The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

Before he died, a father said to his son; “Here is a watch that your grandfather gave me. It is almost 200 years old. Before I give it to you, go to the jewelry store downtown. Tell them that I want to sell it, and see how much they offer you." The son went to the jewelry story, came back to his father, and said; "They offered $150.00 because it's so old.” The father said; “Go to th...

In the 1950’s a cardiologist decided to reupholster the chairs in his waiting room. When he looked at the chairs he noticed something unusual. Only the front edges of the seats and the first few inches of the armrests were worn out. The rest of the chair was in good condition. A few years later, the cardiologists began to put the pieces together. The chairs were being worn out in this unusual mann...

I remember a story I heard years ago about an elderly woman who was a widow. She lived alone in her home which was only a few blocks away from a major university. When she was a young woman she had felt the call of God to be a missionary to China. At the time she had fallen in love with a young man. It wasn’t long before they were married. Her husband didn’t feel called to go to China, so they nev...

Often as I start my day, I’ll pray a prayer and ask God to help me to honor him today. I’ll ask God to help me to honor him with my day, my words, my attitude, my choices and decisions…and even my thought. Yes, my thoughts. I know there are people who believe our thoughts don’t really matter. I’ve heard people say, “My thoughts are personal. They are private. My thoughts aren’t hurting anyone.” My...

A single mother with five children, was on her way to the pawn shop, where she was hoping to get a loan of $60 for her TV set. Then something bizarre happened. As an armored truck filled with sacks of money drove past her, its rear door flew open, and a bag dropped out. The young mother stopped and picked up the sack. When she counted the cash, she found that it totaled $160,000. A battle raged in...

I knew an elderly man one time who had stopped attending church when he was a young man. Something happened in the church and he became offended. As a result, he left the church and did not return until he was an old man. As he came back to church I remember him saying, “I wish I could feel the presence of God one more time. Do you know what I say that you can “feel the presence of God?” I can’t d...

One summer,  a college student named Johnny was ministering among the poor on a six-week urban project with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Los Angeles. Part of his assignment was to spend time in a convalescent home in the central part of the city. This convalescent home smelled bad, was understaffed and was poorly kept. Few residents had visitors. For a new guest arriving to serve the resid...

My daughter has studied quite a bit about nutrition. We know that our appetite determines our diet, our diet determines what we eat, and our intake determines our health. We know that too much of a good thing is not a good thing. We are aware that too much caffeine harms the body. Scientists tell us certain foods raise our cholesterol levels with can lead to heart disease and premature death. We a...

There is a phrase that is repeated over 300 times in the Bible. If you start to watch for it you begin to notice it over and over again. It’s the phrase “the fear of the Lord.” “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  (Proverbs 9:10) Fear is one of the most powerful emotions you will and I experience. It has the power to motivate and the p...

I was talking with a friend the other day. He and his family have considered moving to another state. As we talked together about the possible transition, he said something that meant so much to me. He said, “The main thing that keeps us from moving is the thought of leaving our church community. The ministry and the relationships in the church are so valuable to us, we are finding it hard to leav...

I don’t know if this ever happens to you, but occasionally, I will read a bible verse that stops me in my tracks. The verse catches my attention and the spirit of God won’t let me go. So, sometimes I’ll meditate on just one verse of scripture for several days. Not long ago, I read a verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It says, Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.” I thought, “What an interesting verse!” T...

I read one time about a newspaper ad for a missing dog.  It read “Lost – one dog.  Brown hair with several bald spots.  Right leg broken due to a car accident.  Rear left hip hurt.  Right eye missing.  Left ear bitten off in a dog fight.  Answers to the name: Lucky.” I don’t know about you, but that seems like a very appropriate name! In our culture today, names don’t usually carry any specific me...

As we become a disciple of Jesus Christ, one of the critical truths we must understand is our need for God’s forgiveness. Sometimes I hear the gospel message being shared and there is an absence of any discussion of sin and forgiveness.  The reason we need Jesus in our lives is because we are sinners. We need his forgiveness for our sins. We need his grace, his mercy, and his pardon.  This truth i...

Over the years I have met with so many people who wanted to change some aspect of their life. Sometimes it was a habit, an addiction, or a hangup that they wanted freedom from. Sometimes they wanted to see their marriage change, improve and be healthier. Other times, people wanted to change by stepping out in faith to follow God’s purposes for their lives. It’s been my honor to share scripture and...

I have a conviction. Can I share it with you? Here’s my conviction: I believe God wants to use your life for his purposes.  You might be thinking: “Me? God wants to use me?” or “why would God want to use me, when he has so many other options?” I get that, but based on what I see in scripture, I believe God wants to use your life. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ...

The other day, my wife and I were eating at a restaurant, here in our town. We were sitting in an outdoor patio. I noticed an elderly man come in a few minutes after we arrived. The hostess sat him at a table nearby. No one came to join him. He ate alone. He did not pull out his phone and scroll social media, like I probably would have done.  I wondered why he was alone. I didn’t want to assume th...

I’ve been playing guitar since I was 9 years old.  I’ll never forget that first guitar my grandparents gave me as a Christmas gift. If you don’t play guitar, what you may not know is that you have to constantly tune the guitar to the correct key.  Even if you tuned it last week, or yesterday, or even a couple of hours ago, it can be out of tune.  It takes regular attention to keep it sounding beau...

One night years ago, when one of our daughters was just a two years old, my wife woke me in the night to tell me our daughter was sick. She had a very high fever and as I put my hand to her forehead I could feel her high temperature. We happened to be visiting my wife’s sister. She and her husband heard the commotion and got up to see if everything was alright. I’ll never forget the four of us sta...

When I was a kid my grandmother had a red plum tree in her backyard. When the fruit was ripe, she made the most delicious red plum jelly. I have great memories of eating the jelly with butter on hot biscuits. As I think back, I never remember my grandmother doing anything to get the tree to produce the plums. There was nothing she could do to help the tree along. The tree had been planted in the r...

One of the people who have inspired my faith is a man named, Jim Elliot.  On January 8, 1956, he and three other men were attacked and killed by the Auca Indians in the jungles of Ecuador while they were taking the gospel to them.   Before he went to South America Jim wrote these words in his diary: “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I may burn for Thee.  Consume my life, m...

There are a lot of common, ordinary sayings that are not in the Bible.  We hear people mistakenly attributing these phrases to the Word of God, but they are simply not there.  We hear people saying… Cleanliness is next to Godliness God works in mysterious ways Money is the root of all evil Once saved always saved Moderation in all things God helps those who help themselves This last one has bother...

The couple sat in our living room. Tears flowed as they shared their story. The pain was real. Their story included infidelity, lies, coverup, brokenness, separation, and the very real possibility of divorce. My wife Linda and I cried with them, prayed with them, shared scripture and hope that God could restore their brokenness.  The journey was not a short one, but we saw God do something that on...

My wife, Linda and I have three daughters. A while back one of them called to talk with me about her search for a new apartment. She called and for an hour we talked about her finances, and her options. She genuinely asked for my wisdom. As a Dad it made me proud and happy to share with her the wisdom I have gained. After the call I thought, if this is how I feel as a Dad, how much more does it br...