What Is My Calling?
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What is my calling?
I have had a Call to Ministry since I was 14 years old and maybe even before that.
I believe, I have the calling to bring people to Christ through music, through both spoken and written word and to build and equip people for ministry. My Music, Spoken and Written Ministries will get me to the people, give them the opportunity to grow and give me the opportunity to share to build and equip them for service for Christ.
I have had several different roles throughout the years at my previous church. I have taught Sunday School, VBS music band leader, lead Sunday School music, Altar Society, Bible Study leader as well as participant, working with the grounds, Parish Fellowship Board Director, Evangelism Board Director, Choir, worked with Youth Director, instrumental in starting praise band, played guitar, played drums and sang vocals in the praise band, fisherman, and several other roles.
I am telling you this because we are all called. Not just Pastors. Not just Samuel.
According to the 1st century Jewish historian Josephus, Samuel was 12 years old when God called him. Samuel initially assumed it was Eli calling him and went to ask what he wanted. But after the third time Eli realized it was God that was calling Samuel and sent Samuel back to sleep.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30 NIV
For many people of faith, the question “What is God’s calling for your life?” is alternately a source of mystery, frustration, confusion, and hope. Does God have a fine-tuned plan for each of us, or is God’s call more general, with the details left up to us?
But there is work that God calls all of us to do, and it’s laid out for us in the Bible. God makes it clear again and again that we’re to love others, care for the poor, and live our lives in such a way that we point to the power of the gospel. When we contemplate what God’s calling is for our lives, those universal commands are a great place to start.
1. Proverbs 31:8-9 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
2. Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
3. Isaiah 58:6-7
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
4. Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
New Testament
5. Matthew 6:33-34
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
6. Mark 16:15
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
7. 1 Corinthians 7:17
Nevertheless, each person should live as a believer in whatever situation the Lord has assigned to them, just as God has called them. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches.
8. Ephesians 4:1-6
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
9. Philippians 2:1-4
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
10. Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
11. 2 Timothy 1:10
He has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
12. Hebrews 3:1
Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.
13. Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
14. 1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
15. 1 Peter 3:15-16
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
16. 1 Peter 4:10-11
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Our Daily Bread - May 18, 2024
Called and Equipped by God
I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom . . . and with all kinds of skills.
Exodus 31:3
“Your job for the international book expo,” my boss informed me, “is to organize an onsite radio broadcast.” I felt fear because this was new territory for me. God, I’ve never done anything like this, I prayed. Please help me.
God provided resources and people to guide me: experienced technicians and broadcasters, plus reminders during the expo of details I’d overlooked. In retrospect, I know that the broadcast went well because He knew what was needed and prompted me to use the skills He’d already given me.
When God calls us to a task, He also equips us for it. When He assigned Bezalel to work on the tabernacle, Bezalel was already a skilled craftsman. God further equipped him by filling him with His Spirit and with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and all kinds of skills (Exodus 31:3). God also gave him an assistant in Oholiab, as well as a skilled workforce (v. 6). With His enablement, the team designed and made the tent, its furnishings, and the priests’ garments. These were instrumental in the Israelites’ proper worship of God (vv. 7-11).
Bezalel means “in the shadow [protection] of God.” The craftsman worked on the project of a lifetime under God’s protection, power, and provision. Let’s courageously obey His prompting as we carry out a task to completion. He knows what we need, and how and when to give it.
By Karen Huang
Quote:
“God does not call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He has called.”
Our Daily Bread - April 16, 2024
Ready to Go for God
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Ephesians 4:1
The book Hidden Figures recounts preparations for John Glenn’s flight into space. Computers were newfangled inventions in 1962, subject to glitches. Glenn didn’t trust them and worried about calculations for the launch. He knew one brainy woman in the back room could run the numbers. He trusted her. “If she says the numbers are good,” Glenn said, “I’m ready to go.”
Katherine Johnson was a teacher and mother of three. She loved Jesus and served in her church. God had blessed Katherine with a remarkable mind. NASA tapped her in the late 1950s to help with the space program. She was Glenn’s “brainy woman,” one of the “human computers” they hired at the time.
We may not be called to be brilliant mathematicians, but God callsus to other things: “To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” (Ephesians 4:7).
We’re to “live a life worthy of the calling” we’ve received (v. 1). We’re part of one body, in which “each part does its work” (v. 16).
Katherine Johnson’s calculations confirmed the course trajectory. Glenn’s launch into orbit was like “hitting a bull’s-eye.” But this was just one of Katherine’s callings. Remember, she was called also to be a mother, teacher, and church worker. We might ask ourselves what God has called us to, whether big or small. Are we “ready to go,” exercising the grace-gifts He’s bestowed, living “a life worthy of [our] calling” (v. 1)?
By Kenneth Petersen
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
There are five different listings of spiritual gifts in the New Testament: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10; 12:28-30; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:11. That no two lists are identical suggests that each one isn’t exhaustive. More important, the emphasis is on how the diversity of gifts are to be used “for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7) and to “equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12 NLT) in a loving way that unites the church (vv. 13-16). Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (v. 11) are people gifted in proclaiming and teaching the Scriptures.
K. T. Sim
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.
1 Corinthians 1:2
Quote:
You may be called for something that seems unnatural for us, but when we listen and heed to God's calling, it will connect us to our inner desires. God will not call us for something he hasn't wired us to do.
— C. E. Ibanez
On June 23, 2016 I was driving down Territorial Road, on my way to Pastor Ann's house. I started to pray and ask God if He still wanted me to do my music ministry or do I go back to college to get my degree and if college what degree? Suddenly on the left-hand side of the road a church and the sign stated "Congratulations Pastor Anna" I took this as a sign, a calling, and answered prayer that God wanted me to become a pastor.
I am truly feeling I am being called to be either an Associate Pastor or Senior Pastor. If it was children's ministry or music I could do that in the Lutheran church and I wouldn't be called Pastor. I would be called Director of Christian education, director of Christian out reach, or director of music. The sign specifically stated "Congratulations Pastor Anna". Telling me that I need to become a pastor and lead a congregation.
At Living Hope I have been in charge of the children’s ministry called the Kidz Club, assist with the teens, Facilitate the Celebrate Recovery addiction group and Emotional Healing group, lead the opening of Celebrate Recovery, board meetings, playing guitar during service, delivering communion, reading scripture lessons and delivering 100+ sermons.
I also have a texting ministry where I send out a daily text and I also send out the Sunday services via text weekly.
I believe I have been called to ministry for several years. However, called to become a pastor only since seeing the sign.
What are you called to do?