The Fruit of Service is Peace

 “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:43-45

I am 69 years old already and I still have not learned this very important lesson. To be a servant, one must have the heart of a servant. And no human being better exemplifies that than Mother Teresa who spent her life giving love to the least of God's people.

David Kessler tells one of the nicest stories about how Mother Teresa helped him with his book, "The Needs of the Dying". When he visited India in 1996, he had the opportunity to meet with her when she was told he worked with Elisabeth Kübler Ross, a pioneer in near death studies, and was himself writing a book. He described her as having "kind brown eyes, intensely wrinkled skin, and the warmest of smiles." She treated him like an old friend, and told him that soon she would be dying as well. He said that she talked about God as if He was her dearest, oldest friend, and that she was so looking forward to being with Him. 

Before he left, Mother Teresa asked for his business card and she gave him hers:

The fruit of silence is prayer,

The fruit of prayer is faith,

The fruit of faith is love,

The fruit of love is service,

The fruit of service is peace.

When he finished his book, he sent it to her, and she wrote the most wonderful praise for the book. When he told a friend that he felt he didn't deserve Mother Teresa's good words, his friend said: "So you don’t feel you deserve it. Then here is what you have to do. Spend every day of your life earning that praise.” And that is what David Kessler tries to do. 

If Mother Teresa was able to provoke this man to a life of service, so should we try to spend every day of our life pleasing our Father. 

Lord, may I live my life such that when I meet You face to face, You shall say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Teach me to be a servant like You, Lord.

Let Your Love be Intense

 “Let your love for one another be intense...” 1 Peter 4:8

Saint Peter, at the start of this passage, writes, “The end of all things is at hand. Therefore be serious and sober-minded so you will be able to pray. Above all, let Your love for one another be intense, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 

There was one night I had the strangest dream about of all things, the end of the world. There was a giant computer screen in the sky that everybody around the world could see, and a woman’s automaton voice was warning of the coming apocalypse. The screen was filled with swirling masses of gas, and a countdown, and lots of other changing images. The strange thing was almost no one was minding it. We were in an amazing theme park, and even if people could hear the countdown, people were running around trying to find the most exciting ride, the best blockbuster attraction. People were laughing, talking to each other, pulling each other to and fro. 

Isn’t that a picture of what’s happening in the world? In the Bible, there are several warnings about the end of the world. It may not happen to everyone at the same time, but for each and everyone of us, the end of the world will come.

We live our lives as if there is no end in sight. But there is a countdown for each of us as surely as there was a visible one in my dream. No doubt God wants us to enjoy ourselves in this beautiful world He gave us, BUT He reminds us to live bearing in mind what is important. “Be serious and sober-minded so you can pray. Love one another intensely. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Use your gifts to serve others. In all things, may God be glorified.”

God’s Love

“ For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

There is so much skepticism in the world. It’s cooler to be a skeptic than to feed our faith. Or perhaps we want to be practical, and really hope and faith are not practical. We can’t touch it or see it. We think we can’t apply reason or critical thinking when it comes to Jesus, if He really can give us enough bread, if He really can guide us, if we really can depend on Him. The list goes on. 

My starting point is always, is He who He claims to be? If He is God, then we should take Him and His words seriously. If He is God and He is not flicking His finger to solve poverty and the huge problems of the world, God does not have to explain to us why He allows it all to continue. If He is God, He has His own reasons! 

God’s ways are far above our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. It is so strange that He chose to come as a baby, a weak human being, dependent on His mother. He was born of the lineage of David, and in Bethlehem. All this was foretold by the prophets Micah and Isaiah. In the Old Testament God gave various signs to watch out for so we could recognize the Messiah when He comes. And some of those prophecies were about how the Messiah would be betrayed and put on trial, beaten and mocked. There are about 300 prophecies in the Old Testament unveiled in the New. 

A mathematician said that the chance of one person fulfilling only 8 of those 300 prophecies is 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. 1 person fulfilling 48 prophecies: 1 chance in 10 to the 157th power. Only God could have divinely orchestrated when He would be born, and the events afterwards. One may wonder: WHY? 

