God's calling - our calling

There can be times when we may feel that past failure, sin or fear will keep us from stepping into or fulfilling the calling of God for our life.  Fear of failure, inadequacy and guilt can be huge stumbling blocks but our God is mightier than any of our sins and failings. The Bible is full of stories of people who felt inadequate or who in human eyes had disqualified themselves from ministry yet God had not finished with them despite their failings and weaknesses.

When God met Moses at the burning bush, he told him to go back to Egypt and speak to Pharaoh to set the Israelites free.  Moses argued with God five times about his inadequacy and every time God gave him the words and signs necessary. Finally God’s anger burned against Moses and as a concession he said that Aaron could go with him to speak to Pharaoh.

By the time of the tenth plague though Moses didn’t need anyone to speak on his behalf because his confidence in God meant he was more than adequate for the task. This stood him in good stead for leading the people out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea and dealing with a difficult and rebellious group of Israelites for 40 years.  Moses had asked God at the burning bush to send someone else but God knew that Moses was the man for the job.

Moses’ brother Aaron was one who could also have been disqualified from his calling of being the first high priest of the nation.  While Moses was up the mountain for 40 days and nights Aaron led the nation into idolatry by making and worshipping the golden calf.  Not long after that debacle God appointed him as high priest.  Most of us would have thought Aaron had blown it irrevocably but not God. He had called Aaron to the priesthood.

Or what about David, the great king, the man after God’s own heart who committed adultery and murder? Surely he should have been stoned to death but when confronted with his sin, he repented before God writing surely one the most beautiful psalms, Psalm 51.

Peter let Jesus down by denying him three times on the very night when he could have used a friend. Yet Peter became one of the leading apostles in the early church. And Paul persecuted and murdered the early Christians yet when confronted by the love and grace of God he stepped into his God given destiny to be a great apostle and author of much of the New Testament.

God has a calling on each of our lives and whilst we may not be called to lead the nation or be a great apostle, we have a unique and important role to play. The devil would like to remind us frequently of our sin, failure and inadequacies but God would remind us that those he has called he will also equip. His love and grace are always more than enough to overcome our shortcomings. 

Next time you feel you have irrevocably blown it just remember these great men of God who fell or were overcome by their insecurities and recall what they achieved.  If they can do it, so can we.

Grace in our strengths

For it is by grace you have been saved.  Ephesians 2: 8

I became a servant of this Gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Ephesians 3: 8

We are all very familiar with the fact that we are saved by grace; there is nothing we can do to save ourselves – it is all the work of God and we rejoice in this. However grace is so much more than the key to our salvation which unlocks the door to eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Grace not only saves us but enables us to ‘do the good works which God prepared in advance for us to do’ Ephesians 2: 10.  I think there can be a tendency to do the things we are good at in our own strength and then ask for God’s grace to help us in our weaknesses. We know when Paul was battling with his ‘thorn in the flesh’ he found that ‘God’s grace was sufficient for him, for God’s power is made perfect in weakness’ II Cor 12: 9.  However I also believe we need God’s grace to help us in our strengths.

Paul makes plain that he was a great Jew before his conversion and was faultless in legalistic righteousness (Philippians 3: 6).  He knew the law and he persecuted anyone who didn’t keep the law especially these new followers of the Way.  There was no grace! When Jesus met with Paul on the road to Damascus, he didn’t just save him by grace but he used him to write and preach such profound truths that Christians today are still poring over the Scriptures trying to fully understand the revelation that Jesus gave him. The Scriptures were his area of strength before his salvation, yet God’s grace touched this and transformed it into something that Paul could never have attained in his own strength and studies.

God has prepared wonderful works for us to do but we need his grace to touch our lives and transform them in order to do these works for his glory.  Many Christians I know who are used greatly by the Lord, just wonder at what he does through them. They say things such as, ‘I just and stand and watch what God is doing and am amazed.’ It is not false modesty but a genuine sense of wonder that God uses them even in their strengths and the result is something far greater than anything they could do. Their participation is vital but the outcome is divine.

God’s grace is waiting to touch and transform both our strengths and weaknesses so we may bear great fruit for his glory. Ask God to touch those areas of your life which are your strong points and be amazed at what God will do through you – so much more than you can ask or imagine.

Bulls eye prayer

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1: 9 – 11

Prayer is one of the quickest topics to get you on a guilt trip. I think everyone feels they should pray more but I don’t think it is matter of more prayer but better prayer.  I was just thinking of some countries that are doing well and some that are not and I wondered about both the amount of prayer and the quality of prayer for those nations. Sometimes I think there may be plenty of prayer but is it hitting the mark?

I believe God wants us to consider ‘bulls-eye prayer’; prayer that really hits the target.  I don’t know about you but I can very easily start rambling and losing concentration especially when praying by myself. So to keep myself on track I like to use the Bible as my prayer guide by which I mean that using the Word helps me focus on God’s will for that person or situation. 

