We all have busy lives.  We have kids that need to go to sports practice, music lessons, cheer practice and the list goes on and on.  We are overloaded. And we get so used to this busy schedule that we fall down on the job. And we stop doing what God has commanded us to do.  So what’s one more thing to do?

Matthew 28:18-20. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ^19 [a]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you ^[b]always, even to the end of the age.”

First off, thank the Holy Spirit He is with us – to the end of the age!  I don’t know about you, but I screw things up when I stop listening to His still small voice.

We invite our friends and neighbors to church.  And we reason that God will convict them there.  We just have to get them to the altar so they can be saved.  And then we walk away.  After all, they are saved now, right?

Jesus told us to go, baptize and MAKE DISCIPLES.  WOW!  Now I have to mentor someone?  With my schedule?  I just don’t have the time.  I don’t know how, I wouldn’t know what to say… These are just some of the excuses we make up.  Or we leave it to other folks. But discipleship isn’t just mentoring.  Here’s a great definition from Ann Swindell.

What is discipleship? Put simply, discipleship means intentionally partnering with another Christian in order to help that person obey Jesus and grow in relationship with Him—so that he or she can then help others do the same.
Well, here’s where we, me included, fall down on the job.  Oh sure, I invite people to church ALL. THE. TIME. And then I’m done. or at least that’s the way I treat it.  Can you say, “Conviction”!

What happens if we don’t show them how to live for Jesus?  They say, it’s too hard and fall away.  They try on their own and mess it up.  A million different things can go wrong.  Like a little baby, they need to be taught from scratch.  After all, they are “born again”, right?

Ann Swindell in her article for Relevant Magazine entitled, “What Christians Get Wrong About Discipleship” makes a great point.

“While discipleship is all about Jesus, it’s not a solitary endeavor. Discipleship is relational, and to fully respond to the Great Commission, we need to be disciples who are making disciples of Jesus. This means we need to spend consistent time with other believers.

Jesus and His disciples spent a lot of time together (Acts 1:21-22). They ate together, walked together, rode in boats together. They even fought together (Luke 9:46-48). The 12 disciples were in one another’s lives, constantly and intentionally”.

Intentionally.  On purpose.  With a strategy.

And so what can we do with all of our excuses? Excuses, excuses!

Acts 1:8 …but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

KNOW that the Holy Spirit will guide you to be HIS witness to everyone everywhere! It’s His job to speak through you.  It’s all on Him! You just have to be ready and willing.

So while you’re out running around with kids, errands, marketing, be ready to speak to whoever the Holy Spirit points out to you.  See, it’s not really a time thing, it’s a heart thing. Besides, God is the God of time.  If you stop and do what He tells you to do, don’t you think He’ll supply the time you need to get your stuff done, too?!!!

And just wait until Part 3!