2 Peter 1:10-11 - Do you hear the call?

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:10-11

Summary: Be eager to confirm your call because if you do this you will never stumble. This will give you entry into the eternal kingdom of Christ.

Thoughts: I've been thinking alot about my call lately. I have passed my first set of interviews and will be Commissioned as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church at Annual Conference this June. It was late in the year of 2011 that I first admitted that I was hearing a call from God and it was this call that led me into youth ministry. My life is very different now than it was 10 years ago. I have gone from making a 6 digit salary in the Software industry to a salary in the church that is one quarter of that. I have gone from managing 20 people to managing none (although I could consider myself sort of managing the adults and youth that I work with at church!). My family is also different. My children, who were 5 and 9 are now 15 and 19. My husband is now the CEO of the Youth Worker Movement. I have transitioned from a youth ministry volunteer to a full-time youth minister, in leadership with youth in the Conference and the Jurisdiction. And even though I have been in ministry for almost 10 years now, I sometimes find myself unsure of what I am doing. I still wonder what God is going to call me to next. That's the exciting part of following God's call on your life. Once you let go and begin to follow where God is leading, you never know where you will end up next. So as far as the scripture goes, I think I am still going to stumble, even though I have confirmed my call. But even when I stumble, I know that God is there, to pick me up, dust me off, and set me on God's path again. I just have to remain open to God's leading!

Prayer: God, Help me listen for your call for my life and help me be open to new experiences and possibilities as you open new doors for me. Amen.

2 Peter 1:1-4 - How much is enough?

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:1-4

Summary: May grace and peace be yours in abundance through the righteousness of God and Jesus Christ. His power has given us everything that we need. The things he has given us can help us escape the corruption of the world.

Thoughts: As I read this scripture I keep coming back to one line: "His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." If God has given us everything that we need, why do we continue to struggle so hard to get things for ourselves? We teach our children that they have to make the best grades in school, so that they can go to the best colleges where they need to make even better grades, so that they can get a job making the most money, so that they can buy the biggest house and marry the best looking spouse. Where does it all end? If God has given us everything that we need for life why do we continue to try to get more? At what point do we get off of the merry go round and take a job that we love? When is it enough? Perhaps, instead, we should teach our children to have well rounded lives and to find a vocation that gives them a sense of fullfillment, rather than a high paying job. Let's show our children, through our own choices, what a well rounded, fulfilled adult looks like, so that they will have something meaningful to strive for.

Prayer: God, you have given me everything that I need "for life and godliness." Let this be enough for me. Amen.

1 Peter 4:1-6 - Led by God, to do what?

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:1-6

Summary: Don't live by human desires but by the will of God. You have spent enough time doing what the Gentiles like to do. However, we will all have to be judged at some point.

Thoughts: It is so easy to give in to human desires. For example, lately I've been having trouble resisting sweets. It's entirely too easy, when I'm sitting around watching TV, to grab an unhealthy snack. But it's difficult for me to give up sweets entirely. So I am trying to eat them in moderation. As I type this I am thinking about the delicious looking cake in the office, calling my name, wanting me to come and get a piece to eat! And this is just a small example of the ways in which I allow myself to give in to human desires. I also find myself spending money on things that I really don't need or putting off until tomorrow something that really needs doing now (like straightening my desk!). And these are just the surface things. Below the surface are more important decisions. One such decision is my choice of vocation. Do I choose a vocation based on my human desires (a job deemed important by the world, making lots of money) or do I follow Christ and choose a job based on God's will? I hope to live my life, as this scripture says, "no longer by human desires but by the will of God."  So help me God.

Prayer: Christ, who endured much suffering, did not take the easy way. He set aside human ways and followed the will of God. Please, Lord, help me to do the same. Amen.

Isaiah 61:1-7 - Compassion for the world

Scripture: Isaiah 61:1-7

Summary: The Lord "has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners..."

Thoughts: There is alot more to the scripture than this portion, but I wanted to hone in on this one section. When I step back and look at the big picture of my life, what is God calling me to do? I thought for about 25 years that God was calling me to write software for computers. Was I wrong? Was I not listening to God? Maybe, maybe not. That is in the past and whether that is where God wanted me or not, I learned alot of valuable stuff that is coming in handy now as I practice my ministry. The real question for me is what is God calling me to do with the rest of my life? I find what I sense is an answer to that question in this (and other) scripture. God is calling me to change the lives of others, to help the oppressed, the brokenhearted, the captives. And no matter what job I go to next, this is where my focus will be, on others around me that I can be of assistance to.

Prayer: Please remind me daily that you are the God who gives special favor to the poor, the oppressed, the marginalized. And as a follower of Jesus, I should do the same. Amen