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REFLECTION
Faith disciples is the theme for reflection. Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) Disciples are followers of Jesus Christ and His teachings. Faith disciples are people who follow and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and have totally surrendered their lives to Him and are willing to endure hardship, persecution and even die in His name. We shall reflect on the fact that faith disciples have no business with fleshly desires and sin but are always focused on Jesus Christ and the joy of His salvation.

Beloved in the Lord, we the faith disciples of Christ become the Church triumphant because of our zero tolerance for sin and our continued obedience and focus on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour in whom our salvation is complete. The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 11 encourages His Jewish audience or Christians with a plethora of examples of people who have pleased God by walking in faith and obedience to Him. His aim is to encourage them to endure temptations, hardship and persecution on account of Jesus Christ. It is for this reason he wrote, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2). Beloved in the Lord, faith disciples or followers of Christ are always moved by faith in Jesus and His teachings and are completely intolerant to sin. It is impossible to be a follower and believer of Christ and still take delight in walking in the darkness of sin. It is for this reason Jesus said to some of the religious leaders of Israel ” “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27-28) Indeed some of us portray to the world that we are faith disciples of Jesus Christ yet we are like whitewashed tombs, we look beautiful outside because we usually dress nicely, go to church to worship God, hold big Bibles and pray loud in public yet inside our whitewashed tombs or lives we full of bones of the dead and everything unclean because we are faithless, envious, wicked, pretentious and deceitful. On Sundays, our chapels are full yet from Monday to Saturday many continue to embezzle state funds, cheat the poor and participate in an unjust system that does not promote human dignity. It is interesting to note that some of us who claim to be faith disciples but in actual fact are whitewashed tombs or Hypocrites have been named after the cloud of witnesses or men and women of faith in the Bible such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Hannah and the rest, with the hope that we shall follow their examples of faith and obedience to God. It is important to note that in all our endeavours in the world, we must remain committed disciples of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ because “… we live by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In other words we must live according to the Word and will of God through the perfect example and teachings of our Lord Jesus.

Dear friend in the Lord, so long as we have no business with sin as faith disciples of our Jesus Christ, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2). As we persevere and fix our eyes on Jesus in faith, we shall face hardship and persecution in His name but the Psalmist assures us that “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all” (Psalms 34:19) In our troubles and challenges, the Lord has given us power as faith disciples to encourage ourselves and “….strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. (Hebrews 12:12-13). Again, Jesus assures His faith disciples who continue to endure persecution and hardship that ““Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, (Matthew 5:11-12). It is, for this reason, that Paul encourages those who are faith disciples to “Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) We are never alone in our struggles and temptation as faith disciples for “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13) Praise the Lord!

In summary, we have reflected on the theme “Faith Disciples” We have discovered that faith disciples have no business with fleshly desires and sin but always focus on Jesus Christ and the joy of His salvation. Shalom

PRAYER
Holy Spirit, strengthen our faith to remain obedient to the Lord even as we overcome sins and temptations. Empower us to endure hardships and persecutions through our Lord Jesus Christ so that we shall also become part of the Church triumphant. Amen.