“Yet I hold this against you: you have forsaken your first love.  Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 1:4-5)

These words are from the Book of Revelation in the New Testament to the church of Ephesus and attributed to the Apostle John while he was exiled on the Island of Patmos.  While these words are directed to the early church of the first century, they are timeless in how they continue to apply to the human tendency to fall back from our intentions. 

We are all familiar with New Years Resolutions that seem to fade after a few weeks.  The same can happen to our commitment to God and our relationship with his son, Jesus Christ. 

After experiencing a personal encounter with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in my mid-30’s, several things happened.  I was drawn to scripture and started to read the Bible from cover to cover.  The words seemed to leap off the page with new meaning.  I began to spend time in prayer every morning before breakfast.  I started to share my experience of meeting Jesus in a new way with others, even with colleagues at work when the opportunity arose.    

My wife, who had a similar experience, and I became part of a Christian community in addition to our commitment to our local parish.  When I retired from Mobil Oil Corporation, I was asked to become involved with Christians in Commerce, a national Chrisitan outreach to the business community, now called WorkLight.

Now that I am older and less involved with fewer opportunities to share my faith, it is harder to maintain that same level of commitment of earlier years.  Yet, I know that God is calling me to be faithful.  Come, Lord Jesus.  Come, Holy Spirit.

How do you maintain your continued faithfulness to God’s call in your life?        

Is a personal relationship with Jesus possible?

Order A Friendship That Transcends by Bill Dalgetty at https:///www.billdalgetty.com e-Book or soft copy.

Numerous stories describe how this friendship can be lived out:

• Experiencing God’s voice when a child is born with Down syndrome
• Declining a career advancing promotion for family considerations
• Praying with an employee intending to have an abortion
• Seeking God’s will in business decisions
• Experiencing a personal encounter with Jesus

This book has received a Nihil Obstat from Arlington, VA Bishop Michael Burbidge, endorsements by Portland, Oregon Auxiliary Bishop Peter Smith, and words of encouragement from Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa.

“What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51)

This is the question that Jesus asked Bartimaeus, a blind man sitting beside the road outside of Jericho as Jesus passed by.   “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me,” yelled Bartimaeus.  Those nearby rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David have pity on me.”

Mark reports that in spite of the large crowd and the efforts to suppress Bartimaeus’ shouts, Jesus stopped.  Though he could see that Bartimaeus was blind, he did not presume to act on his need.  Instead, Jesus asked what it was that he wanted him to do.

What an amazing moment for Bartimaeus!  He knew his need – “Master, I want to see.”  Jesus granted his request.  “Go, your faith has saved you,” and immediately Bartimaeus received his sight and followed Jesus. (Mark 10:46-52)

If you were able to meet Jesus face to face, how would you respond to his question, “What do you want me to do for you?” 

Last week while at the beach, I came down with a serious bronchial infection that left me constantly coughing day and night.  After returning home, I have been to my doctor’s office three days in a row to receive various antibiotics, and treatments to clear my lungs.   Family and friends have been praying for healing as I have as well.  I am confident that God will answer our prayers.  

We may not always know what our true need is.  Our physical needs are usually more obvious, but sometimes we need other things such as help in giving up a particular sin, or offering and receiving forgiveness.  Sometimes we ask for the wrong things, like James and John asking to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand when he came into his glory.

Solomon asked for wisdom instead of riches and God gave him both.  I have never asked God for money or position, but he has more than provided for the needs of our family. I have made countless requests for my wife, children, grandchildren, and friends, and many of those requests have been answered. 

What do you want Jesus to do for you? 

“He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.”  Colossians 4:12 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul is providing his final greetings in his letter to the Colossians and is commending Epaphras who has been serving as Paul’s representative in Colosse for his continuous and persevering prayer.   

There is something about the words “wrestling in prayer” that portray a continuous, dogged, and persevering effort to pray.  Jesus uses the story of a widow who continued to seek her rights from an unjust judge as an example to encourage us to be persistent in our prayer.

My wife and I have experienced numerous examples of how our persistent prayers over many years have brought about positive results.  The most recent example was in connection with our oldest grandson’s wedding on top of Granby Mountain in Ganby, Colorado a couple of weeks ago.  

Except for two sets of grandparents and some small children, all 130 guests had to use a ski lift to get to the location of the wedding ceremony.  There was no shelter at the top of the mountain.  An afternoon rain shower would have been disastrous.  We prayed continuously that God would give us good weather.  We learned that both sets of parents of the bride and groom and the other grandparents were also praying for good weather for the ceremony and reception. 

Thank you, Lord for answered prayer!!!    

Do you “wrestle in prayer” for the circumstances and people in your life?

Wedding Picture of Andrew and Tara’s Wedding and our family

“He was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.” (Acts 16:34)

Long term joy is a precious gift.  There are many things that give us joy for the moment like watching our children win a sporting event, getting a salary increase or promotion in our work or having a get-away weekend with our spouse.  But long-term joy is a gift from God and usually involves a decision to believe in God and seek a relationship with him and his son, Jesus Christ. 

Many years ago, some nuns prayed over me in Briar Cliff Manor, New York to experience the release of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.  While I had been a practicing Catholic and knew about God, I’m not sure I had experienced having a personal relationship with him.  As a result of those prayers, I felt like I was experiencing the presence of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in a way I had never experienced before.  I was bursting with Joy!  Not even driving home in a blinding snowstorm on the hilly roads of upper Westchester County, New York, could deter my joy. 

