“I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” (John 15:16)

When I worked in the legal department of a large oil company we had an administrative assistant who was quite vocal about her Christian faith.  Her conversation was filled with references to her Christian beliefs and opinions on a variety of subjects. 

Her job performance in providing assistance to three attorneys, however, fell short of the expectations for her position.  It fell to me to counsel her about her performance.  I will never forget her response when I pointed out that her work in serving the three attorneys to whom she was assigned was not meeting the requirements for her job.  Indignantly, she retorted, “I don’t serve anyone but God!”

Clearly, her actions were not living up to the words she was professing about her Christian faith.  St. Anthony of Padua said, “Actions speak louder than words. Let your words teach and your actions speak.  We are full of words but empty of actions.” 

Bearing fruit in our lives is important to Jesus.  What kind of fruit? “Fruit that will last,” says Jesus.  St. Paul describes this as the fruit of the Spirit, which includes “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)  I believe that faithfulness includes seeking to do our best at whatever we may be doing – our work, loving and serving our spouse and children, responding to the needs of friends, and growing in our relationship with Jesus.

In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus has a very harsh response for the servant who buried the talent he had been given — a lack of action on his part. (Mt. 25:14-30) In the Parable of The Judgment of the Nations, Jesus condemns the people who did not provide food, drink, shelter, medical care and their time to individuals in need – a lack of action on their part.

Faith and love are not real until confirmed by our actions. When Jesus told someone that his or her faith had healed or saved them, it was usually the result of some affirmative action of the person exhibiting faith.  For example, the woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, fought through a crowd saying, “If only I can touch his cloak.” (Mt. 9:22)

This is not about whether salvation comes from faith or works.  This is about whether our actions make our professed faith and love real. 

Do your actions attest to your faith and love?

Have you ever suffered multiple inconveniences due to an extended power outage?  The lack of air conditioning on a hot muggy night; spoiled food from a refrigerator not working; eyes straining to read by candle light; groping for clothes in a dark closet — just a few of the inconveniences we are likely experience.

In the same way an electrical power outage can make life difficult, so too will a Holy Spirit power outage be a challenge to live out our Christian faith in today’s world. 

Jesus instructed the disciples before his ascension not to leave Jerusalem until they had been “baptized with the Holy Spirit.”  He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem…and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:5, 8)

This is exactly what happened to the disciples.  They began to testify boldly to Jesus’ resurrection and experience the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  These gifts included wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge and fear of the Lord, as described in Isaiah 11: 2-3, and faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophesy, discerning spirits and praying in different tongues, as described in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10. 

Just as Jesus affirmed that the disciples needed the power of the Holy Spirit, so too, do we need this same power if we are to fulfill our calling as Christians, living out our faith in today’s world. 

While I received the Holy Spirit when baptized as an infant, it wasn’t until I seriously confronted the sin in my life as an adult and people prayed with me for the release of the power of the Holy Spirit, that I began to experience God’s presence in deeper way.  Only then did I begin to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the reality of the gifts of the Spirit.  All my priorities and values began to change.  I no longer compartmentalized my life, putting Jesus in a box, but accepted his offer to dwell in me. My objective was to bring his presence into every aspect of my life, including my family and work life. 

The Holy Spirit gives us eyes of mercy for the homeless person asking for money at a stop sign,  gives us patience to listen to a business colleague who needs to talk, and empowers us to pray with a friend for the healing or resolution of a significant need.

If you are not experiencing the fullness of God’s presence and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, follow Peter’s advice in Acts 2:38: repent of any sin and pray for the release of the power of the Holy Spirit which you received in your baptism.  Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13)  All we have to do is ask.

Are you experiencing a Holy Spirit power outage?

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” John 1:10

What was true when the Apostle John wrote these words 2000 years ago is becoming more prevalent in our culture today.  As a young boy growing up after World War II in the 1940’s and 50’s, our country was much more of a Christian nation than today.  Sundays were reserved for church and visiting family.  Most businesses were closed to give people a day of rest; there were no Little League games on Sunday.  Movies avoided four letter words and scenes of explicit sex. Abortion was not a readily acceptable form of birth control.     

We started our days in public schools with both prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.  In 1954, the phrase, “under God” was added to the Pledge, “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”  In 1956, Congress added “IN GOD WE TRUST” to our currency.

During the Christmas season, displays of the crèche and the Holy Family would appear in the central park of my home town.  The Christmas story was recited and Christmas carols were sung at our school concerts.  Safety for kids was not a concern.  When I started kindergarten, I walked to school six blocks from our house by myself or with other kids.  Parents did not wait with their kids at bus stops.  We rode our bikes everywhere without concern.