LOVE. God SO loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not perish but HAVE everlasting life. Let us believe in Him, and His Words, so that one day we will be with Him in the fullness of His crazy awesome plan for us!

The Stone the Builders Rejected

 “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone…” Mark 12:10

Just as Jesus was rejected and scorned, many missionaries through the ages have been tortured, mistreated and even murdered. In Africa, usually a hotbed for martyrdom, the White Fathers (The Society of Missionaries of Africa), established a community of stalwart converts who evangelized with a zeal that outmatched their own. They started evangelizing, instructing and leading new believers that the missionaries could not reach. Many of these young Christians lived and taught in the King’s court.

King Mwanga was no ordinary King. He was a pedophile who preyed on the young men who served him as pages and attendants. The Christians tried to protect these young men from the King’s sexual violence. Joseph Mkasa, a 25 year old Catholic, was the chief steward and was brave enough to confront the King for his actions. He was beheaded and burned in 1885, but not before he proclaimed, “A Christian who gives his life for God is not afraid to die." 

The King then ordered the chief page, Charles Lwanga, to take over Mkasa’s duties. Charles indeed took up Mkasa’s unfinished business by having about a hundred cathecumens baptized by the White Fathers. In anger, the King brought his entire court before him, and separated the Christians from the non-Christians, and ordered that the Christians make a 37 mile trek to Namugongo, where they would be executed. The White Fathers witnessed the courage and joy of these young converts as they marched to their deaths. Charles Lwanga was chosen for a private execution and as he was being burnt, said, “It is as if you are pouring water on me. Please repent and become a Christian like me." June 3 marks the Feast day of St. Charles Lwanga and his companion martyrs. 

In spite of the danger, men and women still go out of their comfort zones to evangelize. Usually, they feel God calling them to preach the good news, they are impelled by an urge bigger than themselves, stronger than their fear. How about us? We are also instructed by Jesus to “go out into the world and preach the good news” (Mark 16:15). We need not fear being tortured or mutilated or beheaded. But are we able to obey Jesus even if we will be rejected or ridiculed just like our Saviour? 

The First Will Be the Last

 "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Mark 10:31

This verse can also be found in Matthew 19:30, Luke 13:30, and Matthew 20:16. And Jesus means exactly what he says. The thief hanging on the cross beside him must have done terrible things for him to merit the absolute worst punishment, but he received heaven's reward after he repented. That thief received the same eternal fullness of life that Saints Peter, Paul, and Timothy received. The thief just got through that narrow door! We will never know who we will meet when we get to heaven. (We're getting there not because of any good we've done but because God will finish the work He started in us!) 

We can try to think of the most evil person we know, the one who murders people, babies even, the one who goes to a crowded place and plants a bomb, the one who rapes, who deceives, who lies, etc. And then when we see Saint Peter, we can ask him, "Why is that person here? I served God, tried my best to be good, told the truth, and prayed every day! And that person, what did he do?" Saint Peter might answer, "He repented and asked for mercy!" 

It's the same as the workers in the vineyard in the 20th chapter of Matthew. Some worked a full day, others just an hour, and they all got the same wage! There can't, after all, be any more or less of eternal life. And NONE of us deserve the reward of heaven. None! 

Lord Jesus, thank You for paying the price of admission to our eternal home! We will never realize how amazingly incredible our inheritance is until we join you, like the thief beside You on the cross, in Paradise! 

God’s Plan

 “He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” Genesis 3:15

God’s words to Eve, the first woman, is very enigmatic, but when you look at the whole panorama of God’s plan from Genesis to Revelation, we can understand it better. As St. Augustine once observed, “The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New.” 

Adam and Eve sinned and Eve said the “nahash”, the literal translation of which is serpent dragon, had tricked her. God then warned the “nahash”, “Because you have done this...I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” 

In Hebrew we see the word נָחָשׁ (nahash), and according to the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, “Throughout the Old Testament nahash is used to refer to powerful, even gigantic, evil creatures. Isaiah calls the nahash a sea dragon, the great Leviathan (see Isaiah 27:1). Job also uses nahash to depict terrible sea monsters (see Job 26:13).”

