2304AFC012723 – The Discipline of Discipleship
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Zephaniah 2:3 – 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,
who do his commands;
seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you may be hidden
on the day of the Lord’s wrath.
Psalm 146:1 – 1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
1 Corinthians 1:29-31 – 29 This means that no one can boast in God’s presence. 30 But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free. 31 So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.” (See Jeremiah 9:24) Good News Translation (GNT) Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society.
Matthew 5:3 – 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit *, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. → * [5:3] The poor in spirit: in the Old Testament, the poor (’anāwîm) עֲנָוִ֣ים anawim They are those who are without material possessions and whose confidence is in God alone. They are the meek and lowly, the downtrodden and marginalized, the persecuted and neglected, the ones held in lowest esteem by all including themselves but without boasting about it. (See Key Verse from 1 Corinthians 1:29 above) (↔ Click Link)
E pili mau na pomaika‘i ia ‘oe a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Beloved!) I am bringing in a couple of Guest Authors to get things started today. The first is from one of the Church Fathers, St. Jerome.
St Jerome ~~ “Do you dread poverty? Christ calls the poor blessed. Does toil frighten you? No athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow. Are you anxious as regards food? Faith fears no famine. Do you dread the bare ground for limbs wasted with fasting? The Lord lies there beside you. Do you recoil from an unwashed head and uncombed hair? Christ is your true head. Does the boundless solitude of the desert terrify you? In the Spirit you may walk always in paradise. Simply turn your thoughts there and you will no more be in the desert. Is your skin rough and scaly because you no longer bathe? He who is once washed in Christ does not need to wash again. To all your objections the apostle gives this one brief answer: ‘The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory’ which shall come after them, ‘which shall be revealed in us.’ You are too greedy of enjoyment, my brother, if you wish to rejoice with the world here, and to reign with Christ hereafter.” (See Romans 8:18)
Psalm 22:26 – 26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
Pause with me for just a few moments so we can try thinking about God – the Almighty Everliving Omnibenificent Creator. Let’s begin with this quote from another Church Father:
“Our very incapacity of fully grasping Him affords us the idea of what He really is. He is presented to our minds in His transcendent greatness, as at once known and unknown. And this is the crowning guilt of men, that they will not recognize One of whom they cannot possibly be ignorant.” ~~ Tertullian
A few years ago I sent you this image, and it captures the idea in this quote. I share it with you again, and ask you to please reflect on what you see.
For this wonderful picture (used with permission from the artist):
Art created by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992, 2002. To order prints visit her “Revelation Illustrated” site, http://revelationillustrated.com . Contact us and let us know which one you need to use. If you wish to use more than one, you should purchase the 40 image CD .You will also be required to add a right-click copy protection code to each image. For use as wallpaper on your computer, just let us know which one you need. For use as a screensaver, please go here where you can get information on the new “Revelation Illustrated” screensaver program.
Pat Marvenko Smith
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THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED SO RESPECT THE ARTIST’S WISHES. ~~ CT3
We want to get to Heaven, but cling to what we have on earth. We want to be called “good and faithful servants,” but we lack the will to truly serve. We pray for forgiveness, but keep on sinning anyway. We say we want to be like Jesus, but end up pretending Jesus is like us. Jesus is like us in all ways EXCEPT SIN. We want to be God’s children, and we are through baptism, but we fail to behave as God’s children. When we do so, we fret against that discipline. “NO! I DO IT MYSELF!” Here is some sage advice from another Church Father who was loved enough be Jesus to be personally called as an Apostle:
Hebrews 12:4-8 – 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children —
“My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
or lose heart when you are punished by him;
6 for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
and chastises every child whom he accepts.”
7 Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? 8 If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate* and not his children.
