The Enterprise

The Enterprise

“If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them.  Take care not to find yourselves fighting against God...”  (Acts 5: 38)  - New Jerusalem Bible.

“If what they have planned and done is of human origin, it will disappear, but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them.  You could find yourselves fighting against God.”  - Good News Bible.

“If this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them – in that case you may even be found fighting against God!” – New Revised Standard Version.


“For it what is being planned and done is human in origin, it will collapse; but if it is from God, you will never be able to stamp it out, and you risk finding yourselves at war with God.”  - Revised English Bible.

“For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself.  But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them, you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” – New American Bible.

Acts 5: 38 is one of my key scriptures.  It is one of the scriptures found in my top ten scripture list.  I received the message of this scripture early in 1995.  The person, who gave it to me, gave me the message in a paraphrased form.  It was more than a year later that I found the actual reference.  Below is what I wrote in my journal entry that morning in 1996 when I discovered the actual chapter and verse of the message.

“This morning, I discovered what I believe is the scripture that Peter meant to give me last year.  He had said Acts 6:8 but after a year I did not see Acts 6: 8 as applying to my situation.  I was then in a cross road in my life as I am still today.  But what applies intimately and what I believe he meant to say is:  Acts 5: 38 which in New Jerusalem Bible says:
“If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact come from God you will not only be unable to destroy them.  Take care not to find yourselves fighting against God...”  (Acts 5: 38)  

I had decided on a new direction for my life which I call the Enterprise.  Where is the origin of the idea of the Enterprise?  If the origin of the Enterprise is human, that is, Avila or myself, then I should forget it.  But if in fact it comes from God, rejoice for it is accomplished.  I had always believed that the origin is from God.  Although the initial idea of the Enterprise came from Avila in 0595, I had no doubt in my mind that Avila was inspired.  Later, when I used my mind and “counted 10 to win,” following  Robert Schuller’s formula, the Enterprise emerged as number one and the most practical solution in my situation.  

Over one year after I received Acts 5: 38, my belief that the Enterprise is from God is stronger today than ever.  My faith in its success is very strong.  If it is from God, it is accomplished.  

Thank you Jesus for Acts 5: 38.  You have strengthened my faith in the Enterprise through it.  I know for certain that you will bring to a successful conclusion what you initiated over a year ago.  Lord, grant me the patience that confirms my faith in you in this project.  I have taken a comprehensive insurance with you with regard to every detail of the project.  Dear Jesus, my Lord, my King and Boss, my best Friend, please take charge.”

Ten years later, today, 2006, where am I with the Enterprise?  My faith has not diminished that this project is from God.  I am working on it everyday.  There have been too many signs of grace to mention during this time.  I live one day at a time and place the future completely in the hands of God.

You have been with me

You have been with me

“When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness.  And you too will be my witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset.” (John 15: 26-27)

The Holy Spirit witnesses to the presence of Jesus in the world.  How?  Through the activities of the Church:  teaching, preaching, feeding and healing.  How does the Holy Spirit witness to the presence of Christ in the individual?  I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in me through peace and tranquility, joy and consolations, light and guidance, encouragement and patience.  The deep attraction to the word of God and facility in prayer are also signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus tells me in John 15: 26-27 that I too shall be his witness.  How?  I can witness to Christ today through my kind and considerate words, encouragement of others, selfless service, bearing my crosses patiently and cheerfully.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your words.  I know that today you will present me with many opportunities to witness to you.  Help me not to fail.  

Commissioned to bear fruit

Commissioned to bear fruit

“You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name.”  (John 15: 16)

In 1987 when I returned home from internationalization with Unilever in Paris, I was sent to work in a division where I had a great Dutchman as my boss.  I was conceited and often spoke of how much I loved the products and services the division provided its customers.   I implied I chose the division because of this.  One day, Mr. Han (not his real name) said to me:  “You did not choose me.  I chose you.”  It was a brutal,  appropriate and humbling reminder of the truth.

In my relationship with Jesus, I might from time to time forget this truth and believe that I chose Jesus.  Today Jesus is reminding me that it was he who chose me and not the other way.  He called me as he called Peter to a life of friendship, companionship and spiritual productivity.  

