Becoming a Disciple For Jesus! How do we emulate Saint Paul the Apostle?

Good Afternoon Disciples of Christ. God has put it on my heart that we need to start being like His Apostles to become His Disciples. When we started this blog, I mentioned that we were going to try and treat this blog like a ministry that transformed us into the image of Jesus, but with the mouth and actions of Saint Paul. Why do we want to be like Saint Paul you ask? Go back and read the book of Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Philemon, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus and Ephesians. Saint Paul was chosen by Jesus in a special way because he wasn’t originally, one of the first 12 Apostles, and he initially had no knowledge of Jesus until Jesus instantly softened his heart. Remember, Saint Paul was blind for three days after Jesus’ Spirit came into his presence, then Saint Paul’s eyes were opened physically and spiritually to the Truth, and he was on fire with the Holy Spirit! Then, there was no stopping him on spreading the good news about Jesus!

So, if we have Surrendered to Jesus, and worked on our Relationship with Him to be Transformed into His image, our next step is to become His Disciple. We know we have different types of readers looking at this blog. So, although our goal is basic, which is to convert everyone to Christianity, we know we do have some devout Catholics and Christians that already know how to be a good disciple. But, it is always good for us to encourage one another to always be better for Jesus! Our Discipleship and learning never, ever, ends. We are always on that same journey to become Saints for Jesus and this journey takes a lifetime!

So, how do we act like Jesus, but speak like Saint Paul? Start speaking about Jesus every opportunity that is presented to you by the Holy Spirit. When we are working with the Holy Spirit, you will start to feel His promptings to speak about Jesus. You may say, well it is not my nature to go up to people and just start talking about Our Lord. But, it is your nature now, just like it happened to Saint Paul. Once, we have fully Surrendered to Jesus and have prayed to Him that we want to serve Him, the Holy Spirit will start putting that fire in your heart! Never push yourself on people. Always be gentle, and loving, but courageous! Start off slowly by mentioning Jesus in casual conversations. If the cashier at the checkout counter starts to tell you that her back is hurting from a long day, then tell her about how you pray to Jesus for healing when you are not feeling well. If your friend is complaining about his boss because he didn’t get the pay raise he was expecting, tell him how you pray to Jesus for blessings and then tell him about all of the blessings in your life. So, we need to say His mighty name JESUS, to people every opportunity we can, because you are sewing a seed! Yes, you might get a few weird looks, but who cares? We are on the track of pleasing Jesus now, because He is LORD! We don’t care what other people think. If we still care about others thinking we are weird, then we need to keep praying for God’s graces of courage and keep telling Him you want to serve Him!

Once, we feel comfortable enough to speak about Jesus when we have opportunities, then we ask people if they would like us to pray for them. We learned this from Father Richard McAlear, http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=agHCf3Dy7sY. It is important to understand that we have to ACT for Jesus, and be doers of the word and not just hearers of the word, like James 1:22, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” When we start to move for Jesus, the Holy Spirit moves with us. We can all be great prayer warriors at home, but when we are out amongst others, we need to act for Jesus. Again, we never push Jesus on others, because Jesus is a choice! But, we can sew a seed, and we can ask people if we can PRAY for them. Father Richard McAlear does a wonderful job of explaining that if we simply ask people, can I pray with you? Most people will say, Yes! If they say, No, that is okay to. Remember, you are still sewing a seed, just by mentioning the mighty name of JESUS. So, don’t get embarrassed, and don’t get discouraged. We keep going as Disciples for Christ. As Father McAlear explains, God is a mystery. God heals when He wants, God touches people when He wants, and God reveals Himself when He believes the timing is right. Sometimes, this happens in an instant like Saint Paul had, or sometimes it takes us sewing many seeds to one individual. The point is, as Disciples of Christ, we never stop, and we never give up on others and their Salvation, who don’t know Jesus. We keep PRAYING, and We keep SEWING THE SEED. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hPA7iVE0cf8.

Lastly, we want to discuss the urgency of us moving with the Holy Spirit in action because events are starting to escalate and we are on a mission for the Salvation of Souls for Jesus. We start by talking about Jesus to others when situations arise for us to speak about His goodness and blessings. When we speak about Jesus everyday to different people we interact with, we begin to get more bold and confident. Then, when we have been praying to Jesus and the Holy Spirit for more courage, we begin to ask people if we can pray with them or for them. If we ask people if we can pray with them, then say a spontaneous prayer with them on the spot, like Father McAlear mentioned in his video and be sure to say, “In Jesus’ name we pray” at the end. We always give glory back to Jesus because He is the one that heals and gives peace. We are just vessels that sew the seed and act for Him with guidance from the Holy Spirit. If the person says, they don’t want to pray, then just ask if you can pray for them to Jesus Christ. We must always mention the name of JESUS, because we always give Him the glory. If the person still says no, that is fine, at least we have sewn the seed, by mentioning His mighty name.

When the Warning comes, we are expecting to be on Fire with the Holy Spirit, and a Second Pentecost. But, we do not want to wait until this time to start speaking for Jesus because events are happening all over the world, and we need to assist Jesus now and after the Warning. If you are still uncertain about having the courage to speak like Saint Paul, then start praying to Jesus for boldness like Saint Paul had boldness. Jesus needs us today and now to assist with the Salvation of Souls, as well as later.

Emmanuel – “God is with Us”. Have a blessed day.