Join Me in Studying God’s Word! Living & Leading Like Jesus

Today I started blogging over a Good Morning Girls! I connected with those amazing ladies at the Allume conference, and I’m so blessed to encourage parents on simple ways they can live and lead like Jesus. You can read my first blog post here.

Today at GMG we’re studying Luke 9:10-20. And this is what I got out of it.

Jesus takes you places . . . and teaches you how to lead.

When we follow Jesus, He takes us places—just like the disciples. Where did Jesus take them?

Jesus took them to their old stomping grounds. Luke 9:10 says, “The apostles returned. They told Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him. They went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.”

To set things up, the disciples had just gotten back from going off on their own; they’d been preaching about Jesus and healing people. They must have been on cloud nine, and then Jesus took them home—literally.

John 1:44 reads, “Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter.” Many scholars believe James and John were from there, too.

I don’t know about you, but the hardest people for me to share with are those who knew me “before.”

I was a wild teen who got pregnant at seventeen and dropped out of high school. The shame of that trailed me for years, and the worst part is there were people who witnessed me at parties, in fist fights, and lip-locking with my boyfriend in the school halls. Yup, wish I could go back and be able to take an eraser to their memories concerning all that.

Where else did Jesus take the disciples? He took them into their knowledge of Jewish history. Have you ever read this passage from 2 Kings 4:42-44?

Elisha Feeds 100 People

“A man came from Baal Shalishah. He brought the man of God 20 loaves of barley bread. They had been baked from the first grain that had ripened. He also brought some heads of new grain. “Give this food to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

“How can I put this in front of 100 men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. Do it because the Lord says, ‘They will eat and have some left over.’”

Then the servant put the food in front of them. They ate it and had some left over. It happened just as the Lord had said it would.”

Remember, these were Jewish men, and they knew their Scriptures. I guarantee they remembered God’s miracle for Elisha and were thinking, “Hey, wait. Elisha got twenty loaves of bread for one hundred men. And we got half that for one hundred times more people!” (Remember the 5,000 was the number of men, not including women and children.)

Jesus also took them to a place where they acknowledged their lack of resources. Check out Luke 9:13:

But Jesus said, “You feed them.”

“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve naturally looked at what I have and it’s come up painfully, painfully short. How about you?

Jesus took them out of their comfort zones and asked them to be leaders.

Jesus didn’t group the people up in lots of fifty himself; he had the disciples do it. They were the ones mingling with the crowds and directing them. Jesus also asked his disciples to pass around the bread and fish. He used their hands and feet to show them what being a leader was all about. Jesus knew that some day He wouldn’t be around. This was their training ground.

What does this tell us?

1. Jesus knows there are people who remember what we were like “before,” and He wants them to see the difference He can make.

2. Jesus knows we often have head knowledge of God at work, but He wants our faith to grow as He chooses to do even greater things in us.

3. Jesus knows that we can never provide for our needs—or the needs of others—in our own strength, with or without our resources, and He wants us to depend on Him as Provider.

4. Jesus wants to show Himself off. He wants to prove that all can be satisfied through Him. As we learn to love and lead, many will be blessed . . . namely ourselves.

Do you want to learn to live and lead like Jesus? It’s not too late to sign up! You can do that here.

Over the coming weeks, you’ll be asked to go with Jesus in ways you couldn’t imagine, to places you’ve never gone before. The good news is that through this Bible study, Jesus will show up, and He will show off! Just you wait and see.

Are you praying about how to love and lead in your lives, and in your family? Check out Lead Your Family Like Jesus. As you will see in Luke, a leader is anyone who wishes to influence the thoughts, behavior and direction of their followers . . . and as moms that’s exactly what we do!

Consider this parenting book a resource that will give you practical ways to practice what you’re learning in Luke, in your own home. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see what God is going to do through this study and in your heart!