Who Are Your Three?
Of the twelve apostles, Jesus was closest to Peter, James and John. What can we learn from his relationship with them?
Early in my Christian life, I didn’t have a mentor, so I floundered. Eventually, a Sunday school teacher named Dennis began inviting me into his home to answer my questions. Those meetings brought great clarity for me, and he became my model for discipleship.
If you follow me on social media, you might have seen the Reel I posted recently based on the relationship between Jesus and his three closest disciples: Peter, James, and John – all of whom benefited from Jesus pouring truth, knowledge and wisdom into their minds and hearts.
We don’t know why he chose those three, but they were present for some amazing moments. They witnessed the Transfiguration where they saw Moses and Elijah talking to Jesus about his death. Can you imagine? (You can read about it in Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36.) The three also saw Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead (Luke 8:49-56) and were with him in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-38) shortly before his death.
Over lunch one day, a few friends and I were talking about the relationship Jesus had with these three men, and one of my friends tossed this statement on the table for discussion: imagine if every Christian had three people (who they discipled and mentored spiritually), and then those three did the same with three more. The gospel (and arguably gospel maturity) would spread.Â
That led to the question: Who are your three? Who are you discipling or mentoring right now? Of course, it doesn’t have to be three. But the question is worth considering.Â
In the past, who have you poured yourself into spiritually? Who are you pouring yourself into right now? Do you need to be more intentional?
In the month of May, you can get the Finding Common Ground e-book boxed set (Books 1-3) for only $2.99 in the U.S. Don't miss out on this deal!
Grab a cup of coffee and escape into this collection of heartfelt essays (the complete Boxed Set of the Finding Common Ground Series).
Here’s what you’ll find inside:
Common Grounds will take you on a pilgrimage with the author to thirty coffee shops in Omaha, Nebraska. He spent $136.42 on coffee and a few donuts, but it was a small price to pay for the commonality he felt between the patrons, baristas, and himself. And standing on common ground gave him strength in the most unexpected of ways. Maybe it’ll do the same for you.
Sacred Grounds invites you to reminisce about your first loves, first experiences, and first favorites, all of which shape us in ways our second loves, second experiences, and second favorites do not. Dive into this section and go back to a simpler time in your life.
Higher Grounds will inspire you to always be on the lookout for God. You’ll read about him showing up in a nursing home during a Christmas caroling excursion, in a bowling alley during a rock concert, in a restaurant as two elderly people seek the company of strangers, and so much more.
Here are some tidbits you might find interesting this week:
The largest snowflake ever recorded occurred on January 28, 1887, at Fort Keogh, Montana. It measured 15 inches wide and 8 inches thick.
This article about how a woman bonded with her father over little league baseball games is one of the many reasons that sports matter. [Sorry about the language].
"The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances." -Elisabeth Elliot
This article by Sarah Farley that describes walking in zigzags is fascinating.
Take the time to read this essay by Sara Hagerty this weekend: Tapering: pacing ourselves instead of being paced.
When Lee isn’t writing essays, devotional books, or Christmas novellas, he is a freelance editor, as well as a freelance journalist who has written hundreds of articles for various newspapers and magazines. He’s also a fan of NASCAR, baseball, tennis, books, movies and coffee shops.