The Calling – Day 21

Day Twenty-One:  The Calling

  ^“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹ who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” –2 Timothy 1:8-9 (NKJV; BibleGateway.com)

^29 “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” — Romans 11:29 (NKJV; BibleGateway.com)

 “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” –Ephesians 4:1-5 (NKJV; BibleGateway.com)

 

God is calling our name.  Can you hear Him?  He’s calling us to follow Him.  He’s calling us to read His Word and apply it to our lives.  He’s calling us to use our gifts and talents to lead other people to Christ.  He’s calling us to prayer.  He’s calling us to love one another.  He’s calling us to forgive the unforgiveable.  He’s calling us to reach out to the broken.  He’s calling us to break out of our status of “comfortable” and into a deeper place with Him.  At every place in our story, He is calling us closer to Him.  Let’s choose to go with Him today.

It takes faith.  It takes abandon. 

Pray and ask God to show you where He is calling you. 

I promise you will never be the same.

What is God calling you to this day? 

The Prayer – Day 20

Day Twenty:  The Prayer

 

^4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. ⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

–Philippians 4:4-7 (NKJV; BibleGateway.com)

^10 “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; ¹¹ not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; ¹² rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; ¹³ distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”  –Romans 12:10-13 (NKJV; BibleGateway.com)

^17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

–Ephesians 6:17-20

 

When we were kids, our parents always told us to get dressed and make our beds every morning.  Eat a good breakfast, take your vitamins, brush your teeth, and drink plenty of water.  If you’re a parent, you’ve probably said these things countless times along with many more “mommy phrases”.  We don’t usually go into a big explanation about why—we just say it.

Eventually the lesson will come to light.  Wait for it.

Recently, we took our children for their regular dentist appointments—all four of them.  It’s funny how you can have four kids, and only one of them is that kid.  You may know the one I mean.  The child who can conjure in his or her imagination the absolute worst outcome for any situation—and then pester you about it for days.  Weeks before the appointment, she just knew that she had a terrible cavity—more than one, actually.  She also believed that one or several of her permanent teeth was coming out.  “Look, mom!  It’s wiggling.  Check it, please!”  Oh, the relief when the dentist finally came to examine her teeth and declared the two words that brings joy to every mama’s heart.

“No cavities.”

Prayer feels like that to me.  It’s the driving force behind the reassurance we’ve been waiting for.  The Bible says a lot of awesome things about our relationship to God and our influence in life regarding prayer.  We don’t always know what will happen because we prayed, but we know that when we cover every situation in prayer—good things happen.  I’ve found that also “God things happen”.  It humbles and amazes me that the God who created heaven and earth allows us to participate in history itself when we pray.  Let’s make the choice to pray today and often in the days to come. In our last two days, we are going unscripted.  Pray your own prayer to the Lord today, and spend time with Him.  Let’s honor God and give Him all the glory.

The Word – Day 19

Day Nineteen:  The Word

 

^13 “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.”—1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NKJV; BibleGateway.com)

 

“God, we thank You for Your Word today.  Your Word is truth, and Your Word lights our way.  Please preserve the Word of God in our hearts and minds as we continue to pray for the ministry, the people, and the Gospel preached through missions.  We love You, Lord.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”