Show Me Your Purpose

Every time I read one of Paul's books in the Bible I am just blown away. He wrote 13 books of the New Testament. He traveled more than 10,000 miles planting churches, by foot or by boat. He was shipwrecked three times, was set adrift at sea, beaten, stoned and locked away in prisons.

Before he was converted, he passionately persecuted  the early Christians. Paul met a bright light on his way to arrest Christians in Damascus. He heard Christ speak, was blinded and later healed by Ananias. He was baptized and immediately began preaching that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God. His passion was shifted from being a Christian persecutor to Christian professor. God took his evil life and made it for good. 

Paul's strong background in Jewish education under one of the finest teachers available, Gamaliel, became a huge benefit to him when he met Jesus. Once he was converted to Christianity by Christ himself, he was never the same. His life was lived for Jesus and for spreading the Good News, especially to the Gentiles, who were once considered by the Jews to be unacceptable to God. Paul dedicated much of his life to assuring the Gentiles they were worthy. 

No matter what sin lies in our personal histories, God can and will use our faithful-selves for His holy purpose.

"With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith," (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NIV). 

Oh, God and Father of us all, thank You for touching each of us, like Paul, with Your calling. Help us see clearly our purpose during this time and place. Use Your power to work Your good purpose through every action we take according to our faith in You. Praying in Jesus' name, Amen.

Whose Voice Do You Hear?

I loved this time of year on the farm. The grass was green and the purple iris were blooming along the driveway . Baby lambs had turned into show lamb weight, after being weighing in several months ago. And now the hard work of 4-Hers and FFA members kicks into high gear:The exercising. The precise feeding (down to teaspoons full).and fresh water. The washing and drying. The shearing.  The constant attack against ringworm and fungus. The daily cleaning of pens. Then do it again tomorrow and tomorrow...

It always amazed me how the lambs would respond to their shepherd. If I was left to feed the sheep in John's (rare) absence, they looked at me with suspicious eyes. They backed up in the far corner of the pen. That gave me enough time to begin filling the feeding trough, just ahead of the sheep stampede for food. Hunger definitely takes precedence over fear.

"The sheep listen to the sheperd's voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, He goes on ahead of them. and his sheep follow him because they know his voice," (John 10:3b-4 NIV).

Somewhere this week an article asked, "Whose voice do you listen to?" I pondered the time I spend scrolling on Facebook. What amount of time do I listen to Christian music? What amount of time do I spend in prayer, Bible-reading, Bible-study, just listening to God? Not enough.

Dear God, our Holy One: we lift our voices to give You our praise and glory! Thank You for being the voice we want to hear. Block out the clutter and noise and speak to us, we pray. We listen in the name of Jesus. Amen.