Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”¹

One of my big struggles as a young man was how could I know if God were calling me to serve him in some kind of Christian work. However, as I look back I can see that had God not been calling me, I wouldn’t have been struggling with the question.

I never did find an easy answer to that question. The best answer I found was in the words of Oswald Chambers who said, “The call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. Only he who has the nature of the sea within can hear the call.”

In other words, a man who is “born to be a sailor” hears in his inner being the call of the sea and never rests until he answers that call and sets out on the high seas. It’s the same with a man or woman who is called of God. He or she will never rest until they answer God’s call.

For me, God had to get me on my back to make me slow down enough to “hear” his call. I had an accident on a construction site that put me in the hospital flat on my back for a week. The day after they stitched me up, I turned on my bedside radio and just “happened” to get the only religious program for the entire day on any station in the city where I lived. The moment my radio came on, I heard a lady quoting the words of the poem:

“If I should stand before the Master [Jesus Christ] today, would I empty handed go?”

Wham! I felt like an invisible arrow pierced my heart and I “heard the call loud and clear.” I prayed, “Okay, God, you win. My answer is yes.” The moment I said yes to God, I knew exactly what my next step needed to be—that was to go back to college to train for the work I am doing today.

Indeed, the call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. And God calls each one of us—some to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and to receive God’s forgiveness and gift of eternal life. Some he is calling to serve in a local church as an active lay person. Some to be a good neighbor. Some to be a missionary, pastor, teacher, a local leader, a politician, or a business person. Some to be a wife, a husband, a parent, etc., etc. Whatever it is, God has a calling for each of us. It’s up to us to seek God’s guidance to discover what that call is—and get the training we need to do it as best we can.

Perhaps we could interpret today’s text as, “Many are called but few prove themselves to be chosen ones.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you are calling me to love and follow you, and to use the gifts and talents you have given to me to serve you. Help me to discover exactly what you want me to do. Please give me a “listening” ear so I will hear your call. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus (Matthew 22:14).

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“To all who received him [Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”¹

Could you imagine seeing a used car salesman give a compelling presentation regarding a particular car you were interested in, had you convinced that this was the perfect car for you and had you ready to sign the purchasing contract when he turned and walked away—and left you standing there aghast without ever closing the sale! That kind of salesman would be fired on the spot if his manager saw what he did.

Sad to say, I believe some preachers are like this. They give a good presentation of God’s message but never give listeners the opportunity to make a commitment to accept Jesus as their Savior. I believe there are many church members who understand the gospel and are ready to accept Jesus but have never been invited to do so. I say this because it is my understanding that so many of the people who have made this commitment to Jesus at a Billy Graham crusade are church members.

It isn’t enough just to believe in our head that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died on the cross for our sins. The devil knows and believes that. True, we need to believe this but we also need to accept God’s offer of forgiveness and gift of salvation (eternal life) by confessing our sins to him, asking for his forgiveness, and inviting Jesus Christ into our heart and life as Savior and Lord. It also involves making a commitment of our will to follow Jesus. In “salesman terminology” this is closing the sale.

Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door [of his/her heart and life], I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”²

If you have never invited Jesus into your heart and life, asked for God’s forgiveness, and made a commitment of your life to him, I would like to give you that opportunity today. The following prayer will help you to do this:

“Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Please forgive me for all my sins. I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life and will to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus name, Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer and truly meant it, please let us know by filling in the form at: https://learning.actsweb.org/decision.php. (Be assured that we have a strict privacy policy and will never give any of your information to anyone.)

For further help read “God’s Invitation” at: http://tinyurl.com/6k49w and/or “How to Be Sure You’re a Real Christian” at: http://tinyurl.com/8glq9

1. John 1:12 (NIV). 2 Revelation 3:20 (NIV).

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“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”¹

As noted yesterday, Godspell or God’s good news is that the gospel is first of all a message about God and his infinite love for all mankind. Second, it is a message about sin and sin’s tragic consequences. Fortunately, the gospel is also about the following:

3. A Message about Jesus Christ. God is not only a God of absolute holiness, but also a God of perfect justice. Because of this, all sin has to be judged, the just sentence of which is spiritual and eternal death. However, the gospel is also about how God is not only a God of absolute holiness and perfect justice but also a God of infinite love. Because of God’s infinite love for us, he gave his own Son, Jesus Christ, who came to earth in the form of a man and willingly died in our place on the cross of Calvary to pay the penalty for all our sins. Because Jesus was without sin, he was the only one qualified to die to pay the penalty for our sins. Had there been any other way to save mankind, Jesus wouldn’t have had to die for us.

