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Monday, May 5, 2014

What Shall We Do?

This is the message from the Oahe Manor service Sunday, May 4, 2014 in Gettysburg.  The Bible verses used are Acts 2:14a, 236-41.


            In this story, Peter has just had the Holy Spirit fall on him, what’s called the day of Pentecost.  And he’s just addressed a big crowd, telling them all about Jesus.  He finishes up, as you heard, by saying, “Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this:  God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
            And the people believe him.  They accept that Jesus is the Savior, that he’s the Lord and Messiah.  But then they ask this question of Peter and the other apostles.  They ask, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
            And that’s what our question should always be, too.  You know, we talk about how we are saved through our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and by nothing else, and that’s true.  I believe that.  But at the same time, our faith is not just a private thing.  It’s not something that we’re supposed to keep to ourselves.  If we truly accept Jesus as our Savior, if we truly have faith, then we’re supposed to do something about that faith.  And so the question we should always ask is, “Now that I believe, what shall I do?”
            It’s not always an easy question to answer.  You know, there have been some really sad things happen in this area over the last couple of weeks.  Lots of people have lost people close to them, sometimes in a very sudden and tragic way.  And we wish we could help.  But then we think, “But what shall I do?”  And we have a hard time coming up with an answer.  It seems like there’s really nothing we can do.
            And that’s got to be especially true for those of you in here.  I mean, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know when I say that the reality is that you’re limited in what you can do anyway.  And then something like this happens, and you must feel even more helpless and frustrated than I do.  You see people you care about hurting, and you want to help, but “what shall I do?”  We have a hard time coming up with an answer.
            And I do, too.  But I can think of a few things you can do.  They’re not everything, but they’re a start.  At least they’re something.
            One is that you can pray.  And I know a lot of you do, and have been.  But keep praying.  Pray for all those who’ve lost loved ones.  Pray for God to give them comfort and strength and love.  Pray that they will feel God with them, so that they know they’re not going through this alone.  Pray, and keep praying.  Their hurt is not going to go away in a day or a week or a month.  Our prayers should not go away in that time, either.
            Reach out to people.  Send a card.  Make a phone call.  Let people know that you’re praying for them.  It means something to all of us to know that someone is praying for us.  It gives us strength.  It gives us comfort.  It lets us know that we’re not alone.  Sometimes, that knowledge means more than anything else.
            And let them know that you’re there for them if they want to talk.  If they want to talk on the phone, or if they want to come out and talk in person, let them know they can talk to you.  Knowing we have someone we can talk to when we need to is a tremendous comfort when we’re hurting.  Even if they never actually do talk to you, just the knowledge that they can sometimes means a tremendous amount to people.
            And don’t just do it right now.  Do it a again a few weeks from now.  Do it again a month from now.  Do it again six weeks from now.  Again, when people are hurting, that hurt does not go away quickly.  Sometimes we’re afraid to bring something up a few weeks later because we’re afraid we’ll make things worse.  We’re afraid we’ll just remind them of their sadness.  But in fact, they’re thinking about it anyway.  Again, when someone is hurting, that hurt does not go away in a day or a week or a month.  They’re not going to forget.  And sometimes, just knowing that others have not forgotten either is a very comforting thing.
            I’m sure there are other things you can do.  And in other situations, what we do will be completely different.  The point is that, no matter what the situation is, we need to do something, and there is always something we can do.  But to do it, we have to start with the question asked by the people Peter was talking to.  We have to ask, “What shall we do?”
            And if we’re stuck for something, then we need to ask God what to do.  And we need to keep asking and keep asking until God gives us an answer.  And God will give us an answer.  God loves it when we ask God for chances to serve God.  In my experience, every time I’ve asked God for a way to serve God, I have gotten an answer.  I think you will, too.
            It’s important that we have faith in Jesus as our Savior.  But if we truly have faith, we will ask the question.  “What shall we do?”  And if we truly believe and want to serve God, God will give us an answer.

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