2 Minute Disciple | Daily Faith Journey for Spiritual Growth

Matthew Chapter 9

Article  |  April 13th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, prayer, self care, spiritual direction, spiritual journey, spirituality

What strikes me the most in this chapter is Jesus’ heart for those on the outside of the religious elite. He seeks out the down and out and those far from religious purity and he eats with them, has compassion on them, heals them and urges his followers to pray for them and for workers to reach them with news of his kingdom. He is not following the normal procedures of the religious elite, he is announcing that everyone is welcome in his kingdom. The question that comes to mind is if I am learning from Jesus, am I as concerned about those on the outside as Jesus is?

Matthew Chapter 10

Article  |  April 13th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, self care, spiritual journey, spirituality

I never really connected the dots on Jesus call for his followers to pray for workers for the harvest and the sending out of the twelve into the harvest. I have always thought of that scripture as connected to foreign missions and the starving kids in Africa, that I missed the point of the harvest all around us that Jesus is sending us to. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t go to the starving kids in Africa, but not all of us can do that and there are starving kids all around us whereever we are. This is such a powerful message to us who are learning to follow Jesus. The other thing that ties this all together for me is Jesus call to be all in with him in this kingdom work. What in today’s chapter is connecting with you?

Matthew Chapter 8

Article  |  April 11th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, spiritual growth, spirituality

Stay Calm, that is the theme of this chapter. We see this storm of people coming to Jesus to be healed and he calmly heals all of them. Even when everyone is coming to him and we wants to move on, he calmly goes on his way. Then comes the real storm and Jesus calmly calms the storm and the disciples are amazed and so am I. I can have a professional calm in crazy moments, but on the inside I’m still freaking out. However, Jesus’ calm is from head to toes and it comes from his reliance on God. That kind of calm is what I’m learning from Jesus. What are you learning from him?

Sermon on the Mount Part 7

Article  |  April 10th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, personal growth, self care, spiritual growth, spirituality

This week, we have taken some time to listen to Jesus words and let them sink in to our hearts. I have been working these words into my life and I’m seeing a difference. These are truly foundational words that can help us live our lives right side up. This is not a one time fix, but these are the things that we can ponder and daily work them into our lives. The thing that makes Jesus’ words so powerful is that he lived them out and showed us what life looks like when it is lived right side up. I have been working forgiveness into my life and it has really lightened my load. What words of Jesus are you working into your life?

Sermon on the Mount Part 6

Article  |  April 9th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, jesus, self care, spiritual journey, spirituality

Verses one through five should be the new rules for social media. It might tone down some of the sniping and canceling that goes on these days. This section of the sermon is so timely for our culture and it is a strong reminder that we are definitely flying upside down in this area today. If just “Christian” people would live this out, we would see a huge difference in the way we treat one another in our culture. I also love how the golden rule is restated here in the Message. It makes so much sense and the idea of taking the initiative to do good to others is another one that if we actually did it, we could change our communities. This is the whole reason that I am doing this podcast, so that we can look into the mirror of scripture and let it change us. I know that I need to cut the sarcasm and attitude before I point out what’s wrong with you. This is what I’m asking God to help me work on. What needs to be changed in your life?

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 4

Article  |  April 7th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Host of the Daily Bible Devotional Podcast “2 Minute Disciple”

We all want to live these well curated lives that make people look at you and say wow, they have it all together. However, that’s not what God wants from us. God wants us to live fully for him and to worship him with our lives. What we do is for him and not for others to applaud us or stroke our ego. We get to live in partnership with God and by doing our part, we get to see God in action and he gets to enjoy us in action. Sometimes I forget that part, I don’t need the applause of people because God’s appreciation is more than enough to satisfy my soul.
A good sermon steps on your toes and makes you uncomfortable with the tension between the reality of your soul and what God wants from you. This sermon from Jesus sure delivers the punch and I hope that you are wrestling with these words of Jesus. What is the tension that you are feeling as you wrestle with Jesus’ words?

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?