Today’s Passage – Exodus 1 – 3; Proverbs 20 (Second Milers also read – Mark 11 & 12; memorize Colossians 3:16)
“And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” (Exodus 3:4)
Forgive me for reminiscing a little this morning, but when I read this passage of Scripture dealing with the call of God to Moses, I can’t help but remember the times that I heard clearly the voice of God as He was directing my life. The times that I will share with you happened after I had already trusted Christ as my Saviour, and after I was also already serving Him and growing in Him the best I knew how through my local church. Notice in the passage that Moses also had to get close to God in order for him to hear God’s call.
The first time in my life that I felt God call me was when I was attending a evening service back at Ocean County Baptist Church nearly 20 years ago. I was probably 25 years old at the time and had only been a Christian at that point for a short while. Anyway, we had a guest missionary speaker that night. I must confess that I do not remember the preacher’s name, or the place where he was a missionary. I don’t even remember his message title or text. What I do remember, however, was his invitation. It went something like this: “If God were to call you to do something, and He were to make it clear to you that it was His will, would you surrender?” To me, that was a no brainer. The man was not asking me to surrender to some specific place or ministry at that moment; he was merely posing the possibility of a call, and asking what my response would be. I went forward, and frankly I thought the entire congregation would have walked the aisle with me; but when I got up after praying, I was shocked to see that there was only two of us up at the front. At that time in my life, I had no idea what God might do with me; but I told Him that night that I was willing to go “if” He were to call me. I often think back on that moment as the beginning point of God directing me to where I am today.
The second time, I heard God’s call clearly was when He called me to go to Bible College. I had already been to college once, and I was perfectly content with just serving with my pastor at my home church while I learned what I needed to know there. I remember my pastor and I agreeing that I should take some correspondance classes so that I would not have to uproot my family and go off to school. God, however, had other plans. While I was attending a conference down in Longview, Texas, God revealed clearly to me that He wanted me to be trained at Texas Baptist College. I do not regret that move for one minute. God taught me much there; but the main thing that He taught me was how to trust Him.
The third time I heard the voice of God in my life was when God called me to be the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church. I never candidated at any other church. I really didn’t even candidate here. God, through a very miraculous set of circumstances, placed me here. That was almost ten years ago now and one thing is for sure, knowing that I was genuinely “called of God” has been the thing that has kept me going for this past decade. There have been many blessings along the way; and there has also been some difficult days; but I know that I am exactly where God wants me. The certainty of God’s call is what helps keep me going.
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If you missed the Christmas Eve Candlelight service from last night, you can click here…
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Sometimes I find myself lost in life but one thing I always finding myself coming back to is the Bible. For me, I believe the first step in believing is taking that first step without even seeing it and walking in faith. As I get closer to finishing school, and starting something new I have done a lot of reflecting on my life. Friends, some family and material things have come and gone in and out of my life but the one thing that has been constant is God and the presence of the Bible in my life. At times i wrestled with questions about my faith, which is only natural but I remember like pastor the first day I took that step and ever since then I personally feel my eyes have been opened. So, from then on what God has called me to do I accept and do not fight. Things happen in my life for a reason and as long as I stay true to the Word, myself and don't stray away from my path....everything will be ok! ;)