By Benton Heisler, West Michigan Conference Director of Connectional Ministries
Jesus is recorded as telling his disciples in Acts 1:8, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
Sometimes we attempt to accomplish the ministry tasks in front of us in our own power. As we begin every day opening our lives to the Holy Spirit, our witness is strengthened by the Spirit’s power. Our reminder is that Spirit is there all the time.
I recently traveled the length of Illinois. I had not been on that section of highway for a number of years. What caught my eye were two unmistakable features. One was the blades of the hundreds of turbine reaching out to capture the energy of the wind.
Wind, nearly always present, just awaiting the opportunity to be transferred into electricity that will power any number of machines, homes or (who would have believed it, automobiles.) Opening our hearts in prayer to receive the Holy Spirit centers the movement of God in all we do. I was struck to remind myself to keep my life open to that movement. How about you and your congregation?
A second image which spread before me was cornfields. Not just acres of corn, but square miles of corn. Some had been harvested, the combines churned through others, and mile after mile stood awaiting the transfer from stalk to silo to a store near you in one form or another. In Luke 2 Jesus is recorded as saying to his disciples, “The harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. Pray that the Lord will send workers to the harvest.”
Any given Sunday less than 20 percent of our nation attends worship. I have no idea about all the intricacies of soil chemistry, planting, fertilizer application, seed corn, the mechanics of a 12 row combine, market strategies or corn product production and distribution.
It would be overwhelming to me to be given a square mile plot of land and told, “Go and make a cornfield and transform the hunger of the world.”
We may feel equally overwhelmed with Jesus’ Great Commission to “go and make disciples…” Yet, any one of us does know a great deal about people. We understand their joy and heartaches, their search for meaning and purpose, their struggles with relationships and finances, their moments of great joy and satisfaction.
Jesus is recorded as telling his disciples in Acts 1:8, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”
I recently traveled the length of Illinois. I had not been on that section of highway for a number of years. What caught my eye were two unmistakable features. One was the blades of the hundreds of turbine reaching out to capture the energy of the wind.
Wind, nearly always present, just awaiting the opportunity to be transferred into electricity that will power any number of machines, homes or (who would have believed it, automobiles.) Opening our hearts in prayer to receive the Holy Spirit centers the movement of God in all we do. I was struck to remind myself to keep my life open to that movement. How about you and your congregation?
A second image which spread before me was cornfields. Not just acres of corn, but square miles of corn. Some had been harvested, the combines churned through others, and mile after mile stood awaiting the transfer from stalk to silo to a store near you in one form or another. In Luke 2 Jesus is recorded as saying to his disciples, “The harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. Pray that the Lord will send workers to the harvest.”
Any given Sunday less than 20 percent of our nation attends worship. I have no idea about all the intricacies of soil chemistry, planting, fertilizer application, seed corn, the mechanics of a 12 row combine, market strategies or corn product production and distribution.
It would be overwhelming to me to be given a square mile plot of land and told, “Go and make a cornfield and transform the hunger of the world.”
We may feel equally overwhelmed with Jesus’ Great Commission to “go and make disciples…” Yet, any one of us does know a great deal about people. We understand their joy and heartaches, their search for meaning and purpose, their struggles with relationships and finances, their moments of great joy and satisfaction.
