Do You Think God Would Send A Player or a Spectator?
Good Morning Friends,
We cannot become God, so God became one of us. And when God did, I am sure He decided to be engaged totally. He asks us to have that same commitment in our lives. So, Do You Think God Would Send A Player or a Spectator?
Scripture: Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?”
Isaiah 6:8 (NRSV)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Matthew 5:8 (NRSV)
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:12b-13 (NRSV)
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his room; the lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ and he said, ‘Here I am!’ and ran to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call; lie down again.’ So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, ‘Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ But he said, ‘I did not call, my son; lie down again.’ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, ‘Here I am, for you called me.’ Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ‘ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening.’
1 Samuel 3: 1-10 (NRSV)
Message: It is one of the great mysteries of the Christian life that we are to be both player and spectator when it comes to our salvation. As Philippians 2 makes clear we are to work out our own salvation with the emotional and spiritual awareness that God, and God alone, makes those lasting changes in us. So we must be engaged in the process. We must say yes when called. We must live our lives as if we are cosigning with God every check and credit card receipt we write. My friend Malcolm said to me once, “God loves you. So what are you going to do about it?” Yes, that is what I am writing about. My friend Carl said, “Jesus was my Savior before he became my Lord.” He was saying the same thing in a different way. So the one thing you can do, must do is to get in the game, please get in the game. When you have that feeling that God is working on some aspect of your life, please join Him in the experience so that your salvation, your joy… no His Salvation and His joy would be reflected in you more fully. When you receive a call from God to be a servant, a disciple be prepared for God’s question, your Lord’s question for you. God will not force Himself on you; you have a choice to set your own direction or to follow His lead, to engage in life’s greatest joy or just watch.
Pray God purifies our hearts. Pray we are enabled to serve. Pray that every endeavor we engage in glorifies God and matters forever. Pray we become more aware of God. Pray we be concerned with what God is doing. Pray we are not too busy for God. Pray we are called by God’s grace to an extraordinary experience of witness and action… of words and deeds that are made into instruments to convey God’s perfect love. Pray we come to Jesus realizing that He first came to us.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 