Vocation, Day 2

Vocation, Day 2

Accepting the Call

It is up to us to decide whether we will accept and act upon the vocation that God calls us to in our lives.

Just as excellence in any professional vocation requires faithful study and work, so God requires that Christians labor to be worthy of their divine vocation.

Ephesians 4:1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

If people accept the Christian vocation and labor in it, they can expect - just as they might expect from their professional vocations- a great reward.

Ephesians 1:18 the eyes of your understanding[a] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

I wanted to add a little more to the story of our lives so that I can share with you how He will call us according to our abilities.

During the first few years of my Christian walk, Angela and I formed a study group called Women of Worship. She lived much closer to me then, just under 1 hour from my house. We met with women on Monday nights here in my home and Tuesday nights in her home. It was an amazing group of women, it was perfect at the time. When Angela moved to Iowa and I delivered my third child, the dynamics of the group were no longer something that I could manage. So the group continued to meet with the leadership of other capable women. I think it still meets today. Shortly after my decision to stop leading the group, God came to me with instructions on what I was to do next. I was at a conference which I believed I was attending for the purpose of youth ministry. During one of the sessions, a speaker said something that triggered one of those thought processes that leads you somewhere far off until you realize the session has ended or is transitioning. In that far off place, God revealed that he wanted me to reach women through the Internet. I struggled with him, reminding him that I was taking care of a new baby and that I was emotionally and physically strained with several friends moving away and relationships being "challenged". I assured God that he was silly and that I was there for other reasons. It wasn't 5 minutes later that someone I had never met before came up to me with tears in his eyes and introduced himself by saying, "God is trying to tell you something and you are not listening, Hi, I am Gil." I hated Gil and loved him all in one second. Then he told me that I needed to do what God was telling me to do and stop telling him no. So off I went, a bit dazed, definitely blurry eyed into the break room where I ran into Diane. She greeted me with a smile, pulled me to the side and said "are you struggling with something? God wants me to tell you that you need to surrender to what he is asking of you." Off she went. So it was then that I realized I had the ability to do what he was calling me to do and that he would take care of the details. So was formed the beginning of the Women of Worship online devotional.

Looking back on the call in my husbands life to start youth ministry and in my life with the women's devotional, I see how God has used us to grow his kingdom.

May I ask you what your abilities are to answer a call God may have in your life?

It can be something as small as a pitter patter in your chest. It can be as large as a death in the family. No matter what, God will try to get your attention, but it is your responsibility to accept and act upon the vocation.

God, I realize there are more women out there that may try to reason with you when you come to them with your calling in their lives. I ask that you prepare their hearts and minds. That they will not be as stubborn as I was or that they will not allow their stubbornness to get in the way of their response to your call. May I ask that you speak to everyone reading this and confirm their current calling or reveal to them what abilities they possess. In Christ name, Amen.

Please join me in praying for Kathy L. this week.

Undefined, Day 3

We are a week into our New Year. How are your resolutions going? Have you made it to the gym? Some things about us can be very predictable like our new found commitment to health at the beginning of every new year.

One of the reasons I chose the word undefined this week is because it is actually one of my goals this year. In 2008 I learned more about myself then I could ever have imagined. I found out I am stronger then I thought. I realized I have more courage and also more weakness then I would ever like to admit to.

Because of this blog I have also started to taste what it means to be an overcomer. There were a few moments last year where I truly felt my life was a response to the grace I have been given. In some of my weakest moments, I was able to find the conquering spirit that lives in me. I want more of that and I want people to wonder what it is that is different about me. I want to be undefinable. I want to stand up when I am knocked down. I want to love the people that are unlovable. I want to live outside of the stereotypical boxes that society tells me to live in. I want to live and experience the freedom my faith has given me. I want to Praise His name in all of it.

Romans 8:35-39 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO
DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE
SLAUGHTERED." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him
who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I have to admit I don't have a game plan. I don't know how to be undefinable but I have confidence in my God and know He knows what I desire and how I want to respond to His grace. I pray the same for you. I pray that you too will be known as someone that overcomes and has something people just can't put their finger on. I pray that the Spirit that lives within us shines through so brightly that lives are changed.

Please continue to pray for Sue O this week.

Need, Day 2

It is easy to get caught up in material needs and wants. With our economy the way it is, I am sure we are all figuring out the "must-have's" verses the "not-right-now's". I think with a little patience and self-control we should all come out of this okay. Maybe a little tattered and worn but we will be alright. We are overcomers, for goodness sakes...

We don't always talk about our spiritual or relational needs. Each one of us is created so differently that it would be hard to say what we all need. Life experiences certainly have a say in how we need relationships in our lives. Our passions and desires also direct us towards the things we need to fulfill our spiritual lives.

Our emotional needs lived out in the flesh of our lives can be a very unhealthy thing. Take David for example. He was a passionate man, loved God with all of his heart and served him fervently. That same passion that fueled his need for God also fueled other desires in his life and led him to adultery and murder.

Take a women who has a need to be a mother. From the day she can remember she has loved children and has given love and blessings to many. In a passionate decision, she could take that need and have a child of her own out of wedlock or even while married but not at her husbands knowledge. Her blessing could have been so much greater, and a lot less difficult, had she chosen to be patient in fulfilling the desires (needs) of her heart.

When our spiritual and relational needs are met in flesh, the outcome can be miserable. Sometimes leading us to decisions we would have otherwise never had made. God honored David throughout his life and when he came to repentance he was forgiven, although his fleshly choices still had repercussions in this world. God too will honor the women and child, fulfilling her desire for motherhood but it will not be easy. As with most of our fleshly choices we have to take responsibility in them.

Each one of us has desires and needs beyond that of food and shelter. I, for example, need to feel like I am doing "good works". Not that it accounts for anything. When I am doing my good stuff, it comes with very little fulfillment and a lot of hard work when I am doing it in flesh. When I focus on the One that lives in me and respond with my life, my fulfillment is beyond blessing.

Focus on the living water in your life that will feed and nurture your desire and needs. He, above all else, knows your needs. He knows the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:3-7
Trust in the LORD and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the LORD;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him;