It's for you!

Tell me if this has ever happened. You are sitting in a restaurant enjoying a wonderful meal with friends and family. Suddenly, the waitress walks up with a cordless phone in her hand. After asking if “so-and-so” is at the table, you suddenly realize the call is for you. Somehow, someway, whoever was on the other side of the call found you and called you out. At that point you have to make a decision. Am I going to take the call or not? This actually happened last week while we were at dinner with friends. By the way, my friend decided to take the call.

Last Sunday I was fortunate to hear my friend Frank Shelton, Jr. as he spoke at a local church. He was on a whirlwind tour of my state, preaching 5 times – in 5 different churches – in 5 days. It made me tired just reading his itinerary.

Frank is an excellent communicator. He had several good points in his sermon but one quote he said really hit home with me and I wanted to share my thoughts. Frank said “some are called to preach. Some are called to teach. But we are all called to reach.”

Not everyone can get behind a pulpit and “preach” to a crowd of people. Not everyone can “teach” a classroom full of raucous 2^nd graders every Sunday morning.

But we are ALL called to “reach”. Matthew 28:19 tells us that we are to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,”

• Jesus didn’t tell us to convert them. We cannot save anyone.
• He didn’t tell us to convince them. It’s not an argument or up for debate.
• He simply told us to convey them. Convey means to take, carry, transport, etc. It is our job to take, carry, and transport sinners to Christ. He will take it from there.

How can we ALL do this? In the next verse Jesus gives the secret. "I am with you always, to the end of the age."

So next time you hear a phone ring, or the waitress walks up to your table with the cordless – it might just be for you.  That scenario might never happen in your life.

But their is a more important call given today. Somehow, someway, Jesus has found you. Jesus is calling your number. Are you going to take it?

Stand Up in Your Storm

Do you ever feel like things are a little shaky? Well if you are breathing, the answer is yes! Everyone is looking for stability in their lives. Each of us is trying to balance life, career, kids, finances, church, etc. and sometimes we fail miserably.

In the latter part of Acts, we find the Apostle Paul as a prisoner on a ship headed for Rome. Along the way a storm comes. During the storm, Paul’s ship was anything but stable. It was tossed and beaten by the waves and weather. But scripture tells us that in the midst of that storm – in the middle of Paul’s life being thrown upside down – Paul was able to stand.

Acts 27:21 says that Paul “stood forth in the midst of them...”

He was able to do so because he BELIEVED GOD AND BELIEVED GOD’S PROMISES! God had sent an angel to Paul and promised Paul that he would make it to Rome and Paul believed Him. He was promised that all that sailed with him would make it too.

You can stand in the middle of your storms – and find the stability you need in your life – if you’ll just BELIEVE GOD AND HIS PROMISES!

There are over 3400 promises in the Bible and I’m thankful that I can find one, no matter what my situation might be, and stand on it till the storm passes!!