“You did not choose Me, but I chose
you’” – John 15:16
As men and women who have been called by
God, we are called to service beyond what most of us imagined after our
conversion. Even the person with only
one spiritual gift, that they might consider
to be almost non-essential (God does not agree with them by the way) faces the
same challenges that every other saint faces who have what some might imagine
are greater gifts when living their new life.
No matter what our role in the Body of Christ, we are all called to
abandon the same things, for most it will be an abandonment that takes place in
the heart, while with others, it will require physical abandonment. It is one thing to say that you love God more
than your family, it is quite another to leave your family and go on Mission
for God. It is one thing to say that you
do not love the things of this world, it is quite another to sell your house
and put your retirement at risk in order to go where God has said “Go!”.
“Now a certain ruler asked Him,
saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ … And he said, ‘All these things I have kept
from my youth.’ So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still
lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this, he
became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.” – Luke 18: 18, 21-23
I would find it very difficult to write
these things to you if I had no intention of doing them myself. When I was on staff with Promise Keepers in
the ‘90s, there was a saying that was popular among us. “You can’t teach what you don’t know, you
can’t lead where you won’t go, and you can only recreate what you are.” The secret to going is obedience and
faith. Faith comes from God and
obedience comes from a “broken and contrite heart”, wholly submitted to the
will of God. Every step you take for God
requires the power of God. It is a
glorious life .. living by faith and not by sight. The person who abandons in the heart is no
less faithful than the one who abandons physically in response to the call of
God. The point is being obedient to God
no matter what He calls you to do. So when the Spirit whispers in your ear, “This
is the way walk in it.” (Isaiah
30:21) Walk on! … to the glory of God and as a living testimony to a world that
needs to see Jesus.
By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For
His Glory Alone
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