*If you follow that link you’ll see that in other translations, The Apostle Paul calls the adelphos who will not accept Christ’s discipline bastards. That’s some pretty strong language! Remember that The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee and was quoting from Proverbs 3:11-12. Also remember, in his day there was no New Testament – he was writing it as he traveled – and when he spoke or wrote to the churches he had founded, his thought were based on his extensive education as a scholar of Scripture – including what he learned from Jesus himself and from the other Apostles and Disciples of Jesus. Sometimes, I believe, we also wish to be Disciples while hoping to avoid the price of Discipleship: Discipline that brings us humility.
The Apostle Paul had learned discipline all his life – not learned about it, but learned by experiencing it. After his calling on the road to Damascus, he endured great suffering for the sake of the Gospel. He was beaten with rods, scourged and whipped, stoned and left for dead. He toiled with his hands day and night in his trade of tent-maker. Still, he never stopped preaching the Gospel. There is a good reason for that: he believed what he taught because he was humbled by the discipline it took to teach it. We might wonder if he had heard the account Mount and the Beatitudes.
In the list of The Beatitudes, (or the Be-Attitudes) the first among them is Humility – the exact opposite of the foundation of sin – Pride. There is not one among us who would not deeply desire to have Jesus answer the prayer saying “Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto your heart.” No matter how deep and genuine our desire, despite our greatest yearnings to emulate his life, we always “fall short of the glory of God.” (See Romans 3:23) We rightfully decide on being humble, but predictability rarely make it. Nonetheless “We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.” (↔ Music Link). It’s hard to be humble enough, often but not always, to do that. Back in 1974 a fella by the name of Mac Davis released a song called “It’s Hard To Be Humble.” It was a novelty song, and really kind of fun because we all find it hard to be humble when it comes right down to it. (You can check that out here.) (↔ Music Link) Most of us would agree that it is better to be humble than to be humiliated. Humility and humbleness are not highly valued in our competitive, phony-baloney society. As kids we learned it is important to “Stand up for yourself,” and to “be proud of who you are and where you come from.” “Don’t let anyone put you down. Hold your head up high and take pride in your work.” I found a few interesting old sayings about servants (↔ Click Link) .
If we do desire to be Disciples, we must accept the discipline that comes along with that goal. Part of that discipline is fearlessly accepting that it will be a rough road. Go look at Mark 10:30 and Acts 14:22. Jesus himself told us we would suffer because of his Name. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” (See Matthew 5:11-12)
How can anyone live like that and not be profoundly depressed?!? As we have learned to expect, the Holy Spirit has prompted The Apostle Paul to give us the answer which we find in Philippians 4:4-8 – 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. You may remember GIGO – Gospel In, Gospel Out. When we live like that, being a Disciple is so very rewarding that we don’t notice how “meek and lowly, the downtrodden and marginalized, how persecuted and neglected, and among those held in lowest esteem by all.” “If God is all you have left, you have all you need.” It is Only In God (↔ Music Link) that we find our rest, our Hope, our greatest Love. If you, if I, if WE can just cool our jets long enough to honor the Giver by accepting the Gift, we’ll be embraced in the Peace surpassing understanding and move forward toward Heaven.
Therein we find the will, the ability, and the strength to rest in God’s hand as his Disciple because in, by, and through his discipline we give delight to the Lord.
Proverbs 3:11-12 – 11 My child, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves the one he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
As our dear friend in heaven, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Do small things with great Love.” There’ a wise adage stating “Take care of the small stuff and all the rest will fall into place.” I usually chuckle about that because it reminds me of this riddle – Q: How do you eat an elephant? A: One bite at a time. Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. Q: How do we get to Heaven? A: One humble step at a time. Q: How do we learn to be humble? A: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own insight.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. (See Proverbs 3:5-6) and furthermore, you will end up singing and dancing and shouting
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
In other words seek righteousness, seek humility. That’s one of the Core Principles in the Absolutely Perfect Plan. Check out your Study Guide (the B.I.B.L.E.) for additional principles on the Discipline of Discipleship. You will find a passage marked with this bookmark, a gift from El Shaddai-Olam:
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
