Be My Disciple

Jesus' call to discipleship is clearly stated in Luke 14: 27 , “...anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Then he added in verse 33, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Based on these verses, true discipleship means passionate, complete, utter devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone of us who believes in Jesus, needs to be His disciple. It's not enough that we just give Him a part of our lives, He wants our all. Being His disciple means that we have to make Christ Lord of all our lives. If He is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all.

As a true disciple, God wants us to be consistent in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Our focus should be on our relationship with Him, not on religious traditions or on empty acts of service. We have to remember that the Christian life should always be characterized by love. This means that in everything we do, love should be our motivation. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5: 14-15, “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

The entire discipleship process does not stop in being a disciple. Actually, it's just the first step. Now that we've experienced God's working in our lives, it's time for us to engage with others in our families and communities so we can tell them about God's love. God's great commission to all believers is found in Matthew 28: 19-20. It says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is command is not optional, it is a must. We have to constantly be aware of the opportunities for discipleship that God's presents before us. As Christ models true Christian living to us, so should we to those we disciple. But it is important to remember that discipleship is not a one-time thing, it is a lifestyle.

The “I AM”

Moses' first encounter with God was while he was tending to his father-in-law Jethro's flock at Horeb. It was there that the Almighty told him to lead His flock, the Israelites. Moses was not up to the job because he knew that he was just a nobody. He was content to living a life of peace and quiet, yet purposeless, in the desert. But God assured this run-away prince that He would be there to guide him and empower him with great strength and power.

It was no surprise that Moses asked this question, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" (Exodus 3:13). God's answer to this one important query was nothing ordinary. He told Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you." (Exodus 3:14)

To a usual onlooker, this may seem very confusing. But to someone who has encountered God in the deep recesses of his being, this statement is very powerful. In this “I AM” statement lies the very essence of our God - He can be whoever and whatever we need Him to be. When we need someone to take out our infirmitites, He is our Healer. When we need someone to bring us our daily bread, He is our Provider. When we need quietness of spirit, He is our Peace. When we are grieving and our hearts are in turmoil, He is our Comforter. The possibilities are endless. God can be anyone we need Him to be – that brings us great hope and cheer.

The Power of The Cross

The Holy Week is definitely one of the most awaited holidays in the country. For many, this holiday, locally known as Semana Santa, is the only time when Filipinos can take some time off from work to relax and spend time with the whole family. Some families go on beach outings or mountain hikes. However, for more than half of the Filipino population, Semana Santa is a time when they can lessen their sins by making sacrifices like flogging and crucifixion, and visiting as many churches and shrines as they can. But do all these acts really make a difference?

To answer that question, we would have to go back to the power of the cross. Interestingly, when we visit churches all across the country, we see two kinds of crosses - one with Jesus Christ still on it, while the other one empty. It can be quite confusing for a normal church-goer but which one depicts the cross of the Bible?

If we look at the Bible’s account of Christ’s suffering on the cross, we will see that after he was crucified, he was buried, which means that He did not stay crucified on the cross. But amazingly, he did not stay in the tomb, too. After three days, the rock that sealed His tomb was open and Christ was nowhere to be found inside it. The impossible has happened. Christ has risen from the dead.

The cross is God’s wisdom for our salvation. No amount of sacrifice on our part can do that. Only Christ’s sacrifice on the cross can save us from our sins. On the other hand, the empty tomb tells us that in God there is victory. The empty cross and the empty tomb remind us that God’s power is at work in the lives of those who believe in Him. All we have to do is put our trust in Him.

God Takes The Broken Pieces

Have you ever felt like God was so far away? As if your prayers don't go past the ceiling? Does it seem like your dreams will just stay that way – just dreams? Have you resigned yourself to saying, “Que Sera, Sera. Whatever will be, will be?” as you feel like life is all about luck. Some are lucky, some are not – and only a few are lucky enough to belong to the first lot. If this is exactly how you feel, then here's good news for you: God has created you with a purpose and a great future. And there is indeed hope for you.

When God created the world, every thing was perfect. But because of sin, things became corrupted. The perfect world that God has created became full of lies, disappointments, pain, suffering, disillusionment, illnesses – all sorts of evil things. Man's image which was after God's own image became distorted. Man's relationship with Him became marred with filth. The world that God had created was now a far cry from His original design, and it's all because of sin.

It may look like things are utterly hopeless, as if there's nothing that can be done about our situation. But the truth is, God himself went out of his way to restore things for us, especially our relationship with Him. Two thousand years ago, He sent his only Son to bridge the gap between us and Him. Right now, he's stretching out his hands to us so he can take the broken pieces of our lives and put them back together. The invitation is always open. He's just waiting for us to accept it. But it's always our choice as he never forces himself on us.

Love Is The Answer

At the mention of the word “love”, our minds would immediately conjure up a myriad of images that show how we perceive this word. For a married couple, they may remember the day they committed to spend the rest of their lives together for better or for worse. A grandmother would remember the time when she held her first grandchild in her arms, while a teenager would be thinking of the boy that she has taken on a certain fancy. Love can mean a million different things to different people but ultimately love is God, and God is love.

Love is the very essence of God. To know God is to know His love. If we fail to understand that God will always be a God of love, then we miss the whole point of our existence - that is to reciprocate the love that He has given us freely. The Bible says, “we love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)

God loves us not because we do good things for Him or because we are nice people. He loves us because that is who He is. There will never be a time when he will stop loving us. It's just impossible for Him not to love us. He wouldn't be God if he stopped loving because that is His very essence. What is amazing about God is that He, the Almighty and powerful God, extends His hands towards us to draw us near to Him by making His love known to us. We don't reach out to Him, He reaches out to us. All we have to do is to accept what He is offering us – His love.

God's love is unchanging. It has been and will always be the same. No matter what we do it will still be as it is now. God's love is also powerful. It can bring people together, as well as bring healing, joy and peace in our lives. There is no corner in our lives that love cannot touch. Knowing this, we have no reason to fear. Understanding and accepting God's love means entering into His loving arms where all fear is cast out. (1 John 4:18) There is every reason for us to praise God because there is nothing or no one in this whole wide world that can shake us or bring us down if we have God's love in our hearts. So we can now say with firmness and conviction that “love is the answer” to everything that we're facing right now.

A New Year, A New Start

It's 2010! A new year, a chance to have a new start. We turn to God with eagerness for what He has in store for us this year. But as we do that, we also remember the past year with a mixture of both happiness and pain. God allows us to remember our mistakes and frustrations in the past to help us grow in Him. He wants to remind us that only He alone can give us hope for the future.

As we start the year 2010, we hold on to God's promises in the Bible. By faith, we are certain that He will go before us, paving the way for us. He will guide us and watch over us so we will not fall over the same failues which can happen if we don't ponder over His Word and dwell in His presence through prayer.

Let's not rush into the new year, forgetting all that God has done for us in the past. Let's patiently wait for God to reveal and accomplish His promises to us. Let's learn from our past failures but let's not dwell on them. What's in the past is irreversible, we can't change them anymore. But God holds greater things for us in the future. Let's us wait with expectant and eager hearts knowing that He holds our future in His hands.