pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: Call


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Answering the Question

Most of us do not have a vision experience like Isaiah – winged creatures, smoke filling the room, trembles that shake the foundations.  For most of us, our encounters with God tend to be on the quieter side.  We do not hear an audible voice asking the question: “Whom shall I send?”  But we do often hear the question.

For many of us though, we are adept at acting like we do not hear the question.  Like a phone ringing that we choose not to answer or a text message that we choose to ignore, it can be easy to avoid responding to the question.  We certainly could not avoid the question if our call experience was like Isaiah’s.  And for some, God’s call approaches this scale.  But for most it does not.

God continues to actively call each of us.  It could be through something we see on TV or read in the paper or observe out in the world.  It could be through the words of another who encourage us or ask us to join them.  It could be through an encounter with someone that somehow strikes a passion within us.  God speaks to us in many ways.  He calls for us to minister to His people over and  over and over.

The voice never goes away.  He never ceases to ask the question.  The call never ends.  But the more we hear it, the more we have the opportunity to tune in and to hear God.  Funny thing though, saying ‘yes’ does not make the call go away.  It makes the next call clearer.  It helps us say ‘yes’ quicker next time.  When God asks “Whom shall I send?”, the answer is clear.  In each case, God already knows the answer to the question.  May we respond with the answer He longs for: “Here I am.  Send me.”  For where He leads we are to go.  And where we go, He will be there too.

Scripture reference: Isaiah 6: 1-8


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Thank You Prayer

Thank you for faith.  Thank you Lord for being a part of my life, for allowing me to live in a time and place when and where I can know you.  It is a blessing not only to have the opportunity to know you but to also be able to publicly worship, proclaim, and follow you.

Thank you for your Spirit.  Thank you for giving me your Spirit to dwell within me, for the wisdom and revelation that it brings me.  It allows me to be your disciple.  It allows me the ways to come to know you more.

Thank you for your call.  Continue to open my eyes and soften my heart for the things that break your heart O Lord.  Help me to cling to the hope I find in this love and in the eternal life which you promised to all who believe.

Thank you for your mighty power.  Thank you for your great power which works in the world and in my life. This heart that struggles needs your strength every day.  Fill me with the courage to live each day knowing your power and authority is all that matters.

Thank you for being the head of the church.  In you alone is the example of true servant leadership.  Bind my will to yours.  Place all of my desires behind yours and those around me each day.  Fill me with you in every way Lord Jesus.  Amen.

Scripture reference: Ephesians 1: 15-23


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Faithful to Our Call

After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the disciples were told to wait.  The Holy Spirit had been promised to them by Jesus, but it does not come right away.  Fresh from seeing and learning from the resurrected Jesus, they must now wait.

As a few moments turn into an hour and the hours stretch into days, the waiting must have gotten harder and harder.  plus they must have been filled with excitement over what was to come.  Can you remember waiting and waiting for something promised that just never seemed to come?  For myself I best relate this waiting for a child to come home from a night out.  Eleven becomes twelve and twelve becomes one.  The cell phone is not answered.

In those instances of waiting, God calls us to be faithful.  As I wait for a child, I pray for them.  I place my trust and them in God’s hands.  In these moments we pray, but we may also read scripture, sing a hymn or song, and pray some more.  God does not expect or want us to be idle as we wait for Him to act in our world.

As the disciples waited on the Holy Spirit’s arrival they did not wait either.  One of the twelve, Judas, was no longer with them.  Peter urges them to appoint a new disciple.  Peter encourages them to choose one who has been with them from the beginning right through the present time.  Being present from John the Baptist through the miracles, teachings, death, resurrection, and ascension are the requirements of the job.

Of course we were not there for all of these events, but we can read of them.  We can come to know Jesus and His example.  We can put these things into practice in how we live our life.  We can live as Jesus did, pray as He did, honor God as He did.  May we be faithful to our calling.

Scripture reference: Acts 1: 15-17 and 21-22


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Trust and Being Faithful

Trust is an interesting concept.  Trust is something we build up over time and we base it upon our experiences with that person.  It is not universal – I may trust a common friend more than a mutual friend does. Once a trust is broken between friends, it is hard to get it fully back.  In our humanity, we struggle with fully giving our trust back to someone who violated it.

