D01 I Feed Myself with Your Closeness
List of the Online Lessons: A B C D E F G H
D01 I Feed Myself with Your Closeness
I wonder where our ministry comes from. Especially ministry to people who do not yet know Jesus… Acceptance or disinterest? Openness or rejection? Attention or deafness? These are the things that weigh heavily into our motivation for whether we will share something with an unbeliever and how we would do it. Observation and experience shows me that the whole motivational basis for ministry must rest on our personal relationship with Jesus. Real deep relationship with Him shapes our identity, and from that then our initiative flows and response to various circumstances and events.
When I look into the eyes of my beloved Daniela – that is my wife – I see wonderful depth of her soul, I see her inner beauty, the treasure she is. I find her extremely inspiring, uplifting. The relationship with her is great power for me.
It is much more so when I look into the eyes of my beloved Friend – Jesus. I see amazing splendor, richness, love, and all the best qualities the human race can imagine… „Please let me know you even more. From Your Word, by direct experiences, by observing Your actions in my own life and in lives of others…“
Jesus says (John 15:4-5), „Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abides in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.“
The personal closeness of Jesus empowers me to bear fruit in my interactions with people. When HE is the number One of my thinking, my emotions, my decisions, and my life in general, then I enjoy Him; the result is so much „energy“ that I can’t sit at home with it or just in a community where I am (hopefully) comfortable. When I am full of Jesus, I naturally feel the need to go out among people who don’t know Him yet, to connect with them and bring Jesus to them…
„He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit.“
When you live with Jesus really tightly, it is visible outwardly. Even your friends who have nothing to do with Him will recognize your intimacy with Jesus! Friendship with living Jesus enriches us inwardly, gives us strength cannot be found anywhere else, and adds sensitivity, creativity and perseverance. Deep personal knowledge of Jesus and the experience with his nearness shapes our thinking, our identity – our awareness of who we are and what is our value.
Personal contact with living Jesus and deep devotion to Him heals us inwardly and sets us free – from our past, from ourselves, from our fears and bad views of ourselves, from our mistakes and sins, from disappointments of what we have done or have not done and what has succeeded or failed.
Personal devotion to Jesus makes us fruitful – we bear much fruit. Personal contact with Jesus also shows us the way, for He is always with us – if we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord!
When you look into the eyes of Jesus, when you rest in Him, when to the depths of your soul you accept the identity of the child of God that He gives you, you will then notice that Jesus looks lovingly into your eyes, as a great dad looks into the eyes of his child. He looks at you as at true treasure for which he himself paid the highest possible price…
„He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit.“
Our practical people skills are very important. I want to help you develop them here at Bridges to People. Our decision to go out and connect with people is also very important. I’ll keep encouraging you. However, our close and lasting connection with Jesus is inevitable foundation of it all.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your promise to be with us all the days!