lasalleapostleship-blog

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[lasalleapostleship-blog]

leader/follower ... two in one!

Yes. The ULTIMATE COMBO MOVE..... Being a leader and a follower seems impossible, right? But through God, this is actually quite an achievable power move, and you don’t need an arcade joystick to do it! 

There are many leaders that are inspiring to me, but to be honest, the Pope is probably the best leader in my opinion. He has a selfless mind and has devoted himself to God. The Pope does so much work and doesn’t get so much credit for it, but it doesn’t matter. All that matters to him is that the Christian community continues to thrive and that everybody is at peace. From what I know, the Pope maintains relationships with over one hundred nations, which is insane. Conquerors from history could probably take over a hundred nations, but to keep at peace with them is beyond what I thought was impossible. A leader isn’t supposed to just lead but should allow the people to cooperate and help with decisions. The Pope does a good job with this while also being able to keep a firm grip on the religion’s values. He is also very accepting of things that are considered “wrong” in the Bible such as the gay community. And he also still sees himself as a servant. For someone with so much power, it’s extremely impressive how he is able to stay so humble and realize God is the one leading him and instructing him.

God has never suddenly changed me to become a better person. No magical miracle has occurred in which I transformed from some edgy teenager into a saint. I believe everything God does has a reason behind it. The struggles I’ve dealt with over the past few years have definitely slowly changed me as a person and given me better morals. However, I’ve still been able to maintain my personality with only minor changes. This strengthens me because I’ve learned from my mistakes and have suffered due to the mistakes of others. As long as I can hold onto God and know he’s there for help, I will almost always come out of the bad situations with (metaphorical) battle scars and an even more strengthened and mature personality. I am only so far on God’s journey that he has planned out for me, and I’m excited to find out what else God has planned for me in his big story. My life feels like an RPG with challenges, trials, and new bosses to face almost every day, but the experience will help me gain “character development” and grow closer to God.

When I feel weak, I tend to overthink things and try my hardest to solve the problems I’m facing. But after a while, I remember I can’t do everything on my own. I end up turning to God for help, and I know he’s always there for me. I ask for help through prayer and by doing good deeds that he would want me to do. By performing smaller actions, I’m usually able to find the strength within myself and rid myself of my thoughts of being weak and fragile. And I can slowly build myself back up and start to become the leader God wants me to be at the same time as being a servant. 

There’s one question that I’ve been wondering. I don’t know what the Servant of Servants of God really means.. I’ve looked it up, but I don’t like the answers I got. So what does it mean? I’m pretty sure that the Servant of Servants of God is referring to the Pope. We, the Church are the servants of God, and the Pope is doing all this hard work for us. In order to fulfill this role (other than the actual requirements to be the Pope), you must be able to meet all the qualifications for an apostle that I’ve mentioned earlier. You also need to be accepting of whatever comes your way. If you don’t get credit for all the work you’ve done so we can do work for God, you mustn't say anything about it. Because your own desires aren’t important when you’re doing God’s deeds. But honestly, that’s just what I think. What are your thoughts on this?

[lasalleapostleship-blog]

mission’s fables

Fables are stories that always end with a moral. Whether you’re a Saint or one of the most hated people in the world, the story of your life will always end with a message on how or how not to live life? Examples include Jesus’s life teaching you to act with love rather than by hatred and selfish drive. Stalin’s life shows that you should never let power get to your head and that there will be consequences if you do let yourself be driven by something like that. Missions exist so we can spread the Word, and by sharing the lives of those in the Bible so others can live their lives correctly.

Do you feel a sense of mission in your own community?

I’m not too sure about where I live. I just moved in a few months ago, and it’s been a wild ride trying to adjust to an amazing new culture. So I haven’t had much time to explore my new community. I’m sure the people here are amazing though! I refuse to judge others until I know their story. And even then, I will only use the morals of their life to better the both of us. Though at school, I notice that there is an extremely strong sense of mission. Students and faculty alike are all very passionate about their religion and are constantly thinking of new ways to spread the Word and to help those in need. Even those who aren’t as strongly dedicated to their faith are eager to help! But even with such a strong sense of mission, things can get in the way. One of the issues with school is socialization. No, I’m not suggesting that you isolate yourself from everybody. In fact, socializing can keep people in high spirits and give people the strength they need in order to be God’s followers! But in an environment where several teenagers are around each other, ready to snap at any moment, too much can lead to bad things. Drama can tire people out, and make it difficult for people to follow their own morals as well as God’s. Social media also has horrible representations of missions for the most part. It can easily blind one’s perspective on the Word. And other than the internet’s interpretation of it, social media can distract people from what’s important and make them forget that they should be accomplishing missions for others and not thinking so much about themselves.

