This month we also had the privilege of seeing many homes built for needy families, making visits to our Happy Tummies homes and blessing them with a few gifts. We held basketball camps and saw many, many youth give their lives to Christ. Other ministries included were medical clinics, VBS, happy feet and of course time spent giving our Abuelitos and Happy Tummies kids much needed love, hugs and kisses!

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus
 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit 

comes on you; and you will be my witnesses 

in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, 

and to the ends of the earth.  Acts 1:8

In this verse we find 4 characteristics of those who want to become disciples of Jesus and follow Him:

 1.  A disciple's mission is to be a witness. What is the role of a witness? It's to testify to what he has seen and/or heard. Of course the 12 disciples who were with Jesus for 3½ years heard and saw many things. Maybe the greatest thing that they saw was His crucifixion and His resurrection. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."

 2.  The message of the witness (disciple) is something Jesus himself said 'and you will be MY witnesses.' The message must center around Jesus. I can write many Pastor Luis' Corners and there is no way I would run out of things to say about Jesus. However I want to share with you what one of the things that impresses me most about Him is found in Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his

own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

 3.  The methodology of the disciple:  'In Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and the ends of the Earth.' In Guatemala we host many mission teams in a year and I want to warn you about the following: There are many people all over the world who say, "Why are you going overseas? We have so many mission opportunities here in our own country." Please don't listen to them; they are against the very last spoken desire of Jesus Christ before He was taken up. Yes, it is true that your local town can be a big mission field, but Jesus asks us to be His witness not just in our local town but in the next one, the next one and on to the ends of the earth.

 4.  What needs to be the biggest motivation of a disciple of Jesus? I think I don't have very good news for you if you have decided to follow Jesus. The apostle Paul, tells us his biggest motivation to do what all he did (he was whipped twice with 40 lashes each time; he was whipped 3 times with poison ivy; he floated in the ocean for more than 36 hours; for many days he was very hungry and very thirsty; for many nights he was very cold [no blankets or enough clothes]; he was persecuted; he was in jail many times and many days) was all done for the cause of Christ. The book of Hebrews tells us, many of His disciples died crucified upside down, many were sawn in half, many were devoured by lions, many ended up as human torches. Actually, the real translation in Greek for disciple is Martyr. Jesus told us ahead of time in John 16:1-3, "All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me."

Paul finally tells us what his biggest motivation is to be a disciple of Christ; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, "Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." I don't think there is fuel more powerful than the love of Christ. I truly hope that it is the love of Christ that will keep you from quitting to being a disciple of Him. I truly hope the love of Christ encourages you to continue being His disciple.