Have you ever heard someone say, "Can you do me a favor?" It really means that someone is asking someone to do something that they need help with. The person they ask has a choice to either turn their face away or to turn towards them and help them with whatever they ask. 

God laid the story of The Good Samaritan on my heart and the very next day, it was my Scripture reading for the day. Coincidence? I think not! The Good Samaritan is the story of a man who was travelling and was attacked, mugged and beaten to the point of near death. Both a priest and Levite came by. Both godly men. Both whose profession was to represent God or at least perform duties in the temple as clean and pure before The Lord. And yet BOTH of them chose to turn their face away, ignoring and avoiding helping another. But a Samaritan, a "half-breed" (part Jew, part Gentile) who was looked down on, even rejected, chose to turn his face toward the wounded man in compassion. His heart went out to the man and not only did he clean and bandage him up, but he took the injured man to a hotel and PAID for his night's stay!

Perhaps the Samaritan was compassionate because he had often been wounded by rejection, and knew how it felt. And perhaps the priest and the Levite had been so caught up in their own "feel good" activities, that they ignored what was right under their noses.

My sweet friends, it is unacceptable for us to turn our faces away any longer. It is no longer optional for us to have sweet little events to entertain our Christian friends at church (don't get mad at me....yes, some are great outreach events....but can't we all sometimes get wrapped up in our little Christian world and loose sight of what is really going on around us?) It is time for the Christian women of this country to step into the commission of Jesus to go and make disciples  of all nations.....of all people.....especially the ones who don't look like you or have the same social staus as you. And yes, it will cause you to have to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty. And yes, it will cause you to sacrifice time and money. And yes it will require you to step out of your comfort zone. But if you don't, the blood of the next generations will be on our hands.

Psalm 90:17 says, "May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work of our hands."

May the favor of God rest on you and may you do your fellow man a favor by turning your face towards them and not away. Have a blessed weekend!

Written by Jena Forehand, Author of Living Deeper: Women helping women walk with God. To find out more, click here

I don't know if you have noticed this or not, but it seems that there are a lot of movies that are coming out that are now the "back stories" of a movie that has already been produced. The Avengers are doing back stories. The Lord of the Rings just recently premiered a backstory of The Hobbit. There is also a television show about the backstories of country music singers, so that we get a sneak peak into their lives prior to them becoming stars.

What has been so compelling in all of these backstories is the desire they conjure up for us to go and discover revelations about people and circumstances in the original movies that made no sense. Once you understand the backstory, you understand more clearly why the actions and turn of events happened the way they did.

The backstory makes sense of the whys.

My favorite of all of the back stories recently produced is definitely Wicked, the broadway musical. Wicked is the backstory of The Wizard of Oz. So as not to spoil anything for anyone who has not seen it yet (and if you haven't, you MUST!), just know that when I watched Wicked, it changed my whole perspective on the wicked witch.

Jesus was interested in other's back stories. Even though He was omniscient, He still talked with the woman at the well about her past. In John 4, He says to her, "Go, call your husband and come back.” 

“I have no husband,” she replied.

Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” ~John 4:16-18

Jesus took her backstory and used it to help her discover who He really was. And when we get to know another's backstory, we can help another see who He is as well.

When it comes to walking through life with others, especially when it comes to discipling, it is very important that we do not discount their backstory. It is what too many disciplers forget to do, and yet is really one of the most important facets of really being able to help other women walk into deeper waters of relationship with God.

Here's what I believe are the benefits of hearing other's backstories:

• You discover what has motivated another's actions, thoughts, and feelings, to better understand why they act the way they do in current situations.
• You better understand the "labels" that have been placed on another, not just accept those labels as truth.
• You are enabled to look at someone's heart, not just the exterior that they show to the world.

 Knowing the backstory in discipleship is paramount to helping another walk in closer relationship with God.

When has someone's backstory changed your perspective of them?

Written by Jena Forehand, Author of Living Deeper: Women helping women walk with God. To find out more, click here

The other day, I was talking to a young professional lady about where the things of God were in her life's story. Her answer to me was, "You know, that's just not on my radar." I thought about that a lot lately, and wondered why? Why isn't God on her radar?

