John 15:26-27, 16:13-15 - [Jesus said] "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning. ... When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you."

When my son was very young, he began helping his father the pastor in church. We have a very small church, so we can all stand together in a semi-circle for Communion; and my son would follow his father, picking up the empty wine cups in the tray and putting them back on the altar. You could see in his eyes how much it meant to him, to be allowed to serve God in this way. It was a gift, and Jesus is giving us a similar gift in our reading today.

Notice what the Lord says: When the Holy Spirit comes, "He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

Now it's easy to see how the Spirit can bear witness to Jesus; after all, He is God, and He can do anything He wants! And if He chooses, His witness can be overwhelming; the Spirit of God doesn't actually need our help on anything, including witnessing to Jesus. If He wanted to, He could write it in letters of fire across the sky.

But look at the gift Jesus gives us! Though our service isn't needed, He wants it anyway. "You also will bear witness," He says! God isn't going to do the job of evangelizing the world on His own. Of His own free will, He chooses to involve us. We, weak and sinful and messed up as we are—He says, "Come and help Me with this."

What a wonderful invitation from the One who loves us! Not only did He lay down His life for us on the cross—not only did He rise again to give us true, everlasting life—but now He sends us out to serve Him!

Oh, He knows that we are nervous, that we make mistakes. That's why Jesus promises us the Spirit with all His good gifts—wisdom and guidance and the ability to remember what Jesus did and said. And now He says to us, "Come and help Me." That is our privilege.

WE PRAY: Dear Lord, thank You. Since You know I am weak, show me exactly what You want me to do and how, to serve You. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. Do you remember a time when someone trusted you to serve? Tell the story.

2. How did you learn to serve in that way? How does God teach you to serve Him?

3. Why do you think God chooses to use human beings to spread His Gospel? Name as many reasons as you can.

Today's Bible Readings: 2 Samuel 16-18    John 5:1-24

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