"Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!" 1 Corinthians 9:16
We all know that Paul was called to spread the good news of Christ to the gentiles. We know that. What do you know about Gods call on your life? I know there is one. Take some time, stop, be quiet, and listen to God. What is He sharing with you? What do you know?
Do not confuse you salvation with your relationship with God. There is nothing easier than getting saved because it is God's sovereign work – “Come unto Me and I will save you.” There is a period on that last sentence because there is nothing else to do, nothing else to discuss, nothing else required for the act of salvation to occur. We are condemned to salvation through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Discipleship, however, has an option with it - "IF any man . . . " You have a choice to make; a lifetime of choices.
Beware of stopping your eyes from seeing the leading of God. Beware of stopping your ears from hearing God’s counsel to you. Beware of stopping your feet from going where God is. Beware of stopping your mind from thinking God’s thoughts. Beware of stopping your heart from bleeding God’s blood, feeling God’s pangs of love toward others.
Check out Colossians 3:1-2 “So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from His perspective.”
God’s word toward us has to do with being made a servant of Jesus Christ, and our permission is never asked as to what we will do or where we will go. "I am already being poured out as a drink offering." 2 Timothy 4:6. God makes us broken bread and poured-out wine to please Himself. To be "zealously engaged for God" means to hear the call of God; and when a man begins to hear that call, then begins agony that is worthy of the name. Every ambition is nipped in the bud, every desire of life quenched, every selfish outlook completely extinguished and blotted out, saving one thing only - "separated unto God." Woe be to the soul who tries to put his foot in any other direction once he hears the call.
Challenge exists to see whether God has a man here who cares about doing God’s will; to see whether God grips you. And beware of distractions when God does grip you.
Colossians 3:3-4”Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.”
Colossians 3:5-8 “And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.”
Slay the selfish you like David slew Goliath. Kill it and then cut its head off for a sign to all the distractions that would think about coming at you in the future. As if to say, “This too will happen to you.”
I challenge you to find the way God has for you. Once you find it, be obedient. Do not do life alone. God gave you parents and authorities in your life for a reason; talk to them. Discuss what you are experiencing and going through. Their old they have been through it too…or they know someone who has…someone who can help. God planned life that way. Do not reinvent God’s plan so that you can be comfortable. If I challenged you to find in the bible where God promised a comfortable life and you accepted the challenge, you would fail.
Accept the challenge to find God’s purpose for you ... and succeed.
First Officer Stansbury