So I got on the internet and googled "radars". This is what I found. I think we could apply it to discipling.

1) A Transmitter is required. YOU are the transmitter. You offer the life of Christ to another in the way you live before them and the way you lead them and do life with them. When you disciple, you transmit the life of Christ to another.

2) A Switch must be made. YOU have to switch from being self-focused to others-focused. This is at the core of a discipler, now looking to the interest of others.

3) A Close Proximity is required. YOU must be in close proximity to the one you disciple. And even if it cant be comepletely in bodily presence as often as you would like, there is a difference in being in bodily present and heart present. The closer you get, the easier the transmitter works. Think on that one!

4) A Receiver is required. The one you come alongside must be open to receive what you are transmitting. YOU cannot make another person receive what you transmit to them, but you can pray that she will. YOU can also create an environment for her to share her life with you in reciprocated friendship and learning. 

As the transmitter and receiver go back and forth, they create something that can be translated to reveal something useful. Think about that as in a discipling arena: as you both discuss and learn from each other, with each successive time together, principles, purposes, promises and more will develop that can be useful in your lives. Christ is being formed in YOU!!! Christ is being formed in the one your disciple!!!

You want to get Christ on another's radar?

Be a transmitter, flip the switch, get close, and pray for the receiver!

Would you transmit this message? Share it on facebook, twitter, or email right now!!!

Have a great week!

Written by Jena Forehand, Author of Living Deeper: Women helping women walk with God. To find out more, click here

In the Living Deeper book, I shared how a young man in Biblical times went from an apprentice to a rabbi or the  teacher of the Law. Once a rabbi chose his apprentice, the young man would leave his father and mother, and follow closely behind the rabbi, mimicking everything his teacher did. As the two walked on together, people would offer this blessing: "May the dust of your rabbi fall on you."

I've thought about that a lot in my life. Do I follow so closely behind my Rabbi, to Jesus, that His dust would fall on me? Have I forsaken all others to follow Him and mimick His ways? And if I asked someone to walk alongside of me, would the dust I leave on them reflect Jesus? 

When I thought further about dust, I had to admit that I don't like dust on my shoes. And I don't like dust on my bare feet, especially when I wear sandals. It dries my feet out and makes me feel dirty. The first thing I do is try to get the dust off! And yet, as a discipler, the truth is that sometimes to walk with another means walking with them through really difficult times.

When it comes to discipleship, things are gonna get messy. It almost always does. The longer you walk together, the more the Spirit surfaces areas in our lives that need to be dealt with. We need someone to get in the trenches with us, fight for us and with us. Not abandon us in our greatest hour of need. We can't always want to keep it "clean".

I'm reminded of the verse "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." To me, this verse is saying that when a friend is going through a messy spot, I continue to love her and actually say, "I was born for this! This is why God made us friends! To be there in your time of need. To get through the muddy puddles of life with you." 

So here's our challenge for the week: may we walk so closely to Jesus that all of who He is falls over everything we are a part of. And may we be an always loving friend, willing to go through the tough, messy times with those God has placed in our lives. Have a great week!

It seems that most people don't like to get messy with others. Why do you think that is?

Written by Jena Forehand, Author of Living Deeper: Women helping women walk with God. To find out more, click here 

Dis-ci-ple

The word "disciple" in the Bible is the Greek noun "mathetes" and means "student, learner, pupil". It comes from the root word "manthano" which is a verb that means "to increase in knowledge; to learn by use and practice". 

Since I was little, I have immense delight in putting things together. Even as a parent, I would fight with Dale to let me put all of the toys together!! I always had such a sense of accomplishment when those Barbie stickers went in just the right spot on the Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse! (anybody?)

I can remember my parents showing me how to do things and then handing me the tools to do it, while they oversaw and gave direction. Then, once I was proficient in the task, they would be there for reminders and help. Think about the "teachers" in your life and how they conducted themselves this same way.

Jesus, the Rabbi, our Teacher, also teaches us, His disciples, this way. He shows us how to live in His Word. He gives us examples of His life so we can put it into practice. He gives the tools we need to accomplish it. And Jesus gives us His Spirit to come alongside us, direct us, and help us.

