called

November 19, 2019

“God Is the One Who Calls Each One”

4 And no one takes this honor upon himself by being self-appointed, but God is the one who calls each one, just as Aaron was called.-Hebrews 5:4 TPT

Hebrews 5:1-4 TPT

God appointed Aaron, the brother of Moses, to be the first high priest of the Jewish nation. After Moses followed God’s instructions in anointing Aaron and his sons, Aaron was then able to offer the prescribed sacrifices to God, Everything offered had to be without blemish or the sacrifice was not acceptable. These were offered on the altar and when they were offered properly, God would accept them as a sweet smelling sacrifice and forgive the sins of the people. Aaron understood the weakness of the people and their inability to refrain from disobedience. He suffered from the same weakness. (Read Exodus 32 for that story). So he could have empathy and compassion on the people as he offered the sacrifices for both his and their sins. This was a temporary fix that God allowed until a true sacrifice could be given.There is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood, Since sin came into the world through the disobedience of the first man, Adam, complete permanent remission of sin would have to wait on the sacrifice of a perfect man, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 10:11-18 The VOICE“

The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 11-19-2019

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April 30, 2019

We Were Called To Follow Jesus

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 NLT

John 15:1-5 NLT


In Romans, God tells us that He called us to Himself and He has called us for a purpose Romans 8:28-30 NLT .  He has called us into fellowship with Himself  1 Cor,1:9 NKJV.  He has called us to be His saints. 1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV.  He has called us with a holy calling for His works, not our own 1 Tim 1:8-9 NKJV.  He has called us and given each of us special abilities to serve others 1Peter 4:11 NKJV.  He has called us to be witnesses, conquerors and over-comers.  How long will we keep using the excuse, “I wasn’t called to _____”.?   We were called to follow Jesus, When we follow someone, we do what they do and we say wht they say.  Isn’t that what Jesus said?  “I do what I see my Father doing and I say what He says to say” (paraphrased).  When God calls us, we are no longer spectators, we are called to be participants.  We are called to produce fruit and we can only produce fruit, if we are attached to the vine and do what the vine instructs us to do.  If we are apart from the vine, we have no power to produce fruit that is like the vine.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 04-30-2019

March 22, 2019

“Your Right Hand and Strong Arm”

3 They did not conquer the land with their swords;  it was not their own strong arm that gave them victory. It was your right hand and strong arm and the blinding light from your face that helped them, for you loved them. — Psalm 44:3 NLT

Psalm 44:1-8 NLT

Israel was the smallest of all nations (Deut. 7:7).  Had they been left to themselves, they would not have been able to leave Egypt and safely cross the desert to get to the Promised Land.  But God chose them and fought their battles for them.  He gave them manna from heaven and water from rocks to sustain them in their journey.  When they complained about the food, God gave them manna and quail to eat.  God gave them victories over every enemy that attacked them on their journey using miracle after miracle to defeat the attackers.  He parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River bringing them into the Promised Land at harvest time.  God gave them a great victory over the ancient, walled city of Jericho and they ate crops that they had not planted and drank from wells that they had not dug. Why? Because He chose them and loved them.  Why does He give us spiritual food and water in a spiritually dry and barren land?  For the same reason.  He has chosen us and He loves us. They were to bear His standard and carry His name throughout the known world.  Just as God called them out of Egypt, He has called us to come out and be a special people and a royal priesthood. Just as He brought the children of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land, so He will bring us safely out of this world and to the new heaven and new earth.  Not because of who we are but because of who He is and His promises to do so.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 03-22-2019

March 31, 2018

We Are Loved and Necessary

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22 In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. – 1 Cor. 12:22 NLT
Some of us feel that others are better qualified to do the work that God has gifted us to do.  There may be others who are better educated and better speakers than we are in the body and they might be able to do a “better” job from a human viewpoint. But there is no one who can be as effective as the person that God has called to do the job. Our churches, the body of Christ, are decreasing because we, the “called” are unwilling to tithe our time as well as our finances. The only way that we can show God and those around us that we truly love the Lord is to step up and do our part. Our part might be to mourn and pray because the body is suffering.  If that is your calling, then do it with fervency and passion. Be an Epaphras.

 

12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. — Col. 4:12 NIV

Then when victory comes, and it will. we can all rejoice together as one body!

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous

Post 03-31-2018

June 12, 2017

Cleansed by His Spirit

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2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
— 1 Peter 1:2 NLT
1 Peter 1:1-5 NLT

It has always been God’s plan to send Jesus into the world to redeem us from sin. We are His chosen people, called and cleansed by His Holy Spirit. We are saved by grace and as we walk in obedience to God, He gives more and more of His grace and peace. We have been bought with a price that we could not pay and now we have a priceless inheritance in heaven. We are joint-heirs with Jesus. Because we are saved by grace through faith, God is protecting us until we receive the final step of our salvation, which comes after His re-appearing. That is the hope that we have and we know that we are secure in that hope. God will finish the work He has started in us.

