2 Minute Disciple | Daily Faith Journey for Spiritual Growth

Matthew Chapter 25

Article  |  May 3rd, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, discipleship, jesus christ, personal development, self care, spiritual formation, spirituality

Don’t you love guilt trips. I can’t tell you how many things that I have done because I was guilted into it. Most of the time it worked out ok, but a few of those things were a little adventurous to say the least. Whenever I would read Matthew 25, I would read it through the guilt lens, don’t be one of those foolish girls, be a better planner and be organized. Be a good money manager unlike that last guy, you don’t want to be that guy, so use your money wisely with a “budget” approved by Dave. The last one was an ice cream Sunday with 3 giant scoops of guilt, don’t be a slacker, do more and achieve more for God or your a goat and you are BAD! So, I would try harder to be a “good” Christian, fail, try even harder and on and on the cycle would go.
But I think that it misses the point, it’s not about beating yourself up for not measuring up, but being ready by living for Jesus each day. It’s about looking for opportunities to grow in your skills for God’s glory and to not be afraid of being stretched. It’s about taking those skills and serving others not out of guilt or fear of not measuring up, but living each day for Jesus as his witness to God’s new government.
That new perspective is so freeing! I am so motivated to serve and love because I want to be more like Jesus each day. This subtle shift fits in with what we have learned about Jesus in the Gospels and I wish that I would have figured this truth out earlier in life, but that’s what this journey is for, discovering who Jesus is and how we can follow him. We can take these daily discoveries and change our trajectory and that’s success.

Sermon on the Mount Part 5

Article  |  April 8th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, jesus christ, self care, spirituality

It is so hard to not worry or be anxious, but worry and anxiety don’t work, they just make things worse. When we focus on God and how he works and provides for us, we can let go of those worries and watch God go to work for us. I needed to hear this today and I need to ask God to help me to make this a reality in my life. Worry and anxiety rob us of what God wants to give us and we are valuable to him. This week I have struggled to see what I have gained in a career given to vocational ministry. I’m having a hard time switching careers and seeing my value. However, when I think about my career in ministry as storing up treasures in heaven, I realize that my skills used to his glory were not wasted and that I can trust him to help us through this hard transition even if we can’t see it. I’m still a work in progress, however, because I just want God to hurry up already.
What is God showing you today?

Sermon on The Mount Part 3

Article  |  April 6th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, jesus christ, kingdom living, spiritual journey, spirituality

I had a rough day yesterday and I poured all of the anger, hurt, doubt, and junk that I have been stuffing inside, out onto my journal (no you can’t read it). It was a shake your fist at God moment for me and he prevailed. The words that spoke to me the most in this reading today are “Grow Up!” & “live like it.” Jesus’ way of living seems counter intuitive, but it really is life giving to be honest and open and to not dress yourself up in religious lace just to look the part. Living as citizen of God’s new government is not about looking the part, but it is about really living it out in the grit and grime of life. You can’t have one foot in and the other foot out, you have to be all in or all out of God’s way of life. Are you ready to grow up and be all in for God’s new government?

Sermon on the Mount Part2

Article  |  April 5th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, jesus christ, spirituality

Just getting by with doing the minimum requirements is not good enough in God’s kingdom. We tend to view righteousness from the outside, by only observing behaviors, however righteousness needs to be observed from the heart. Our behaviors spring from what is on the inside. If our hearts are pure and our motives righteous then our actions will follow. To live in God’s kingdom, your heart has to be right before him and if your heart is his, then you will live a righteous life.

Sermon on the Mount 1

Article  |  April 4th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, blessings, daily bible, high-speed, jesus christ, kingdom, sermon, upside down

Jesus introduces his sermon with a hook that really make you scratch you head. Matthew 5:3 (The Message): 3  “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” When I’m at the end of my rope, I don’t consider myself blessed, I’m wondering what has cursed me. It’s upside down from conventional wisdom, but remember that Jesus is introducing us to his new government with God in charge and things are different.
Dallas Willard illustrates this brilliantly in his book, The Divine Conspiracy: Recently a pilot was practicing high-speed maneuvers in a jet fighter. She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent—and flew straight into the ground. She was unaware that she had been flying upside down. This is a parable of human existence in our times—not exactly that everyone is crashing, though there is enough of that—but most of us as individuals, and world society as a whole, live at high-speed, and often with no clue to whether we are flying upside down or right-side up. Indeed, we are haunted by a strong suspicion that there may be no difference—or at least that it is unknown or irrelevant (Willard, pg.7)
Jesus shows us how the world is supposed to look when it is right side up. These blessings give us a picture of what life should look like and what we can expect as we proclaim God’s kingdom in partnership with him. I love the two illustrations of light and salt as to what our impact on the world is when we proclaim this new government.
What comes to your mind as you read this introduction to Jesus’ sermon?

Matthew Chapter 4

Article  |  April 3rd, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
fishing, following jesus, healing, jesus christ

I love Jesus’ call to follow him, it’s simple, direct and for anybody and everybody. His call is so simple because he just invites us, “come follow me...” and he promises to change our lives as we are introduced to his new government. He is ushering in an era of renewal and putting things to rights. People are being healed and transformed in to a new kind of person. All of this happens after Jesus passes his test with the devil. Jesus is now able to usher in the new kind of rule.