Calling

Readings for today: Acts 9-11

I was talking the other day to a young person about calling. He is twenty years old and just beginning his journey in life and ministry. He is seeking God’s will. He wants to serve God in whatever he ends up doing. He is hoping to connect his vocation to his calling so he can find the most fulfillment in what he does. I shared my own journey with him and how I find myself in a place where my vocation connects to my calling and what a joy it is to bounce out of bed every morning knowing you are doing exactly what you were created and called by God to do. There’s just nothing like it. But then I read the story of the calling of Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul, and I am reminded that the call of God is not without struggle. Not without suffering. Not without heartbreak. I start to think of the brothers and sisters I know in dangerous places around the world who are called just as I am but whose lives are filled with so much pain and hardship. They face persecution, imprisonment, even death for the sake of the gospel. And this too is what it means to be called by God. So embracing one’s calling in life doesn’t necessarily mean everything will always go well.

I was particularly struck by God’s words to Ananias before he went to pray for Saul. Ananias is rightfully skeptical. Rightfully afraid. Are you sure you mean this man, God? Don’t you know all he has done to your people? How much harm he has brought to so many? Listen again to God’s answer. “The Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16 CSB) Saul is God’s chosen instrument to take God’s name to the nations! To Gentiles and Israelites both. To kings and emperors in their royal courts. What a calling! But then comes the kicker. He will also suffer greatly for the sake of God’s name. He will endure all kinds of pain and hardship in his life. He will be persecuted, imprisoned, and eventually killed. This too is part of the call. And we see it lived out almost immediately. Saul is healed, baptized, and filled with the Holy Spirit. He begins to preach the gospel in Damascus. The impact of his preaching is incredible so the Jews there conspire to kill him. He escapes Damascus by night and travels back to Jerusalem. The early Christians were afraid of him but Barnabus convinces them to accept him. He begins preaching the gospel and again, a group of Hellenistic Jews conspire to kill him. Once again, he escapes and heads to Tarsus. This will become the pattern of Saul’s life as he fulfills God’s call.

What is God’s call on your life? How are you living into it? How does it connect to your vocation? How does it shape the way you interact with your family and friends? What aspects of your calling bring you joy? What aspects of your calling have cost you over the years? When do you feel most fulfilled in your call? When does your calling lead you into hardship, struggle, or pain? God’s call is not all rainbows and unicorns. All one has to do is read the Bible and the many stories of the men and women God calls over the centuries. Every single one of them not only experienced great miracles and victories but they also faced incredible trials and tests. The key, of course, is to remain faithful. God equips those He calls. He provides and protects them as well. He will never leave you or abandon you or forsake you. He promises to be with you even to the end.

Readings for tomorrow: Acts 12-14

A Prophet’s Call

Readings for today: Isaiah 5-8, Psalms 110

There are many today that claim the title “Prophet.” They claim to hear messages from the Lord. They claim to have special revelations from God. They speak in all kinds of riddles. They string together all sorts of meaningless phrases. They pluck verses out of context from the Bible to predict the future. I see them all over YouTube. I see them all over social media. Many that I know and love have been taken in by them. They are grifters. They are con men and women. They use the Bible to exploit the vulnerable and weak and helpless. I believe God will judge them harshly when He comes again. How do I know? Because their supposed “prophecies” never come true. They always fail. And the Biblical test of any prophet is whether or not what they have to say actually comes to pass. If it doesn’t and they prove false, the command is clear. Execute them. Stone them to death for claiming to speak for God.

Biblically speaking, prophecy has more to do with “truth-telling” than “future-telling” though I readily admit it can be both. Prophets in the Old Testament were called to speak truth to power and confront the leaders of God’s people in an effort to turn them away from sin and back to God. It was a challenging call. It often put their lives at risk. They sacrificed much for the call. They were more often than not, discouraged and depressed by the lack of response to their message. Listen to how Isaiah describes his own call, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me. And he replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. Make the minds of these people dull; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” And he replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate, and the Lord drives the people far away, leaving great emptiness in the land. Though a tenth will remain in the land, it will be burned again. Like the terebinth or the oak that leaves a stump when felled, the holy seed is the stump.” (Isaiah 6:8-13 CSB)

Woof. Thanks but no thanks. Speak to a people who will not listen? Go to a people who are blind? Preach to those whose hearts are actively being hardened by God against your message? Until their cities lie in ruins and the people are in exile and death and destruction reign in the land? That’s the call? Are you serious, God? And yet, Isaiah obeys. He does exactly what God calls him to do. And God uses him to preach powerful messages of repentance to His people.

I don’t know about you but I believe we are living in a time similar to that of the ancient prophets. The church in North America, once so vibrant and full of life, has fallen on hard times. She seems more concerned with herself than with the mission God has entrusted to her. She seems more consumed with her own comfort than in sacrificing for the Lord. She seems more focused on building up herself rather than building up the Kingdom. What we need now are prophets who will speak God’s truth no matter the cost. Prophets who will challenge God’s people to push beyond personal preferences, move outside their comfort zones, and offer all they have in service to God. God won’t accept anything less. Nor should we. When I read Isaiah, I find myself deeply convicted. I find myself falling on my knees before the Lord and asking Him to show me how I can give more, serve more, offer more of myself back to Him. I know whatever I ask of God’s people must begin in my own heart. So this is my prayer.

Readings for tomorrow: Isaiah 9-12, Psalms 111

The Call

Readings for today; Revelation 14-18

Amidst all the fantastic visions and angelic pronouncements about the end times, there is this call to the saints of God. “Meanwhile, the saints stand passionately patient, keeping God’s commands, staying faithful to Jesus.” (Revelation‬ ‭14‬:‭12‬ ‭MSG‬‬) It’s so tempting when we read a book like Revelation to spend all our time trying to decipher what John was attempting to say. We do our best to cross the cultural divide. Analyze the apocalyptic text. Search for clues to help us discern whether these ancient prophecies are coming true in our own time. We spend all kinds of time, attention, and energy debating the finer points of each vision as we look for the day when Christ will appear and all things will be made new. All the while, Jesus is calling us to “stand passionately patient, keeping God’s commands, staying faithful to Jesus.”

This is the fundamental call for every Christian in every time and place. Yes, we can spend our time debating end times theology. Yes, we can spend our time wrestling over the timing of the eschaton. Yes, we can argue pre-millennial, post-millennial, and amillennial points of view. But at the end of the day, the challenge remains the same for each one of us. Are we living lives of faithfulness to Jesus? Are we seeking to follow His commands? Are we remaining passionately patient? Fervently praying for His return? No matter the cost? Life has its ups and downs. So does history. There are periods of persecution followed by periods of peace. There are seasons where following Christ is affirmed and seasons where following Christ is challenging. There are places in the world today where it is safe to be a Christian and places where it is unsafe. Often, our perspective on the end times will be shaped by our experiences in this world, good or bad. Through it all, the call remains the same. Remain patient. Keep God’s commands. Stay faithful to Jesus.

We are coming to the end of our journey through the Bible this year. What does 2024 look like for you? What’s your plan to grow spiritually? To dive deeper in your faith? What goals have you set for yourself? What goals has the Holy Spirit set for you? What will it look like for you to remain passionately patient as you await Christ’s return? Where do you need to align your life with the commandments of God? What areas of your life do you need to submit to Christ? What does it mean for you to remain faithful to Jesus? How is such faithfulness reflected in the way you spend your time? Where you put your attention? How you spend your money? These are great questions to reflect on as you think about 2024 and beyond.

Readings for tomorrow: Revelation 19-22