What is the Holiest Vocation?

It's about time someone came out and said it: all vocations are equal before God. All believers and followers of Christ have the same access to the same graces from God.

I've been realizing that we should focus more in our lives on who we are becoming, than where we are going. As Martin Smith said at a recent conference at Hillsong, "being a history maker is whole lot less about what goes on up here [on the stage] and a whole lot more about what's going on in here [in our hearts].

I can't stop thinking about Daniel lately. I posted on my facebook two weeks ago - "Daniel knew how to get serious with God, and God took him seriously. Look at how this guy prayed in Daniel chapters 9 and 10." An acquaintence named Isaac commented on my post – "When angels tell you that they wish they could have helped you sooner, you're doing something right!" So good, so true!

It doesn't matter our vocation. The same rules apply to all of us. If we want to be effective for God, we have to be effective with God.

Our heroes in Scripture were not all preachers or Pastors.
Moses was a farmer and travel guide
David was a farmer, soldier and eventually became King
Elijah was a consultant to politicians and famous people
Job was a wealthy, successful businessman (really, the Warren Buffett of his day)
Peter worked on a TV show … I don’t know if you’ve heard of it … "Deadliest Catch"
The list goes on...

Bottom line: There is not a special anointing on a preacher or Pastor. There is a special anointing on walking closely with God.

So, what is the holiest vocation or calling? To do exactly what God calls you to do, and to walk with God.

As Mother Theresa said, "This is holiness: to do His will, with a big smile."

So Much to Do, So Little Time

Life is busy for many of us. As we serve the Lord with all of our hearts, He puts opportunities in our path to bless others and build His Kingdom. All of this can add up to an overwelming task.

I have seen many Christian leaders who handled incredible amounts of tasks with ease. It would seem impossible, but they work day in and day out accomplishing more than many of us might ever have to handle.

There are many things to be done in God's Kingdom. Thank goodness that it does not all depend on us. The Body of Christ is many parts working together for the common goal of lifting up Christ for the world to see. We are each only one small part in this great working. And even those parts which we are responsible for, we do in Christ's power with works so powerful within us. Offering ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.

Still, there is a nagging sense, that there is no way we could ever keep up with all that needs to be done. Instead, we should seek to simply bless others using the spiritual gifts we are given by the Holy Spirit, and blow freely with the wind of Holy Spirit.

1. Bless others with our spiritual gift
Scripture shows in 1 Corinthians 12, that each of us is given at least one spiritual gift. It benefits all of us, when each of us discovers our gift and grows in our ability to use this gift to serve and help the rest. The purpose of our gifts are to serve one another. Peter says, "each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10, NIV).

2. Blow with the wind of the Holy Spirit
Scriptures says "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8, ESV). It is not up to us to decide when and where we will work best. Our duty is to remain dependent on the leading of the Lord, following Him with all our hearts and going where we sense He is placing us, with the incredible joy He gives.

Would you add anything to this list? Would love to hear your thoughts - comment below ...

In the New Year...

One of my prayers for this New Year is two-fold: That I would be bold to pray for, and step into all God has for me, but also that I would not be too ambitious or unwise. There is a fine line here.

Scripture says that "The righteous are bold as a lion." There should be a certain boldness to those people who follow God. Do we realize that "everything he has belongs to us?" Do we realize that we have power with God to move mountains?

If we are not happy with our current circumstances, we have all authority in Christ to "approach the throne of grace" and pray for change. We are never powerless as believers, rather we have power with God to move mountains.

Moving mountains often requires "praying through." One simple prayer in Jesus' Name is powerful beyond our comprehension, but many times we must keep on praying until we see God's clear answer. When we pray, we should never give up or lose heart.

On the flip side, we also don't want to be overly ambitious, or assume we have the understanding or perspective that only God can see. We have this treasure in jars of clay, so we must remain close to the potter as he molds our lives and directs our steps before us. We must always be careful that we don't fall and that we are standing firm. This requires a continual dependence on God and His help and direction for each step of our lives.