From the first book of the Bible, if we go to the last book, Revelation, we meet the “nahash” again (chapter 12). This same horrible, fierce serpent dragon with seven heads and ten horns intimidates a woman clothed with the sun about to give birth. The “nahash” was just so ready to devour the offspring of the woman. But was he able to? No. The offspring was snatched away from the “nahash” and was caught up to God. 

The “nahash” still intimidates us into submission, like it did the first woman. It deceives, feeds lies and misinformation so that we will disobey God, and not only that, follow what the “nahash” says. But it cannot frustrate God’s plans and purposes. Let us rejoice and meditate on God’s Word so we can understand God’s declaration of war on the “nahash” who wants to devour all of us! 

Stir Into Flame

 “When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.” Acts 2:1-4

I did not realize that what occurred in Acts 2 was repeated in Acts chapter 4.  Believers who were gathered in one place were filled with the Holy Spirit.  This means that "Pentecost", a feast commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ did not happen just once, but probably several times.  

Pentecost is the old Greek and Latin name for the Jewish harvest festival, or Festival of Weeks which can be found in the Hebrew Bible. It is also called the Day of the First Fruits. As Pentecost is also known as the birthday of the Church, it is really the day of the first fruits of the Church. In 2 Timothy 1 verse 6, Saint Paul urges Timothy to "kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands."  "To stir into flame" is another translation of this verse.  I remember the first time I was laid hands on. Nothing happened.  I was too interested in the noise and activity that was happening around me.  People were speaking in tongues, and falling over chairs, and wailing.  

I went to several Life in the Spirit seminars after that. It is all right for us to keep wanting to get an infilling of the Spirit. It is all right for us to ask to be laid hands on, prayed over. Just as God breathed on Adam, that "dead" body into life, and the Holy Spirit breathed into the "dead" body of the Church in Acts, so we too can keep asking Jesus to breathe His Spirit into us, that we may not be ineffective in our work as His people.  There is not a single person that God can't use if we have His Spirit in us! 

A Future and a Hope

 “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25

Ever since this line was written by St. John the Apostle, the youngest of Jesus’ twelve disciples, so much more has been added to what Jesus did, and is continuing to do in  men’s lives. He can take a messed up life and turn it into a masterpiece. Jesus has changed many a man and woman from a worm into a butterfly. He is not a magician, but He can turn a stony heart into a compassionate one full of forgiveness and love. The key is rejecting sin, accepting Him as Lord and following Him. With the Jesus, every life is of intrinsic worth, every one a diamond in the rough. He will not turn anyone away. There is hope for everyone, even a man who murders without compunction, steals millions from the government treasury, curses and lies with every breath. 

Who is not interested in finding riches? I wake up every morning because I know I will encounter the one true Saviour, the One who can turn the dross of hardship and trials into gold. He is the only one who can give meaning and purpose to our lives. Even if what is happening in the world right now doesn’t make sense, if we offer all our doubts, fears and questions to Jesus, He can assure us with His eternal words of hope. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) 

Every morning when I wake up, I read the timeless words in the Bible, and discover how “the New Testament is concealed in the Old, just as the Old Testament is revealed and fulfilled by the New.” (St. Augustine) If we do not study the Bible, how will we discover the precious things hidden in it? I have heard so many couples share about how God intervened in their marriage. God has transformed relationships filled with quarreling, bitterness and hopelessness into marriages with a shared purpose and an outpouring of gratefulness.

More and more I realize that if our country, our communities, our businesses, our families are to survive victoriously, it will be hugely because God is continuing to take care of it all. 

This is what Jesus continues to do in this world. Let us put our lives, our dreams, our plans, our gifts and talents, and our challenges, in His hands. He is more than able. “If I can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” (Mark 9:23)

The Example of the Saints

 “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner. When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews brought charges against Paul and asked that he be condemned.” Acts 25:13-15

It's hard for me, as a woman, to even think of following the example of Saint Paul. I can't see myself in his shoes. He was a tireless traveler. He encountered numerous hardships and was imprisoned about 4 times for a total of 5-6 years! He was a resolute man, patient beyond measure, courageous, and I don't think he regretted his decision to follow Christ even once! Here he is being accused by the chief priests and elders of the Jews of serious crimes they could not prove. 