Though these recollections are less evident in our culture today, we can take heart in John’s additional words.  “Yet, to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” John 1:12

Jesus Christ is still present in the world today!  All who accept his offer to dwell in them, all who believe in his name, are given the opportunity to become children of the Most High God.  Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  John 14:23

Regardless of what is happening in our culture or with our government, God still offers to be present in our lives.  He promises that “on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Mt. 16:18  Throughout history, governments and ideologies have come and gone, but God’s church has remained.

May we not lose heart in the societal changes we see, but join with our Christian brothers and sisters to be and bring the presence of Christ to the people and circumstances in our lives.

To what person or circumstance can you bring the presence of Christ today?  

“Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32) These were the words of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus appeared to them and explained how Moses and the prophets foretold of his death and resurrection.  Although not initially recognizing him, they said that their hearts burned within them as he spoke. 

After the burial of my father, I was riding with my mother and brother out of the cemetery back to town, and I started to have this overwhelming sense of joy.  It was in the middle of January, on an overcast, cold day.  The snow drifts along the road were covered with soot from the windswept plowed fields of northern Iowa.  It was a bleak dreary day. 

Yet, here I was, inexplicably experiencing this heightened level of joy.  I said to my mother and brother, “I know this sounds odd, but I have this great feeling of joy.”  They both looked at me as if I were crazy and said nothing.  We drove on, but the moment of joy in me remained.  The next morning while I was praying in my father’s bedroom, the following words came into my mind, “The reason for your joy yesterday was because your father is with me in heaven.” 

Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, my heart burned within me as I heard those words and recalled the joy from the prior afternoon.  I believed these words were from the Lord, and I wanted to hold onto every one of them. 

Has your heart ever burned within you, indicating a word or a thought from God? Perhaps being in the presence of a very holy person; possibly a sermon that opens your eyes to something that needs to change in your life; maybe a word of scripture that jumps off the page with new meaning, or the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit providing assurance to persevere in a time of suffering.

When Jesus later met with the disciples, he promised he would be with them always.  This promise is also meant for us.  If you have never experienced your heart burning within you from Jesus’ presence or word, Jesus invites you to open the door of your heart and invite him in.  He is always tarrying outside, waiting for our invitation.  

Have you ever experienced the presence of God or word that burned in your heart?

Several years ago our family was traveling from New York to the Midwest.  We alerted a former friend from law school and his wife that we would like to stop by to see them.  They expected us to stay with them overnight, but we decided to check into a motel, not wanting to “impose” upon them.  They were offended, interpreting our decision as a rejection of their offer of hospitality. 

When Jesus came to Peter at the Last Supper to wash his feet, Peter said, “You will never wash my feet.”  Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”  (John 13:8)

How hard it is for us to accept being served by someone in authority, particularly when the service involves a menial task!  A servant serves his master.  An employee serves his or her boss.  Jesus, the master and teacher, was turning that paradigm upside down.  Peter was the first to proclaim Jesus to be “the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:16)  How could he allow the Son of God to wash his feet?  Unthinkable!

From earliest childhood, we are taught to be self-sufficient.  A young child proudly proclaims, “I did it by myself.”  One of the challenges of a disabling illness or injury is having to depend on someone else to do things for you that you would ordinarily do yourself. 

Like so many of Jesus’ words and actions, his example offers multiple lessons for us.  While we need to be willing to receive service, it is just as important for us to serve. When the disciples were arguing about whom among them was the greatest, Jesus told them, “Whoever wishes to be great among you, shall be your servant.”  He also reminded them, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26, 28)

In David McCullough’s biography of Harry Truman, he tells the following story.  At a special reception Truman held for Stalin and Churchill at the Potsdam Peace Conference near the end of World War II, Sergeant Eugene List, an American concert pianist, played a Chopin waltz.  List asked if someone in the audience would be good enough to turn the pages.  Truman jumped to his feet, waived off another volunteer and did the job himself.   In a letter to his wife, List later wrote, “Imagine having the President of the United States turn the pages for you!…But that’s the kind of man the President is.” 

May we choose to follow both lessons from Jesus’ washing the feet of his disciples – having a desire to love and serve the people in our lives, and responding with gracious acceptance when being served by others.

How willing are you to be served?

A number of years ago in my morning prayer time, I found myself praying for my boss who headed up a legal department for a large oil company.  He was an exacting boss, but a good person with impeccable integrity. 

While praying, I received the thought,“Why are you limiting your prayers just for your direct boss – why not his boss and the entire management team including the CEO and board of directors?  Pray for wisdom, integrity and love in how they oversee the operations of the company.  Your prayers can impact areas and operations of the company far beyond your immediate responsibilities and sphere of influence.”

At the time, this was a new revelation to me.  As Christians in the workplace, we have the opportunity through prayer to impact more than just our particular job or position.  We can intercede for God’s grace to impact our bosses and the decisions they make.  We may not always see the results of our prayers, but we should never underestimate their power and influence.