How much do you trust God?  How much do I?  Three years ago I entered full-time ministry.  I left teaching after 23 years.  I felt a call to ministry that had gradually built over many years and I finally surrendered to those whispers of God that I felt in my heart.  There was some trust involved – a lot.  But there were also some things that made the decision feel safe – same town and church we had been in for 20 years, tons of family and close friend support…

In Genesis 17 God comes to Abram and Sarai when they were 99 years old.  As they are ready to slide into retirement, God comes along and tells them they are going to start having babies.  He tells them to move to an unknown foreign land.  He tells them that they will be the father and mother of many nations and to change their names, accordingly, to Abraham and Sarah.  And they did.  Trust.  They trusted God completely.

I often wonder where my trust level is.  It is high?  Do I trust God completely?  Or is it low?  One doesn’t really know until put to the test.  God’s call to me was many nudges over a period of time, with a few human voices sprinkled in for good measure.  I never heard God’s voice.  But if a nudge came to move far away, to a distant place, to minister – how much would I trust?  If a nudge came to leave all I know to enter the mission field – where would my trust level be?

I think that if I had a real conversation with God, even if only one-sided, that I would go without question.  But then I wonder…  I hope I am found faithful.  We all do.  Lord God, make me faithful.

Scripture reference: Genesis 17: 1-7 and 15-16


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Cleansed

One of the unique and powerful ideas found in the Christian faith is the idea of cleansing.  Early in the Bible God used water to cleanse the earth – only Noah and his family survived to flood.  The ides of water as cleansing agent is also picked up in the New Testament.  John the Baptist uses the waters of the Jordan River to baptize people.  People confessed their sins, were called to repentance, and were baptized.  The water washed them clean.

Our baptisms cleanse us too, but more so they mark us as members of God’s family.  For most Christian denominations baptism represents the formal declaration of belonging to Christ.  For many denominations it is also the point at which God’s grace starts to work in and shape our lives.

God’s grace becomes what washes us clean.  Through His death on the cross, Jesus conquered sin and death.  In His resurrection He showed all that sin and death hold no power over His followers.

Through our baptism and the inflowing of grace that follows, we are called to walk as children of the light.  Our call in the midst of a world that pursues so much else is to share our story of faith and the story of what He can do for all of mankind.  As we learn to surrender more and more to His good will, we grow to live more and more into the life we were first called to in our baptism.

Scripture reference: 2 Peter 3: 18-22


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Calling All

God desires to unite all people in faith.  His desire is not just for those already with faith but for all people to come to know Him.  In Jeremiah 31, he writes of God reuniting a people long in exile.  Jeremiah includes all of the exiles – the lame, the pregnant, the elderly, the marginalized.  He tells us that God will make the path straight so that all can come home.

As we fast-forward to Jesus’ time on earth, we hear the same basic message.  He came to save the lost, to eat with sinners, to bring healing and wholeness to all.  For Jesus, those in exile were not just the Jews, but were all who were separated from the love of God.  Jesus sought to gather all of the lost sheep to the Good Shepherd.

Fast forward another 2,000 years.  The call coming from God and God in Jesus is still the same: all who are weary and burdened, come and find rest.  All who suffer, come and find healing.  All who are broken, come and be renewed.  All who have sinned, come and be cleansed.  He calls all of us.  His call will continue on and on and on because His love never ends.  Thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Jeremiah 31: 7-14


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Answering As Mary Did

Advent has an “almost there” quality to it.  On the top level we are almost to the day we celebrate the birth of our king.  The day of Christ’s birth is the day that so much promise is fulfilled.  It is the beginning of the era in which we now live.

We are also “almost there” – almost to the end of the story.  On this deeper level, the day of Christ’s return has never been closer.  As we go through our daily life, it should reflect our hope and vision of His return, of a restoration of all things.  The call to be prepared should echo in how we choose to live daily.