The above verse describes what happened to a jailer after an earthquake had thrown open the gates of the jail in which Paul and Silas had been imprisoned.  The jailer was about to kill himself, thinking the prisoners had escaped.  Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself!  We are all here.”  The jailer asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  Paul replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”  (Acts 16:16-40)

The jailer may have been thinking primarily about his physical life, but Paul was thinking  not only about his physical life but his soul as well – his and his family.  Jesus told us in John’s gospel that if we invited him into our lives to have a relationship with him, his joy would be in us and our joy would be complete. (John 15:11)

Have you invited Jesus to have a relationship with you so you can experience lasting joy?

“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:10

The heart that St. Paul is referring to is not our physical heart, but a non-physical aspect of our being related more to our spirit and what makes us the person we are.  Are we patient, kind, loving and other-focused, or are we self-focused, easily angered, with little regard for others. 

As St. Paul notes, faith comes from the heart.  While God also creates us with an intellect that can impact our choices, it is the heart that leads us to God.  “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Duet. 6:5) There are seventy-seven references to the heart in the concordance of the New International Version of the Bible, and none of them are referring to our physical heart.

Our intellect can help us learn about God, but it is the heart from which we believe in God and act on that belief. 

One evening as I was driving to a meeting I came upon a man who was just hit by a pickup truck as he was pushing a grocery cart across the street.  I immediately pulled into an adjacent parking lot and ran over to him. He asked me if he was going to die.  Without pondering my response, I said, “No, you are not going to die.” 

I put my hand on his shoulder and started praying with him as a crowd began to gather.  The ambulance crew arrived and put him on a stretcher board to take him to a nearby hospital.  Since I didn’t know his name, I was never able to learn whether he lived or died.

In later reflecting on the moment, I wondered whether I should have told him he wasn’t going to die, since I didn’t know the nature of his injuries.  But then I came to realize that I was God’s delegate that evening, the first person on the scene.  My heart prompted me to run to him, respond to his question, and encourage and pray with him.  While I have ignored my heart on occasion, fortunately this evening I listened to it. 

Do you respond to your heart when it prompts you to act?

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.  I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.” Job: 42:2-3 

Who can know the mind of God?  Job is responding to God’s description of his ways that Job cannot understand in his suffering.

Some of the suffering that people experience is the result of their own choices, but sometimes people endure suffering like Job when their actions have not been the cause.  We look for explanations, but none are forthcoming other than we should trust in God.  We read about the saints of past centuries dealing with the same question.  Their response seems to be similar – trust in the omnipotence of God. 

When I was diagnosed with an advanced and aggressive form of prostate cancer, my wife read about Israel’s King Hezekiah who became ill to the point of death as he prayed for healing.  The Lord’s response was that “I will add fifteen years to your life.” (2 Kings 20:1-11) After surgery, hormone therapy, and radiation for recurrence a few years ago, it has now been 19 years since my initial treatment.  Thank you, Lord!

We praise you Lord, for the blessings and challenges in our lives, even though we don’t always know the “why?” 

Do you argue with God about the challenges in your life or trust in him?

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.” (Matthew 5:5)

Meekness is one of those words that is often misunderstood.  While a common understanding of the word may suggest weakness and lack of courage, Jesus’ use of the word in the Beatitudes is exactly the opposite.  He looks at meekness as inner strength in the face of adversity; not showing anger or discouragement when criticized. 

Jacques Philleppe in his book, The Eight Doors to the Kingdom, describes meekness as a divine quality, an attribute of the Holy Spirit’s action in us.  It is an inner strength that resists anger and passion.  It is being kind, tender and benevolent; remaining peaceful and confident. 

My first instinct to criticism is to be defensive, sometimes reacting with anger and emotion.  I have a good friend who serves on the board of a couple of non-profit organizations who has shown remarkable restraint in his quiet response to what has been unjustified criticism of his actions.  He is reflecting Jesus’ use of the word meekness in the Beatitudes.  He will surely inherit the kingdom of God.  In fact, he is living it in the way he acts. 

How do you react to criticism – with meekness of the Beatitudes or with anger and retaliation?

“Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear.” Luke 8:37)

Jesus had just delivered a man called Legion of many demons in the Gerasene region on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.  The man had apparently been possessed by many demons for a long time.  He lived among the tombs and even though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he would break the chains and do harm to himself and those around him.  Jesus cast out the demons and sent them into a herd of pigs that rushed down the hillside into the sea and drowned.

When the people from the town saw what had happened, instead of acting with wonder and praise of Jesus, they reacted with fear and asked him to leave.  Because of the presence of swine, they were not likely Jewish. 

While fear can serve to protect our safety, it is often a stumbling block to experiencing God’s action in our lives or our carrying out his will.  Scripture is full of God encouraging us not to be afraid.  Mary, Joseph, Zachariah, and the shepherds were told not to be afraid when  angels appeared to them.  Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1)   The first words of St. John Paul II after he was elected pope were “Be not afraid!” 

How often do we let fear get in the way of God’s desire for us – listening to a person needing to share a burden, speaking up in a business meeting against a questionable  practice, praying with a friend for healing of an illness,  lovingly confronting a child for misbehavior, helping an elderly neighbor with a household chore, etc.   

Do you let fear interfere with God’s presence and action in your lives?