What is the "9 Keys To Walking In Christ" devotional about?

Listen To An Audio Overview Here  

Hello! 

How do you walk in Christ? Like eating right and regular exercise, you have to be disciplined in exercising your faith, to grow in your walk with Him. God's Word outlines many practical principles that will help you successfully walk in Christ.

"9 Keys To Walking in Christ" is Live in the YouVersion Bible App and web site!

The aim of this devotional is to guide you through nine of the keys to help strengthen your walk.

Whether you just started walking in Christ, or have walked with Him for years, I pray this will be a spark in your faith that will help motivate you, driving you to walk closer with Him!

I pray that this devotional will encourage and challenge you in your walk with Christ!

It's an honor to serve you and I'm humbled and exited as God has blessed me with this opportunity to encourage the body of Christ from His Word.

I pray that you will sign up for the plan and help get the word out about the plan to your family, friends and church family too! 

Also, your continued prayers for a successful launch is greatly appreciated! 

 Listen To An Audio Overview Here 

On another note, I know the A Shepherd's Heart social media sites and website has been dominated by the devotional launch this week, however, it's been important in support of getting the word out about God has done. Rest assured I'll be sifting back into the usual biblical and practical encouragement posts and content in the weeks ahead. 

My current plan via the website is to finish The Fruit of The Spirit Series that I'd started a while back and put that on pause as well as other topics to encourage you in your faith and walk with Christ. 

Also, via social media, the usual A Shepherd's Heart biblical and practical encouragement posts will be back in action. 

If you're subscribed to the free A Shepherd's Heart Communications, you will receive additional content and news before anyone else receives it and you can expect some more encouragement resources will be coming your way if your'e signed up! 

If you aren't signed up, please sign up with your name and e-Mail address via the form on the right of the www.ashepherdsheart.org landing page. 

I'm always working to provide content that is encouraging to you in your faith and walk with Jesus. With this, what topics or content will be useful to you or would you like to potentially see? Please leave a comment here or send an e-Mail to rlk@ashepherdsheart.org. I'm also working to assess where to focus efforts and time and would like to share was it most meaningful as much as possible so your input would be very helpful! 

Thank you for your time and please pass this communication on to someone!

In Christ,
Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Also, here are a few ideas of how I can serve you: 
https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html

My Devotional Plan "9 Keys To Walking In Christ" is now Live!

Hello! 

I'm excited to share that my devotional plan is now Live in the YouVersion Bible App and site!

Here's the link: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/12135-9-keys-to-walking-in-christ

Plan description:

"How do you walk in Christ? Like eating right and regular exercise, you have to be disciplined in exercising your faith to grow in your walk with Him. God's Word outlines many practical principles that will help you successfully walk in Christ. The aim of this devotional is to guide you through nine of the keys to help strengthen your walk."

If you use the app or the website version, I'd be honored if you sign-up for the plan and complete it with me!

I'd also love it if you could share the plan with others!

I picked the launch date for fun on purpose to coincide with my Birthday. (Which is July 9th) lol. 

Kind of my "birthday present" to you and whomever decides to study the plan! :-)

In Christ Alone,

Your Brother and Servant, 

Randolph Koch

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Also, here are a few ideas of how I can serve you: 
https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html

My First YouVersion Bible App Devotional Plan is Going Live July 9, 2018!

Dear Friends,

I'm excited to share with you that in one week from today my first devotional plan for the YouVersion Bible App will be going live in the app and on the website! 

The title and topic is "9 Keys To Walking In Christ". 

Here's a short video announcement I posted this morning which you can view in your browser. (less than 60 seconds) 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkvRMMAh61x
Or 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartofAShepherd/videos/2108490595891470/

​​I'm very excited for this opportunity to serve the body of Christ and pray the devotional will be a spark in their faith and walk with The Lord as it's geared to help strengthen their walks with the Lord. Please join me in thanking and praising God for this incredible opportunity! 

I'd appreciate your prayers that God would be glorified,  for a successful launch,  the body (including you) will be encouraged and challenged in their faith, and I'd appreciate your involvement too! 