Romans 1:16-17 NLT


“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 06-12-17

December 11, 2016

Called and Equipped

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5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
— Philippians 2:5 NKJV
Phil. 2:1-5 NLT

Having the same mind as Christ Jesus does not mean that we know everything that He knows. It means that we have the same attitude toward others and that we desire the same outcome from situations. It ultimately means that we humble ourselves under His mighty hand. That humility will cause us to want to please Him. Yes, even to the point of dying for Him. Not there yet? Most of us aren’t. That’s okay for now, God knows our hearts. Just keep striving toward the mark so that we don’t miss the high calling of Christ Jesus. Living a life of Holiness is a journey that is taken one step at a time. Whatever God asked you to do, you can be sure He has prepared you to go through it. He will go before you, with you, and be your rearguard. 

“God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called” – Pastor Jack Graham

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 12-11-2016

November 19, 2016

As You Work

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24 Each of you, dear brothers and sisters, should remain as you were when God first called you  — 1 Cor. 7:24 NLT


Somehow, we seem to have come to the conclusion that we have to be “called” into a special place to be ministers for Jesus Christ. And it is true that God does place a special calling on some people. He calls people to be apostles, preachers, teachers, evangelists, pastors, deacons and other positions. But it was never His plan that all of us should be called to those positions. It has always been His plan that each of us should be involved in full-time ministry wherever we are or whatever we are doing. How do we do that? Paul was a tent-maker and he continued to work at that trade for a time. He worked a regular job and preached and taught on the Sabbath. God tells all of us in the passage from 1 Corinthians to stay where we are and continue doing our regular work until He shows us something different to do. God has called some to be wage earners and workplace ministers. Pray this morning that God would show you how He is using you in your workplace. Every year, church attendance is dropping. Our society is to the point that God must have workplace ministers to show people the love of Jesus Christ.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 11-19-2016

September 2, 2016

“I Wasn’t Called to _____.”

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5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 NLT
John 15:1-5 NLT
In Romans, God tells us that He called us to Himself and He has called us for a purpose Romans 8:28-30 NLT .  He has called us into fellowship with Himself  1 Cor,1:9 NKJV.  He has called us to be His saints. 1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV.  He has called us with a holy calling for His works, not our own 1 Tim 1:8-9 NKJV.  He has called us and given each of us special abilities to serve others 1Peter 4:11 NKJV.  He has called us to be witnesses, conquerors and over-comers.  How long will we keep using the excuse, “I wasn’t called to _____”.?   We were called to follow Jesus, When we follow someone, we do what they do and we say wht they say.  Isn’t that what Jesus said?  “I do what I see my Father doing and I say what He says to say” (paraphrased).  When God calls us, we are no longer spectators, we are called to be participants.  We are called to produce fruit and we can only produce fruit, if we are attached to the vine and do what the vine instructs us to do.  If we are apart from the vine, we have no power to produce fruit that is like the vine.
Post 09-02-2016
December 1, 2014

Called by the Spirit, Taught by God, Kept by Jesus

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

41 Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” 43 But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. 44 For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 45 As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)—John 6:41-​4​6 (NLT)
​Apparently, the old saying “seeing is believing” doesn’t always hold true, The people had seen the miracles Jesus had performed, but it still was not enough to convince them of the truth of Who He really was. They said,”We know His mother and father”, so how can a human claim to be the Son of God and that He came down from heaven? Jesus said “stop complaining….”. You can’t come to me unless you are drawn and you can’t know the truth unless you are taught by God. How can this be? How can we be taught by God? This is the work of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. It is His job to “guide us into all truth”. We haven’t seen God and we can’t see the Holy Spirit, but we can know that He calls us and abides in us, if we accept that invitation to come to Jesus. Once we listen to the Holy Spirit (the Father) and learn from Him, we are children of the Living God. The gift of the Holy Spirit is the first installment that guarantees Jesus can and will keep us until He raises us up on the last day.
21 It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, 22 and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.​—2 Cor. 1:21, 22 (NLT)​
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.—Philippians 1:6 (NLT)
—Post 12-01-14

September 3, 2014

Chosen, Called, and Cleansed

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.​ I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.​ May God give you more and more grace and peace.​ 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.—1 Peter 1:1-5 (NLT)
​It has always been God’s plan to send Jesus into the world to redeem us from sin. We are His chosen people, called and cleansed by His Holy Spirit. We are saved by grace and as we walk in obedience to God, He gives more and more of His grace and peace. We have been bought with a price that we could not pay and now we have a priceless inheritance in heaven. We are joint-heirs with Jesus. Because we are saved by grace through faith, God is protecting us until we receive the final step of our salvation, which comes after His re-appearing. That is the hope that we have and we know that we are secure in that hope. God will finish the work He has started in us.
This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”–Romans 1:17 (NLT)
Post 09-03-14