When I was about 8 years old, my dad bought himself a new wheel barrel that had to be assembled. I took it upon myself to "help" him. When he was struggling to get on the grips for the handle bars, he went inside to get something and I proceeded to "help" him with those grips. I worked and worked and worked, until I finally got them on......upside down! My father had to walk all squatted down with the handle bars over his shoulders, using the upside down grips, to carry every load of leaves and pine straw for the next several years! (Sorry Dad!)

In order to truly be a disciple in every sense of the word, we must be a trainable, teachable student who desires to know the heart of God, as seen through the life of Jesus, and then to partner with the Holy Spirit to let His life overtake ours. We must be a learner who increases in knowing Jesus by practicing what He did.

Why do we buck being teachable?

Why do we try to "do it ourself" in living deeper,

when Jesus has offered to be our Teacher and us His disciples?

Why do we choose to be "know-it-alls" and "help" God along?

Today, let's truly set our hearts to intimately know Jesus,

To know His heart, and learn how to live His heart as we let Him lead.

That's a Dis-ci-ple.

For more information about Jena and Living Deeper Ministries, please go to www.livingdeeperministries.com

Hi! My name is Jena Forehand, a wife, mother, speaker, and author of Living  Deeper and the
Living Deeper Discipleship Series. God has burned a passion for  discipleship in my belly that
compels me to share it with all who will listen!  Here's why:

I believe that deep within the heart of every person is a desire to be a part of  something much
bigger than themselves. It's an irresistible motive to lock arms  with a group of people who share a common passion that transcends the mundane of  each day. It calls us to be a part of a bigger story that involves risk and  ruthless trust, because we know without God's help, we are toast.

The great news is that God offers us all these great adventures to live! The sad  news is that most
of us choose not to. Fear, inadequacies, insecurities, and the  like keep us from ever living life to its fullness.

In Psalm 42:7, King David penned, "Deep calls to deep". He was expressing in  song that the
depths of God's heart is calling to the depths of yours.

God wants us to live in deeper relationship with Him. He wants to take us into  the deep places
where we can know Him fully, follow Him completely , obey Him  willingly, and experience Him
abundantly. That is what Jesus offers us in John  10:10, "I have come to give you life and to give it
to you abundantly!"

God is ready to take us by the hand and lead us into the deeper waters of  relationship with Him.
He wants us to experience the exciting life He created us  to live. Aren't you ready to start living
deeper?

As we begin taking the plunge and heading into the deeper waters with Jesus, He  will guide us to fulfill the very purposes for which we were made: to go and  make disciples. This is paramount to
the culture of today. Here's why:

87% of them want nothing to do with God. Who are they? They are the diverse and  dynamic
generation coming behind us known as the "Millennials". Awesome  individuals that could turn the world upside down for Christ, they have walked  away from faith in Jesus and it is they who we
need to disciple.

Yet, the older generation has lost purpose, the Church has lost it's  effectiveness, and both could
cause us to lose this next generation.  God has  given me a vision to reach this millennial
generation through the launching of a  worldwide discipleship revolution.

Many of us came to Christ, but then felt "left" and never discipled. I believe  that God is calling a
group of women to come together and disciple the next  generation so that the older women will
find new purpose, our faith in Christ  will be carried into the future generations, and the Church will return to the  thriving organism that God created it to be.

This new ministry effort is called "Living Deeper Ministries".  I believe that  fulfilling the Great
Commission, "Go and make disciples of all nations", is the  one mission God desires all of us to be a part of. I want to help the next  generation become disciples, learning how to live in deeper
relationship with  God and carrying others with them.

Jesus said, "store up for yourselves treasures in heaven". The only thing I know  of that lasts
forever is people, and you walking into deeper waters with God and  taking the next generation
with you makes an eternal investment in the future of  the Church.

Just imagine how this world would change if the 87% who want nothing to do with  God could be
reached with the Gospel!   Just imagine the passion and purpose  that would happen inside the
Church if God's people could be empowered to reach  them! This is precisely my mission, and I
hope it becomes your too.

For more information about Jena and Living Deeper Ministries, please go to
www.livingdeeperministries.com