I'll share a link to the plan once it's live and I'd appreciate your involvement as part of my "launch team" as follows if possible:

1. Prayers: Again, I'd appreciate your prayers that God would be glorified,  for a successful launch, and the body (including you) will be encouraged and challenged in their faith through this devotional offering! 
2. Participation: If you use the app or the website version, I'd be honored if you sign-up for the plan and complete it with me!
3. Communication: Once it's live on July 9th, share the plan with your family and friends via word of mouth and social media. 
• I've inserted two different graphics below that you can use to share it if you're able to along with the link I'll share on Monday.
• Just share it how you'd share anything else from the heart as that will be perfect! 

Thanks for your time and prayers!  Excited to prayerfully see what God does through this in the lives of those who go through the plan. 

In Christ Alone,

Your Brother and Servant, 

Randolph Koch 

Parenting: The Art Of The Release and Other Practical Advice.

Read Proverbs 22:6, 2 Peter 1:3-12, Colossians 1:28-29, John 4:7-14 for an encouragement and challenge from God’s Word.

As a dad who has helped raise 5 kids, (All but one are young adults now but I give most of the credit to my wife that they made it into adulthood alive) :-), it’s not uncommon to reflect on things you could have or wished you’d done better as well as the things you did do well too. As I reflected recently, there were many things that came to mind and wanted to share a few reflections / learnings with you. There more to share another time but here's a mini-share for now. :-)

As a parent you learn quickly that there’s no manual for parenting other than of course as followers of Christ, the pages of wisdom found in God’s word.  We are also influenced in one way or another by how we were raised. So, each parent does (or should do) their very best to raise their children with the goal of launching them into adulthood, because launching them is the goal.

As followers of Christ we strive to model an abiding faith in Christ for our children.  However, as they launch into adulthood we have to remember that they have to choose to own their faith and even prior to this they have to own their faith if they are a follower of Christ.

Years ago I read a book by Stu Weber titled, “Tender Warrior” and in that book he describes a quiver of arrows.  What I learned is that there are different arrows for different weather conditions and as I recall, Stu used this as a picture of how each child is different and we pour into them differently and it's not easy sometimes to remember and do, but from the time they are born until they launch into adulthood we are practicing the art of the release. If you've done any amount of archery you quickly get the mental picture of that release.

"If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time." -Zig Ziglar

You have to have a direct aim with parenting and while it’s true that we do need to keep the day-by-day in mind, we also have to keep the future release in mind as we have a responsibility to help launch them successfully.  Ultimately we are not responsible for their actions, for the actions they choose, but, we are responsible for pouring as much into them as possible. 

This doesn’t mean we’re so wrapped up in their lives that we neglect our marriages and don’t continue to build a relationship with their spouses, (keep in mind, once they are launched it’s just you and your spouse if our married and you need to build into your relationship all along and if you haven't...that can make things difficult for your relationship) but it does mean we are responsible to do our very best in God’s strength in order to help our kids become adults.

The scripture reminds us that we’re to train up a child in the way they are to go and the hope is that they would turn to the truths that have been instilled in them from God’s word as well as the wisdom and life skills we tried to instill in them as parents. 

Remember this, as parents, none of us are perfect and we need to learn from our mistakes and grow in grace even for ourselves. We also need to draw from God’s Wisdom and Strength often as parents and consult Him through His Word and prayer. Please drink deeply from God’s Well! As we do, we can build into our children and practice the “release” and speaking from experience, as the day comes more quickly than we imagine. So, you and I better be ready and stay ready building into them as we practice releasing them into adulthood and we can’t do this in our own strength and wisdom alone.

Another thing to consider is that you don't have to go it alone with parenting nor should you. You should seek out and learn from the wisdom and experience of other parents who are at different stages in parenting or stages ahead of you as you progress forward as well. You can and will be used in the lives of other parents too!

Let's pray for one another as parents and let's encourage each other to keep pressing forward. Also, guess what…as your kids launch into adulthood, they will still need you and your counsel so get ready for spontaneous late night conversations on their terms (even in high school) because even though they want to be independent, they still want your counsel too. Doesn’t mean they will follow that advice but it does mean they still want your input so be ready for that! :-)

Keep pressing forward and practice the good form of release just like and archer does. 

In Christ,

Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Also, here are a few ideas of how I can serve you: 
https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html