4 Points
Last Tuesday evening was supposed to have been the last session of discipleship training; which has been the Tuesday evening norm for a little over two months now however; we had a case of burnout to inflict the majority of the group, resulting in no-shows for a session so….. this coming up Tuesday should be a wrap.
Translation: more activity on the ‘ole blog.
Looking back to when I first heard of the opportunity for training, as well as a time for more fellowship; there was the initial case of foot dragging on my part. In retrospect though, I’m glad that I heeded the prodding of the Holy Spirit to sign-up for the training. My prayer life has stayed consistent, though it cold could always improve, Bible reading time has definitely improved, partly due to the assignments, but also from having a desire, a fascination I suppose with reading and learning more of God and His word. Prior to the training, most of my "reading" consisted of referencing specific Scriptures along with verses in proximity of the target, and mostly sticking to the New Testament. Hey, I even managed to memorize a handful of Scriptures, which a longtime friend from church seems to call me out on regularly now. 
The more memorable thing to come from the training though, is the fellowship. We we’re wrapping up Tuesday night’s session with open prayer. At the conclusion as we were all saying goodnight to one another, there was this outpouring from everyone to praise God and to be thankful for having one another, and for having had the opportunity to get to know one another on a deeper level than the Sunday morning "Hey!! How Ya doin’! ‘Good grief!, What’s his name again?’ " sprint to the sanctuary.
A recurring theme over the past few days has been about doubt; this started Tuesday night with a comment by our Pastor and became a side topic during Wednesday evening Adult Bible Study. The "doubt" is not to say a loss of faith, I’m referring to what you might say is actually a testing of your walk. Between the discussions and comments, it was for myself an eye-opener, a lifting of a weight off of my shoulders, to hear from fellow believers that in their "What you don’t see outside of church" lives, they too have problems, concerns,questions and struggles, be it marriages, family, children, jobs; whereby they ask questions such as:
- "God? What am I doing wrong?"
- "Why aren’t things working out?"
- "Am I missing the message?"
- "Lord, why is it that I feel separated from you?"
From the past few days I gained the following summarized perspective, in what I pray is Godly wisdom:
1. We’re still stuck in these bags of bones, along with the emotional baggage that comes as part of the package. Being a Christian doesn’t make us impervious.
2. Having doubts, doesn’t make one a "bad" Christian.
3. Our faith can be strengthened by persevering through those not so bright and sunshiny days of looming doubt.
D. It pays (spiritually) to have fellowship.
Grace and peace be with you.