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

Waiting In Faithfulness

June 4 (Habakkuk 2:3-4)

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;

     it speaks of the end

     and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it;

     it will certainly come

     and will not delay.

See, the enemy is puffed up;
    his desires are not upright—    

 but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness.  (ESV)

“Are we there yet?”  It is a question every child asks when going on a trip, and it is a question we all ask of God.  We want something.  We pray about it and are convinced that God wants it, too, or at least is not opposed to it.  And then we wait.  Only the problem is that we do not wait.  If we have prayed at breakfast, by our midmorning coffee break we are upset that God has not come through for us.

A child who repeatedly asks how much longer the trip will be is focused solely on the destination.  He does not consider what else his parents have in store along the way and is incapable of understanding all that they know about making such a journey.  As adults, we think we know it all and can somehow discern the ways of God, but the problem remains the same.  We focus on the gift and not the Giver.

There is no word of God that will not come to pass.  Keep waiting in faith, which is easier to do if you keep your eyes on Him and not how you imagine His word will be fulfilled.  And truly, if your eyes are filled with Him, you will be filled with more joy than anything your own mind could conjure.

Lord, You know the desires of my heart.  I pray first that they are in line with Your desires.  If they are not, help me to abandon them.  As I wait for the fulfillment of Your good and perfect will, fill the eyes of my heart with Jesus.  May He be all I see.  Amen.

Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Perkins

Courage To Be Faithful

May 21 (Acts 16:21)

They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.  (ESV)

The time is coming and may in fact be here in some places when speaking the truth and truths of God may be illegal.  It already breaks certain unwritten, social laws.  What will you do?

Paul had commanded a demon to leave a slave girl, and her owners claimed damage to their business and had Paul arrested.  Don’t focus on the demon or the issue of slavery.  Notice that business owners were claiming an act done in faithfulness to and in the power of Jesus Christ was bad for them economically.  Can you imagine the same thing being said today?  Of course you can.  Increasingly it seems that living as a follower of Christ is incompatible with work in schools, business, and government.  What will you do?

Paul did not think.  He did not weigh his decision or ask for the input of friends.  He turned around and commanded the demon to leave the girl and was thrown into jail for it.  Yet because of that, a jailer and his family were baptized into the family of God.

Father, give me the courage to be faithful.  In my work, with my friends, and in my daily interactions with people, may I be the salt and light that Jesus wants me to be.  In His name I pray.  Amen.

Copyright © 2017 by Steven R. Perkins