Page 36 - July 2014 Catalyst

CaLLed
By: Luella Redfern | Continued from pg 12
tivation. Is this truly a call from God, or is it a personal desire? Or is it an attempt to live up to my husband’s expectation of me? Is my motivation pride or people- pleasing? I had to pause and ask myself this question, “Are you feeling “called” be- cause there is something more powerful and purposeful within your heart as you are led by the Spirit to yield yourself to God’s will. As a reminder, God took my memory back to when I was nine years old playing church in my backyard with my sibling. Me having to be the preacher, marking and mimicking all of the preach- ers I had seen in church or on television. He also took me back to fth grade receiv- ing the New Testament from the Gideons. Diligently studying the Word of God, not to obtain the ability to rightly divide it but to challenge those so-called Christians in my church family. I was so tired of church folk professing to love God however dis- respecting the authority of His Word. I would just break down and cry. Finally, I heard God’s voice saying, I got this. I chose you before you were created in your mother’s womb. Yet still I doubted. Why me? I am not worthy.
Understanding that the individual steps in developing the call is di erent for each person, as some will join an established ministry while others will serve God very faithfully in the secular workplace. Others will become pastors of existing churches, and others will be a part of a new work. God has a special plan for each of us, and the key is to follow Him each day and each step of the way. As Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it.” Church can- not be engineered or manufactured, but the church is people. We should not be in ministry because our parent or men- tor wants us to be. We should not do it merely because it sounds interesting or
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because we care about people. Ministry is not a social work, or profession, or a job, it is a calling from God. We must seek God’s will and know in our heart that this is where we must be. As we follow Him and obey what He has already revealed, God will lead and direct our steps, open- ing the door for us to use our gifts and ful ll our burdens. Keep believing, keep serving, and keep laboring for the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58)
In all of my church experience, I strived to be involved in a faithful body of believ- ers. I think I have served as I was able. I feel that I’ve been given the opportu-
nity to use the gifts that God has given me, and along the way I have continued to grow in Him. However, there have been times I have been disappointed. As a child I witnessed many things in the lives of fel- low Christians, church folks. On Monday through Saturday their acts of the esh (Galatians 5:19-21) made it obvious what spirit they were being lead by. But on Sun- day morning, they adorn their Sunday best praising God, quoting scripture and say- ing amen to everything the preacher said. I found this to be repulsive then and a lot hasn’t changed. However I have to admit, the Black church during my childhood in Dillon, South Carolina loved their pastors.
july 2014