Discipleship and Karate

September 16, 2011 by · 2 Comments

On our way home from dinner yesterday night, Pastor Noel shared this gem of wisdom about karate. The one thing I know about karate is that I don’t know anything about it. And that’s the reason why I was so struck with the parallels he drew about karate and ministry. Here’s the gist of that conversation:

In karate, the higher level of belt you have, the better person you become, the more gentle you are with the people around you and the more you treat everyone right. That’s because you have nothing to prove to anyone. You are secure with the level that you attained.

Whenever you see loud, aggressive and showy people, that’s most likely because they are just new, untrained, immature and has a lower belt level. They feel like they need to show off so people will recognize them.

The same thing with the ministry. The higher you go, the gentler you become. The more you do in the kingdom of God, the more it makes you a humble person. The bigger role you play in the ministry of God, the more you treat people right. Mature people don’t have anything to prove to anyone. They just are.

Filed Under: Discipleship · Tagged With: ,

Discipleship and Miss Universe

September 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

Everything Shamcey worked for, everything she believed and thought about her whole life came out in the open the moment she stood in front of the international audience and the big cameras during the Miss Universe beauty pageant few days ago. Her beliefs, her convictions, her idea of life and religion and commitment were unveiled in that single moment.

I’m not sure if Shamcey will ever have that time in her life again when millions of people all over the world will hang on to every word she said. Her answer rocked, not just the entertainment and the fashion world, but the consciousness of Filipinos and the Christians who are confronted with the question Vivica A. Fox asked her: conviction or compromise? Here is a woman who unapologetically gave an unpopular answer in front of the whole world.

Few of us will ever have that moment when our faith and character will be tested out in the open, with cameras and millions of people to applaud us. Many will be tested in secret, without anyone watching the choices they make. Some are tested with a plate of food (Esau), others with a woman in a bathing suit (David), and still others with a few gold coins for extra cash (Judas). The real question, however, is not whether you are tested in public or in private. It is whether you will pass or not, whether you are ready to give an answer that will satisfy the Ultimate Judge or just please the crowd.

We are not all beauty queens, and for most of us, our test may not even involve carefully crafted sentences with the right kind of accent. For most people, the test is not about giving sharp answers to a panel of judges but making silent choices in the face of trials on their daily grind where most of the battles of life are either lost or won.

Filed Under: Discipleship · Tagged With: , ,

Discipleship and Captain America

August 15, 2011 by · Leave a Comment

I was talking to my victory group about the book of Ephesians tonight when another weird thought struck me: discipleship and Captain America. This is another one of the few weird ideas that came up in my devotional hour these past few days. In my previous post, I wrote about discipleship and nitrogen fixing bacteria. I have yet to write about thermodynamics when Captain America forced its way into my writing priorities.

You see, Ephesians 1.3 is still stuck in my head. I am literally blown away with the idea that before the world was ever created, God has already put into place every kind of spiritual blessing that I would ever need in this life. In verse 18, that idea is magnified a a few knots higher. Paul said that the “incredibly great power” of God is at work in the lives of those who believe. What does it mean?

It means that God’s power is in your life.

But that’s just the beginning. In verse 20, Paul said that the power you have in your life right now IS THE SAME power that God EXERTED to raise Jesus from the dead. Not only that, it is also THE SAME power that He used to put Jesus on the throne, high above all the powers and authority and dominion known to mankind.

When we think of it that way, it can sound so grand but so detached from human experience. But what if I tell you that the verses we read actually tell us that God has heavily invested so much in our lives that we can never afford to be defeated?

Like Captain America.

Contained within his buff body and strong physique is the millions of dollars of scientific research that would probably go to waste if Steve Rogers didn’t begin to use his abilities to win the war. Rogers had the enhanced body, he can do a lot more than what he was doing, he can be a deadly weapon, but what did he do at first? He worked as a clown!

Can you see the connection? The government invested all its scientific and financial resources on Rogers but he was living like a loser. Like so many Christians all over the world today. God put into place all the blessings they would ever need in this life and all the power of heaven is invested on them. Unfortunately, they live like clowns, downtrodden and defeated. They never really realize that they have within them the power to be victorious in Jesus.

In the movie, Captain America came to his senses and became the winner he was created to be. But that’s just Hollywood and pop culture. Your story is totally dependent on what you do now after reading this.

Filed Under: Discipleship · Tagged With: ,