When Jesus called people to follow Him, He called them to be His disciple.  A disciple is a learner who followed a teacher. When we think of a teacher, most of the time we think of one who passes on knowledge or information. But in Jesus’ day it referred to being an imitator of the teacher’s life so that his values became their values, his priorities, their priorities, his  focus, their focus. Discipleship involves a relationship where the student followed the teacher so that they could adhere to his way of life and the teacher’s worldview became their own.  Paul defined discipleship by saying, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

God has called us to do the same thing today. Jesus told us to go and make disciples of all nations. We are to help others follow the example of Christ by following our example. The only way we can do this is to be in a relationship with other people and follow Jesus’ method for making his disciples. Jesus called his disciples and taught them first by simply asking them to watch Him as He lived and ministered. Then Jesus taught His disciples by doing the ministry and letting them help. When Jesus fed the 5000, he had his disciples help. Thirdly, Jesus had his disciples minister and he helped them.  He sent them out by twos to preach, teach, and minister. When they needed help, he came along side them. He did this after the Mount of Transfiguration when the disciples who had cast out demons before, could not cast out the demon of a man’s son.  Jesus stepped in, helped them, and taught them why they were unable to do it.  Finally, Jesus let his disciples minister, while he cheered.  This is the disciples in the book of Acts.

In Romans 12:9-10, Paul uses three different Greek words for love to describe the love that Christians should have for one another.  He says, “Let love be genuine …  Love one another with brotherly affection.”  The first word that he uses is Agape.  This is used to describe the love God has for Son, Jesus, and His people.  It is also used to describe the love between a husband and a wife.  It is a love that keeps loving even if the other person acts unlovable at times. The second word for love that is used is Philostorgos.  This is used to describe a deep love that is between life-long friends. The final word, Paul uses is Philadelphia which is translated as brotherly love.  It is a love that we would have between brothers and sisters.  

Paul is saying that what should characterize the church is a deep abiding love one for another. The only way we can do this is to become a disciple of Jesus Christ who taught us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. If I am self-absorbed, I cannot love this way. The church is the place where I feel the most secure because it is here that I find the most love.  The love we have for one another should be our testimony to the world. 

“Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” This was the question Job asked to Jonah. Jonah was upset that a plant that had grown overnight to provide him shade had died. Jonah was upset that a plant died and even more upset that God had spared the people of Nineveh.  He had more compassion on the plant than he did the people.

Unfortunately, there are many people in the world who care more for plants than people.  As Christians that should never be the case. At the same time, people confuse our care for hate. People hate the fact that we want to tell others that they need to trust Jesus. In fact, this is the most caring thing we can do. The reason is some people believe that Christianity is like every other religion, we just have to follow the rules set out and become good people and care about one another. The problem is that Christianity is not about relying on your ability to follow the rules, but Jesus’.

The title for Psalm 92 is a Psalm for the Sabbath. The Holy Spirit inspired title for this Psalm is a reminder that we are to take time every week to worship the Lord together. In fact, verse one is a call to worship.  The Psalmist says, It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High.  Weekly corporate worship is both good for us and it is good for God.

This is a healthy reminder in our day and age. Unfortunately, over the last few years there has been a redefining of what it means to be an active church member. An active church member is one who worships the Lord with the body of Christ two times a month.  Yet the Word of God reminds us here that it is good to do this at least once a week.

We need to worship together. The great reformer, Martin Luther, said, “At home in my own house there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart, and it breaks its way through.” I need that fire rekindled every week because living in this world can often douse the fire that I have in my soul. I need corporate worship for me, but I also need it for you. Hebrews 10:25 tells me “to not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  I need to be at church for other people so that I can encourage them.

If you are on social media, you have probably seen it.  Someone makes a not so cryptic post, and you are left wondering, with whom are they upset. Instead of going to the person, they air their dirty laundry on social media.  Before we criticize this generation, we must remind ourselves that they have learned from the best. They have learned from us that when you are upset with someone, you go and talk about it with anyone but the person with whom we are upset. We feel the need when we are wronged to get other people on our side.

