A Confession

I shared with my discipleship group last Tuesday a particular area in my walk with God that I need to improve. Accountability is vital for growth.

A Confession

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

(James 5:16)

I shared with my discipleship group last Tuesday night a particular area in my walk with God that I need to improve. I love our D-path groups at our church. Each week we meet and share how God is working in our lives. Recently, we started reading Jim Putman's excellent training manual, Real-Life Discipleship Training Manual. It is a 12-week study that literally equips believers for how they can make disciples. I have taken many men through it and highly recommend it for both men's and women's D-path groups.

My confession to the guys last week had to do with interruptibility; I am not sure that is even a word, but here is what I mean: I need to grow in my walk with the Lord so that I am not so focused on my own agenda that I miss His. Being focused and disciplined are positive traits, and I am grateful to God that He gives these to me. However, this strength becomes a weakness and an area for growth when I am so focused that I fail to lift my eyes and go in the direction the Lord is leading me. Can you relate?

God always knows best, and He loves us too much to allow us to stay the way we are. He wants us to grow and become more mature in our relationship with Him. I love how Jesus did not mind being interrupted while He walked on this earth. He stopped and took the time for anyone who had a need. He helped children and beggars alike. His mission was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10), and that is precisely what He did.

Last week, our daughter and her two children stayed in our home. Hannah's husband, Jeffrey, was on a mission trip to Honduras. She is 8-months pregnant and has a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old! Yes, she needs a little help. We had a blast with our grandkids. My wife, Ashley, is amazing. She is such a great mom and grandma. She is so selfless, and whenever a need arose with one of the kids, she would step up and meet that need.

As I was writing this week's devotions, I had the opportunity to improve in this area of weakness that I have confessed today. Our grandkids came into the room as I was typing, and they wanted to hang out with Pops. I stopped, hung out, and then got back to writing. Here is one of my favorite pictures from last week:

As we walk through our day today, let us be sensitive to the interruptions we encounter. They may be opportunities from God to help stretch us and help us grow more like Christ.