Category: Christian Living

  • The Calling

    Image of a wayerfall with the text "THE CALLING"

    Every human being has a purpose. Above and beyond that, every Christian believer has a divine calling from God. We are literally on a mission from God. There are specific callings to certain ministries, but every believer has a calling on their life.

    In Ephesians, Paul speaks of our calling. Ephesians 1:3-12 is a blessing that traces salvation from God’s eternal plan to its realization in Christ.

    In the balance of chapter one, Paul prays that we will understand the depth of our calling. In chapter two, Paul speaks of our calling into one nation, Jews and Gentiles alike, saved by grace and faith in what Christ has done.

    In chapter three he asks that believers be strengthened inwardly, rooted in love, and able to comprehend the vast dimensions of Christ’s love that surpass knowledge. The section closes with a doxology, affirming that God’s power is able to accomplish far more than human expectation.

    It is God’s power that enables us to deal with the practicalities of the calling.

    Starting in verse 4, Paul reminds us how to live out our calling as children of God, called to serve Him and bring Him glory.

    Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond Ephesians 4:1-3

    In a short list, reminiscent of the Fruit of the Spirit, Paul reminds us of how we are to live. It’s Spirit-powered and impossible under our flesh to do.

    It’s a more powerful list than any checklist of dos and don’ts. It cuts right to the heart of the matter, our changed nature. Walking in a way worthy of our calling causes us to evaluate every situation through the lens of Jesus and live appropriately.

    It runs counter culturally to everything the world declares. It’s radical, upside-down thinking. It stands out in a crowd, pointing people to the God who changes us.

    None of us has yet reached the point of living this way every moment, but it is a process that’s being worked in us. God promises to finish it.

    Are you living a life worthy of your great calling from God?

    Be blessed
    Kevin

     

    Key Takeaways

    • Every Christian has a divine calling from God, as outlined in Ephesians.
    • Paul emphasizes understanding our calling and living it out in unity and love.
    • The calling requires humility, gentleness, and patience while reflecting Christ’s love.
    • Living worthy of our calling is a transformative process that God will complete.
    • Evaluate your life: Are you living in a manner consistent with your calling?

    The gospel is the best news you will ever hear.

    Famous Last Words

    Our quest, a holy calling

  • Newborns

    Newborn infant - newborn Christian

    All the ladies of the small church and not a few of the men were gathered in one corner. It was easy to see why… One of the women of the church had brought in her newborn baby, born just days before. Everyone was oohing and aahing over this little miracle.

    You know the scene. You’ve seen it many times in many locations when a newborn appears. The same thing happens when the new grandmother pulls out the photographs of the latest addition to the family lineage.

    I have a confession to make. I’m not much of a newborn baby fan. I’m getting better as the years go by, but I’m still not very comfortable around them.

    Babies are small, and they used to terrify me. I was that afraid I was going to drop them or hurt them. Babies seem so very fragile to me. 

    Babies are wrinkly and funny colored. Often, heads are misshapen, and their coloration is funny. There is just something spooky about them. Now, I know none of that is rational; in fact, it is quite silly, but it’s true.

    I was present when both of my sons were born. Even though I’m not much of a baby fan, there was something beautiful about them. There was something beautiful about my wife. She had just been through hours of labor and wasn’t looking quite like a supermodel, but she and my sons were the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

    Now I’ll admit I was biased, because after all, they were my sons and my wife. Still in my eyes, they were beautiful beyond description. I still worried about dropping them or hurting them in some way, and I wasn’t as comfortable as perhaps others in the same situation might have been.

    I was also present within minutes or hours of many of my grandchildren’s births. I love them dearly, and they were almost as good-looking as my own boys.

    I’m a lot more comfortable when babies reach the age when they are moving around better, talking a bit and have insatiable curiosity. They look more like people, and I’m not so worried about hurting them.

    There is that precious age when they think you know things and ask you questions. You get adoring smiles when you can answer them. I don’t get a lot of those when I tell things to teens or other adults.

    There is a newborn baby that I love to be around, though. When someone comes to know Jesus, when they are born again, they are a new creation.

     Therefore, from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

    New Christians have a zeal, a passion for Christ that many older saints seem to have lost. They hunger for the Word and they long to know Jesus more.

    Newborn believers actually want to go to worship services. They don’t go because someone told them that they had to attend.

    Newborn believers tell everyone about Jesus whether they want to hear about it or not. I don’t have numbers to substantiate it, but I believe that for the bulk of the faithful, they talked to non-believers about Jesus far more as new creations than they do as battle hardened saints.

    I know I am generalizing, and you may well be the exception to the rule. We can probably all thing of a believer who never lost that zest for Jesus.

    Still, my hearts desire is for people to know Him more deeply and to be transformed into His image. That’s one of the reasons I love to write about Him; to preach and to teach Bible studies.

    It isn’t that I have somehow “made it”, I am a long way from being a fully sanctified believer. I have my struggles like everyone else and my own sin to wrestle with. It isn’t that I know more than everyone else. 

    It’s simply that I know the zeal of someone who could never have been redeemed under his own merit who has been set free by Jesus. I know it isn’t going to happen but I want everyone to have that moment of freedom, of rebirth.

    If you haven’t yet been born again, I pray you would come to know Jesus. If you have been born again, my prayer is that your fire for Jesus never be extinguished and that you grow ever deeper in your relationship with Him.

    Be blessed

    Kevin

    Kingdom Diversity

    Summary

    A newborn baby at church prompts reflections on both the beauty and fragility of new life and the excitement people naturally feel around it. The piece then shifts to the spiritual parallel of being “born again,” celebrating the passion, joy, and eagerness that new believers often have in their relationship with Jesus.

    Takeaway

      New life, whether physical or spiritual, carries a sense of wonder, hope, and transformation.

      New Christians are often marked by enthusiasm for worship, Scripture, and sharing their faith with others.

      The closing message encourages people to come to know Jesus and to continue growing spiritually without losing their zeal.

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