Moving Window of God's Calling

[S] Acts 17:5 --
5 But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people.

[O] Many non-Jews believed Paul and Silas as they heard the gospel while these Jews filled with jealousy rejected the truth from God even though they are the ones who knew the message God had sent until that time. I see how critical it is to believe God with pure hearts and motives otherwise, it's like trying to run blind-folded because I wouldn't recognize God's message for me.  Furthermore, if I miss the window of opportunity for me to get it, then God will move on to others who will get it.

[A] I should not take everything for granted and just coast along with my spiritual walk.  Instead I need to make sure my heart is pure toward God and that I stay humble to receive the privilege of being called to carry out His will on earth.

[P] Dear Father, Your amazingly privileged calling for my meager life for Your great Kingdom's work is what I want to pursue after as long as I live in this world.  Please continue to pour into my heart Your love for me to live out Your calling.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Calling at My Workplace

[S] Amos 7:14-15 –

14  Then Amos replied to Amaziah, "I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs.15  "But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’

[O] This is a very humbling passage where Amos gives a brief background that God called him from a herdsman-status into a prophet.  He displays total obedience according to God.s calling rather than relying on own experiences or credentials.  God called him out of his everyday living of a normal life minding his own business . following the flock.  This affirms that God calls and uses those who make themselves available.  And as someone once said:  God doesn.t use those who are equipped but equips those who He calls (and responds).

[A] God will call me also from where I am doing my own business.  I need to constantly lean my ears toward Him so I won.t miss His calling; but more importantly, I must respond positively to His calling to full obedience because without it I will get lost when confronted by difficult situations.

[P] Dear God, what is my calling?  I want to follow Amos. footsteps to act upon Your calling to do Your will.  May my heart be filling with wisdom to carry it out with confidence and effectiveness?  In Jesus. name.  Amen.

Chosen Appointment to Calling His Name

[S] John 12:16 --
 ¹⁶"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

[O] There is an interesting thread here going from "chose" to "appointed" to "bear fruit" to "fruit would remain" to "ask in My name".  It begins with being chosen by Jesus, not the other way around and being chosen sets the basis for appointment or empowerment to carry out a task.  The task here is bearing fruit and for it to remain.  This is not a cramming for results approach but something that will be matured into a way of living permanently.  Through such a progression I can call His name to make my supplications.  Just calling His name when I am not even chosen and appointed by Him will not carry the power that He mentions in this passage.

[A] This progression needs to take place daily where I begin the day by surrendering my life to Him to be chosen & appointed to carry out His ways of bearing fruit.  Then throughout the day I can call out in His name to get whatever I need within that calling, or to accomplish that calling.

[P] Dear Father, what a privilege it is to be chosen by You and to carry out Your bearing fruit.  Please use me to do this every day and I realize asking for this is dangerous because by doing so I will face challenges in life to plow through in order to accomplish this calling.  In those moment, please grant me Your grace for me to call on Your name to get whatever I need to do just this within Your calling.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

My Calculations Are So Accurate

[S] Joshua 7:3 --
 ³They returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few."

[O] Conquering Jericho was a God-sized task and was completed by relying on God's instructions even though it did not make much sense to circle around the city when they really needed to battle against a fortified city.  On their next assignment of conquering Ai, they were too comfortable to come up with their own plans.  Not sure how they came to this conclusion but they decided on sending only 2,000 or 3,000 men to take care of this task.  In fact, they assessed this task to be too easy not to have everyone be bothered by it.  They didn't need to seek God's guidance here because it seemed too simple and easy; besides, they were all still high from Jericho's victory.

Am I also too simple-minded to take on Godly tasks without seeking God's guidance because I may be so used to doing them and/or assess them to be too easy?  Not relying on God every tasks He calls me to do is a major mistake I need to avoid.  No matter how big or small, I must seek His counsel before executing the tasks.

[A] To me, this is an application of humility in doing God's work.  God wants me to lean on Him more so that how well I do the tasks.  So, every day seek for His wisdom and guidance in doing His ministry.

[P] Thank You, God, for Your desire to lead me every turn of my assignments You're giving me.  I want to stay humble to follow Your leadership rather than barging ahead with my own experiences. In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Turning Aside To Look

[S] Exodus 3:3-4 --

 ³So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up."
 ⁴When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."


[O] Moses' decision to go see this marvelous sight triggered God's response to him.  Had he just bypassed that scene, then there was no reason for God to have called him "Moses, Moses!"  I am thinking: 1) do I make enough opportunities for me to run across marvelous sights that God is working in?  2) When I see one of those sights do I adjust my current course of actions to explore further or just too busy going on with my life and schedules?  I desire to hear God's voice but if I don't set up my circumstances of doing that, it'll just be my own wishful thinking far from actually happening.  Moses did not ignore the hint God provided in his usual daily path and according to verse 4, "When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look," God called him.  That's when God involved Moses into His plan of salvation.

[A] Continue to adjust my schedule so I will start each day with a devotion of God's word in order to "run into" His marvelous sight and have the margin of time to turn aside to seek further what God has in store for me.

[P] Dear God, I desire to adjust my schedules to have the "burning bush" experiences.  Please allow me to adjust my daily schedules to capture these moments of running into Your signs.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.