THE CALLING OF GOD

“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our LORD Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the LORD Jesus Christ.”  (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV)

What is the calling of God? In every life, calling may manifest itself in a different way, but the result will be the same. God's calling does not allow us to separate the sacred from the secular. We have one life to live for Him in every aspect of existence. The calling of God challenges us to bring Him into our most mundane activities, breathing life into our smallest tasks, and giving power to our greatest challenges.

-- Stephen Arterburn in “The Power Book”


#4527

BELIEVING WHAT GOD SAYS

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”  (2 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT)

If we are to have real faith, we must study the Word of God and discover what is promised. Then, we must simply believe the promises of God. Trying to believe something that you want to believe is not faith. Believing what God says in His Word is faith. 

-- R. A. Torrey


#4526

AWAKENING OUR HEARTS TO GOD’S LOVE

“Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”  (Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV)

God invites us to wake up to the reality of His presence in our lives each and every day. He may get our attentions through all kinds of unexpected ways. He may speak through a passage of the Bible you’re reading. He may answer a prayer you’ve been waiting on for weeks, months, or years. He may share a much-needed word of encouragement with you through a friend. God is incredibly creative when it comes to awakening our hearts to His love. 

-- Margaret Feinberg in “A Grand New Day”


#4525

FALLING SNOW

“God's majestic voice thunders His commands, creating miracles too marvelous for us to understand. Snow and heavy rainstorms make us stop and think about God's power, and they force animals to seek shelter. The windstorms of winter strike, and the breath of God freezes streams and rivers.” (Job 37:4-10 CEV)

Individual Christians are like snowflakes -- beautiful but frail. However, when they stick together they can make a powerful difference; they can stop traffic. 

-- Adapted from Vance Havner


#4524

STEP BY STEP

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”   (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Grab some paper and write down a couple of things you have been reluctant to get started on. Your hesitance may be due to a lack of faith in your ability to complete the entire staircase, or to even be able to see all of it. Think about all the different roles and aspects of your life, including work, relationships, family, health, spiritual life, etc.

Next to each item on your list, write down what the first step is. How difficult was that? As long as you know where the staircase will take you, and where the first step is, it shouldn’t be too difficult, if you have faith and persevere. 

-- Author unknown, adapted from philosiblog.com


#4523