Lord Jesus, I know you have chosen me to be with you and work for you.  Have you commissioned me or is it something that will happen in the future?  I understand that we live our mission every moment of our life.  Our God given purpose is always there for us to work on.  

On the feast of Assumption, August 15, 1995, I became aware of a second call to follow Jesus.  Jonah was reluctant the first time he heard the call to go to Nineveh.  So was I.  But the second time the call came, I was ready.  The Lord had prepared me for this moment through suffering.  He had also prepared me for it through elevation.  Having given me an unmerited opportunity to climb high in the corporate ladder, I have seen and observed life from the upper floors.  In August, 1995, I had decided that there was nothing there that deserved my losing my life to gain.  

When Mary was commissioned at the Annunciation, the Word started to bear fruit in her womb right away.  I am commissioned by Christ to go out and bear fruit that will last.  I do so today by faithfulness in little things.  Help me Jesus.

Keep My Commandments

Keep My Commandments

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you.  Remain in my love.  If you keep my commandments you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” (John 15: 10)

The words of Christ are living words. Jesus is addressing these words to me right here, right now.  These words are not like dead words of literature and history.

Today Jesus is saying to me:  Just as the Father loves me, so do I love you.  Incredible words!  But remember who is speaking.  He is the truth.  Jesus loves me as I am.  He loves me with all my assets and all my liabilities.  He wants me to remain in this love.  He does not want me to do anything that might separate me from this love.  The way to remain in his love is to observe his commandments.  His love is greater than silver and gold.

Thank you Jesus for your love for me.  May nothing ever separate me from this love.

Bearing much fruit2

Bearing much fruit

“It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples.”  (John 15:8)

What an incredibly astonishing statement!  Jesus is saying to me here that the Father will be glorified by my success in life, which is “bearing much fruit.”  Sometimes we act as if God is hostile to our desires, plans and ambitions.  But I am learning here that my success will glorify God.  If my success will glorify God and if God is the first cause of everything, shouldn’t I align myself with God as my partner?  

When we align our thoughts and actions with God’s will for our life, everything cooperates to the accomplishment of our purpose in life.  God cannot oppose the mission he has given.  If we seek his help, he will provide it.

What is the lesson for me in John 15:8?  My purpose in life is to learn and communicate Jesus.  Everyday I ask God for the grace to do it well through whatever means may present themselves to me.  I remember that he who is faithful in little things will be faithful in big ones.  I have solid faith that with God’s grace I will succeed and that the project will glorify God.

"Remain in me"

“Remain in me”

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty; for cut off from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers.” (John 15: 5-6)

What is Jesus saying to me this morning? He is the vine and I am the branch. I am linked to Jesus and I am one with him. The way to bear fruit is to continue to be in Jesus.

What fruits? Spiritual fruits, fulfillment of one’s life purpose, the abundant life that Jesus promises to his followers. This is a remarkable promise. It teaches me that Jesus is an indispensable help to me in life and not a constraint. The deeper I am in him, the more fruitful I become.

How do I remain in Jesus? Jesus himself indicates two means:

1. “Dwell in my words.”


2. “Eat my flesh.”

This is the only way to bear fruit in plenty.

Lord, I thank you for your message and your promise this morning. I desire to remain in you and with you in me. Grant me the grace to do this everyday so that I may bear abundant fruit. Amen.

Bearing much fruit

Bearing much fruit

“I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty.”  (John 15:5)

Jesus is the big tree trunk.  I am the healthy branch at his side, sapping life and vitality from the juicy tree.  This is the sap I need for life and fruitfulness.  Christ’s grace is always there for me.  It is inexhaustible.  

How do I get the sap of life from Christ?  I can think of two ways suggested by Jesus himself:

1. “Make my word your home.”


2. “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.”

His word is always there, available, open and inviting.   His flesh is also readily available.  If we truly desire it, we can always partake of it everyday through the Eucharist.

When we eat his body and dwell in his word day after day, we cannot help but remain in him and thus bear much fruit as he promised.  What does bearing much fruit mean?  I think immediately of the parable of the seed.  The good seed and falls on good soil bears abundant harvest. God created each of us with a mission, talent and purpose.  

My purpose in life is to learn and communicate.  I am a student of life and the truth, which is Jesus Christ.  When I learn my subject well, I communicate the knowledge to people through writing and publishing.  Christ is saying to me today that if I want to bear much fruit in learning and communicating him, I must do first things first.  And the most basic and first thing is to learn to remain in Christ as a branch remains in the trunk and saps life from it.  This means that we cannot find fulfillment in our vocation without Christ.  

The lesson for me today is this:  I desire greatly to succeed in life.  I want to fulfill God’s purpose for my life.  First thing:  I make the word of Christ my home.  I receive him frequently in the Eucharist.  Then I accept in faith that in due season, I will bear much fruit.  I walk in faith and not by sight and do not evaluate my success through sense evidence.  I accept the word of Jesus as true that because I am in him, I am bearing fruit.

Are you being pruned?

Are you being pruned?

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear even more.  You are pruned already by means of the word that I have spoken to you.”  (John 15: 1-3)

Many Christians who love the Lord have lots of suffering in their life.  They cannot understand what is going on.  I suspect that many are not even aware of John 15: 13, that gives an encouraging answer to their questions.  About ten years ago, the Lord placed me in the desert for more than two years.  His faithful love and mercy revealed the above scripture to me.  When I knew through his word that the Lord is pruning me, I became calmer and less rebellious.

One Sunday during my desert experience, I heard this scripture read at Mass:
“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.  Endure your trials as ‘discipline’, God treats you as sons.  For what ‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are without discipline, in which all have shared, you are not sons but bastards.”  (Hebrews 12: 5-8)

John 15: 1-3 and Hebrews 12: 5-8 transformed my attitude to pruning and discipline.  I welcomed it in 1996 as I welcome it today.  The seed that yielded a harvest is the word that fell on good soil.   Others that fell on the path, rock or among thorns were left to their fate.  

In our afflictions, Jesus gives us the consolation of the truth found in holy scriptures..  Thank you Lord Jesus for your word.  May the Father continue to prune me so that I can bear much fruit.

The Peace of Christ

The Peace of Christ

“Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”  (John 14: 27)

This is one of the most delightful promises of Jesus.  His gift of peace.  Christ spoke a great deal about peace.  After his resurrection, peace was the special gift he bestowed on his demoralized followers.  Today again, apart from offering me this special peace, not like the world’s, Jesus also exhorts me not to let my heart be troubled nor to be afraid.

What does the peace of Christ, shalom mean to me?   It means interior calm, a restful mind, unruffled by any event; it means confidence that God is directing me step by step in everything and that God is protecting me moment by moment everywhere and at all times.  It means the opposite of what satan induces in people:  anxiety, worries, feverish restlessness.

Do I have the peace of Christ?  I thank Jesus that I do.  I want more of this peace.  I still find my heart troubled or afraid about certain things.  The day I wrote the above in my journal in 1996, my heart was troubled by family relationship, money and food.  My first reaction on that day was not calm.  But my anxiety was healed when Jesus said to me that morning:  “Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.”  (John 14: 27)

  

The Holy Spirit My Senior Partner

The Holy Spirit – My Senior Partner

“I have said these things to you while still with you; but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.”  (John 14: 25 – 26)

When Jesus said the above words to his disciples, it was only a promise.  This promise was fulfilled at Pentecost.  Today, everybody has the opportunity to verify whether this promise is true or false.  I became conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit within me on June 1, 1996.  

How did this happen?  First, I had the intimation that the Holy Spirit will change my life.  Next, I searched for information on the Holy Spirit from the Bible and spiritual books.  The information I got from my research confirmed the truth that the Holy Spirit was what I needed most in my life at that time.  My desire for him began to grow.  I searched for how to get the Holy Spirit.  I found a slim pamphlet containing a nine day novena on the Holy Spirit.  I made the nine day prayer.  On the final day, after I said the concluding prayers, I accepted in faith that the Holy Spirit was in me.

I felt two emotions immediately.  One was a deep feeling of peace and joy.  The other was an urge to read the Bible.  The first words I read were:   "Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me." nbsp; (Wisdom 7:7).   I needed no further confirmation.  The Holy Spirit truly was within me.  I am his temple.  He is the Advocate who pleads my cause with the Father.  How great!  How wonderful!  His presence is peace and tranquility.  I knew that whenever I pray in the Holy Spirit my prayer must have a hearing.  

In John 14: 25 – 26, Christ also promised that the Holy Spirit will teach me everything in connection with God’s kingdom.  So the Holy Spirit is indeed more than my Senior Partner.  He is my Teacher, my Guide, my Motivator, the Source of all my achievements.

The Holy Spirit will also remind me of all that Christ has told me at the time I need this information most.  For example:  “My grace is always with you.” “Be still and know that I am God.”  Thank you O Blessed Spirit.  Make me open and docile to you.

Who is St. Augustine?

"Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires"(Romans 13: 13-14).

"Thou has made us for thyself and our hearts are restless till they rest in thee" wrote St Augustine (Confessions, 1,1). As a young man, Augustine's heart was restless and on many occasion rested on illicit sex. Augustine came slowly to realize that sex and other forbidden pleasures could not fill the void in his heart. After a long resistance to the nudgings of grace, he succumbed to the charm of Christ. He described his conversion experience in his own words: "I felt myself still enslaved by my iniquities, and therefore did I groan to myself, 'How long? How long must I continue saying Tomorrow, tomorrow? Why not now? Why not, at one instant, make an end of all uncleanness?' [...]And behold I heard a voice, like that of a child in the house next door, repeating in a sing-song tone, 'Take up and read. Take up and read.' [...]I rose up [...]and returned to where I have left the book of the Apostle; I took it quickly into my hand, opened it and read in silence the first passage on which my eye happened to fall." Augustine wrote down the verses: "Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarelling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires"(Romans 13: 13-14). Augustine continues: "I read no further, nor was there any need to; for with the end of this sentence, as by a clear and constant light infused into my heart, the darkness of all former doubts was immediately driven away" (Confessions, VII, 12, 28-28).

Christ said: "I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners"(Matthew 9:13) Once he answered the call of Jesus, Augustine gave it his whole heart. He turned his prodigious intellectual capacity to Christian heology. Augustine became the Qoheleth of the early Church: "Besides being a sage, Qoheleth taught the people what he himself knew, having weighed, studied and emended many proverbs. Qoheleth took pains to write in an attractive style and by it to convey truths..(Ecclesiastes 12: 9-10)NJB He wrote many books, Confessions and City of God being the most popular. His influence on Church doctrine has not diminished with time. He is vastly quoted in the Documents of Second Vatican Council.

St Augustine of Hippo was born in North Africa in 354. He died in 430 as bishop of Hippo. God sustained him in the priesthood till the end in keeping with His promise: "The Lord has sworn an oath and he will not retract; you are a priest forever, in the line of Melchisedech" (Psalm 110:4)

St Augustine is the patron of printers and theologians. His feast day is the 28 of August.
Quotes from St Augustine
"God who created you without your cooperation will not save you without your cooperation" (Sermon 169, 11).
"Our entire life on earth should take the form of praise of God, for the never-ending joy of our future life consists in praising God, and no one can become fit for that future life unless he trains himself to render that praise now" (Enarrationes in Psalmos, 148).

The Spirit of truth

The Spirit of truth

“If you love me you will keep my commandments.  I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever, that Spirit of truth whom the world can never receive.  Since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you.”  (John 14: 13-17)

I believe the words of Jesus.  Thank you Jesus for the marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit.  I know his presence in me through his activities:  peace and tranquility, light and guidance, joy and consolation.  These graces have been the dominant environment of my life since 060195.  

Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will be with me forever.  I delight in this promise.  At the same time, I understand that the promise is conditional of my keeping the commandments of Jesus, notably the commandment of love.  I know that the Holy Spirit is with me to help me to keep God’s commandments and to make me holy.  He is the Spirit of truth, the giver and protector of my charism.  I love the Holy Spirit very much.

Lord Jesus, thank you very much for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Help me to always show appreciation for this wonderful gift.  May I grow steadily in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

Write down the Prayer List

Write down the Prayer list

“And I will do whatever you ask for in my name, so that the Father’s glory will be shown through the Son.  If you ask me for anything in my name I will do it.”  (John 14: 13)

Christ renews a great promise to me this day.  Yes, I believe that every prayer is answered because God’s word is true.  This presupposes that my prayer is according to the mind of Christ, and that the object of the prayer is good for me and not harmful to my neighbor.