The Book of Exodus reports that when the Amalekites attacked the Israelites in the desert at Rephidim, Moses stood on top of a hill with his arms raised and the staff of God in his hands.  As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but when he lowered his hands the Amalekites gained in the fight.  So Aaron and Hur had Moses sit on a rock as they held up his hands until sunset, and the Israelites won the battle. (Exodus 17:8-16)

Praying for our leaders is a way for us to hold up their hands in the battle they face in doing their jobs with integrity, concern for people, and excellence. 

All kinds of leaders need our prayers.  Pastors and spiritual leaders are in particular need of our prayer.   One of the first statements Pope Francis made after his election as he greeted the throngs in St. Peter’s square was to ask people to pray for him.  He continues to repeat this request to nearly every individual and group he meets.

Governmental leaders also need our prayer support.  Their positions make them especially vulnerable to temptations involving pride and corruption.  Regardless of our politics, we can regularly pray for the president’s protection, righteousness, and wisdom.  Remember the words of Jeremiah to the exiles in Babylon, “Work for the good of the country to which I have exiled you; pray to Yahweh on its behalf, since on its welfare yours depends.” (Jeremiah 29:7 JB)

Like Aaron and Hur, let us support the hands of our bosses, pastors, and leaders in community and government with our ongoing intercession and prayer.

How do you support people in leadership – bosses, community and government leaders, pastors, etc.?

Can we listen to God? 

Let me share a story of a time when I woke up in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep.  As I tossed and turned, a good friend and Christian brother kept coming to mind.  At first I just dismissed it as a random thought in my quest to go back to sleep.  But thoughts and a picture of him in my mind kept persisting.  I wasn’t going to sleep and the thoughts of him were not going away.  I started to wonder whether he was he experiencing some health issues, or was in physical danger? 

I was prompted to start praying for him– if it was a health issue or if he had an accident, I prayed that God would protect him from serious illness or injury and get him the medical care he needed. 

The next day I was shocked to learn that my friend, who was on a mission trip repairing houses, fell from a ladder that very morning, incurring a concussion and seven cracked ribs.  The timing of the prompting to pray for him the night before was beyond coincidence.  Fortunately, a co-worker was present who arranged for emergency transportation to the hospital.  He has since recovered and is doing fine.   

In Luke’s Gospel, describing the transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and Elijah speaking with him, he reports that a cloud covered Peter, James and John who were also present,  and God said to them, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” (Luke 9:35)    

Peter had been focusing on his delight at being present to witness this miraculous appearance of Moses and Elijah.  He makes kind of a silly offer to build shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, as if they were going to hang around physically after having completed their mission of speaking with Jesus. 

In almost the form of a rebuke, God lets Peter and the others know that their teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, is his very own son whom he has chosen.  He commands them to listen to his Son!  This is a command that is applicable not only to the apostles, but also their successors and followers, including us.  Do we listen to Jesus?  How do we listen?

There are multiple ways in which Jesus can speak to us.  He can do so directly by putting thoughts in our minds through the Holy Spirit.  He can speak to us through scripture and other spiritual writings.  He can speak to us through others and our life experiences.   

With respect to the above story, I can only conclude that the Holy Spirit was bringing my friend to mind and prompting me to intercede on his behalf.  I thank God for his grace and mercy, and for the Holy Spirit that led me to listen.

How do you listen to God?

“You were an idea in God’s mind before you were born.” So, my wife overheard our 5 year-old granddaughter, Rosie, telling her younger sister, Ellie, who asked where she was before she was born.  This was likely an idea Rosie had heard from her mother, but it is nonetheless a profound truth confirmed by God’s Word.

The Lord said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)  The psalmist says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  (Psalm 139:13-14) 

These words also apply to us. We are not a product of chance.  We are not the result of some random accident of an evolutionary process.  The most important part of our nature – our soul and spirit – were created by God and known by him before our physical nature was born. St. Paul says God “chose us in him before the creation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4)  We are “precious in the sight of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:15)

God loves us even before we come into being.  Like a parent’s love for a new baby, he loves us before any of our achievements or failures become evident.   When our first daughter was born, I was so full of joy and love that I went directly from the hospital to our church, knelt before the altar and thanked God for this new person who was precious in my sight.  I experienced the same level of love for each of our other four children.   

Not only does God consider each of us unique, he has a unique purpose for each of us that is distinctly tailored to match the gifts and nature of our being.   This purpose includes loving and caring for the people in our lives that we are uniquely suited to love and care for.  I believe that God intended for my wife and me to come together and love and care for one another.  When we may have appeared to be going different ways before we were married, he implanted a course correction in our hearts to fulfill his purpose for each of us.  He intentionally gave us specific children and now a larger family to love and care for that has always been a part of his purpose for us.

