Follow: A 12-Week Devotional Journey

Introduction: A Simple Rhythm for Each Devotion

Matthew 28:19-20 – "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

• GO to pursue the journey on which one has entered.
• MAKE DISCIPLES To teach, instruct
• BAPTIZE Our public union and identification with Christ
• TEACH TO OBSERVE Instill doctrine, to observe/guard
• I AM WITH YOU You are not alone with going, making, baptizing and teaching.

This devotional is intended to guide 1-2 disciple(s) and a disciple maker walking together, one week at a time, over twelve weeks. Each week carries one theme and five short devotions — one for each weekday.

Devotion structure:

• Optional Reading – a short list of chapters tied to the day’s theme, if you want fuller context before, or after, diving in. Reading assignments are given as book and chapter references only, so any Bible or app your group already uses will work — no CSB copy is required to follow the plan.
• A key verse – meant to anchor the day.
• A short devotional reflection
• Eight Bible study questions – each one points to a specific verse. Answer what the text actually says, not how it makes you feel, to build the habit of studying scripture directly.
• A Reflect question – to sit with personally.
• A Journal prompt - to capture what impacted you.

Once a week, you’ll also find a Memorization prompt - a chance to identify one verse to carry with you beyond that week.

A Simple Rhythm for Each Devotion

• Pray God will speak to you during this time you are committing to growing near to Him.

• Read the short devotional reflection and its verse.

• With your Bible open, work through the eight study questions, writing your answers directly from the text.

• Reflect on the questions and scripture. The best time being immediately after you have completed all the questions, while it’s all fresh and your Bible is still open, but also as you go on your day’s journey. Keep a journal of additional questions or things to talk through with your disciple maker.

• Pray God will give you wisdom and discernment for how to apply what you have read and studied.

• Optional reading - If you find yourself longing for more – read the full chapters where the verses were found for more context.

Scripture quotations are from the Christian Standard Bible® (CSB®), Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Week 4

Who’s In Charge: Lordship, Obedience & Freedom

Following Jesus means someone new is in charge — and that is the true doorway to real freedom, not the end of it.

Day 1 — Who's Really in Charge?

Optional Reading: Joshua 24 • Luke 6 • Luke 9 • Matthew 7 • Romans 12 • James 1

“Why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but don’t do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)

It's possible to call Jesus Lord on Sunday and still run your own life the rest of the week. Jesus notices the gap between the title we give him and the authority we actually hand over.

Lordship isn't about a moment of surrender you make once. It's about continuous surrender in everything - your calendar, your money, your relationships — today, the day after, the day after that….to eternity.

Bible Study Questions

1. Read Joshua 24:15. What does Joshua declare about himself and his household?

2. Read Luke 6:46. Write out this verse. Meditate on what you wrote.

3. Read Luke 6:48. What does the wise builder dig down to? What does he do when he gets there? Why?

4. Read Luke 9:59–60. What excuse does the second man give, and how does Jesus respond? What does this say about following God’s command for our lives?

5. Read Matthew 7:21. According to this verse, who will enter the kingdom of heaven?

6. Read Romans 12:1 and Luke 9:23. What does Paul call the offering of your body? How often must we do this? What does this say about our will?

7. Read Romans 12:2. What two things does this verse command regarding this world and your mind?

8. Read James 1:22. What does James say to be, not merely hearers?

Reflect: In which area of your life does Jesus have the title "Lord" but not the actual authority?

Journal: What impacted you during this devotion? How will you apply this to your life?

Day 2 — Obedience Isn't a Cage

Optional Reading: Deuteronomy 6 • 1 Samuel 15 • Psalm 119 • John 14 • John 15 • 1 John 5

“If you love me, you will keep my commands.” (John 14:15)

Obedience gets a bad reputation because we picture it as restriction — a list of no's keeping us from a good life. Jesus frames it differently: obedience flows out of love, not instead of freedom.

A fence around a cliff isn't a cage. It's what lets you enjoy the view without falling off the edge. God's commands work the same way.

Bible Study Questions

1. Read Deuteronomy 6:5. List everything this verse says to love the LORD your God with.

2. Read Deuteronomy 6:7. List the times or places mentioned for talking about these commands.

3. Read 1 Samuel 15:22. What does Samuel say is “better than sacrifice”?

4. Read Psalm 119:35. What does the psalmist ask God to direct him in?

5. Read John 15:14. What does Jesus call his disciples if they do what he commands?

6. Read John 14:21. What promise is attached to whoever has and obeys Jesus' commands?

7. Read John 15:10. What does Jesus say he has kept, and what result follows?

8. Read 1 John 5:3. According to this verse, what does love for God mean, and how are his commands described?

Reflect: What command of Jesus have you been treating as restriction rather than protection?

