Finding Your Calling

From: Bryant Wright Ministries

Ephesians 1:17-18 "May God, the Father of glory, grant you a spirit of wisdom and insight to know Him clearly. May He enlighten your innermost vision that you may know the great hope to which He has called you."

We can all think of a bad day at work, but can you think of any time when you were "in the zone" - a moment where you enjoyed your task, you were caught up in your work and lost track of time? What were you doing at that moment? What skills were you using? What was it that caused you to be passionate about the work? Understanding the answers to these questions will often help you better understand how to best use your time and talents - a calling.

A calling is when we are passionately using our God-given gifts in a way that pleases Him. We are not talking about your personality profile, but about those God-given gifts listed in the Bible like teaching, counseling, generosity, administration, and prayer, among many others. Kirk Livingston, CEO of a communications company, sums it up, "When we find ourselves involved with God at work, we also begin to find the work we were meant to do." And that's how we discover our true calling from God.

Have you discovered your calling? If not, pray and search for God's will. Over time, He'll reveal it to you.

What Would Jesus Do?

From: Love Worth Finding Ministries

Colossians 3:17 "Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus."

Did you know that the best argument for Christianity and the best argument against Christianity is in your life?

That's right. Not only are you to be a witness of and for Jesus, you are to be a part of the evidence of His reality.

Mahatma Gandhi is said to have studied Christianity intensely but declined to become a follower of Christ because he, "knew so many Christians who were so unlike Christ."

What would happen if every Christian began to walk as Jesus walked, talk as Jesus talked, and love as Jesus loved?

The world would take notice.

Before you say or do anything today, ask yourself, "What Would Jesus Do?"

Stop Asking "Why"

From: Daily Disciples Ministries

John 15:17 "These things I command you, that you love one another."

Jesus tells us to "love one another." And even in this command, we have a choice. Have you ever found yourself wondering why you have to love that person who seems so undeserving? The answer is because Jesus says so.

Love is so important to Jesus that He summed up all Ten Commandments into two: love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The apostle Paul says in First Corinthians 13 that nothing we do really matters without love.

But in today's world, we are confused about love. Movies and television lure us into fantasies about "true" love using sex, guilt and manipulation as tools to obtain love. When we are hurt by someone who says they love us, we begin to wonder if love really exists at all. Is love a feeling or is it an attitude or a behavior? Jesus knew exactly why He had to command us to love each other. Because we would not do it based upon on our own feelings. We are human and our nature is sinful.

The only way to keep this commandment is to pray. Pray for God's love to fill your heart. Pray that you will love your enemies as well as your neighbor (the good and bad). Pray that you will love Jesus more everyday. It is only when we stop asking "why" and start asking "how" that we can truly know what love is.

The Big Picture

From: The Word For Today - Bob Gass Ministries

James 4:14 "You are a vapor that appears briefly and then vanishes."

John Walker writes: "We manage, waste, spend and save time. We wish it would come… we wish it would pass… we see it fly and we feel it drag. God controls time.

We're surprised by unexpected developments… God's never surprised, even by the most disastrous turn of events.

How would your faith be if you knew God wasn't surprised by your circumstances and is working towards a holy and healthy conclusion? How would you act, think, and live differently if you were absolutely certain God was at the end of your deadline… even if there were only seconds left?

The Bible says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Time doesn't diminish His love or His power to work within your life. He was there in the past, He's here now, and He will be there in your future. A thousand years are like a day to Him. (2 Peter 3:8). He's interested in bringing you into eternity, not just getting you through until the weekend."

When you see it like that, it changes the big picture, doesn't it?

How To Know God's Will

From: Daily Disciples Ministries

2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is inspired of God and is useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in holiness so that the man may be fully competent and equipped for every good work."

Can you honestly say that you know what God’s will is for your life, or a specific area of your life? Most Christians today do want to know God’s will but many of us are not sure how to find it.

The answer lies in His Word, the Bible. It sounds simple, yet so many of us make it more complicated than it needs to be. We need to open the Bible and ask the Lord to speak to us. We need to start praying God’s Word back to Him. It is in praying God’s Word that we begin to truly understand His will for us.

Praying Scripture will change your life and give you direction for knowing the will of God every day. Ask the Lord to teach you how to read Scripture and then pray it back to Him, using His words from your heart to reflect His will.

The Reason For The Season

Ephesians 5:20 "Give thanks to God the Father always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Every year during this season I seem to spend a little more time reflecting on the things I am most thankful for.