But I do like looking to other saints to imitate, to learn from them, to see how they ran the race victoriously. I love Saint Therese of Lisieux for the simple, hidden life she led. She wrote, "What matters in life," she wrote, "is not great deeds, but great love." Like Mother Teresa, she did ordinary things with great love. Even when she was sick in bed, she was able to serve God by interceding. She saw herself as a beautiful flower in God's garden. Then there's Brother Lawrence who said, "The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer." For those of us who are constantly busy with the things of this world, he is an example of a man who could constantly practice the presence of God, whatever task he was doing, whether it be cleaning the floor or washing dishes in the monastery.

Then there's one of my favorite stories of Mother Teresa. While on the way to a grand party, she stopped to talk to a beggar. When she was fetched, because she tarried too long, she asked, "Can't you see I am talking to Christ?" She saw the faces of the poor, when most of us just pass them by. Yes, we need constant reminders, and saints with their frames like us, can show us it is not impossible to imitate Christ!

Path to Life

 “You will show me the path to life...” Psalm 16:11

I was thinking it would be foolish of me to follow someone along a dark path if that person hadn’t been there before. It would be even more foolhardy if that person did not have a lamp to light the way. What if there was a cliff on the side, or snakes or a boulder about to fall. In many ways, we live in a dark, uncertain world. There are many pitfalls and the future is certainly unknown. If there is a guide who offers to show us the way, and who knows the future, we should accept his help!

Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life. What’s more, He knows the way to heaven because He is the only one who has come down from heaven. In John 3:11, Jesus claimed, “We speak about what we know, and we testify about what we have seen.” Why should we believe Him? More than 300 prophecies in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament. No other man can claim that. It is exciting to see how events in the Old Testament foreshadow what Jesus said and did in the gospels. 

Lord Jesus, I trust You to lead me along my faith journey. Thank You for showing me the path to life, and being ever before me!

Unity

 

 "...that they may be one, as We are one- I living in them, You living in Me..." John 17:21

Jesus' ways are really far above our ways! Imagine desiring to be one with us! Jesus prayed for us to be united with Him, and with each other. And He prayed this just before He knew He was going to be arrested and taken away. He said,"I pray for those who will believe in Me..."- that's you and me! He wants this so much for us, for us to be united! Why?

Because we can't move forward without unity. We can't grow. Just like in any organization. If there is so much competition between departments and internal conflict, if there is no cooperation, people will not want to work together, won't even want to talk to each other!

I thank God for our family business! I remember when I was young, I was speaking to someone whose family had a business, and she said she would never want to be part of it! She and her parents could never see eye to eye!

Unity and cooperation were at work in our business more than discord or conflict. My brother, sisters and I always enjoyed working together whether it was molding new figurines, making decoupage, or fixing up a new branch. Each one of us did what we knew best. My sister Meldy and niece Elyse were usually directing where to put what and our staff were following and working hard. Peggy would be hanging the frames and plaques on the walls. My brother Robert would paint on the glass windows or the back wall of the counter. I was usually coordinating with the admin and our contractor to make sure we could open. And we were successful! While we were fixing, customers would knock on the glass doors, pleading to come in and buy! We were selling before we even officially opened!

Yes, Jesus' way is best! Unity is powerful and the enemy knows this. That's why he tries so hard to frustrate any plans for unity and cooperation! That's why we need God's Spirit to unify us!

Perfect

 “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” John 17:3

"And this is the promise He made us: Eternal Life,” we read in 1 John 2:25.

To live happily ever after, isn't that what any bride wants on her wedding day? I forget which husband on my Facebook feed said that his wife was the perfect gift for an imperfect man, but I thought it was a beautiful sentiment. 

I read 1 John 2:25 about God's promise to us and I thought about marriage, and how God’s promise of eternal life to us is a covenant like marriage. He put a ring on my finger, just as another father put a ring on the prodigal son's finger. A PERFECT GIFT FOR IMPERFECT ME! I do not deserve it, I can never earn it, but God desires to give me eternal life, to be together forever.