Day 3 — Freed to Live Differently

Optional Reading: Exodus 20 • Leviticus 25 • John 8 • Romans 6 • Romans 8 • Galatians 5

“For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

Freedom in Christ has two halves people often separate. You're freed from something — guilt, condemnation, the exhausting effort of earning God's approval. And you're freed for something — a life of love, purpose, and service that sin never could have produced.

A freedom that's only "from" tends to drift into aimlessness. A freedom that's also "for" has somewhere to go.

Bible Study Questions

1. Read Exodus 20:2. What does God remind the people of before giving the commandments?

2. Read Leviticus 25:10. What are the people told to proclaim throughout the land? (See below for additional information on the Year of Jubilee.)

3. Read John 8:31-32. According to this verse, what will the truth do?

4. Read John 8:34. What does Jesus say everyone who sins is a slave to?

5. Read John 8:36. According to this verse, what does it mean to be set free by the Son?

6. Read Romans 8:2. What two “laws” are named in this verse?

7. Read Romans 6:22. What are you now enslaved to instead of sin, and what does that produce?

8. Read Galatians 5:13. What are believers told not to use their freedom to indulge?

Reflect: What has Jesus freed you from? What is he freeing you for?

Journal: What impacted you during this devotion? How will you apply this to your life?

• Land returned to its original family. If someone had sold or lost their ancestral land due to hardship or debt, it reverted back to the original family at Jubilee — no matter how much time had passed. Land could be "sold," but really only leased until the next Jubilee.

• Slaves and indentured servants were freed. Anyone who had sold themselves into servitude to survive debt was released to return to their family and property.

• Debts were effectively canceled, since the economic mechanism behind most debt (loss of land, loss of labor) was undone.

Day 4 — The Chains That Still Linger

Optional Reading: Psalm 51 • Romans 7 • 1 John 1 • Galatians 5 • Hebrews 12 • James 4

“For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15)

Paul — an apostle, not a rookie believer — admits to fighting the same internal battle every disciple fights: wanting to do right and doing wrong anyway. Freedom in Christ doesn't mean the fight disappears overnight.

It means you're no longer fighting it alone, and you're no longer defined by losing a round.

Bible Study Questions

1. Read Psalm 51:10. What two things does David ask God to create and renew?

2. Read Romans 7:24. Write out the question Paul asks about “this body of death.”

3. Read Romans 7:25. Who does Paul thank for the answer?

4. Read 1 John 1:9. List the two things God does when we confess our sins.

5. Read Galatians 5:17. What are the flesh and the Spirit opposed to, and what is the result?

6. Read Galatians 5:16. What does this verse say you will not do if you walk by the Spirit?

7. Read Hebrews 12:1. List the two things this verse says to “throw off.”

8. Read James 4:7. List the two commands given in this verse.

Reflect: What habit or pattern still has a grip on you, even though you know better?

Day 5 — Living Like You're Free

Optional Reading: 1 Corinthians 10 • Romans 14 • Ephesians 5 • Titus 2 • Colossians 3 • 1 Peter 2

“As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil.” (1 Peter 2:16)

Freedom can be misused two ways: chained up by old guilt as if nothing changed, or stretched to excuse anything because "grace covers it." Peter warns against both. Real freedom looks like a life actually lived differently, not a loophole exploited.

The test of freedom isn't how much you can get away with. It's how much you no longer want to. Remember the Fruit of the Spirit.

Bible Study Questions

1. Read 1 Corinthians 10:23. What phrase is repeated twice about things being “permissible”?

2. Read Romans 14:13. What does this verse tell believers to stop doing to one another?

3. Read Ephesians 5:8-9. What are believers called to walk as, and what does that produce?

4. Read Titus 2:12. List the two things grace teaches us to say “no” to.

5. Read Colossians 3:12. List the qualities believers are told to put on.

6. Read 1 Peter 2:11. What does Peter urge believers to abstain from?

7. Read 1 Peter 2:17. List the four commands given in this verse.

8. Read Romans 14:17. What three things does this verse say the kingdom of God is about?

Reflect: Are you living like someone who's actually free, or like someone still guilty, or like someone using grace as an excuse? Be honest.