The Bible teaches us a better way. When someone wrongs us, we can do one of two things.  We can immediately forgive them and bear the burden on ourselves. We can do this because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8) and Christ has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32). Second, we should go to the person alone and seek to reconcile. “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15) If the person repents, we are at one with our brother.  If they do not repent, Jesus gives a process for dealing with it.

This past week, my family and I went to Hilton Head Island, and while on a Dolphin Cruise, they showed us a sailboat that had sank in the backwater. All we saw was two masts sticking out of the water. The tour director said that the owner anchored the boat and left but the anchor did not hold. The boat was swamped, and it sank. The anchor was good, but it was not attached to a rock.

As we sailed past and heard the story, Hebrews 6:19 came to mind. “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.” The anchor is hope and it is based on the fact that God cannot lie. When God promised Abraham the promised land, Abraham asked how he could know that He would in fact would receive the land. Genesis 15 records the covenant making ceremony that God entered into with Abraham. In the ceremony, animals were split in two, and the one making the covenant would walk between the pieces of animal. In doing so, the person was saying, if I fail to keep the promise may I be cut in two like the pieces. God was saying, may I not be God if I fail to keep my promise.

Our anchor of hope is sure because it is built on the fact that God will never fail to keep his promise to us. Not only that our anchor is attached to the rock, which is in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. Because our hope is built on the promise of God and is attached to Jesus Christ, we are secure no matter what storm we face. This led the hymn writer, William Bradbury, to write:

After my dad died earlier this year, my family went through all the pictures we had. Most of these pictures, I had not seen in 30-40 years.  I came across one of my favorite pictures, it is of me riding my tricycle with my dad running behind me. I do not remember riding the tricycle, I was only 2 or 3 years old.  What I like about the picture is the joy that is clearly on my face. What I do not like about the picture is that you do not see my father’s face, just him behind me. Growing up I always wondered what he was thinking. I did not understand it as a child, but now I do because I am a father. I do not have to see his face to know that there was just as much joy on his face as there was mine.

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”  This is a perfect picture of a father who cares for his children. In context, the previous verses reveals that when we as the children of God seek Him and follow Him, and trust Him, that He delights in us. In fact, our heavenly father overflows with joy and He rejoices over us with loud singing.

Genesis 42 starts with these words, “When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you look at one another?’”  Jacob and his family were facing starvation.  The famine in the land was so great that Jacob now risked sending his family out of the promised land to find food in Egypt. As soon as Jacob mentioned Egypt, his sons could only look at one another.  Why?  The last time they thought of Egypt was when they sold their brother into slavery. They sold their brother to Midianite traders who would sell their brother into bondage in Egypt. They stood there looking at one another because their conscience had been pricked.

It had been over 20 years since they had plotted to kill their brother but deciding to sell him instead. I do not know how often they thought about what they had done, but I am sure that after 20 years their consciences had been seared regarding the deed. We choose to do that so that we don’t get mired in guilt.  But if we belong to God, He will not leave us that way.

As we celebrate the 4^th of July, we remember the words of the Declaration of Independence that we are endowed by our “Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”  Unfortunately, today we have a shallow understanding of the pursuit of happiness. We think it means chasing after hedonism, a life of celebration free from pain.  For the Founding Fathers, the phrase meant pursuing a meaningful life. We have been given freedom to live a life that brings satisfaction, that what we are doing is worth living for.

The Bible teaches us that it is, “For freedom Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). The freedom that Christ has given us also leads to the pursuit of a meaningful life. When we understand that God loves us so much, we realize that the life He wants us to live is always best for us. We are free to say no to what we think, or the world thinks will give us satisfaction and say yes to the life that God says will be meaningful.

When you buy an appliance, it comes with an owner’s manual. The manual tells you how to use it optimally. The owner’s manual is written by those who bult the appliance. God has given us a manual; it is called the Bible. It was written by the one  who created us. He knows how to live the best life because He made us. When we live, the way He wants us to live, we are pursuing happiness.