There are many things that God does that I do not deserve. He gives me a beautiful wedding dress to replace the rags of my sin and shame. He washes me clean by forgiving me time and time again like Hosea forgave his harlot wife. Sometimes, because I pray every day, and contribute to different causes and do other good deeds, I think I am in right standing with God. I am complacent and un-needy. But I am as far from holiness and righteousness as the east is from the west! And yet, Jesus, my bridegroom takes me by the hand, and walks me down the aisle, and says, "Yes, I do. I do die for this precious one. I do promise to give her eternal life with Me and My Father in My Kingdom." 

That is the perfect ending and beginning, and the best part is it is NO fairy tale! 

Take Courage

 

"In the world, you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world." John 16:33

My sisters and I have an intercessory list where we enumerate all those who have asked for prayers, and even those who have not. It is quite long and getting longer all the time. 

There are so many babies and children on our list who are seriously sick.  Then there are those with different kinds of cancer, a father who has been bedridden for 8 years, young people with serious mental health issues. I can go on and on and I don’t even have to look far as I am also dealing with a complex health condition. 

Oh, lots of challenges and trials assail us from all sides. But Jesus said , “Take Courage." Bring it along with you! Do not leave it behind!

Take Hope! Take Perseverance! Take all that you need... after all, Jesus is with us on  the journey, and He said that He will never leave us! 

Plant Seeds

 “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations...” Matthew 28:19

In 2006, I was dismayed to find that I could not remember anything about the scripture I read and meditated on during my prayer time early in the morning. I decided to embellish the Bible verses with cuttings from a magazine, just to make it stand out visually on my journal. From collage, I eventually started doodling, drawing and painting. Then I discovered painting on my Bible. I have three Bibles with my paintings in them. Ever since my surgery in December 2019, I have found it easier to do digital painting on my iPad with Procreate. What a journey it has been! 

God also gave me the assignment to post my meditations on my blog in 2009. I did not know where it would take me. From my blog, I went on to post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumbler and Google plus which has since disappeared from cyberspace. I have been doing this almost every day for years now. Some days, I feel like I am partnering with God on a mission. I know I would never have been able to do this on my own! No way! Every day I am pleasantly surprised. 

Do I think I am following Jesus’ command to all of us to “make disciples of all nations”? Undoubtedly! But first and foremost, I realize I am preaching to myself! I read in my daily meditation guide, “The Anawim Way” sometime ago- “The first person whom we must ‘make a disciple’ is ourselves. One must be a disciple before one can make a disciple. We cannot give what we do not have...Becoming a disciple is a life-long process, part of which involves witnessing to others about Jesus. The more we give Him to others, the more we grow in Him ourselves.”

When we share about Jesus, we fall in with this long line of “witnesses”, going back to a ragtaggle bunch of fishermen who did not know what they were doing at first. Jesus gave them the power of the Holy Spirit, just as He gives us that same power today. But we have this great advantage over those fishermen! We have technology, and we can reach so many more people around the world than they could. Let us plug into the amazing power of Jesus and use all the tools available to us to give Him to others, and grow in Him ourselves! 

Soar With Eagles’ Wings

 “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go forth and bear fruit that will remain.” John 15:16

We are all chosen by God to be a part of His body, and just as the body has many parts, we too have different responsibilities and vocations. We may think that what happens to us is coincidence or an accident, but I believe that God has a Master plan for each one of us. He does not usually show us what that is, just as a weaver does not reveal to the rug or tapestry what the final outcome is. The shuttle quickly flies back and forth, and the design is revealed slowly. 

The way eaglets learn to fly is very fascinating. When the mother eagle builds her nest she first finds thorns, branches, and other ragged and sharp materials for the first layer. And then she proceeds to cover it with a padding of wool, feathers, or straw to make a soft bed for her eggs. She provides everything her babies need while they are growing, but when it is time to teach them to fly, she starts “stirring the nest”. She removes the soft layer to make it uncomfortable for her little ones. In this way, the mother eagle prompts her babies to mature and desire to fly. 

When we feel despondent that God is allowing discomfort and trials in our life, let us remember the baby birds. God our Father loves us, and has chosen us to bear fruit, to soar with eagles’ wings.

