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Read: Acts 9:10-16
To
say, “It’s your call” in our Canadian culture implies that you are in charge
and that you have the right to make the final decision. Many of us live as if
we are in charge of our lives.
Therefore, we focus on what we will do and
choose the career, job, life partner on our own. Such action is a big mistake
with consequences for life. Here is the reason.
Such
action reveals that we ignore the One who really does have the right of final
decision. Our church has recently been studying and seeking to apply the
material in Experiencing God, the series written by Henry Blackaby. In this
series, we are reminded that God is always at work and that He invites us to
join Him in His awesome kingdom work. Each of us is created by God and the true
church of Christ belongs to Him. As a Christian, I belong to God through faith
in Christ. On the basis of God’s ownership of my life and of His church, it is
God who has the right to make the final call or decision in every area of my life.
Here
is the real deal. You cannot tell God what you want to do for Him. It is God
who will reveal to you what He wants to do in and through you – if you will
seek him humbly on His terms, not yours. Ask the Lord how He is working around
you and how he wants you to join him in that specific work or ministry.
Remember the words of the Lord Jesus who said to his original disciples and now
says to His present followers:
“You
did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will
last.” (John 15:16, NIV)
Study,
read the Bible, pray and wait on God in confident faith-filled expectation – that
He has a specific word for you today. When you receive it, act on it. Obey God
immediately.
In
the midst of persecuting Christians, Saul (who became Paul the Apostle) was
confronted by the resurrected Jesus who revealed to Paul what He was about to
do. God was about to start a great work among the gentile nations. He had
chosen Paul to be his spokesman or His ambassador to the Gentiles.
“…The
Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man (Paul) is my chosen instrument to carry my
name before the gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I
will show him how much he must suffer for my Name. (Acts 9:15-16, NIV)
Are
you serious about following Jesus? Then, be ready to listen to God through His
holy word. Be willing to adjust your life so that you can follow Him all the
way – making a difference in others that will last for eternity!
Pastor Stewart Brown
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