JOURNEY OUTSIDE THE CAMP

You cannot be my disciple

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? Once, when the crowds were following him around, Jesus turned to address them. He said to them three times, “You cannot be my disciple.” Why did Jesus speak so harshly? Let’s see what he said.

Luke 14:25-33
[25] Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, [26] “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. [27] Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. [28] For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? [29] Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, [30] saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ [31] Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? [32] And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. [33] So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Looking at the above passage, Jesus says that for anyone who would be his disciples, that person must do three things.

1.       Hate their family
2.       Bear a cross
3.       Renounce everything in his or her life

Brave enough to follow

Our family went one more time to listen to Stuart Briscoe. He was speaking at a missions conference at Grace Baptist chuch entitled, "Brave Enough to Follow". We would have liked to have attended the other sessions and workshops but our schedule did not permit. But we feel really blessed that we could be at the very last session where Dr. Briscoe was the closing speaker.

He spoke about being brave enough to follow Jesus. Our Lord's mission for each believer is to go into the world and bring the gospel to people who have not heard it. So many Christians today come to believe and are happy to be a believer but they stop short in their walk and do not carry on with the rest of what it means to be a Christian. We are called to go. All of us. Without exception.

Welcome to the Revolution

In seeking out good books for use in Sunday School, I came across this one called Welcome to the Revolution by Brian Tome. It was a very easy read, with its conversational tone and quirky humour. The author, Brian Tome is the pastor of Crossroads Community Church and the blurb says he was tired of looking for a book that he could give to new believers so he wrote one.

I could finish the book in about three days (I'm a slow reader) and the author gives a very down-to-earth, jargon-free introductory journey on what it means to be a Christ follower. I especially like his analogy of a three-legged stool, with the one leg each representing prayer, Bible reading and community. These are the supports for the main goal which is the seat, and that represents missions.

While the discussions were introductory in nature, I did think the book can go a long way in helping a new believer make a good start on his journey with Christ. I learnt a few things myself when I got to chapter 6. There, the author asked the reader to examine his or her relationships closely to see which ones were helpful and which were draining. That made me sit back and think through my own relationships too to see not only if I was receiving nurture from others but also if I was nurturing to others or just sucking some people dry.

I've already passed one copy to a new believer and he's alsmost done reading it. I'll ask what he thinks of it. I've another new believer who wants to read my copy too. Looks like I'll need to get a few more to pass around. I think it's possible to use the book as a base for small group and Sunday School lessons and discussions.