"For fear that I might be disqualified." 1cor9:26
NOTE: This is Part 1 of the EVANGELIST’S CODEBOOK for Ligaya ng Panginoon ESB members.
Do you want to develop an evangelistic lifestyle? Well, and good. For, as a disciple, you have been called to make disciples of all. And you cannot do that unless you adopt AN EVANGELISTIC LIFESTYLE. So, here are a few mindsets that you have to embrace fully in order to begin to be an authentic, Holy-Spirit-driven evangelist:
[Read more…] about Part 1 — What an Evangelist Believes, Thinks, and Feels
There are two scenes in Luke 2:22-40 where the Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and the child Jesus) coincidentally are blessed by elderly persons. Here’s what happened:
Shortly after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for purification rites, as was the custom. At the temple, they encountered Simeon, a devout and elderly man who had been waiting for the “consolation of Israel.” Guided by the Holy Spirit, Simeon took the child Jesus in his arms, praised God, and joyfully declared that, at long last, he had seen the promised Savior. Apparently, Simeon had been praying for a long time for this to happen. And it finally did!
When Anna, who is nearby in the temple, hears Simeon’s praises, she begins to tell others of the good news. Anna was a prophetess and an elderly widow who was in her 80s, and she spent her days and nights worshiping, fasting, and praying at the temple. And here we see that she is one of the first evangelists, telling others the good news.
My friends, may I invite you to draw inspiration from these two elderly figures, Anna and Simeon.
[Read more…] about YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD TO PURSUE A HIGHER CALLING
When the prophet Isaiah described the event of the coming of the Messiah, he actually composed the script of what the Messiah would say when he would finally arrive. And that speech would go something like this: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. … (and so on).” (Luke 4:14-21)
However, it was only after approximately 700 long years later, when a man stood in a synagogue in Nazareth, thumbed through the scrolls of Isaiah, and when he found this passage, He read it aloud, saying: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME because he has anointed ME to bring good news to the poor.” He closed the scroll, and said to everyone: “THIS IS ME.” His name? JESUS.
[Read more…] about “THIS IS ME!” — Have You Made Up Your Mind About Jesus?
This is the last reflection in the Pathways of Hope Special Series on the “Fruit of the Spirit”. Throughout each of these last 8 days, we have been listening to reflections on each of the 9 fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” For today, let us reflect on that last item on the list which is SELF-CONTROL.
I’m sure you’re familiar with what self-control means, and what it involves; and I’m almost certain that you exercise a large degree of self-control in your day to day living. Having said that, I think that if we’re being honest, we still have a long way to go in growing in self-control.
[Read more…] about SELF-CONTROL AND SELF-DISCIPLINE — You need both to become more like Jesus
We are all familiar with the story of the Annunciation, as found in the first chapter of Luke’s gospel. It begins with the Angel surprising Mary with the greeting, “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Then the angel calms her down and proclaims God’s plan, about her giving birth to God’s Son, and then assures her that even though she’s a virgin, the Holy Spirit will come upon her and make the impossible virgin birth happen. Finally, the story concludes with Mary accepting and saying, “I am the servant of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”
There’s a particular verse in this passage that has brought hope to me personally in my ministry, in my role as a father, in my work, and in even in my prayers for others people’s well-being. And I pray that this verse today brings hope to all of us all year long.
[Read more…] about GOD ALWAYS KEEPS HIS PROMISES — Even if it seems impossible