God’s unique purpose for each of us also includes our work which we are distinctly equipped to do. Whatever our work, if it is where God wants us to be, it is important to him.  As Lester DeKoster says in his book, Work – The Meaning of your Life, our work is like a thread in the larger fabric of civilization — pull it out, and the fabric is weakened. 

While our pride and sin can frustrate God’s purpose for us, we can take confidence in Paul’s words, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10) 

What unique purpose has God given you?

These are words addressed to Jesus by his mother, Mary.  They are at a wedding in Cana, nine miles north of Nazareth.  Mary learns that the host has run out of wine and asks Jesus to remedy the situation.  Though Jesus first protests that his time had not yet come, he accedes to his mother’s request as she presumes to instruct the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  

Jesus asks the servants to fill six large jars with water.  He then tells them to draw some out and take it to the headwaiter.  After the headwaiter had tasted the water that had been turned into wine, he exclaims to the bridegroom, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:1-11)

There is a common notion among some Christians that we should only seek God’s assistance in important matters and not bother him with practical every day needs.  Situations involving life and death or economic calamity may qualify, but surely not replenishing the wine supply at a wedding party. 

Yet, that is exactly what Jesus did at the request of his mother.  How reassuring it is that God should concern himself with a practical thing like a wedding party running out of wine.  God places no restrictions on what we may bring to him in our requests.  St. Paul says, “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” (Phil. 4:6)

As father of the bride and host of three of our daughters’ weddings, I would have been horrified if we had run out of wine.  No doubt Mary was a close friend of the family hosting the wedding, and brought God’s mercy to bear through her son Jesus. 

Over the years, my wife and I have brought all manner of requests to God, from mundane things like a parking place at a busy shopping center to the significant, like the healing of a daughter’s heart born with a hole between the ventricle chambers.  We have prayed for where we should live, the health and well-being of our children and parents; good schools, good neighbors, good friends for our children and their future spouses; safety in travel, wisdom in our relationships, and that we would all come to know God more each day. 

We should not forget that in his Lord’s Prayer, Jesus suggests that we pray each day for our daily bread.  It is only natural that God, who created us in his image and likeness and entrusted us with taking care of his creation, would want to respond to our requests for the practical needs of life. 

Do you pray for the practical needs in your life?

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased…Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street.  A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench.” Isaiah 42:1-3

These are the words of the prophet, Isaiah, speaking about the coming of Jesus and how he will reach out to people.  Jesus did not shout or raise his voice in the street to proclaim the kingdom of God.  His concern was for the broken hearted, the bruised reed.  He would not snuff out the smoldering faith of the weak or downtrodden.

For many of us when we hear the word evangelization, we conjure up images of someone handing out Christian tracks on a street corner, a televangelist in a mega church, or a famous preacher in a large stadium.  But Jesus did not do the usual things we might think of as evangelization. Jesus simply responded with compassion and mercy.

Although these words were intended by Isaiah for Jesus, they are also applicable to us, his followers.  The following story illustrates how this might work.  The names have been changed for the sake of privacy.

Jerry worked in a medical office and wasn’t feeling well.  He asked his boss, Karen, who oversees the administrative staff, if he could have the rest of the day off.  When Karen asked what was wrong, Jerry offered a rather vague response.  Karen continued to probe, asking if he would be returning tomorrow.  Jerry said he didn’t know.  Karen asked if there was something wrong and Jerry said no.  She invited him to sit down and he started to share that nothing was going right in his life.  He wanted to get married to the woman he was living with, but she was talking about moving out.  He found it difficult to have enough time for his two small children.  He seemed quite despondent to Karen.

As he was leaving, Karen asked if she could make a suggestion.  He said yes.  “When you go home, go into your bedroom, close the door, kneel down and ask Jesus to come into your life and help you.”  Jerry said, “I’ve tried church.”  Karen said, “I am not talking about church, I’m just saying that if you offer that prayer, Jesus will not refuse you, and things will start to change.” 

Sometime later, Karen noticed that Jerry seemed to be happier and had a more positive attitude.  She asked how he was doing.  He smiled, and said, “I did what you suggested and something did happen.  I started to feel warm all over when I prayed.  Later, I bought a Bible and started reading it.  I bought a Children’s Bible and started reading the stories to my kids.  We have started to go to church and my partner and I are moving toward marriage.”

You will notice that Karen did not judge Jerry or preach to him. She gave him an opportunity to talk, she listened, she empathized, and she asked if she could make a suggestion. She related to him as Jesus would. A “bruised reed” she did not break.   

How do you evangelize — with words of persuasion and argument, or with empathy, mercy, and confident in the work of the Holy Spirit?