One of the questions that effects many Christians is “What is God calling me to do?”

Although the answer may come easy to some, it isn’t clear to all of us. I think sometimes we are looking for some type of significant supernatural revelation telling us what God wants us to do, but for most people the answer comes as a simple thought that may re-occur. “I should teach Sunday school,” or “I need to bring my family to church,” or “I should pray for that person.” These may not just be random thoughts, but are the quiet voice of God encouraging you to your calling.

Even if the call is not something dramatic like, “drop everything and go to Africa,” it still can be frightening to follow through. Keep this in mind. “The will of God will never lead you where the love of God will not support you.” God will take care of you if you step out in faith.

Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Dear Lord, thank you for the prompts to act on your calling. Help us listen, hear, and act in faith knowing that you will be there supporting us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.’

Many people find it easier to set priorities and make decision if they have a set of principles to follow. Many companies and organizations have “Guiding Principles” written down and distributed to their employees and members to help with managing their operations.

Jesus gave us a simple set of principles when asked what was the greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” NIV

So when we are looking for direction on how we should live, or what we should do in various circumstances, we can look to these “Guiding Principles” to help with our priorities and decisions.

Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us this clear direction. Help us to live our lives in in this way. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you ever noticed that with the right tool every project seems to go smoother and get better results. Rotating your tires if you have a couple floor jacks and an air wrench makes the project take less than half the time, having two ovens when cooking for a big party at home, a hand truck (dolly) when moving appliances around, the right paintbrush for those tough to paint moldings, and for those of us in the north, a snowblower! Sometimes a task is impossible without the right tool.

In John 15 Jesus talks about being the vine and us being the branches. He expects us to bear fruit, to go and do his work, spread the gospel, make disciples. In verses 7-8 Jesus says ” If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you. My Father is honored by this, that you bear much fruit and show that you are my disciples..”

So when we come to the difficult projects of doing God’s will, like witnessing, teaching, praying, trusting, he will give us any tool we need for the job, all we need to do is ask.

Dear Lord, when we come to those tough projects in being a Christian, help us ask for the tool we need, whether it is money, faith, determination, love, forgiveness or wisdom, and take on the project rather than seeing it as impossible. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Old Testament tells the similar account over and over again of how God’s people followed him and things were good for them, then they became distracted, turned away from God, became self-centered, and their situations fell apart. A prophet or leader would bring them back to God, and things were good again. This theme continues over and over throughout the Bible, and arguably throughout history to this day.

One of the prophets through whom God spoke was Isaiah. In Isaiah 30:18 Isaiah says “Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love; He will conquer you and bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.” The NIV version puts it this way, “..the Lord longs to be gracious to you”

Think of it like this. Your favorite store is giving away merchandise to anyone who shows up and asks; no charge; no fine print. However, they are not advertising or promoting the event, you have to show up to find out. That is what God is telling us. God is just waiting there for us to come to Him, and he will show us His love and blessing.

Dear Lord, Help us understand and appreciate that you are always there, waiting for us to come to you in faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

The dictionary definition of the word “cleanse” is, “to rid of impurities.”

John writes in 1 John 1:8,9, “If we say that we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

For most of us, it is very difficult to admit when we are wrong. I think this stems from the sense that admitting we are wrong makes us feel inferior. However, admitting our wrongs, “confessing” them to God, shows our recognition that we need to be forgiven by God, who is superior. The great thing about this admission is that it makes us better, not inferior. God through Jesus cleanses us, or “rids us of impurities.”

Now is as good a time as any, to make that confession.

Dear Lord, we cannot follow your will and direction, no matter how hard we try. We are guilty of disobedience to you and wronging other people. Forgive us for these failings. We thank you for your forgiveness through Jesus, and the knowledge that we can live our lives confident of your grace and salvation, not because we deserve it, but because of your gift. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.