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Inspirational Article
From
Joanne Lowe
Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web
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Inspirational Article
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I wonder how many times Jesus has called us to do something and we fled from Him? Many years ago when I lived in Oklahoma, I heard a man give a testimony during a Wednesday night prayer service about how he ran from Jesus for over thirty years. He told us that he had felt the call of Jesus to preach but he was so busy trying to establish a business that he had opened that he ignored the call of Jesus to preach. How that must have hurt our precious Saviour! Jesus doesn’t ask much from us compared to all He does for us.
Sometimes we use the excuse that we can’t serve Jesus because we have to work to pay our bills. Oh friends, if Jesus calls us to do something, He will be faithful to equip us. Think about the missionaries and evangelists that sell all of their material possessions and leave their families and homes to serve Jesus.
What is the difference between the man who ran from Jesus for over thirty years and the missionaries and evangelists who sell everything and leave their families and their homes? The missionaries and evangelists have allowed Jesus to touch their hearts and they have a longing and desire to tell others that Jesus loves them. Their hearts are filled with compassion for others and they have decided to serve Jesus no matter what they have to sacrifice. Oh, that every person in the world would fall in love with Jesus and long to serve Him. There should be long lines waiting to serve Jesus. Instead, people are refusing His call on their lives.
Many people have told me that they were once in the ministry but are no longer pastors. They may not be pastoring a church anymore but they are still pastors and they still have the responsibility to serve Jesus where they live. There is no retirement in God’s service. When God calls us to do something, He never removes that calling. It is us who have stopped doing what He has called us to do.
Have you felt the call of God on your life to do something but you are reluctant to stop doing what you are doing? I’ve had many people ask me how they can know that God is calling them to do something. The only way we will be able to hear the call of God is to spend time with Him. Get to know Him. Learn what makes Him happy and what makes Him sad. Laugh with Him and weep with Him. I’m sure that His heart is broken many times when He sees the way that His beloved Son is treated.
Many years ago when I going door to door on visitation for the bus ministry, I asked this lady “If you knew that God was telling you to sell your home and give the money to missions, would you do it?” The lady didn’t hesitate. She said “I worked long and hard for many years to have the money to buy this home. I bought every piece of furniture in the house and all of the decorations with my own money and I would never sell it.”
What an insult and what a slap in the face that was to our Heavenly Father and to our precious Saviour! In the first place, nothing we have is ours. It all belongs to Jesus. God may never ask us to sell our homes, but if He does, we should be eager and willing to do it for Him. How sad it is that people treasure their homes and their material possessions more than they treasure Jesus. One day we will stand before a Holy God and give an account of the way we treated Jesus. May God have mercy on our souls!
Father, please forgive us for refusing to serve You when You call us to do something. Soften our hearts and fill them with compassion for the lost and for a world that is hurting and desperately needs to know Jesus. May we be children that would do everything we could possibly do to make You happy. Search our hearts, Father, and remove the things that keep us from saying yes when You call us to do something. Thank You for Your amazing and unconditional love and for the gift of our precious Saviour. Amen.