Tag Archives: call

Who Am I?

bible, faith, follow, forgiveness, God, Lectionary, Religion, theology, ,

You are holy Lord,
worthy of all praise,
of my praise.

You hold the earth
in the palm of your hands.
You are everywhere,
in everything;
mighty,
majestic,
powerful,
great,
Lord.

As I stand in awe of you,
as I see all that you are,
I realise how far from that I am.

You are God
and I am not.

I am not even
what you have asked me to be.

I have got it wrong,
and I am not worthy
even to be in your presence.

And yet

you offer
your forgiveness,
your freedom,
your life

and you call me again

to speak for you,
to go for you,
to be for you.

Here I am Lord,
I’ll go
for you.

Isaiah 6:1-8 (CEV)

A Vision of the Lord in the Temple

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I had a vision of the Lord. He was on his throne high above, and his robe filled the temple. 2 Flaming creatures with six wings each were flying over him. They covered their faces with two of their wings and their bodies with two more. They used the other two wings for flying, 3 as they shouted,

“Holy, holy, holy,
    Lord All-Powerful!
The earth is filled
    with your glory.”

4 As they shouted, the doorposts of the temple shook, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I cried out, “I’m doomed! Everything I say is sinful, and so are the words of everyone around me. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord All-Powerful.”

6 One of the flaming creatures flew over to me with a burning coal that it had taken from the altar with a pair of metal tongs. 7 It touched my lips with the hot coal and said, “This has touched your lips. Your sins are forgiven, and you are no longer guilty.”

8 After this, I heard the Lord ask, “Is there anyone I can send? Will someone go for us?”

“I’ll go,” I answered. “Send me!”

Holy, Holy, Holy

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Come and See

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“Come and See”, I’ve found something exciting, mind-blowing, life-changing.

“Come and See”, this is brilliant, I want to share it with you, show you, help you understand.

“Come and See”, this is it, that thing we’ve been waiting for, that’s going to make all the difference.

“Come and See”, experience it.

Lord, you call me to come and see, to come with you, to discover all you are and all you show me of God.  Am I enthusiastic, or reluctant?  Eager, or hanging back? Ready to go with you, or wanting to wait and see?  You invite me to come with you, what will I do?

And if I am with you, what do I do?  Keep it quiet, I don’t want anyone to know?  Or do I invite others – to come and see, to discover you for themselves, to know you and follow you?

Come and See, Come and See what God can do.  Lord, I come.  Work in me, through me, with me – that others may come and see too.

John 1:43-51 (CEV)

Jesus Chooses Philip and Nathanael

43-44 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. There he met Philip, who was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. Jesus said to Philip, “Come with me.”

45 Philip then found Nathanael and said, “We have found the one that Moses and the Prophets wrote about. He is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

46 Nathanael asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

Philip answered, “Come and see.”

47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said, “Here is a true descendant of our ancestor Israel. And he isn’t deceitful.”

48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

49 Nathanael said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God and the King of Israel!”

50 Jesus answered, “Did you believe me just because I said that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see something even greater. 51 I tell you for certain that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man.”

I Know Your Name

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When I go to the hospital or another formal setting, they always call be by my full name, or Mrs Webster; those who know me well will call me Pam.  What somebody calls you is often a give away of how much they know you or the kind of relationship you have; whether someone knows you and your name, or are just reading it from a piece of paper.  Someone taking the trouble to know, and remember, your name is powerful and meaningful. I always feel much more predisposed to someone who has taken the trouble to do that.

God knows Cyrus‘ name, and uses it as he calls him.

Isaiah 45:1-7 (CEV)

Cyrus Obeys the Lord’s Commands

45 The Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen one:

I have taken hold
    of your right hand
to help you capture nations
    and remove kings from power.
City gates will open for you;
    not one will stay closed.
2 As I lead you,
    I will level mountains
and break the iron bars
    on bronze gates of cities.

3 I will give you treasures
hidden in dark
    and secret places.
Then you will know that I,
the Lord God of Israel,
    have called you by name.
4 Cyrus, you don’t even know me!
But I have called you by name
    and highly honored you
because of Israel,
    my chosen servant.

5 Only I am the Lord!
    There are no other gods.
I have made you strong,
    though you don’t know me.
6 Now everyone from east to west
will learn that I am the Lord.
    No other gods are real.
7 I create light and darkness,
happiness and sorrow.
    I, the Lord, do all of this.

Cyrus didn’t know God, but that didn’t stop God knowing him and calling to him. God is going to do great things, through Cyrus, for his people, but it all begins with God knowing him and calling him.

I believe this is not just for Cyrus.  It is for us all.  This is a personal God, who hasn’t just heard of us, but knows about us.  He knows our name, the one we call ourselves, and uses it.  God knows us, intimately; cares about us; loves us; and calls us.  He has something for each one of us to do.  Whoever we are, wherever we are coming from, God calls to each one of us, by our name, and leads us on to the task he has for us.

Our job may not, or may, be as big as rescuing a whole nation, but it is what God is asking of us.  As he calls us, he equips us for it, and leads us.

I am precious to God.  He knows me, calls me and leads me.

You are precious to him too, and he calls and leads you.

Thank you Lord,
that you have not just heard about me,
but know my name.
You know
what I am truly capable of,
and you have a task,
just for me,
that you call me to.

As I hear your call,
may I hear
and respond
to what you ask of me,
not in my strength,
but yours