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a sort-of teacher lifestyle

Anybody can be a disciple. Everyone has the ability to learn and listen, as we begin to do so at such a young age. But while we’re the students of the Christian faith, who are the teachers? Are our Bible teachers apostles? What about our priests? Truth be told, there are no longer any true apostles, but we can still follow in their footsteps and follow Jesus’s commissioning. It’s like if you were to teach History like your past teach of that subject, you would be like him, but you wouldn’t be him.

Before we get into how you can be like past teachers (again, not actually them), I want to explain what the qualifications for an apostle are.

1) An apostle has to have seen the Lord and witnessed Christ’s resurrection ( seen in Acts 1:22, 22:14 and 1 Corinthians 9:1).   

2) An apostle must be specifically chosen by the Lord (Seen in Matthew 10:5)

3) An apostle must be able to carry out miracles. (Seen in Luke 9:1-2)

I’m assuming you didn’t witness Christ’s resurrection, that you aren’t specifically chosen by God, and that you can’t carry out miracles. But again, this doesn’t stop you from doing what they did in the past!

The first step to becoming as close to being an apostle as possible is letting go of selfish desire. Don’t become overly invested in something like social media, and don’t worry so much about yourself! Teachers have to dedicate themselves to their subject (God), and students who are yet to be introduced to this topic. Allow God to lead you down the right path, and let him help you help others.

1 Corinthians 10:3 says: “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.

“Apostleship” has become a lot less widespread nowadays thanks to all of these scientific advancements and addiction to technology. I’m even using a laptop to write this blog! And you’re using some sort of electronic device to read this... Unless you print out webpages. And you’re using a printer to do that! It’s our job as sort-of teachers to keep others away from things that distract them from their studies! Or we even could use these distractions to reach out to them. Make posts on Instagram or Tumblr, or run a blog site to help others realize! Teach them how to live a healthy, Christ-filled lifestyle. And eventually, they’ll grow close to God and become able to live their own sort-of teacher life.

Here’s a question for you to think about... What sort of things have you done that help you live a sort-of teacher life?  What have you done at Church, home, work, or school? Is there anything more you can do?

[lasalleapostleship-blog]

the key variable to finding yourself

“What are the key variables that add up to create me? What thoughts, traits, and views define who I am as a person?”

If you think like that from time to time, you’re perfectly normal. Whether you’re a young kid or fully matured adult reading this, you most likely haven’t decided what your identity is, and you still haven’t found the missing piece. Finding yourself is extremely difficult. Occasionally, you may even feel like you don’t remember any part of your identity! Life is like a math problem that we are just learning how to solve. You feel as if it’s UNSOLVABLE. Like there are too many unknown variables for you to find the solution. Like you can never ever solve for X.

Though, there is one variable that is given to you. Even if you don’t believe that there is, there is. He is necessary in order to solve for You. This variable is God. He will guide you towards your own self and is the solution to the problem. He doesn’t want you to understand everything immediately. God wants you to go through all these hardships in life so you turn back to Him. So you can realize all he does for you in the process of self-realization. So that you can help others understand this complicated equation.

He also wants you to follow his way of solving the problem. Using other methods may help you find yourself, but you won’t be able to find God. Follow the right path; only listen to him. Ignore the liars, and use the correct method!

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:14-15

An example problem? Here’s one. Mother Mary. Though she was on a good path towards solving her identity equation, she arrived at the solution more quickly when given the opportunity to have Jesus. She never turned away from the Holy Spirit and allowed her body to give birth, despite still being a virgin. She found who she was, and was also able to get a spot in heaven. Another example os Saint John Baptist De La Salle. As the patron Saint of education, he opened up a school in France for young children to study at. But he didn’t gain this title for nothing. La Salle did all of this out of love. Not just any love. Nothing romantic. He performed these amazing acts out of love for God.

When you find yourself and embrace who you are, people will recognize it. And when you’ve passed, you’ll be left with a legacy. Some lyrics from Hamilton, a beautiful musical about a historical figure finding out who he is as he fights for his beliefs. These lyrics will serve as a bit of a world problem for us to take apart and to analyze.

“Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

Even if you don’t realize who you are, people will still be able to notice. If you don’t embrace yourself, you’ll be remembered as someone you’re not. Like Lin Manuel Miranda writes, it’s planting seeds in a garden that you’ll never be able to see yourself. Or at least, that’s what Hamilton thinks in this musical. If you do everything on your own, you will never realize what it takes to have an honest legacy.. Or the correct solution to your life. God helps you realize that you need to exert who you truly are. A disciple of His teachings. That is the solution to the mad equation that is your identity.