronger faith in God. We believed and we have now seen that he is faithful.
If you have an area of your life in which you need God’s provision, stand on the promise of His Word. Ask God to meet your need. Believe that he will do it. Allow God to meet your needs in his way and in his time. You’ll find that He is faithful.

Psalm 37:25 - “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

Psalm 34;10 - “…those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”

Philippians 4:19 - ““And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

5MinuteDiscipleship.com
The 5 Minute Discipleship Journal
Join the 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group
Buy me a coffee

#468: The Fullness of God Nov 28, 2021

Show notes

Episode 468 - Show Notes

Listen to those words, “filled with all the fullness of God.” How can we contain all of God. It’s like trying to empty the ocean. There is more of God than we could ever possibly experience.
Paul is praying for men and women who had already placed their faith in Jesus. They were Christ-followers, but Paul prays that they would experience more of God in their lives.
I believe this is God’s will for you and me too. We must be careful about two extremes. The first would be to think we know it all and have experienced all there is of God. The second would be to be so full of the things of this world that we leave no place for more of God.
Both extremes are likely, but for most of us, the second is more of an issue. Many of us listening today would say, “I want to experience more of God in my life. I want more of His presence, more of his power, and more of his love.”
It’s important to ask ourselves, “Is there space in my life for more of God?” If you are anything like me you fill your time with activity and your mind with information. We fill our appetites with food, pleasurable things, and entertainment.
Not everyone wants to be full of God. Some want just enough of God so that they are protected, happy, and guaranteed Heaven when we die. They don’t want so much of God that it changes the way they live or alters their priorities.
But being full of God is the whole goal of the Christian life. The word for “filled” has the idea of being dominated by something. If you are filled with rage, then rage will dominate your life. If you are filled with love, then love dominates your life. If you are filled with joy, then joy dominates your life. When you are filled with God, then God himself will dominate your life. It pictures the total transformation of the human personality by virtue of the presence of God in your life.
This is an amazing thought—to be filled up with all the fullness of God. As believers, we have been created to be the containers of God. He desires to pour his life into ours and to fill us until we’re full.
So, how can we experience a greater measure of God in our lives? I believe it starts with what Jesus said in the Beatitudes…we must hunger and thirst for him. Let’s check our appetites. What are you hungry for? Do you have an appetite for God? We can pray and ask God to increase our spiritual appetite for Him.
Second, we empty ourselves of those things that are taking up unnecessary space. You only have so much capacity. If your life is so full of other things, you’ll need to make some spiritual decisions.
Third, we experience more of God when we seek after him.

Ephesians 3:16, 19 - “I pray…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Matthew 5:6 - “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.”

5MinuteDiscipleship.com
The 5 Minute Discipleship Journal
Join the 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group
Buy me a coffee

#467: Defining our Faith in Jesus Nov 27, 2021

Show notes

Episode 467 - Show Notes

When we believe in Jesus we are leaning our whole weight upon him. Our trust is completely in Jesus. With all that we are we lean on Christ. We trust in no one or nothing else for our salvation. Our faith is in Christ, and Christ alone.
I wonder if today, we might struggle with what it means to believe in Jesus. For some, belief is a mental assent or agreement. It’s a theological acknowledgment, but their lives are not transformed because they have not fully leaned on Jesus for salvation.
To believe in Jesus we put our complete trust in him for our salvation. No amount of works or good deeds would ever be enough. We completely trust the finished work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
To believe, we confess him our savior and our Lord. We give our whole heart and full life to him. We surrender our lives to his will and his purpose.
Genuine faith is more than believing Jesus is real and that he died for us. It is relying on and trusting in these facts.
This understanding is so important. Our eternal destiny depends on you and I having genuine faith in Christ. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder.” James is saying the belief in God’s existence is not enough for salvation. Even demons believe God is real. We must have saving faith, a faith that fully leans on Jesus.
By faith, I am relying on Jesus’ death on my behalf. By faith, I believe he took my place on the cross. By faith, I believe he has forgiven me of all of my sins. By faith, I believe in His promise of eternal life.

Mark 16:16 - “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

John 1:12 - “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Romans 10:9 - “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

5MinuteDiscipleship.com
The 5 Minute Discipleship Journal
Join the 5 Minute Discipleship Facebook Group
Buy me a coffee

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected