from bogged down to fired up
"During those days, Peter stood up." —Acts 1:15
Jesus commands us to go forth, bear fruit (Jn 15:16), make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19), and take more initiative in building God's kingdom than the worldly take in making money (Lk 16:8). We are to be zealous for the Lord.
Nevertheless, many of us are rather apathetic and listless. We sit around and think of all the things we should have done but have never accomplished. We are like the disciples in the upper room who did not replace Judas for over forty days. Some of us have a backlog of things to do which spans forty days or even years.
The Holy Spirit is beginning to move in just a little way to motivate us to do at least one thing. That one thing might be to be reconciled with somebody, forgive someone, or repent of at least one sin. The Spirit is moving ever so slightly. The water of the Spirit is merely trickling into our lives (see Ez 47:2). If we obey the Spirit in this one way, that trickle of the Spirit will become rivers of life-giving water (see Jn 7:38). By doing something in the Spirit, we open the floodgates for the Spirit to be poured out in a new Pentecost.
Prayer: Father, change me from bogged down and clogged up to wide open and free-flowing.
Promise: "It was not you who chose Me, it was I Who chose you to go forth and bear fruit." —Jn 15:16
Praise: The Holy Spirit handpicked St. Matthias to fill the void of the broken fellowship left after Judas' betrayal. According to tradition, he was one of the seventy-two and baptized by John.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape on Baptism in the Holy Spirit on audio AV 43-1 or video V-43.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 3, 2008
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