Tuesday, May 5, 2009

IF YOU CAN USE ANYTHING, LORD...YOU CAN USE ME!

SCRIPTURE

1 Chronicles 11:1-9 (NRSV)
The shepherd David made king

Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, "See, we are your bone and flesh. For some time now, even while Saul was king, it was you who commanded the army of Israel. The Lord your God said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over my people Israel." So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the Lord by Samuel.

David and all Israel marched to Jerusalem, that is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, "You will not come in here." Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, now the city of David. David had said, "Whoever attacks the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander." And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. David resided in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. He built the city all around, from the Millo in complete circuit; and Joab repaired the rest of the city. And David became greater and greater, for the Lord of hosts was with him.

DEVOTION

A couple of days ago, I read the following on Twitter. “God often does not call the qualified; rather, God qualifies those he calls (Robert Witham).”

That thought has been stuck in my craw ever since. It has been further illuminated by today’s scripture reading which depicts the coronation of David who began his life as a humble shepherd boy and was elevated by God to become King of Israel.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with me?” I want to try to answer that question today.

It is my assertion that all of us are called by God to do some kind of Kingdom-Come work! When we put all of our hope in Jesus, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. It is Spirit that teaches us to use our gifts and talents for the glory of God and the edification of The Church.

In some way, all of us are shepherds. Whether you are a mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, employer, manager, or volunteer at the neighborhood school, we all have people who look to us for guidance and for care.

The job of a shepherd is to lead the “sheep” along the right path, ensuring that they all have everything that they need to prosper and protecting them from dangers, seen and unseen.

Isn’t it amazing that David’s people said, “For some time now, even while Saul was king, it was you who commanded the army of Israel? The Lord your God said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over my people Israel."

Wow! The citizens of Israel saw the hand of God upon David, even before it was manifested in the natural realm!

Now, I’m not going to belabor this point, but if folks have been speaking things into your life, you might want to listen and ask God what God would have you to do! From the time I was a little girl, folks told me that I would do great things for God! I thank God for those faithful witnesses who saw something in me that I did not yet see!

Furthermore, this portion of the scripture reminds me that God is always preparing us for even greater works than we would dare to hope or imagine! After all, the Bible promises that we will go from “glory to glory” in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18)!

Now, do we do our good works in order that we may boast? God forbid! Do we do our good works in order that we might become famous? By no means! Do we do our good works to ensure our place in Heaven? I certainly hope not!

Good works do not earn you a seat in heaven. There is only one way to secure the forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life and that is to believe that God loves, gave, and saves! God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and to gift us with eternal life!

If you can affirm with all of your heart that God loves, gave, and saves—you can rest in the blessed assurance that you will spend eternity with God.

But, once you have that blessed assurance, Spirit will prompt you to want to share the GOOD NEWS with others! It is not good enough to secure your own seat at the eternal banquet! No! No! Don’t you want your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and community members to be there too? Of course you do, for GOOD NEWS is meant to be shared!

Now, don’t worry if you don’t share GOOD NEWS like your pastor or friend! There are as many different ways to share GOOD NEWS, as there are human beings!

Some people preach, teach, or sing. Other people cook, clean, or visit. Other people work as ushers, knock on doors, share as missionaries, lead Bible studies or prayer meetings, give generously of their tithes and offerings, or simply offer a smile and a blessing to those in need.

But, let me tell you something. If you are a Christian, sharing GOOD NEWS is mandatory. It is something that you just can’t keep to yourself! You have to tell everybody what the Lord has done for you!

As you share GOOD NEWS, God will gift you to become an under-shepherd. The sheep follow the under-shepherd as the under-shepherd follows Christ! As we lead our non-Christian friends to Jesus, they in turn will become under-shepherds, leading their friends to Christ!

This is how we grow The Church! As each of us faithfully discharges our Kingdom-Come work, God will cause others to understand the covenant that God has made with us in blood!

I read on Twitter that, “It takes twenty years to become an overnight success (Eddie Cantor)!”

This quote makes me so happy! It reminds me that as long as we are faithful, God will do the rest, in God’s own time!

My friends, Dorothy Irene Height, American human rights icon and true American hero, once said, “You can accomplish a whole lot, if you don’t worry about who will get the credit.”

Let us work together to make sure that GOD gets all the credit, glory and the honor that God deserves! Together, we can do great things for Christ and lead many a soul into a saving relationship with Him!

I am so glad that God loves us so much! I am so glad that Jesus died on the cross and that he did not stay dead, but that he was resurrected just like he promised! And I am so honored to partner with God to do anything that will advance the Kingdom of Love on Earth until it comes again from heaven!

Will you faithfully serve the Lord today using your gifts and talents to glory God and edify the church?

Holy God, you are amazing! Only you could take a little shepherd boy and make him King! I can’t wait to see how you desire to use me to do great things for Your Kingdom! Lord, please take my hands, feet, heart and life and speak through me! I want to lead my friends to You! In Jesus’ Name, Amen!



ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to the people who have recently put all of their faith in Jesus! We are so excited about your new-found faith in Jesus! You are in our thoughts and prayers!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right!

Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com

No comments:

Post a Comment