Is it easy or difficult for you to wait? What is worth waiting for? What are the challenges and the benefits of waiting?

There is a saying that goes, “Some things are worth the wait.” Someone else has said, “Some things cannot be hurried and some things cannot wait.”

Waiting is important and is a necessary skill to develop. Waiting is an essential part of life. Waiting is an essential component in our relationship with others and with God. We must wait.

Are you being faithful in the major areas of your life? Are you being faithful in the small things? What about those things being entrusted to you? Are you being faithful in all things?

As followers of Jesus we are called to be faithful in every detail of life. We are called to be faithful in what is ours and in what is being entrusted to us. We are to be faithful in the big things and in the little things that God gives us.

In Luke’s gospel account Jesus said, “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:11-12, ESV).

What are you doing with what you have? Are you proving to be faithful with what you have been given—no matter what it is you have been given?

It has been said that past performance indicates future behavior.

What we do with what we have been given indicates how we will function if we are given more.

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus said, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” (Luke 16:10, ESV).

What seeds are you planting? What harvest do you expect to receive? Are you aware of the link between the type and the amount of seeds you are sowing and the harvest you expect to receive?

If we do not plant anything, we will not receive a harvest. If we plant abundantly, we will harvest an abundance. If we sow bad seed, we will have a bad return at harvest. If we sow good seed, we will harvest a good return.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth, saying, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6, ESV).

Why do you do the work you do? What is the purpose of your work? Who do you work for?

Your work has value, purpose, and meaning. Why we do our work matters. Who we do our work for matters.

When we work to serve and to glorify God, it changes the motivation of our work and the quality of our work.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Colossian Church, saying, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24, ESV).

Have you ever had a broken heart? Have you ever felt wounded or broken?

When we have been crushed, or find ourselves in deep grief or loss, we may feel brokenhearted. When we experience trauma in our lives we may say we have been wounded.

When we experience being brokenhearted or wounded we long for the healing and the restoration that only God can bring.

The Psalmist declares God’s healing and restoration when he proclaims, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3, ESV).

What would you do if you lost ten percent of all you had? Would you look for what you lost? What if you lost a day, would you spend an hour trying to get it back?

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus told The Parable of the Lost Coin about a woman who lost ten percent of the coins she had, equaling an entire day’s wages.

Jesus said, “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10, ESV).

Can you see where you are, where you are going, and where you need to be? Are you able to see clearly enough to lead someone else along the way?

Discipleship is seeing the way, going the way, and showing the way.

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus told his disciples a parable, saying, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” (Luke 6:39-40, ESV).

When we see the way clearly, we can live the way, and if we can live the way of Jesus, we can show others how to live the way of Jesus.

Who are you like? Who do you emulate and pattern your life after?

We become like those we imitate. Who we spend time with and who we listen to shapes our thinking, our speaking, and our actions. Discipleship is imitation.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Ephesus, encouraging them in their spiritual growth, saying, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1, ESV).

If we are going to be disciples of God, we must be imitators of God as his loved children. We become more like who we are supposed to be and more like God as we emulate him in our lives.

Do you know of anyone who is not lost or who has not been lost at some point in their lives? Have you ever met a person who does not need to change anything in their life?

We all have room to change and to grow. We have habits and choices that we need to quit or to adjust. There is room in all our lives for repentance. When we are lost, we can be found. When we need to, we can repent.

Jesus told a parable to those who criticized him for spending time with and eating with sinners, saying, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” (Luke 15:3-4, ESV).

What does it mean to lose something and then to find it? What does it mean to be lost and then to be found? Have you ever been lost? Have you been found?

In his parables of lost things in Luke chapter fifteen, Jesus speaks of the joy of a man seeking and finding a lost sheep, a woman who finds her lost coin and rejoices, and a man who had two lost sons and who rejoiced and celebrated when one of his sons was found.

In these three parables, we see that what is lost can be found, and there is great joy in finding lost possessions and people.

Jesus tells these parables in response to the grumbling of the Pharisees and the scribes at the tax collectors and sinners who were all drawing near to hear him. Luke’s gospel tells us, “And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’” (Luke 15:1-2, ESV).

How important is your work to you? How important is getting the right amount of rest? Are you balancing your work and your rest?

Work is good. Work is a blessing. It is important to enjoy your work and to work hard and to work with excellence.

Rest is good. Rest is a blessing. It is important to enjoy your rest and to be refreshed and restored by resting well and sufficiently.

In Matthew’s gospel account, Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29, ESV).

What do you love the most? Can you tell what you love by looking at your calendar app, your bank statement, or by tracking your screen time on your iPhone?

What does it mean when Jesus said we are to hate our family and our own life if we are to follow him as his disciples?

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus said to the crowds who were following him, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:25-27, ESV).

When are you most afraid? When are you at your weakest? When do you feel like you have lost control?

It can be easy to get overwhelmed or to feel overwhelmed by this fallen and broken world. This life can confront us with uncertainties and fears, times of weakness and the need for strength, and moments where we need help to get a grip and to control ourselves and our circumstances.

The Apostle Paul wrote his beloved disciple Timothy encouraging him in times of fear, weakness, and loss of self-control, saying, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7, ESV).

Have you heard the saying, “Do as I say, not as I do.” How about this saying, “Follow me as I follow Jesus?”

In following Jesus, we can do both what he says and what he does. We can also do what others are doing who are following Jesus.

Discipleship is in its essence emulation or imitation. We are to be more like Jesus.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth, saying, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1, ESV).

What are your responsibilities as a disciple of Jesus? Have you considered your role in being a follower of Jesus? Have you considered the benefits of discipleship?

We often think of the benefits of being a disciple of Jesus, but more often than not, we neglect thinking about the responsibilities we have as disciples of Jesus.

Jesus spoke of the responsibility of his disciples in Matthew’s gospel account when he said, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12, ESV).

Are you sure about following Jesus as his disciple, or are you fearful and reluctant? Do you have confidence that being a disciple of Jesus is worth it? Are you ready and prepared to follow, having considered the benefits?

We can and should be confident and ready to be disciples of Jesus. When we consider the cost/benefit of being a disciple of Jesus, the benefits far outweigh the cost.

Jesus spoke of having confidence in following him in this way, saying, “What king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.” (Luke 14:31-32, ESV).

What does it cost to follow Jesus with our lives? Have you considered the cost benefit analysis of being a student of Jesus?

Being a disciple of Jesus—a Jesus follower, or student of Jesus—is a weighty matter which comes at a cost and requires finishing well.

In Luke’s gospel account, Jesus said, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27, ESV).

If we are not willing to carry our cross—to make the sacrifice of picking up and carrying our burdens and following Jesus—we cannot be his disciples. It costs us be his students.

Can you detect when there is pride in your life? Do you know when you are in a state of humility? Can you be intentionally humble?

It can be difficult to discern on our own if we are being prideful. We need the help and the wisdom of God and his word, and fellow followers of Jesus, to help lead our way.

Humility is life giving. Pride is dangerous.

The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18, NIV).

What is the good word? When was the last time you shared a good word with someone who needed one? When was the last time you received a good word from someone?

In this anxious life, we can become heavy hearted and weighed down. We need the encouragement and hope of good news.

The wisdom of the Proverbs tells us, “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.” (Proverbs 12:25, ESV).