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Story of Discipleship Week Four

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:11

Watch Week Four Day Five

Mandie Maass & Grace

Mandie Maass – IF: Tampa Leader
Mandie is a homeschool mom, Word nerd, hopeful optimist, love ambassador, & coffee shop enthusiast.

How did this relationship begin?

When I first came to follow Jesus, I didn’t understand what that meant, “to follow.” I wandered around aimlessly, ruminating on the junk in my life. When the pressure became more than I could bear, I caved and began attending a ministry in our church on the basics of discipleship. I finally made the leap from believing in Christ to actually following Him. This new walk began to transform me into the person Christ intended. As I began to taste Jesus, I also began to lose my taste for the world and its temporary satisfactions I had been using to numb out the pain in my life.

Within this ministry, someone older than me began to invest in me. She told me that God had laid it upon her heart to pour into me. Today, almost nine years later, I consider her to be my “spiritual mom.” She has no biological children, but she has many spiritual ones. I am honored to be one of them.

What were the qualities of the relationship that made it impactful?

Over the years, she has pointed me to the Word, showing me its vital place in my life. Through her example, I have grown a hunger for it. I can be honest with her without fear of judgment, and I have found that to be incredibly important. I give permission to her to be honest with me about my blind spots. She has encouraged me, loved me,

Were there trials that you encoutered or was your faithfulness tested? What did you learn?

We walked through a church divide together. We saw it differently, yet we loved one another, heard one another, and came out the other side with our relationship still strongly in tact.

What does discipleship mean to you?

It’s by her example that I learned the impact of discipleship and made the decision to follow in her footsteps. What God has poured in, I live to pour out. Over the years, I have watched God strategically place women/girls in my path, some for a season and others who will be here for the rest of my life. Discipleship can be a mind-set, happening in a single conversation, but most often it happens through a relationship that’s built and nurtured over time. It’s the decision to be available to another person, to open myself as a vessel for God to use to speak life in and over another person. And it’s about teaching that person out of my own experience, along with the Word of God, what it means to follow and find freedom in Jesus Christ. Very often it’s the mess in my life that God uses to offer hope and healing to others. He is a true Redeemer.

How has your life changed?

I am forever changed. I will never be same. My life is a one-eighty from who I was nine years ago. I went from chasing after the world to chasing after Jesus. He has taken my mess and made it into His masterpiece.

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What is one thing you learned this week? How are you going to put it into action?

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