Family, friends, and health, all come to mind very quickly. Then the "reason for the season", Jesus Christ, takes His rightful place as Number One in my mind and heart.

All it takes is remembering what James said, "You are a vapor that appears briefly and then vanishes." (4:14). The right thinking then becomes anchored and I recall Paul's words in Ephesians, "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of your life. Thus you will be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may attain to the fullness of God Himself." (3:17-19). To me this is God's essential message to His followers.

Have a blessed, joyous and Merry Christmas.

May God bless you and your family.

Bobby

The Master

From: In Touch Ministries

Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk; I will counsel you, keeping My eye on you."

We all have experienced seasons when life just seems to spin out of control. Sometimes people don't cooperate with us and become an obstacle to our goals. At other times, we are squeezed by overcommitment. Perhaps an illness interrupts our plans or an unexpected situation throws us off balance. None of these things take God by surprise. Our all-knowing heavenly Father will use the events of life to shape us internally and externally.

Let me give you an analogy to show how the Father works. Imagine a chess game in which one contestant is a master and the other is an amateur. The champion chess player wants to teach the other person how to play. But he never forces the beginner to move a particular piece. Instead, he allows the amateur to make his own decisions and then responds accordingly.

The inexperienced player knows only some simple strategies and lacks the experience to see several moves ahead. He makes many mistakes along the way. The champion understands the game so well that he can anticipate the result of every move. In this way, he is able to guide the game to the conclusion he has chosen.

In our case, the Father desires to transform us into the image of His Son Jesus. He knows we are beginners who will make some right choices and some poor ones. But He is the master with the knowledge and ability to work all things together for our good. Because of this, we need not be discouraged. The Lord is always at work for our benefit.

Getting Convicted Is A Good Thing

From: Daily Disciples Ministries

Psalm 139:23-24 "Probe me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts. See if my way is crooked, and lead me in the way of old."

One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of wrongdoing. In my life, there have been things I have been doing for years and years, never thinking much about it. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, I start getting convicted. When the Lord starts working with us on these behaviors, thoughts come to mind like, "Maybe I should not do that anymore" and "Why do I do that?"Personally, I do not like these thoughts because I know how long I have been on this path and it is embarrassing to think that I might have been wrong all those years. Who wants to be wrong?

At these times, the Holy Spirit is the One who is working with you. God's standards are different than man's. Behavior that might be completely acceptable to others may not be acceptable for you in the Lord. However, it is the Lord's responsibility to change you. He is just letting you in on what He is doing. Our responsibility is not to suddenly change our behavior (as if it were that easy), but to yield to what the Spirit wants to do with your behavior.

If there is something in your life on which you believe the Holy Spirit is on, be thankful. It is confirmation that you are God's child. The Lord will not force His will or His best on you. But He wants you to be willing to yield to His leading in that behavior.

The Lord hears all your prayers and He wants to work with you. He will not convict you and let you fix it by yourself. He wants to do the work by His Spirit, not by you in your flesh. It is in the Spirit that God gets the glory. If He led you into conviction, He will be responsible for leading you into a different behavior. Rest, Trust and Relax. You will like who you are when He is done.

That's All You Need To Know

From: Anonymous

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God."

A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible, Psalm 23. She gave the youngsters a month to learn the verse. Little Bobby was excited about the task. But, he just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.

On the day the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 for their parents and the whole congregation, Bobby was very nervous. When it was his turn he sat there for a moment in silence as if in deep thought. The entire congregation and his parents were filled with anxiety for the little lad. Then he smiled and spoke up proudly...

"The Lord is my shepherd...and that's all you need to know."

Sometimes indeed that is all you need to know.

Personality

From: Oswald Chambers Ministries

John 17:22 "That they may be one even as We are One."

Personality is that peculiar, incalculable thing that is meant when we speak of ourselves as distinct from everyone else. Our personality is always too big for us to grasp. An island in the sea may be but the top of a great mountain. Personality is like an island, we know nothing about the great depths underneath, consequently we cannot estimate ourselves. We begin by thinking that we can, but we come to realize that there is only one Being Who understands us, and that is our Creator.

Personality is the characteristic of the spiritual man as individuality is the characteristic of the natural man. Our Lord can never be defined in terms of individuality and independence, but only in terms of personality, "I and My Father are one."

Personality merges, and you only reach your real identity when you are merged with another person. When love, or the Spirit of God strikes a man, he is transformed, he no longer insists upon his separate individuality. Our Lord never spoke in terms of individuality, but in terms of personality - "that they may be one, even as We are One."