The Bible has some great prayers like Paul’s one above which I like to pray over my family. There are other marvellous Paul prayers in Colossians 1 and Ephesians 1 and 3. The Lord’s Prayer is of course the best and if we use it as a guide rather than saying it by rote it can open so many wonderful avenues for prayer. It really is comprehensive.

The Psalms too, when personalised, make wonderful prayers. For instance, ‘The Lord is Bill’s shepherd; he shall not be in want. You make Bill lie down in green pastures, you lead him by still waters, you restore Bill's soul.’  As you pray this over family and friends and consider your prayer it can help you come to real faith that God will move powerfully in their life. Faith filled prayers are powerful prayers. I have a bit of psalms for all sorts of family members and friends.

Proverbs chapter 3 is a great prayer for youthful sons or grandsons and, believe me, this one is a life changer. This is because ‘The Word of God is living and active’ (Hebrews 4:12). It transforms lives.

It is really good to chat to God throughout the day but if you are struggling to pray, find some Scriptures to pray over those situations on your heart. It helps us to focus and I believe helps us hit the target with our prayers. Be encouraged because, ‘the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5: 16). Our prayers do make a difference.

The power of the cross

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. I Corinthians 1: 18

I am fascinated sometimes by the arguments that take place on Facebook and YouTube between believers and non believers. Unfortunately they too often deteriorate into slanging matches with non believers calling Christians deluded and frustrated Christians, unable to win the argument, resorting to telling people they are sinners going to burn in hell.  

It is essential we debate with non believers on matters of faith but, like Paul, we need the wisdom of God. When I read some wise answers given to sceptical non believers, it gladdens my heart. They may not agree or believe what is written but they cannot refute it.

Paul was writing to the Corinthian church which was in the centre of a society where all sorts of ungodly, worldly and immoral lifestyles were practised. Above all it was in the midst of a culture that loved debating all the latest philosophies and Christianity was grouped in with all the other ideas being debated.

To the Greeks and Romans of Corinth the cross was complete foolishness but that was what Paul preached. They could not believe that someone who claimed to be the Son of God would be crucified like a common criminal.  Paul had tried debating and reasoning with the Greeks in Athens with little success (Acts 17: 16 – 33). He left Athens and went to Corinth and this is what happened:

When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I Corinthians 2: 1 – 2.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but on God’s power. I Corinthians 2: 4

In a culture that loved to debate man’s wisdom Paul came with the wisdom of the cross and a demonstration of the power of the Kingdom.  Today’s society is in many ways similar to 1^st century Corinthian and Greek culture. It loves secular, humanistic thinking and debating man’s wisdom and the cross appears to be foolishness.  However it is the cross which is the power of salvation and we must speak of it whenever we have opportunity.

We need the wisdom of God in our discussions with unbelievers and we must seek the power of the Kingdom to demonstrate the love of God.  Jesus, Paul and the apostles always sought to heal the sick and the lame, open blind eyes and raise the dead. The world needs the power of God demonstrated in miracles and the wisdom of God proclaiming the power of the cross.

Opening blind eyes

Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised.  Acts 9: 18

Saul was on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus when Jesus dramatically met with him and stopped his murderous assignment against the believers. Jesus told him to go into Damascus to wait for his next instructions and for 3 days though his eyes were open, he was blind.  For three days Saul was utterly dependent on others for everything and utterly dependent on God to heal him and restore his sight. He needed more than just physical eyes healed though, he also needed the eyes of his heart opened.

Paul’s conversion is a wonderful picture of our conversions as well. We may not have encountered Jesus in quite such a dramatic way as Paul but we were just as blind and needed God to open our eyes to him.

Before I was saved, I was struggling to understand why Jesus had to die on the cross for us. I just couldn’t understand what had happened. A friend said to me as I was struggling to get to grips with it, he died because you deserved to die. They said it in an ‘isn’t it obvious’ tone of voice but for me it was a defining moment. It was as if my eyes had been opened. The lights came on, the tumblers in the lock fell and the door opened.  It was revelatory for me no matter how obvious it was for others.

When Paul’s physical sight was restored, he was a changed man. We know from Philippians 3: 4 - 6 that before the Damascus road experience, despite his intensive training as a Pharisee, steeped in the law, he was completely blind to Jesus and his saving grace. He knew all about the Messiah but he didn’t know the Messiah till that moment on the Damascus road. However once his spiritual eyes were open as well as his physical eyes, Paul has given the Church the greatest insights into Jesus, his saving faith and the life of the believer and the church than anyone other than Jesus himself.

We all need revelation day by day, not just as a once off to be saved. We need revelation to understand the Bible and apply it to our lives. Today let’s ask Jesus for revelation, to open our eyes to him in increasing measure so we may know him better and understand his ways for our lives. We may not be Paul but we can encourage others with the revelation God has given us and strengthen those around us with Godly insights.