Brasilia (3)

     Last Monday had a very enjoyable time with my new friend Thiago. He is a fervent, personable young man who loves the Lord and is actively involved in mentoring and discipling younger people in his church. He also feels led to begin to learn English, one of several people who have been inspired by my efforts to learn their language of Portuguese.
     Yesterday I was blessed with an opportunity to share with the disciplemakers in the church here on the subject of discipleship, something so often neglected or misunderstood in the US, but actively practiced by many churches in Brazil. I began with what Jesus says at the end of Matthew 28, and went on to talk about four principal qualities of a disciple as laid out by Christ.
1. Luke 14:33   Living a simple life so we can devote all to the Lord
2. John 8:31-32  Abiding in the Word of God
3. John 13:34-35 Loving our brothers and sisters by receiving the love of God for ourselves personally ( 1 John 4:19) and giving this to others
4. John 15:8  Bearing much fruit.  As frogs produce other frogs so disciples must produce other disciples
    Then gave the example of Tychicus and his journey with Onesimus with letters from Paul in prison in Rome to Colosse, Ephesus, Philemon, and possibly Philippi. What if something had happened to Tychicus? Then Onesimus would have to be ready to carry the letters (the Word of God) to their recipients through such potential dangers as Paul lists in 2 Corinthians 11:23ff.
     Finally expressed my understanding based on 1 Timothy 3:5, and Titus 1:6 that a man's first responsibility of discipleship is his spouse and children.
    Later that evening was invited to a ceremony/party of formal engagement of the son of one of the pastors to the daughter of one of the brothers.Each of the respective parents shared a little. Brazilians are great jokers, and the father of the prospective bride solemnly took out a pair of glasses, gave it to his daughter (who does not need them to see), asked her to put them on and take a good look at her prospective husband. The dad then said, "Now that you can see him, do you still want to marry him?" Of course, she said yes. After this we prayed for the young couple. I was asked to share a little, which I did from Ephesians 5:32 where Paul speaks of the "great mystery."
     The meal and table settings were elegant. Some of the young people dressed up like waiters from a fancy restaurant to serve us. One of the brothers, a professional chef from an expensive Italian restaurant,  prepared the food for forty people gratis. Several sisters made desserts, called "sobremesa," in Portuguese, which means, on the table. God is good.