I Am A Disciple of Jesus
Today, my friend Henry Asega gave the first sermon at West Loop UBF Church for 2012 and read what has been called “a Zimbabwe Covenant.” I was moved and touched by it. Read it slowly, thoughtfully and reflectively below:
“I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die is cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus. I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
“My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I am finished and done with low-living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.
“I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, or popularity. I do not have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on God’s presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor by power.
“My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way rough, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not give up, shut up or let up. I will go on until Christ comes, and work until Christ stops me. I am a disciple of Jesus.”
Is this the language of your heart?
“Is this the language of your heart?”
Yes. For more than 20 years however I kept silent, keeping such language in my heart only. In 2011, I could not remain silent any longer. The things I did and things I said in 2011 were surprising to me; I didn’t want to say and do such things. Yet I kept feeling a push forward, and knowing more and more clearly that someone had to speak up. These verses hit home to me and articulate the language of my heart which burst forth last year.
Job 32:17-22 “17 I too will have my say; I too will tell what I know. 18 For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me; 19 inside I am like bottled-up wine, like new wineskins ready to burst. 20 I must speak and find relief; I must open my lips and reply. 21 I will show partiality to no one, nor will I flatter any man; 22 for if I were skilled in flattery, my Maker would soon take me away.”
Jeremiah 4:19 “19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry.”
Jeremiah 20:7-9 “7 O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. 8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9 But if I say, “I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
Thanks, Brian, for sharing the verses that perhaps appeal to those who love to blog, post and comment (yours truly), for we are “full of words” (Job 32:17), that we “cannot keep silent” (Jer 4:19), and that hopefully God’s “word is in my heart like a fire” which we are “weary of holding it in” (Jer 20:9).
Pray that on UBFriends we may “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and that our blogging, comments and communication (online conversation) may “be always full of grace, seasoned with salt” (Col 4:6).