If you give up your right to yourself to God, the real true nature of your personality answers to God straight away. Jesus Christ emancipates the personality, and the individuality is transfigured; the transfiguring element is love, personal devotion to Jesus. Love is the outpouring of one personality in fellowship with another personality.

Stress-buster

From: Love Worth Finding Ministries

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Stress is nothing new. Noah had it when he was building the ark with no rain in sight. Martha had it when she was preparing a meal for our Lord.

Stress is the gap between the demands placed on us and the strength we have in meeting those demands.

It is not a sin to be stressed, nor a sin to be weary. It is a sin, though, not to seek a lessening of that stress which tears down the temple of the Holy Spirit, your body.

Where is your answer? In waiting upon the Lord — waiting in the midst of demands. When you learn to wait on Him, God steps in to bridge the stress gap with His mighty strength.

Ask God to equip you to be a stress-buster today.

Incomplete Repentance

From: Selwyn Hughes Ministries

2 Corinthians 7:10 "Indeed, sorrow for God's sake produces a repentance without regrets, leading to salvation, whereas worldly sorrow brings death."

Sometimes I am asked: "If a person does not undergo a radical repentance at the time they turn to Christ, does that mean they are not converted and will not go to heaven when they die?" My answer is usually along this line: "It is better if a person experiences a radical repentance at the time of their initial commitment to Christ, as this sets the tilt of the soul in the direction of agreeing with God. But God will come in and live in a person's life by invitation, even though the repentance is not as complete as it should be."

The advantage of a radical repentance at the time of one's commitment to Christ is, as I have said, that it bends the ego in God's direction and teaches it right from the start that submission is essential.

A major reason for lack of spiritual assurance (people who have committed themselves to Christ not feeling saved) is this issue of incomplete repentance. When repentance is incomplete and there is no "godly sorrow" over sin, the effects of sin (guilt and shame) are not eliminated from the soul. Radical conversion siphons off these things and leaves the soul feeling free. To change the metaphor, if the soul is not plowed up by radical repentance, the seeds sown by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God will not take deep root.

Those who have never fully repented ought to do so now -- without delay. Take time this day to evaluate your spiritual condition.

Who Is On The Lord's Side?

From: Power Point Ministries - Jack Graham

Romans 8:31 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

Many people are not very happy with America these days.

Whether you're watching the news on television, listening to the radio or reading news and magazine reports, this generation is questioning the future of America.

But I believe the answer lies in our Scripture verse for today: "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

What made America great was the favor of Almighty God! God gave birth to this nation. He established and blessed it. And He will continue to bless America IF we place our trust in Him.
We do not exist because of our military might, our ingenuity, or our financial power. We exist because of God's hand of protection.

America was founded in the name of freedom for men and women seeking to live their faith. Our nation was established on Christian foundations and principles. The framers of the Constitution implanted the ethics, morality, values, and beliefs of the Old and New Testaments into our government.

The soul of America belongs to God. But we are in danger of losing that soul today. The day that America decides that we don't need God is the day that America begins to die.

Because the opposite of Romans 8:31 is also true. If God be against us, who can be for us? Ultimately, it's not a question of whether or not God is on our side. The question is who is on the Lord's side?

The Biggest Piece

From: The Word For Today - Bob Gass Ministries

James 4:3 "You do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives."

A major hindrance to answered prayer is - wrong motives! At a birthday party, it came time to serve the cake. A little boy named Brian blurted out, "I want the biggest piece!" His mother scolded him: "Brian, it's not right to ask for the biggest piece." The little boy looked at her in confusion and said, "Well then, how do I get it?" If you have the wrong motives, your prayers won't be answered.

A motive is the why behind the what. In prayer, the reason we pray is much more important than the words we say. Having a pure heart that loves God and loves people is always an acceptable motive to the Lord. Selfishness is unacceptable; revenge is unacceptable; manipulation and control are unacceptable; jealousy is unacceptable; pride is unacceptable. In fact, anything that is selfish is an unacceptable motive.

To pray effectively we must purify our hearts on a regular basis, especially when we find ourselves wanting "the biggest piece". We need to examine our motives. Taking a look at them will be painful, but it must be done if we desire to see our prayers answered.

As You Practice, So You Play

From: Bryant Wright Ministries

1 Timothy 4:7 "Train yourself for the life of piety, for while physical training is to some extent valuable, the discipline of religion is incalculably more so with its promise of life here and hereafter."

