New topic today. Should be an interesting one

Therefore, do not be asharmed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner., but join with me in suffering for the Gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. 2 Timothy 1:8-9

Here is a question; does God take time to call out to every man, woman and child of this world and invite them to walk in fellowship with Him? What does this mean to be called, and has God been calling out to you? What does this mean to you today?

Let’s define the word “call”. It means to cry out, to call aloud, to proclaim, to summon, to invite, to appoint, to praise, to celebrate, to be named. The idea of “call” means that someone is clearly and specifically speaking directly at someone else, to summon person to a specific task. Ex. Isaiah 55:5 “behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you…..”

Throughout the bible and all of history, we see men and women called out by God which we read about as heroes of the faith (and sometimes as bad examples). Calling is a key foundational topic for all a disciple may or may not do in their lifetime. The call is imperative if we hope to see any type of revival in our lives or in our churches. Disciples are touched daily by this word “call”

The men and women we read about that God called out had their hearts and lives changed in very dramatic ways, and changed the course of history in extraordinary ways. Think of people like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, the many prophets, Christs disciples, Paul, and many more. And how about now in modern times? Billy Graham comes to mind, missonairies, what about our own pastor? These all come to mind because either they have been recorded in the bible or have done very big, public things that affected the church in huge ways. So this comes back to the original question, does God call each one of us, or just specific people?

My answer and opinion to this is that He does indeed call each of us. Let us look at a verse in 2 Peter that was addressed to “the church”.

2 Peter 1:1-11

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As you reflect on these words, you can see the importance for the disciple to keeping God’s call on His or her life in the forefront of their thinking and action. So how does God call you today? God will call you through His Holy Spirit, and we need to be willing to listen to Him regardless of what He is telling us. He speaks and shows us His will and plan. Everything He has to say to us is relevant to our times and our daily walk. We just need to have the faith to trust that He knows what is best for us.

The question of who, what, where, when, why, of our calling with God is what we will explore in the coming days and weeks, just as we are challenged to do so in 1 Cor. 1:26-29 “⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Lord we thank you for your Word and your call. Give us insight and understanding as we explore this topic. In Jesus name, amen.