On the deepest, most personal level, are we “almost there” in answering how Mary did?  We all hear God’s calling to us.  In His call upon our lives, are we ready to answer as Mary did: “Here I am, let it be according to your word”?  If so we must be prepared for amazing and awesome, because that is the kind of God we serve.  May we all live each day into the power and will of God, answering the call as Mary did, with hands and feet willing and a heart wide open.

Scripture reference: Luke 1: 26-38


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He Is Calling

One afternoon while out moving the sheep Moses encountered God.  It was not in church during a moving song or inspiring message. Nope.  It was out in the wilderness.   Once God had Moses’ attention, He sent Moses off to do some work for God’s people.

Do you ever hear God calling?  There is no doubt – He is calling.  The question is whether or not we hear (and sometimes whether we listen to) the call.  Sometimes God’s till small voice comes in the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes it comes in the words another speaks into our life.  Sometimes it comes in the form of one in need who crosses our path.  And sometimes it comes from a sudden event, one that forces us to look within and there we see what God is calling us to.

Tuning into God’s call requires surrender and obedience.  God has great plans for each and every one of us who call on His name.  May we listen well when His call comes in!

Scripture reference: Exodus 3: 1-15


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Faithful Pursuit

What is God’s call upon your life?  God has a plan for all of us.  The plan He has for each of us is a part of His overall plan to redeem mankind and the earth.

Each of us are gifted with skills and abilities to accomplish what God has called us to (or will call us to).  Some people know their gifts, know God’s intent for their lives, and are working the plan.  Others wonder what their gifts are and haven’t heard God’s call yet.  Others remain in between – some questioning the gifts and/or the call and others knowing gifts and call, yet hesitant to begin the work for a variety of reasons.

In His pursuit of us, God asks that we remain open to His guidance and direction.  If we are faithful, He will reveal the plan.  If you are getting along in years and wonder when the plan will finally be revealed – remember, God used some people that were ‘advanced in years’ to do His work.  (See childbirth at almost 100?!)  Keep faithful.  And if you are young and wondering ‘now?” remember, He used some teens in the Bible to accomplish His work too!  (David anyone?)  Be faithful!

If we look for opportunities to share our faith story, to serve others, to offer love where needed, then we will come to know both our gifts and God’s call upon our lives.  Faithfully pursue God and He will use you just as He has always intended to use you!

 

Scripture reference: Genesis 25: 19-34


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The Call of Jesus

Judas betrays Jesus first in his heart, then later in action.  Was he forcing Jesus’ hand to prod Jesus into becoming the powerful, earthly king that Judas longed for him to be?  Maybe this was Judas’ goal and he cared little for 30 pieces of silver.  Or was Judas filled with greed and saw this as an opportunity to make a little money?  Maybe part of Judas thought Jesus would get out of this jam too. Either way, Judas was guided by Satan, the great deceiver.

But how could one so close to Jesus come to betray Him?  How could one of the twelve think that Jesus had come to sit on an earthly throne?  How could… But each of the twelve does deny or betray Jesus in the end.  Even Peter, the Rock, flat out denies Jesus three times in the courtyard.  All of the disciples scatter and go into hiding after the crucifixion.  Most don’t even go to the hill of Calvary to see Jesus draw the last breath and to die for the sin of the world.

Maybe this was just the lot cast to Judas, cast by powers far beyond him.  We know that Judas doe snot live long afterwards.  Was it guilt or remorse that drove him to take his own life?  Or was it him wanting to be reunited with the risen Lord?

When I think of my life, I realize how often I deny or betray Jesus.  I do every time I say that I want to be the one in control.  I do ever time I won’t fully hand over the reigns to Jesus.  I do every time I turn away from one I could help.  I do every time I choose not to see Jesus in the eyes of those in need.  Yes, sadly the list could go on. What does your list of denials and betrayals look like?

But thanks be to God!!  His mercy and love and forgiveness never fail.  God is right there to pick us back up, to dust us off, to give us a little hug and pat on the back, and to send us right back out there to be His light and love in our world.  May our eyes and ears and hearts be better attuned to hearing and answering the call.  Thanks be to God!!