Staying True To The Call

October 1 (Luke 12:35-36)

Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.  (ESV)

The class in the room next to the one in which I teach is a French classroom, and the teacher stands in the door each day during the passing periods holding vocabulary cards.  Her students must define one of the words before entering.  She was absent recently, and I was impressed with her students when I saw them taking her spot and doing what she always does.  They were holding the cards for their classmates to define as they came to class. 

I have no way of knowing whether Jesus will return while I am still alive, but if He does, I want Him to find me doing what He has called me to do.  I am glad for my call and want to fulfill it in ways that please Him.  I want Him to take joy that one of His servants has served Him well.

If He were to return tomorrow, where would He find you?  Would He find you using the gifts He has given you, developing them, and putting them to use in work for the kingdom of God?  If Jesus entered any aspect of your life, would He join you in what you were doing because He could recognize the work as His own?

Lord Jesus, I consecrate the work of my life to You.  In great works and in small, in my response to major callings and in my fulfillment of daily activities, may all I do, say, and think be to Your glory.  Amen.

Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Perkins

The Glorious Calling of Jesus

June 5 (Ephesians 4:1)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called….  (ESV)

How can Paul, a prisoner, urge anyone toward a better life?  If we ask that question, then we need to get something straight.  We are all prisoners for the Lord.  Prisoners do not have rights, and when we surrender our lives to Jesus, we surrender our right to do things our way and for our own pleasure.

To those who do not know what it is to walk with Jesus, that can sound absolutely horrible.  God wants to take away my rights and imprison me?  In truth, this is not imprisonment for punishment, but when we are confined within the immensity of Christ, we are free to become what He has made us to be.  Apart from Him, we are bound by the constricting darkness of our own thoughts, the relentless chafing of the chains of our competing desires.

Ours is a glorious calling as the sons and daughters of God.  It is resplendent with purpose and meaning.  Why on earth would we want to walk clothed in anything other than righteousness and holiness?

Lord, I humbly acknowledge my identity as Your child, redeemed from the penalty of my sin by the blood of Jesus and empowered by His grace and guided by the Holy Spirit to walk boldly in the calling You have given me.  May my life ever bring You glory even as it directs others to You.  Amen.

Copyright © 2016 by Steven R. Perkins

The Call and The Calling of Jesus

September 13 (Matthew 4:18-19)

While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.  And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will  make you fishers of men.”  (ESV)

Jesus calls ordinary people to follow Him, and He calls them to use their natural gifts in new ways.  Satan would love to have us think that we are not good enough and that God will therefore not use us.  As is so often the case with the great deceiver, a half-truth seems entirely true.  It is true we are not good enough, but it is not true that God will not use us.

We do not have to worry about being good enough for God.  Jesus took care of that.  His blood washed us clean of our sins.  In His eyes, we are indeed now good enough, and as a result, He will call the plumber, the teacher, the senator, the scientist, the custodian, the artist, and the business executive to follow Him.

One of the great things about God is that He will not waste anything.  He will use the special gifts of each and every one of us in His kingdom.  What did He tell fishermen?  He said they will fish for men.  What do you do that you are really good at?  What is that thing that is as natural to you as breathing?  God will use that very thing, and other gifts you may yet discover, to build His kingdom on earth.

Father, thank You for calling me through Jesus.  Help me not buy into the lies of the enemy that would make me think I have no role to play in Your kingdom.  I want to use all that You have given me to serve You and bless those around me.  In the name of my Savior, Jesus, I pray.  Amen.

Copyright © 2015 by Steven R. Perkins