It's 3:00 in the morning...huh, interesting time to be up with GOD. Somehow, it's easier for HIM to speak to me in the quiet of the morning...well, at least after I get a cup of tea, get Gracie settled by my side and finally find one of the twenty pairs of reading glasses I have scattered throughout the house...
So, what did GOD want to talk about here in the third watch of the day? Romans 10:12-16.
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same LORD is LORD of all, and is rich unto all who call upon HIM: For, whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved."
Okay, now that is a wonderful promise tucked neatly away in the middle of the book of Romans and I might have gone beck to bed had HE not told me to keep reading...(uh oh, why am I thinking this is about to get alot more personal?)
"How then shall they call on HIM in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in HIM who they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent? Even as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things."
So GOD offers salvation to whosoever calls upon HIS name but in order to call upon someone, you have to know that person. But doesn't everyone know to call out to GOD? Haven't most people we rub shoulders with in our day to day life heard of JESUS?
Perhaps.
But let's bring it down to our level...
I may know the name of a doctor (or several doctors) but if I'm sick I want to call a doctor that somebody recommends to me. A doctor who has had amazing results treating the malady I'm experiencing. A "miracle worker" if you will. And how will I find this doctor? Someone I trust will "tell me about him"!
Well, my very comforting scripture in Romans becomes a bit convicting now. We who know the doctor must tell of HIM.
But wait, isn't Romans 10:12-16 the scripture used when GOD calls people into the mission field? (I hear some of you saying "I KNEW IT, GOD, YOU"RE SENDING HER TO AFRICA!!) But is that really all that scripture is saying?
Yes, HE does call some out to serve HIM in faraway countries where HIS name is unknown to many. I think of our dear friends, Rick and Cheri Moeller who served HIM faithfully for over thirty years in the plains of Africa. People that I feel humbled to even call friends. They gave up everything including home, material possessions, friends and placed a world between them and their family. And why did they do it? Because "How shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?"
When health issues and country unrest prevented them from remaining in Africa they could finally come back home for some well deserved rest. They could enjoy time with their friends and family. They could get to know their little granddaughter, Ellee. Rick could, at last, write the book he had dreamed of writing for years... so why, instead would they accept another mission in Scotland (One of the darkest places on earth)? Because "How shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?"
So, like I said, isn't this a scripture used to call missionaries? YES! But who are the missionaries to be? WE ARE! Believers in JESUS CHRIST. Those who know the doctor personally and can attest to HIS greatness. To HIS love and power.
And where is HE sending us?
He is sending us out to the sick and hurting. To a lost world that thinks it has everything under control. He is sending us out of the warmth and security of our comfort zone (wherever that may be for you) and into the world. It may be HE's calling you to the other side of the globe, or the other side of the nation, it may be your surrounding area, your neighborhood or the next room of your house. Wherever one of HIS children is waiting to hear about JESUS. The doctor. The Savior.
HE isn't asking for eloquent speakers or theology graduates, HE is simply asking that each believer take what HE has been given and give to another.
"We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit of GOD, that we may understand what GOD has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us in human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit..." 1st Corinthians 2:12-13
Well, my tea is cold, my Graciegirl is back asleep and all is peaceful and quiet. How I love this special one-on-one time with my ABBA-FATHER, my heavenly DADDY. How could I not want to share a love like this?
Blessings!
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