Discipleship Made Easy 11 Simple Thoughts

Deuteronomy  6:6-12 NASB 

"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.   7   "You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.   8   "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.   9   "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.   10   "Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build,   11   and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied,   12   then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Authentic can be defined as being genuine or original, not being false or pretending. The above passage of scripture reveals an authentic lifestyle. While this lifestyle can be faked, you can pretend to do most anything, the goal of this passage is to reveal what living from the heart looks like in everyday life.  I have broken this down into the following thoughts.

• Any real intentions are worth writing down.
• First and last actions of the day matter. 
• What you show your kids is more powerful than what you tell your kids; just speak up when you do it. 
• Art and bling can be holy and helpful. 
• Prepare for prosperity or prosperity will be your downfall.  
• Anyone can forget the past and have no context for the present. 
• Giving your kids an easier life is the wrong goal. 
• Not forgetting God is easy because He is good. Satan who is evil is never far from our thoughts. 
• If your heart is Gods home then your home will be Godly. If your home is a mess, look to your heart. 
• Rebellion involves pride, immaturity, and pain. Deal with the pain; be patient with the immaturity and prayerful about the pride. 
• An easy life appears hard while a hard life often is full of joy and laughter.  Work, earning, purpose, and value are fruit of a living spirit.

Any real intentions are worth writing down
 In the busyness of life we write down important matters. This is true even if we never look at them again. We post items to our calendars, make notes in our journals and send ourselves text about things we are planning to do. Often writing things down makes it possible to remember without looking them up, but that’s the plan. Write down those things that are important.


First and last actions of the day matter.
Start and end your day in the best possible way, which is communion with God. Keeping the first thing first is not a duty, but a delight. Press past hindrances and discover what life is like when you can start and end each day by experiencing hope and healing, forgiveness and direction. When you wake up and when you begin to fall asleep, God will give you peace, love, a plan and at times a personal visit. Learn to share coffee or warm milk and cookies with God and soon you will be enjoying all kinds of conversations.


What you show your kids is more powerful than what you tell your kids; just speak up when you do it.
Discipline your children and others by showing them how to live. We learn by example. This living includes the words you say. Showing others you love them involves saying that you love them. God “shows” and “says” to us and we do well to follow His model. People have spoken to one another by understanding their “love language” for years and we do well to understand how others receive love, not just how we want to give it.


Art and bling can be holy and helpful.
While we do not want to have idols, we do want to have visual signs that call us to reflect, remember and celebrate God. In the passage above signs and symbols were placed on the body and around the home. We too can use decorations, art, music, pictures and even bling to help us keep our mind on God. Often when I am seeking to live out some new dimension of my faith I will mark by hand. I might put a “K” on the back of my left hand to remind myself to be kind. Whenever I look at the “K” I say a quick prayer for God’s help in being kind that day.


Prepare for prosperity or prosperity will be your downfall.
Jesus taught that the cares and worries of life can entangle us, killing our relationship with God. Often the most entangling things are the good things in life. Who is not entangled in text, social media, unending news, blogs and stories in this day? If we do not plan, have purpose and set limits, the good things in life will destroy our lives.


Anyone can forget the past and have no context for the present.
God hung out above Israel in a pillar of fire and a cloud of shade, God parted the waters, released the daily manna and opened up the earth to swallow rebellion. Yet Israel came to be familiar with all that, and forgot about God. Forgetting about God is not like we actually have no thoughts about God. It is more like we live on our own, think more of our self, plan and prepare as though God is not active, alive, desiring us to do His will. When we live with a “God is forgotten” lifestyle we lose the context of what God has provided, His miraculous intervention and His mercy. We end up living as if this all just happened.


Giving your kids an easier life is the wrong goal.
An inheritance is what we call something passed onto the children from the parents or relatives. Give your kids an inheritance, not just stuff.  An inheritance is rights and obligations, duties and responsibilities. Think of it as a DNA for living. Without control and yet with loving purpose pass onto your children the stuff of life, but only pass on the character, discipline and inner treasures of life.


Not forgetting God is easy because He is good. Satan who is evil is never far from our thoughts.
God freely gives. Satan tempts, badgers, belittles and torments. God empowers us to live free. Satan entangles and imprisons us. God waits for us, longing to spend time with us. Satan attacks us, wanting to kill us and get it over with.


If your heart is Gods home then your home will be Godly. If your home is a mess, look to your heart.
While cleaning up and organizing the home can help with inner peace and family peace, most of the time the condition of the home is the result of the relationships therein. From the heart the home becomes judgmental or forgiving, critical or encouraging, condemning or excepting. If those around you seem to be the source of all kinds of evil and pain, look to your own heart first. When the commands of God are alive and active within us we then have a source that can flow from us.


Rebellion involves pride, immaturity, and pain. Deal with the pain; be patient with the immaturity and prayerful about the pride.
Life requires a verity of stratifies for a verity of conditions. We don’t clean the car the same way we clean the carpet or glaze a cake and window in the same way. Our children and those we disciple have multiple things going on and we have a verity of tools to relate and serve them with. We don’t ask a four year old to act twelve or a first time driver to have the skill of someone who has driven twenty years. We don’t ask someone who is injured to help us carry boxes or the novice to run the chainsaw. Discipleship is not a one size fits all.


An easy life appears the best while a hard life often is full of joy and laughter.  Work, earning, purpose, and value are fruit of a living spirit.
Teaching your kids to work will result in years of happiness and joy for them. The ability to do something, to create, accomplish, plan and fulfill those plans is rewarding. Esteem and value, purpose and significance all come through the ability to work. The Spirit of Christ living in us is creative and hard working. Life is full of adventure and accomplishments, success and “almost success.”