"Know Your Calling" (Part #2)

21, June 2017

"Know Your Calling" (Part #2)

‘He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also.’ John 14:12 NKJV

Your calling will always be connected to an unmet need or an opportunity to do good.  It was in listening to the cries of an enslaved people that Moses discovered his calling. So did William Wilberforce.  He devoted his life to seeing slavery eradicated in Britain. Nelson Mandela was a lawyer with the potential to make money.  But he chose a different path—one that involved years of imprisonment.  And when he was finally set free he didn’t seek vengeance, he sought justice and equality for his people, and changed his country.

Ezekiel writes:  ‘I came to the exiles … And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days—overwhelmed.  At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me.’ (Ezekiel 3:15–16 NIV)

If you want to discover your calling, start praying about situations that trouble you deeply.  Usually we try to avoid discomfort, but if you sense that your calling involves helping the poor, spend time around those in poverty.  Allow your heart to be moved; carry within you the conviction that things must change, and keep praying, ‘Lord, make me a change agent.’

When Jesus called His disciples, He chose people from different backgrounds:  a doctor, a government worker, a group of fishermen.  In essence He told them, ‘I believe in you.  What I know I’ll teach you,’ and promised them that ‘he who believes in Me, the works that I do ... he will do also.’

Bottom line:  Jesus empowered His followers to go out and live like He did.  And today that’s what He’s calling you to do.

Nice France

Nice, France, truck attack kills 77, official says http://flip.it/ZvHoG

Inspirational in the moment

http://rph052012.tumblr.com/post/146664371490/via-httpswwwyoutubecomwatchv-g-jwwyx7jlo

FCC ruling on Internet Service Providers

https://staff.tumblr.com/post/145931061523/remember-net-neutrality-that-vital-democratic

How's Your Spiritual Appetite

16, May 2016

‘You have said, “Seek My face.” My heart says to You, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”’ Psalm 27:8 ESV

If you spend hours each day watching television and can’t find a few minutes for prayer and reading the Scriptures, you have a spiritual appetite problem—one that needs your attention.  David Brainerd, an eighteenth-century missionary to the American Indians, wrote in his journal:  ‘I withdrew to my usual place of retirement in great tranquillity.  I knew only to breathe out my desire for a perfect conformity to Him in all things.  God was so precious that the world with all its enjoyments seemed infinitely vile.  I have no more desire for the favor of men than for pebbles.  At noon I had the most ardent longings after God, which I have never felt in my life.  In my secret retirement, I could do nothing but tell my dear Lord in a sweet calmness that I knew I desired nothing but Him, nothing but holiness, that He had given me these desires and only He could give me the things I desired.  I never seemed to be so unhinged from myself … so wholly devoted to God.  My heart was swallowed up in God most of the day".   

In today's scripture, the psalmist felt the same way:  ‘I desire you more than anything on earth.  My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever … how good it is to be near God!  I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter’ (Psalm 73:25–28 NLT).  You can tell how spiritually healthy you are by your appetite for the things of God.

"Constructive Complaining"

21, April 2016

‘So Moses brought their case before the Lord.’ Numbers 27:5 NKJV

When you get a reputation as a complainer, people will begin to avoid you. There’s an interesting story in the Old Testament about the five daughters of Zelophehad.  Here was their problem. Their father had died in the wilderness before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. He had no sons to inherit his land, and the law didn’t allow women to receive it.  Consequently, without a father, brothers, husbands, sons or other men in their immediate family, Zelophehad’s daughters were left out completely. It wasn’t fair, but it was the law. So rather than complaining to others, the sisters presented their ‘petition for an inheritance’ to Moses and the leaders.  And when Moses brought their case before God, He agreed with the women and granted their request (see Numbers 27:1–11).  Now, what do you think the outcome would’ve been if they’d gone around whining to everyone and anyone who’d listen instead of going directly to those who could do something about it, namely Moses and God?  It’s doubtful they’d have obtained their inheritance. Understand this: God doesn’t reward complainers!  The sin of complaining angered Him to the extent He stopped an entire generation of Israelites from inheriting the Promised Land when they were standing on the very threshold.  You say, ‘Well, I’ve suffered an injustice, so who should I complain to'?  The Lord, the One who can do something about it!  The psalmist wrote, ‘I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him" (Psalm 142:2 NAS). And that’s the best advice you can take!

The Importance of Family Time

18, April 2016

‘Here am I and the children … the Lord has given me!’ Isaiah 8:18 NKJV

You don’t have to spend huge amounts of money to have meaningful family life. Children love the most simple, repetitive kinds of activities. They want to be read the same stories hundreds of times, and hear the same jokes long after they’ve heard the punch lines. These interactions with parents are often more fun than expensive toys or special events.  Dr James Dobson says: ‘A friend of mine once asked his grown children what they remembered most fondly from their childhood. Was it the vacations they took together or trips to Disney World or the zoo? No, they told him.  It was when he would get down on the floor and wrestle with the four of them. They would gang-tackle the “old man” and laugh until their sides hurt. That’s the way children think. The most meaningful activities within families are often those that focus on that which is spontaneous and personal… Busy and exhausted mothers and fathers, especially those who are affluent, sometimes attempt to “pay off” their kids with toys, cars and expensive experiences. It rarely works. What girls and boys want most is time spent with their parents—building things in the garage or singing in the car or hiking to an old fishing pond.  No toy ... to be played with alone, can ever compete with the enjoyment of such moments ... And those moments will be remembered for a lifetime'.  You say, ‘But I’m so busy’.   If you’re too busy to get involved in the lives of your children, you’re too busy! Rearrange your priorities and start making some changes.