In 1996, after reading and reflecting on John 14:13, I made the following prayer list:

• Holy Spirit and his gifts


• Healing


• Job


• PUS


• Daily needs


• Protection


• PaulSJ


• Prosperity

At the end of the list, I appended these words:  “Having prayed for these in the name of Jesus, I now exercise patience and wait for God to act.”

Reflecting on my prayer list 10 years later in 2006, I confirm that all have been answered except one.  I am still working on that one.  I have also grown in the past ten years in spiritual understanding of God’s word.  Because God loves us so much, he rightly answers prayers that are in accordance with his mind and plan for us.  Every good parent does the same.  Nobody gives his five-year old sod a cobra to play with because he asks for it.

God advised the Prophet Habakkuk to “Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily.  For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.”  (Habakkuk 2: 2-3)  Why make a note of the prayer list?  A written record helps us to know when and how God answers our prayers and our faith in him will grow.

Belief in Jesus 2

Belief in Jesus 2

“I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works.”  (John 14: 12)

Today Jesus speaks to me again about faith in him.  Again, a promise is attached to belief in Jesus.  The last time Jesus spoke to me about faith in him, the promise is eternal life. (John 3:15, 36; 5:24)  Today, the promise is not eternal life but greater ability to contribute to the work of building up of the kingdom of God.

What type of belief in Jesus will produce this power?  Belief that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore God.  Belief in all that the Bible says about Jesus.  Belief that Jesus is the Suffering Servant of Yahweh revealed in the prophecy of Isaiah.  Belief in the reality of the crucifixion and all its implications.  Belief in the miracles of Jesus, his passion, death and resurrection.  

Belief in Jesus is not static but dynamic.  This belief grows everyday as Jesus reveals more of himself to us.  He invites us to deeper faith in him everyday.  We respond to this invitation when we pray, study his word and receive him in the Eucharist.  Then our faith becomes more focused and more simple.  Then we are not shocked by the scandal of the incarnation, the simplicity of the Man Jesus and in the humiliation of the cross.

The Way the Truth and the Life

The Way, the Truth and the Life

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Nobody can come to the Father except through me.”  (John 14: 6-7)

Jesus is my Way.  He is my Truth and he is my Life.  What does this mean to me today?

A way leads to somewhere.  If life is a journey, what is my destination?   My whole life is  a journey to the Father.  All the circumstances and events have been arranged to lead to one destination:  the Father.  How is Jesus my Way to the Father?  His life and teachings form the highway to the Father.  They are also the light that light up this highway.

Jesus is my Truth.  A truth is.  A truth is reality.  What is the truth of life?  Ask Jesus.  He knows.  What is the truth about my situation today?  Ask Jesus.  He knows.  Man yearns for truth.  St. Augustine says that God has made us for himself and our hearts are restless until they rest in God, the ultimate being and truth.

Jesus is my life.  The true life is eternal life.  We receive the beginning of this life in baptism.  We grow in this life through the sacraments.  Sacraments are actions of Jesus Christ instituted to impart grace and eternal life to us.

Lord Jesus, I believe you are my Way, my Truth and my Life.  Help me to grow in the understanding of this truth.

Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God still, and trust in me.  there are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you.” (John 14: 1 – 2).

In 1996, when I reflected on the above scripture, I wrote in my journal:
“This is a very appropriate scripture for my mood now.  My heart is troubled by many things.  Last night, I slept very little; my body was raked by fever and I was disturbed by mosquitoes.  Blessing informed me before I went to bed that there was nothing to eat in the house.  Money is running low.  The car is immobilized in the drive way.  I have no job.  Despite all these, Jesus is saying to me: “Do not let your heart be troubled.”  O Holy Spirit, how do I remain calm in these troubled waters?  If I trust Jesus, should I not trust his words?  If Jesus who sees my situation clearer than myself , tells me to be calm and not to worry, I should believe him.  I realize that there are two voices speaking to me at this moment:  the evil one trying to paint a lurid and hopeless picture of my situation and Jesus whose instructions are clear and simple – “Do not let your heart be troubled.  Trust in God still, and trust in me.”  Trust in God’s disposal of events.

As I reflect on the above journal entry in 2006, ten years later, I thank the Lord for his faithfulness.  I survived the hardship of the period.  On the other hand, I marveled that I am able to forget such incidents.  How much comfort I would have in troubled times if I remember such incidents?

