God is Calling

I am back in America and waiting on my return to Greece. My heart is ready for the ministry God has placed before me and I can not wait to see how things turn out. I know that I have many things to do here at home in order to go back and I also have many family and friends to visit but I do not need to get lost in that. I need to keep my faith strong and my wisdom sharp. I need to keep Christ first and not let the struggles of this town take hold of me. I long to be with the kids in Greece, but know that I have to live a life that is Holy and praiseworthy at all times no matter the cost. I have to live this life through the thick and the thin and I can not allow Satan to attack me in the ways he knows I am weak. I need to take the armor of God and fasten it on with trust. I need to depend on God and not my own understanding and my own concerns and desires. God says that your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you ~Jeremiah 2:19a. I don’t want either one; but in reality who does. In the moment everything is going good but we need to remember what is Holy to God and what is praiseworthy to Him; and in all these things we need to remember who we are and what we represent when we say we are children of God. I am a child of God and I am saying now for Satan to flee from me. God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble ~Psalm 46:1. So, to the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill ~Psalm 3:4.
There will be times that I face trials and many times I will fail but I hold the truths in James 1:2-4 dear to my heart. It says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” So in my trials though hard and frustrating; it is allowing my heart and soul to mature. I know that as a Christian I am always growing and maturing. I pray that my trials will be few and that within those trials God will teach me and guide me closer to His truths.
I know that God is calling me to speak His word and share who He is. I am to tell people about the amazing God I serve. I am to glorify Him in my actions and my words. I pray that my heart will be the same as that in Jeremiah 20:9 which says, “If I say, I will not mention him, or speak any more in His name, His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” I want that burning passion in my heart. I want the passion that if I don’t speak out that I will grow weary. The word of God is in my heart and if I don’t let it out it will be like a burning fire. We need to voice the word of God and set that fire loose. We need to let that fire start in our family, in our community, in our town/city, in our country, and in our world. We do not need to hold our tongue and be timid for this is not the time for timidity. We are called to proclaim the word of God to all those who we come in contact with. Is that something we are doing? I know that for me to be completely honest with you; I have not been fully faithful in this area of my life. I should share the word freely and without fear. What is there to fear? God say, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go ~Joshua 1:9. God promised us that he will be with us wherever we go. God has not given us a spirit of fear and if we are obedient to Him, we will be protected.
I got this email the other day telling about God’s disappointment with our nation; and if you look at our nation today can you blame him? Our nation is full of evil and wicked sins. We have turned from God in so many ways. We read in the Bible about how God handled nations that rebuked him and turned from him. What makes us think that He will not do the same with us? There are many things that our nation needs to come back to. We need to remember who created us and who gives us each breath we take. In the email there were seven things that we as Christians need to do to turn back to God and to bring the nation back to God. We need not be content with how things are and the evil in the land. We need to stand up and fight.
1. Break up the fallow ground- return to me- REPENT
Get on your face before God and ask him to break your heart with the things that break His heart.
Jeremiah 4:3
2. Mourn- It is time to weep because our nation’s sin is incredible.
Jeremiah 9:17&18 and Ezekiel 9
3. Pray- Pray fervently, passionately for America
Jeremiah 36:7
4. Love God’s word- You must love the word of God and be in the word of God.
Jeremiah 20
5. Love others as Jesus loved them.
Jeremiah 31:3 and John 13:34
6. Introduce people to Jesus Christ. It is serious this is not a time for timidity.
Jeremiah 31:31 and Jeremiah 33:1-9, 15, &17
7. Rest
Ezekiel 14- Read until you understand it.