Christ's Calling (and other devotionals)

 

 

 

Christ's Calling 

 

“Come follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.” Matthew 4:19-20

Disciples of Jesus are called by the Lord to minister in their home and in the marketplace. However, Christ does call some of His followers to vocational ministry. It is a calling that many times comes to ordinary men and women who accomplish extraordinary results. Who does He call out? Christ’s call comes to those who have a heart hungry for God.

Like Paul you might have been suddenly struck by a revelation of Jesus as Lord, or you were like David who gradually went from feeding sheep what’s perishable, to feeding God’s people the imperishable. Wherever Christ calls, His first command is to love God and people. A calling without love is like a car without gasoline. It may be attractive on the outside but it’s not going anywhere. Thus, love large where the Lord has called you.

Furthermore, He has called you to endure hardships, “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary” (Revelation 2:3). Christians are not immune to conflict; in fact your faith at times invites difficulty. So don’t seek to shelter your life from adversity, rather position yourself in obedience to Christ’s calling. It is out of your regular routine of serving Him that you will see what He has in store next.

Make sure you minister first to your spouse and children. Don’t be like the cobbler who has no shoes for his family. Your creditability for Christ is seeing your faith lived out with those who know you the best. What does it profit a man if he saves the whole world and loses his family? A calling to family first frees you to evangelize and disciple with God’s favor. His calling aligns with His commands, so service for Him is seamless.

Above all, the Lord is looking for those already engaged in His word, growing in their character and active in sharing their faith. His calling comes to Christians who desire the Holy Spirit to conform them into the image of Christ. Your humble imitation of Jesus comes out of your intimate walk with Him. He calls those in whom He can trust. So don’t look for your calling, look for Christ and He will reveal His calling to you.

“I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I will bring him, and he will succeed in his mission” (Isaiah 48:15).

Application: What is Christ’s calling for my life? Am I steadfast in loving the Lord and people?

~Wisdom Hunters Devotional~

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"Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Mark 8:34).

The cross which my Lord bids me take up and carry may assume different shapes. I may have to content myself with a lowly and narrow sphere, when I feel that I have capacities for much higher work. I may have to go on cultivating year after year, a field which seems to yield me no harvests whatsoever. I may be bidden to cherish kind and loving thoughts about someone who has wronged me--be bidden speak to him tenderly, and take his part against all who oppose him, and crown him with sympathy and succor. I may have to confess my Master amongst those who do not wish to be reminded of Him and His claims. I may be called to "move among my race, and show a glorious morning face," when my heart is breaking.

There are many crosses, and every one of them is sore and heavy. None of them is likely to be sought out by me of my own accord. But never is Jesus so near me as when I lift my cross, and lay it submissively on my shoulder, and give it the welcome of a patient and unmurmuring spirit.

He draws close, to ripen my wisdom, to deepen my peace, to increase my courage, to augment my power to be of use to others, through the very experience which is so grievous and distressing, and then--as I read on the seal of one of those Scottish Covenanters whom Claverhouse imprisoned on the lonely Bass, with the sea surging and sobbing round--I grow under the load.
--Alexander Smellie

"Use your cross as a crutch to help you on, and not as a stumblingblock to cast you down."

"You may others from sadness to gladness beguile,
If you carry your cross with a smile."

~L. B. Cowman~

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Reconciliation Leads to Revival!

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Do you know what God wants from you today? Reconciliation. That’s far more important than singing in the choir, preaching a sermon, serving in the nursery, or giving an offering. When we learn this, God is going to bring great revival to our churches.

Revival always begins when people begin to confess their faults to one another, pray for one another, and forgive one another. Revival isn’t raising the roof with a lot of emotion. It is getting the walls down. It is not just saying, “I am going to get right with God.” It is saying, “I want to get right with my brothers and sisters.”

ACTION POINT:

When we are reconciled, revival will come. And rejoicing will surely follow. And not any kind of rejoicing, there will be Holy Spirit joy when you know there is nothing between your soul and the Savior and nothing between your soul and a brother! Joy unspeakable!

~Adrian Rogers~

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Every man straight before him - Joshua 6:20

God required of the Israelites only to wait, obey, and trust, whilst the Divine Captain led His celestial hosts to the assault, and achieved the victory. "And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days." We must be sure that our way lies through and beyond Jericho, and that God has called us to take it. When that is ascertained, we may be perfectly certain that the frowning walls of difficulty, which rise between us and the further land of promise, will fall down flat.

There must be times of Waiting. Israel waited a whole week. We may have to wait still longer. Let patience have her perfect work. There is no such teacher as she is; her pupils become perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

There must be times of Obedience. The people could not understand the meaning of these repeated marchings around the walls. They were not, however, asked to understand, but simply to obey. First the priests and ark, then the warriors. We must subordinate our armed activities to the slow and reverent pace of faith, hope, and love.

There must be times of exultant Faith. There was no quaver or hesitation in that cry. The Word of God, as communicated by Joshua, hushed every doubt and misgiving. In confident assurance the people shouted, and according to their faith, so it was to them. "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down." There are no walls of superstition and sin strong enough to resist Faith's shout, when God says that her shouting time is come.

~F. B. Meyer~