Football coaches have a saying about preparing for the big game. As you practice, so you play. It works the same way in our spiritual lives. Regular time alone with God is how we practice staying close to God each day. And certainly if we're going to have meaningful, weekly worship with other believers, it's always more meaningful when we've spent time alone with God.

Have you ever been to a worship service that just seemed to fall flat? Maybe you thought your pastor let you down and gave a sermon that was just plain boring! Or maybe the music didn't connect or wasn't the style you were in the mood for that day. Some days things just don't connect and you think, "Well, there's an hour of my life I'll never get back."

I guess that sometimes ministers do fall short, but maybe it's just a little too easy to blame the worship leaders for a flat experience. When a weekly service disappoints, it might be because you haven't been in practice all week. As you practice, so you play the game. You'll be amazed how much anticipation there is for weekly worship if you have regular time alone with God.

Don't Be Defensive

From: Daily In Christ Ministries

1 Peter 2:23 "While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously."

There are two reasons why you should not be defensive when there is a critical, negative evaluation of you.

First, if you are in the wrong, you don't have a defense. If you are criticized for saying something which is out of order or doing something which is wrong, and the criticism is valid, any defensiveness on your part would be a rationalization at best and a lie at worst. You must simply respond, "You're right; I was wrong," then take steps to improve your character and behavior.

Second, if you are right, you don't need a defense. Peter encouraged us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus who "while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously." If you are in the right, you don't need to defend yourself. The Righteous Judge, who knows who you are and what you have done, will exonerate you.

A dear lady entered my office with a well-thought-out list of "things for me" and "things against me." I suggested that she share the "things for me" first. That didn't take long! As she was going through the "things against me," the part of me that is made of earth wanted to respond to every allegation. But I didn't. When she was finished, there was an awkward pause before I said, "It must have taken a lot of courage to come in and share that with me. What do you suggest I do?" She started to cry.

Nobody tears another down from a position of strength or judges another without being judged. Judgmental people are people in pain. If you can learn not to be defensive when someone exposes your character defects or attacks your performance, you may have an opportunity to turn the situation around and minister to that person.

Gone With The Wind

From: Our Daily Bread Ministries

Ecclesiastes 1:14 "All is vanity and a chase after wind."

The epic film based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel Gone With the Wind opens with these lines:
“There was a land of Cavaliers and Cotton Fields called the Old South. Here in this pretty world, Gallantry took its last bow. . . . Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered, a Civilization gone with the wind.”

Not only does a way of life disappear but also the dreams that drive the main characters. Throughout the Civil War, Scarlett O’Hara is preoccupied with her love for Ashley Wilkes. But by story’s end, she is disillusioned.

Solomon saw the futility of seeking satisfaction in people and things. Despite amassing wealth and knowledge, completing great projects, and marrying many wives, he said, “All is vanity and a chase after wind.”

Why does chasing transitory things leave us unfulfilled? The biblical answer is that we were created to find our ultimate fulfillment in God. Jesus promised, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

People and things come and go. But the spiritual satisfaction Christ offers sustains us in this world and will endure into eternity.

Be Ready When Opportunities Come

From: The Word For Today - Bob Gass Ministries

2 Timothy 2:15 "Work hard so God can approve you."

Moses spent 80 years preparing for a job that would last 40. That's a two-to-one ratio of preparation to execution. The greater the goal, the greater the preparation! Much of your life can be spent getting ready for what seems like a brief season and assignment. But to be able to say at the end, "I have finished my course" is to have lived successfully. And that's so whether you are called to run a marathon or a 100-meter sprint.

Before passing the torch to Timothy, Paul says, "Work hard so God can approve you." Who does God use? People who prepare well. Whether you're called to business, education, politics, art, medicine or ministry, this principle remains - God uses prepared people. The price tag required for long-term success cannot be lowered. We all want what successful people have, we're just not all willing to pay the price they paid to achieve it. You must be prepared when your opportunities come.

Abraham Lincoln said, "I will prepare and some day my chance will come." Benjamin Disraeli said, "The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his time when it comes." When the fate of the Jews hung in the balance, Mordecai told Esther that her experience in the king's palace had prepared her, "For such a time as this" (Esther 4:14). She responded and the Jews were saved. All these people had talent, prepared themselves and made the most of their opportunities when they arose. So your greatest challenge is not lack of opportunity, but being ready when it comes.