When He Calls, He Provides.

Today is the first day of rehearsal for my church’s Easter Pageant. I didn’t think it would happen. I didn’t think so because I couldn’t see it happening. Just last Thursday, I held a meeting for all cast members and only 8 people showed up; I expected about 20. The other 20 or so parts hadn’t been cast yet. Not for a lack of trying but because our Pageant takes place during Spring Break for our schools. Between the fear of public speaking and Spring Break plans, my casting efforts were met with stiff resistance. I struggled for 3 weeks just to get the 20 cast members I thought I had and our church has between 4,000 and 5,000 members. So you understand my frustration.

Now, another week has gone by and I have all the characters cast with extras I may have to write into the script because I don’t want to discourage anyone. The Music Minister and a couple of members who teach Bible Study classes worked their networks and the additional parts were filled in 4 days. All I did was follow up with a phone call and informational e-mail afterward. It was a wonderful thing to witness.

Most importantly, I was taught another lesson by my loving Father. He reminded me that when He calls us to do something for Him, He provides all our needs. I recalled all the times in His Word when He tells us to keep our focus on Him and He will take care of the rest. In Proverbs 3: 5-6 He tells us that when we don’t rely on our own understanding but think about Him in every situation, He will show us the way to go and what to do. The problem is that it is not natural for us to give control to someone else. Our very nature wants to be in charge of our life. But when we do give Him control, it always works out better than we can do on our own, and in perfect timing. Remember, God is our Father and He wants bless us with good things. So, if we’ll give Him our concerns, hopes and plans, He will show us the best way to handle them.

My Most Important Calling

Today, I celebrate 30 years of marriage to the most beautiful woman in the world. And I can’t wait to see what Jesus has in store for us over the next 30 years. Today, I’m also reminded that being a husband is one of my callings. A calling I don’t take lightly because to do so would inflict pain and harm on my precious wife. I thank God for her, and for reminding me of my love for her whenever I entertain the idea of treating her as anything other than the most important person in my life; my life partner.

We all have those times when we lash out, or want to, at our mates. At those times, Jesus reminds me of all the wonderful qualities my wife has. He reminds me of how well she compliments and completes me. When I get my focus on those qualities quickly enough, I’m able to avoid acting in a manner that is damaging to our relationship. And when I don’t, He blesses me with such guilt as to cause me to ask His and her forgiveness. I pray that I always focus on her wonderful qualities before I assert my selfishness.

How does this apply to my calling? Simply put, God calls me, as a husband to be the spiritual leader of my wife and family. He places this awesome responsibility on me to care for my wife and children the way He cares for us. Jesus gave up His life for me and it is my duty to be willing to do the same for my family, especially my wife. He also made it clear that the body of Christ, the Church, is also my family, so I must be willing to sacrifice myself for the benefit of all believers. And, I must reflect His compassion for all unbelievers because we are all His creations.

Does this mean I will always be perfect? No. What it means is I must strive to first seek His guidance in every situation, thus avoiding damaging conflict in my marriage. However, God knows I won’t always succeed in keeping my selfishness in check; He knows I will act stupidly at times. But when I do, He will gently bring me to a mindset of repentance, forgive my mistakes and lovingly restore my right relationship with my wife and with Him, if I’ll simply drop my ego long enough to hear Him. And the really good news is that He will do the same for you.

So Darling, I’m sorry for all the times I let my ego override my love for you. I do and will always love you more than myself. Thank you for 30 great years of being my wife, my friend, my lover. Words are inadequate to express how deep my love is for you and how grateful I am for all you are and do. I thank God for bringing you into my life.

I Personally Know And Believe In Jesus Christ.

I recently read a Facebook post forwarded from a friend challenging all people to publically proclaim belief in the lordship of Jesus Christ. My first reaction was, “Why is this even out there?” Then I realized that this is not a simple task for most professed Christians. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commands us to make disciples of all people by teaching them everything He taught us. Yet, you will find very few professed Christians who obey this command. They use many excuses to avoid compliance, but the truth is nearly always fear; the kind of fear that results from worldly pressure.

For years, I lived in fear of being asked the reason for my optimism. I was sure that if I wasn’t threatened by the questioner, I would, at the very least, be completely humiliated by the experience. As I grew in my walk with Jesus, I came to learn from His gentle teaching that my fear was rooted in the fact that I was putting myself first, ahead of Him. Of course I felt guilty when I clearly saw this, but He assured me He still loved me and wanted to walk with me for all eternity. He also assured me that it was normal to have this fear.

You see, we all fear rejection, whether we like to admit it or not. That fear is in our basic human nature. Our human nature is opposed to sharing the “Good News” with others because doing so may cause others to dislike us, or even want to harm us. So, to avoid emotional discomfort or physical harm, we refuse to obey. This doesn’t mean we should be ourselves up about it, it just means we need to see it for what it is, disobedience. When we see this, we merely need to ask God’s forgiveness, knowing it is given the moment we ask if we truly repent, then obey Him the next time an opportunity to share the Gospel arises, and it will.

God has called every one of us to share the “Good News” with everyone we know and meet. However, He did not call us to do so alone. He also promised that He will always be with us; He will never leave us. It is our responsibility to make sure we know and understand the Gospel, for our own benefit and to be ready to answer the questions of others. But He does not expect us to win souls without help. He will always be there to give us the right words to fit every situation and to give us the courage to speak, if we will simply ask Him. And, as an added benefit, whenever we share the hope of salvation with others, God will bless us with a most wonderful joy that words can’t adequately express.

The Calling Is Only The Beginning…

I recently discovered that I answered several calls from God, asked Him what to do with them, but left Him out of the prioritizing process. Boy, did that take a toll on me. Without asking Him how to prioritize my projects, I dove in, head first, thinking I could perfectly conquer three major projects with no problems. However, God had other plans for my exuberance.

While trying to write, cast, direct and produce my church’s Easter Pageant, I also tried to enclose and roof my deck, and write query letters and articles for my new writing career. Needless to say, all suffered. None were done as well as they could have been if I simply determined to do one at a time and give it my all each time. No matter how proficient we think we are at multi-tasking, we’re never as good as we could be. Simple reason tells us that focusing all of our energy and our best effort on one task will produce far superior results when compared to multi-tasking.

God tells us how important it is to follow His lead and focus on one thing He deems most critical at any given time. Look at His chosen leaders throughout history. Not one of them was a multi-tasker. They all worked with single-minded purpose. And, they all followed God’s lead, working on what He deemed most important, doing nothing independent of Him. That’s the reason they succeeded. And, when they took matters into their own hands, they failed or produced less than the best results. Moses successfully led God’s people for over 40 years. But the one time he pushed God, he lost his chance to cross over into the Promised Land.

The bottom line is that when we are called, it is only the beginning of our journey with God and we can’t say, “Okay God, I’ll take it from here.” You see, He doesn’t call us because He wants us to do His work for Him, He calls us to do His work with Him. The whole purpose of His calling is to cultivate our relationship with Him. It’s not just to have us do tasks. We’re not His employees, we’re His adopted children. He doesn’t call us because He wants us to do the jobs He doesn’t want to do. He calls us because He loves us and wants us to grow into the persons He designed us to be. He calls us because in His entire created universe we are most important to Him.

So, when He calls, answer with a resounding, “Yes, Father.” Then follow that answer with a question, “What do I do now, Father?” Then wait for His answer and follow His lead.