Who is God Calling Me to be Today!

 

Quotation

          During the years of church-hopping, I was searching for something to fill the void in my heart! I used excuses to avoid making a commitment. I avoided living within a group of believers to hide my sinful lifestyle. My attitude was that of a cookie-cutter consumer, denying church membership because the church I was visiting didn’t give me exactly what I wanted! The bottom line was through the lies and deceptions of Satan, I had blinders on that did not allow me to see the absolute truth – I am saved through grace by faith in Jesus!

 

Barry Denzil Haney, MD

 

Scripture

 

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

 

1 Timothy 1:15-16

Reflection

            

            Each morning when I first wake up, I ask God, “What would you have me do today?” As I wait for an answer, I meditate on God’s Word and other devotional materials and listen. Although intellectually, I know what I need to do, other voices compete to drown out God’s message as the day goes on. Satan uses world cues from music, television, social sites, and the internet to overwhelm my senses, tempting me to satisfy my fleshly nature to the detriment of my spiritual nature. 

 

            My day becomes a spiritual battle, literally a life and death struggle. I need to continually focus on the things of God, to strengthen my spiritual nature. 

 

For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

 

Romans 8:5-6

 

Although I have given my life to Christ and began my journey, God needs to knock off barnacles I have accumulated along the way and continue to accumulate each day during my daily spiritual battle. Although many consider me a “smart guy” because of my academic accomplishments, my mind must operate in a spirit of constant faith. I have not just accepted a mythological story, I  have calculated the legitimacy, the historicity, and the viability of the Bible!

 

We need to make sure what we do, what we engage in during our daily life aligns with the Biblical principles that are larger than that. Accepting the fact His Will will be done, allows one to fail. We need to fail graciously, learn from our mistakes, and fall forward, not backward. In this light, as David McIntosh does, we need to adopt this as a motto: “anything good you see in us is from God, the rest of it is a selfish guy who wants to promote himself.” God is the author of every good and perfect gift.

 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

 

James 1:17

 

A friend likes to say, “we are living on God’s credit card.” We only pull out the credit card when a crisis occurs when we need him. The rest of the time, we go about our own way, taking our cues from the secular world around us, rather than taking our cues from God. But during these times of wandering in the desert, God still loves us. In our dealings with others, we need to love others, as God loves us. 

 

As my mother would say, “you catch more flies with honey, than with vinegar.” No matter how big our sins, no matter how long we have strayed in the desert, He does not belittle us or deny us when we return, He welcomes us back into the fold and loves us!

 

Our time is short. We are all marching too somewhere. Hopefully the path we have chosen is the narrow path! When we come to the end of our life, if we surrender to Christ and His call to follow, our life will be shaped by contentment not by regret!

                                                                                                                                                            

Illustration

 

A few years ago, a T.V. commercial showed a car in which a jeweler in the back seat made a precise cut in a diamond as the car was being driven along a rough road. What was our reaction to the commercial? We were supposed to think, “Since I will never need to cut a diamond in my car, this car will be more than sufficient.”

 

In the same way, Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15-16 is an advertisement for the grace of God. When Paul says he is the worst of sinners, we are supposed to think, “I am not as sinful as he is, so the grace of God will be more than sufficient for me.”(Green)

 

Prayer

 

Our Heavenly Father,

 

 

Help me to be what You would have 

 me be today! Although I intuitively know

what I should do to honor You, I sometimes

listen to the cues from the secular world!

 

Help me realize the spiritual battle raging around 

me, and strengthen me through the Holy Spirit residing 

in my heart, to withstand the temptations of the 

great deceiver, and to instead heed Your Word!

 

In the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior,

 

Amen!

 

 

Worship

 

God’s Will – Martina McBride

God Bless You,

Barry

 

Green, Michael P. 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. Print.