Our Labors Turned into Joy

 “When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.” John 16:21

I was 38 years old when I was pregnant with Joshua. Back then, about 30 years ago, 38 was considered “old” to be pregnant, and my pregnancy could have been complicated. One day, I became worried because the baby was making odd little consecutive “coughs”, and I prayed that he was all right inside. It turned out that Joshua had the hiccups! I did not know that babies could have hiccups! God reassured me then, “You will know how much I love you when you hold your baby in your arms.” Mothers experience many anxieties, pains and inconveniences, during pregnancy, and while giving birth, but truly, there is no joy comparable to holding your baby in your arms! 

Jesus uses the picture of a pregnant woman in the throes of childbirth to give the apostles an idea of what is in store for them. They will have anguish and suffering while ‘giving birth’ to this new way of life of following Christ. We too can relate to this imagery, as in our life as well, we cannot escape pain. It is part of growth, part of maturing, part of learning, in different stages and seasons of our existence. It is inseparable from God’s design. Just as Jesus suffered and died, to bring about the greatest good for mankind, so our pains and sorrows, our strivings, have meaning and purpose as well. 

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24) Sometimes we cannot understand God’s plans, but if we trust and follow His words, there is always a reward, our labors will be turned into joy. 

Pick and Choose

 

“What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.” Acts 17:23

There were many shrines in Athens, some dedicated to Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love, the handsome Apollo, god of healing and arts, Ares, god of war and violence, Artemis, virgin goddess of the hunt and animals, and many many others. Paul said he looked carefully at the shrines, no doubt they were artistically executed, but he noticed one in particular. It was inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God’. “What you worship in ignorance, this is what I am proclaiming to you,” he told the Athenians in the Areopagus, or ‘Ares’ Hill’ a place where people congregated. Some people like Dionysius and Damaris responded and believed. Others scoffed when Paul started talking about the resurrection of the dead. 

Many of us pick and choose what we like from the Bible. When I was in U.P. High School, the Gideon Bible Society gave each of us in our class a cute red Bible. We had to promise to read it. I very eagerly started to read, and continued to read, until I reached this verse, “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” That is from the Gospel of John 12:25. 

After reading that verse which I heartily disagreed with because I loved my life, I stopped reading the Bible for several years. Many people like me, and like the people of Athens, want to make our own god. We want a god conformed to our own image of what God should be. We did not want the truth, we wanted to make our own truth. Happily when I was older I decided after several Life in the Spirit Seminars that I wanted to know God, really know Him, not my own version of God or my preference of what God should be. The “unknown God” honored my desire and my zeal to know Him. He spoke and made Himself available and I loved Him as my first love. 

How inconceivable that the God of the Universe, the earth and sea and sky, would stoop down to our level and meet us where we are! He WANTS us to know Him! If we just open up a space for Him in our hearts and lives, He will come in and sit with us and keep His promises! 

Faithful to Our Calling

 

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30

Paul and Silas were imprisoned, and when they started singing to the Lord and worshipping Him, a severe earthquake opened the prison doors and their chains broke open. The jailer who was instructed to guard them well, almost killed himself when he thought they had escaped. Paul and Silas said, “Do no harm to yourself; we are all here.” Trembling with fear, the jailer rushed in to the innermost cell he had placed them, and asked, “What must I do to be saved?”

This story in the Bible reminds me of a man named Daniel. Before he attended a church in Southern California, he lived in Uganda, when Idi Amin was President from 1971-1979. At that time, he was caught and tortured brutally for being a Christian. For several days at a time, a guard would hang him from his feet and whip him. One night as the guard was leaving, Daniel said, " Have a nice evening."

The guard turned back to him, and asked incredulously, "How can you say that to me? After what I have been doing to you?" Daniel then told him about Jesus, about the blood shed on the cross for him, about freedom, about how he had been forgiven and loved. A few days after that, the guard helped him escape, brought Daniel to his house, fed him and let him share about Jesus to his family. 

We may not be imprisoned, but many people are shut in worlds full of fear and anxiety, despair and unforgiveness. If we are given the opportunity to be a witness of Christ’s love, hope and peace, let us not pass it up. 

Lord, may we be faithful to Your calling. May we live in such a way as to show You that we know You, love You and obey You. May others who know us, know as well that we are Your servants.