Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus!

For the past 4 years, I have been meeting regularly with a group of women in El Montaña to learn and follow the Bible.  The women came to faith in Christ mainly through Ramona, a tireless champion for Christ.  When we first began studying together, most were not familiar with the Old Testament.  Esther and Jonah were new to them.  Even ¨basic¨ stories like Creation and the Flood were only vaguely understood, so we focused on learning these and what each story told us about God.  We learned He is perfect, all powerful, all knowing, loving, just, and that He hates sin.  This past year we have been learning about what it means to be a disciple, using many stories in Matthew.

Recently we looked at Matthew 16:13-28, below.  We read the passage several times and explained it to one another to make sure everyone had learned it well.  We have the assignment of sharing it during the week with someone else.


When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  

Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Once everyone has a firm grasp on what the verses are saying, we begin to apply it.  What will each person commit to doing this week to obey these verses?  I got some blank looks on this, so I asked some questions to stir their thinking.  "Do you remember the time in your life when Jesus was just another religious figure, but not your Savior and Lord?  Are there things that God wants to do in your life and you are saying, "Never, Lord!"?  What does it mean for you to take up your cross?"  Are you ready to choose Jesus over everything and everyone else?  Even your family?  

After a few moments, Genara said, "I have already done that and I will do it again."  I asked her to explain.

"Well, when I was young, my older brother came home and announced that he was a Christian.  My mom was so angry with him.  They fought a lot about it; it was tremendous.  Of course as a Catholic*, this was unacceptable to her.   He wouldn't back down. He was going to follow Jesus.  Finally, he left home.  It was hard for me at the time.  So when I accepted Christ as my Savior a couple years ago, I was afraid to tell my mom**.  I avoided it for a while.  Then once she called me during a church service and I had to tell her I couldn't talk right then.  When I called her later, she asked what I had been doing.  I told her I was at the Christian church.  She said, "I can't talk to you about this now.  Next time I see you we will discuss it."   I knew what my choice was.  I couldn't deny being a Christian to please my mom.  When I told her, she was really upset, but now I think she has accepted it.  My brother was so excited when he heard I had become a Christian.  Now he is not alone.  I can't give up Jesus for anything in the world.  If I deny Him, He will deny me."

I was kind of shocked by this testimony.  Genara needed a lot of support and encouragement to make it to church and Bible study when she was a new believer.  Even then she was often quiet, or hung in the back row.  Now I knew how strong her faith was. I came away from that study rejoicing as I wound my way through the rain to Jarabacoa.  God is at work...He will never stop working in us until the Day of Christ (Phil. 1:6)


How strong is your faith?  What cross will you bear to follow Him?  What relationships, goals, and possessions will you deny yourself in order to be counted as His disciple?

Notes

*Let me make some comments about Catholicism and Protestantism in the Dominican Republic (D.R.).  While the majority of Dominicans are "Catholics" many are not practicing their faith, most don't really understand the tenets of the Catholic faith.  Most that I have talked with about Catholicism place a great importance on the traditions and institution of their church and are ignorant and/or suspicious of learning directly from the Bible.  Many Catholics have a misunderstanding of Protestantism.  They see it as a disorganized, fanatic, cultish group of "holy-rollers" who take away all their fun (ie. drinking and womanizing) and impose stiff lifestyle rules on their followers.  I don't think an informed Catholic would react as strongly as Genara's mom did to her belief in Jesus Christ as Savior.  After all, we worship the same God and read the same Bible.

**On a cultural note, Dominicans, like most hispanics, gain their identity from belonging to a group.  Americans have a very independent sense of identity.  So for a Dominican to separate from his/her "group"  is not just a change in their own identity, but causes a crisis in the group's identity.  It is a cultural value for Americans to seek out their "own identity" and separate or distinguish themselves as unique from others.  To an extent "rebels" are respected in American society for their strength in "doing it their way" or "going against the grain."  This is not so in the D.R.