The Discipleship Cycle App

My name is Ian. I am 69 years old and am fortunate enough to have been retired for the last 6 years. I live in a rural part of England with my wife, I became a Christian in my late 40s, I guess, I always believed in something but was not sure what. Life has not always been an easy ride, my eldest son had complex mental health issues and committed suicide. With hindsight I now recognise that my other son was impacted far more deeply than anybody realized by the death of his brother, and he passed away from a drug overdose a few years later.

Being a Christian has not given me answers to the “why me” question, but has truly helped me to come to terms with those events. I really believe it has strengthened my faith and not led me to questioning it. My prayer is that as a result anybody reading this will go on to find they greater understanding of Scripture can be transformational, and that the Discipleship App is a good tool to help in getting that understanding

Here’s how I use it….

I use the suggested readings daily . I read, in the morning, reading the passage, slowly making a mental note of any bits that jump out at me. Then I pray asking God to speak to me. Rereading the passage with particular attention to the bits that I had previously identified, I select what I think God wants to impart to me on that day. Generally they will fall into categories. Either they are an attribute of God, that God wants me to understand and acknowledge. Or, they are an action that God wants me to take on board as part of my Spiritual Journey.

Examples are, God Attribute: Psalm 67 1-7, I selected “May God be gracious to us so that your ways may be known on earth,your salvation among the nations”. Reflecting on this I thought it referred to us needing the grace and salvation to heal a broken world, and concluded that God’s grace will ultimately be the salvation of the world. The attributes of God were grace and salvation. The following day the reading was Psalm 68 1-35. I selected “God you refresh your inheritance. The people settled in it and God, from your bounty you provided for the poor.” This seemed to be affirming the point from the day before that God’s plan for the world will happen.

This also illustrates another point which I have noticed, that is, a theme may develop over more than one day, and the point is being reinforced to me. An action: John 12 27-43, I selected “They would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out” I took from that, that God wanted me to acknowledge my faith to others, I knew I was attending a secular group that evening where there might be an opportunity to acknowledge my faith. There was, and I did, and to my surprise one other person said they also approached the subject being discussed from a Christian perspective.

The readings and my selection from them always seem very personal to me. I do not believe it is my place to use them to correct others, but to share a thought or idea with others seems ok to me.

A practice, I have developed is using the “My Journey” function to review my thoughts. At around lunchtime, I ask myself the question, Have my actions that morning reflected the “God Attribute” or have I implemented the “Action”? This usually provides me with an opportunity to thank God for enlightening me or to gently reprimand me. Again I review again, as the last thing I do before I go to sleep. This provides an opportunity to repent and know I am forgiven, or again to thank God for taking me further down the road of my spiritual journey. Either way it gives me closure on that day and I believe an element of peace and serenity.

Another practice, again uses the “My Journey” function is to review my learning over longer periods of time, say a month. This is a sort of revision exercise which allows me to see how my Spiritual Journey is developing and where it is taking me. An essential precursor to this is to pray that God will help me to be open minded, aware and insightful. I find this particularly useful when I feel unsettled or unsure. It grounds me and reminds me that I may not understand what God is doing in my life at any particular moment but trust God he has a plan for me, and God will equip me for what God wants me to do.

To sum up, I find the Discipleship App works for me because:
● It demands I do more than just read scripture, which, some days in the past I did ok and others it was just a habit.
● It gives me insight and understanding into what God is saying to me on that day and over a longer period of time.
● It guides me to being a more acceptable person to God.
● It gives me confidence knowing that my eternal life is secure and that I am loved despite my shortcomings.
● It brings me peace and serenity.

Go on, give it a go and see how God speaks to you through this App.

You can find out more about the Discipleship Cycle App and download it for free from the Seventy-two website here.