Utilising the time

The members of the Inongo congregation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo welcomed Chief Apostle Jean-Luc Schneider in their new church on 13 September 2024. He showed how we can prepare for our encounter with God by referring to the prophetess Anna, “The example of Anna in the Bible shows us what to do,” he said referring to the Bible text: “Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2: 36–37).

Utilising the time to stay in the church

Hannah remained in the temple, praying and fasting night and day. “You have a very beautiful church here now, but rest assured that this does not mean that you will be expected to stay in this building night and day.” The Chief Apostle wanted the congregation to understand that “remaining in the temple” means staying in the church of Christ and

• staying away from the devil: “We must renounce evil, believe in Jesus Christ, and follow Him.”
• focusing on the teaching of the Apostles: “We believe that the Apostles sent by Christ are able to impart the gift of the Holy Spirit to us.”
• remaining one: “We remain united with the Apostles and the brothers and sisters even when we realise—and this is normal—that no one is perfect, neither the Apostles nor my brother or sister. We are all sinners and imperfect human beings, and we all make mistakes. But because we know that the Lord wants us to be one, we remain in the fellowship of God’s children.”
• attending divine service: “It is not enough to stay home and read in the Bible,” the Chief Apostle said. We need to hear the preaching of the Apostles, receive forgiveness of sins, and celebrate Holy Communion.
• waiting patiently: “Let us continue to believe in the return of Christ, even if it is delayed.”

Utilising the time to serve God

Anna served God. We must serve God as Anna did and as Jesus served Him, the Chief Apostle said and explained Jesus’ motivation to serve His Father: “Jesus served God out of love, not to receive something in return.” Many people serve God because they expect His blessing, “but we must go one step further”. The Chief Apostle said that true Christians serve God out of gratitude for all that He has given them:

• He made us His children.
• He has chosen us so that we can become like Christ and that He can give us His glory.
• Jesus Christ died to save us.
• He established His church for our salvation, and He blesses us in every possible way.

And the more we grow in faith, the more we serve God to thank Him.

We can serve God by becoming involved in the Church, but “the most important thing is to serve God by doing good to our neighbour”, he said.

Utilising the time to pray

Anna was a woman devoted to prayer. “Let us never stop praying,” the Chief Apostle urged. There is always a reason to thank and worship God, he said. And we can tell God all our wishes. “We plead for grace. We pray for the strength we need to remain faithful. We pray for the forgiveness of sins. And we pray and say, Lord, come soon!” And finally, “We pray for our neighbour, and here I would like to mention one plea in particular: ‘Father, forgive him or her.’ This is the greatest intercession we can make for our neighbour.”

Utilising the time to fast

Hannah fasted. You might be wondering, “Is the Chief Apostle asking us to stop eating?” he asked and went on to explain the Jewish tradition of purifying oneself through the fast. And then he gave the all-clear: Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice, which is why we can have our sins forgiven today. He explained that fasting means renouncing everything that prevents us from focussing on what is essential for salvation. “As children of God we can do many things, many activities that are not sinful,” the Chief Apostle explained, “but from time to time we must give up these activities to concentrate on our election, our mission, and our future. It is not enough to take the time to come to church for a service. We must also take time to prepare for the divine service and, above all, take time afterwards to reflect on the word of God and ask ourselves, ‘What do I want to do concretely?’”

Another way to fast is to give up unhealthy curiosity. “It’s funny because people are never interested in those who say good things about others. Those who say bad things are always more interesting and successful than those who say good things about others.” But the most important thing we need to know about others is that Jesus Christ loves them. He died for them. He wants to lead them into His kingdom and He wants me to love them.

Another form of fasting is abstaining from quarrels about our doctrine. “Don’t waste your time trying to convince the other person that you are right. Just profess your faith.” We can do better things with our time. Our time is better spent being kind to our neighbour.