4. A Summons to Faith and Repentance. The really good news is that God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life is available to all who will accept it.

First, we need to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he died in our place to pay the penalty for all our sins. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”² states the Word of God.

Second, we need to confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness. God’s Word also says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”³

Next, we need to repent. That is, we need to turn from sinful and selfish ways to follow God and his ways. Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”⁴ That is, we need to turn from sinful and selfish ways and make a commitment of the will, with God’s help, to follow God and his ways.

Fourth, we need to receive Jesus as our Savior. God’s Word says, “To all who received him [Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”⁵

Admitting and confessing our sins, believing that Jesus died for our sins, inviting him into our lives as Lord and Savior, accepting God’s forgiveness and turning from our sinful ways to live God’s way is what makes us a real Christian. This is what Godspell—God’s good news is all about!

If you have never received Jesus as your savior, for help be sure to read “God’s Invitation” at: http://tinyurl.com/6k49w

To be concluded ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your wonderful gospel—for giving your Son, Jesus Christ, to die in my place to pay the penalty for all my sins, and to grant me your forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. Please help me to be sure that I have truly accepted Jesus as my Savior and have your forgiveness and gift of eternal life to be with you forever in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 3:16 (NIV). 2. Acts 16:31 (NIV). 3. 1 John 1:9 (NIV). 4. Mark 1:15 (NIV). 5. John 1:12 (NIV).

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“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”¹ Or to put it another way the gospel “is God’s powerful method of bringing all who believe it to heaven.”²

This Scripture text was written by the Apostle Paul in the first century AD. But what is the gospel that Paul was not ashamed of?

As Webster’s Dictionary explains, the meaning of “gospel” is “Godspell or good news.” It is the good news about God’s salvation plan for mankind. Specifically, as another has said: “The gospel is a message about God, a message about sin, a message about Jesus Christ, and a summons to faith and repentance.”

1. A Message about God. The gospel is not a message about religion. It’s about having a right relationship with God. Religion tends to want to fix us from the outside in. God wants to fix us from the inside out. The first can become an impossible burden. The latter is what brings freedom. Neither is the gospel a set of rules and regulations. It is experiencing God’s divine love, divine acceptance and divine forgiveness—and learning to communicate this to every life we touch.

It helps to realize that God isn’t out to zap us for the wrongs we’ve done. In fact, no matter what we have ever done or have failed to do, God loves us with an everlasting love and has a wonderful purpose for our lives—for this life as well as the next! As Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”³ And again, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.”⁴

2. A Message about Sin. Many people understandably ask, “If there is a God and if he is a God of love, why does he allow so much suffering, sickness and sadness in today’s world? Without sounding too simplistic this is because we have all sinned and separated ourselves from an infinitely holy God.⁵ It’s not that God left us, but rather, we left God and separated ourselves from him—and from his protection.

Another misconception about God is that he is out to punish us for our sins when, in fact, we bring sin’s punishment on ourselves because sin has its own natural consequences. If we try to break the universal law of gravity, for instance, we can’t. It will break us. Neither can we break God’s universal moral law. When we do, it breaks us, and besides its painful effects in this life—suffering, sorrow, sickness and spiritual death—its ultimate and tragic consequence is eternal death which is separation from a holy God⁶ in the place the Bible calls hell.

To be continued ….

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for your wonderful good news that provides hope for all mankind. Please help me to experience your divine love, divine acceptance and divine forgiveness, and in some way communicate this to every life I touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’name, amen.”

1. Romans 1:16 (NIV). 2. Romans 1:16 (TLB). 3. John 3:16 (NIV). 4. John 10:10 (TLB). 5. Romans 3:24. 6. Romans 6:23.

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