O Holy Spirit, recall to my mind memories of God’s wonderful deeds in my life.

The 4-Way Test

The 4-Way Test

“I give you a new commandment:  love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.  By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  (John 13: 34 – 35)


In the last three years of corporate world experience, I joined the Rotary International Club.  We met every week for fellowship and followed a set ritual which reminds one of the Church’s liturgy.  One of the rituals that was observed every week was the recitation of the four-way test:

• Is it fair to all concerned?


• Will it build good and better friendship?


• Is it the truth?


• Is it beneficial to all concerned?

Jesus tells his disciples “just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.”  If I can apply the four-way test in my dealings with people today, I will begin to obey the words of Jesus.

Washing Feet

Washing Feet

“You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am.  If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each others’ feet.  I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.”  (John 13: 13 – 15)

Christ is teaching me through the above incidence humility and the spirit of service.  How do I apply this lesson here and now?  My home, the Church, my workplace is my training ground, my laboratory to practice this lesson.  Through the circumstances of everyday life, God is training me and saving me.  How do I wash the feet of my brethren today?  What concrete services should I render them that will amount to the washing of feet?  

The Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth was an opportunity for service.  Mary anticipated Elizabeth’s needs and fulfilled them.   In the home of Elizabeth, Mary must have performed many washing of feet.  Jesus is asking me today to anticipate the humble needs of  my sisters and brothers and do something about them.  

Thank you for the lesson Jesus.  I accept your teaching and I am disposed to follow it.  I need your grace to live these principles today.  Give me your grace.

Love as I love you

Love as I love you

“I give you a new commandment:  love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.  By this love you have for one another, everyone will know that you are my disciples.”  (John 13: 34 – 35)

Jesus wants me to “love one another just as he has loved me.”  So his love for me is the standard that I will use for others.  It does presuppose that I know this standard.  How does Jesus love me?  How do I feel his love in my daily life?

I feel Christ’s presence and love through the activities of the Holy Spirit in me.  I enjoy steady peace and tranquility.  And I appreciate this very much.  I also have joy and consolation in my heart most of the time.  During the day, I experience light and guidance on numerous occasions.  These light and guidance come to me as practical wisdom, telling me how to achieve certain results.  When I follow the guidance, the consequence is always pleasing and I recognize the source of the idea.

The Holy Spirit also gives me a lot of encouragement when my mood is low.  This he does through uplifting scripture passages or through exciting relevant happy memories of victories in similar situations in the past.  There is also the gift of patience.  This is one of the gifts I cherish very much in my present situation.  Scriptures are given me on the need to be patient and biblical models of patience like Abraham are suggested to me.  Christ also shows his love for me through answers to my prayers and provision of my daily needs.

Now Jesus is saying to me to do all the above for others.  Am I able to do this?  The crucial question is:  am I willing to do it?  Yes, Lord if you will supply the grace.  In my daily interaction with people, I will try to be aware of the depth of Christ’s love for me and how he wants me to respond to this love.  I will try to lighten people’s burden and not make them heavier.  I will spread joy and peace and not sorrow.  I will counsel patience and faith.  I will do all these because this is how Jesus loves me.  Help me Jesus.

Belief in the Light

Belief in the Light

“I, the light, have come into the world, so that whoever believes in me need not stay in the dark anymore.”  (John 12; 46)

Christ is the light of the world.  He spoke of faith in him as key to a relationship and benefit of the light.  What does belief in Jesus mean to me today?  When Christ spoke of belief in him to the people, how would the people listening to him understand him?  They would understand him in the context of the scriptures as claiming to be the awaited Messiah.  The scriptures had foretold the coming of the Messiah and shown his mission and end in some detail.  The audience of Jesus could ask themselves:  “What does the word of God say about the Christ?  Does this man before us fulfill that brief?”

Belief in Jesus means belief in the word of God about him.  For me today, that word is larger than what Christ’s audience knew.  Christ has extended the word of God through the New Testament.  I know more about Christ than his hearers in the first century.  I have the New Testament.  I also have the evidence of 2000 years of continuous witness to Jesus.  Does this put my faith on fire?  Lord Jesus, grant me a burning faith.