Chuck,
It was good to talk with you last week. Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with Saul. I know that it helped him with thinking about where he is headed and challenging him to listen to the Lord. I mentioned it last week but I had been reading in John chapter 5 and came across verse 19-24 and it really connected the dots for me with discipleship in regards to what you were teaching us last year from Matthew chapter 8-10. In verse 19 Jesus says that he can do nothing unless it is something he “sees” the Father do. Verse 20 the Father shows the son all He is doing.
It made me think that Jesus showed his disciples what to do before telling them to do it, because that is the example of teaching disciples that the Father had with the Son. I instantly thought of the illustration you taught us about drawing the shapes (The house) and then actually showing the person what to draw. It reminded me to make sure I am functioning in that way with the men I have following me. It also reminded me of some recent things, in which I actually had to show a couple of guys something 2 and 3 times before they got it down. As I read through the gospels, I see how Jesus taught and retaught his disciples in how he ministered to the crowds.
This showed me again that discipleship is a lot of work and that we should not give up on someone who has not quite “got it” yet. I am preparing to preach out of the book of Micah at the end of the month for the church services. Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you. But to do justice to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” The picture of “Walking humbly with God” hit me as someone on a steady pace. Not running, not wandering around, but step after step in a strait path. A steady pace. Jesus led his disciples step by step as they followed him. We must follow Christ step by step and lead others to do likewise.
Paul Taylor
College and Young Adults Pastor
First Baptist Church of Downey, California
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