God Has an Open Door for You

If I Chose the Wrong Door I Missed Gods Will for My Life
Now, I’ll just have to settle for second best. People who don’t like the outcome of one decision obsess over what might have happened if they had chosen differently.  Like person who comes to believe he should have made a different career choice and lives with a chronic sense of guilt.  A woman believes she married the wrong man and fantasizes over an imaginary marriage to the man she now decides was Plan A.

It seems that many of us tend to think more often in a negative direction than a positive one. We think disproportionately about the outcomes that disappoint us and not the ones that filled us with gratitude that we could have missed out on.

As author John Ortberg says,“The Apostle Paul makes a great distinction. He says there is a godly sorrow that brings repentance and a worldly that brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)  The right kind of sorrow over a bad decision creates energy rather than despair. It helps us to learn from past mistakes and grow into wisdom. Worldly sorrow is depleting. In worldly sorrow we look at our bad choices as though the world rather than God is our only hope.”   

God’s will for my life is centered mainly in who he wants me to become.

God Could Never Understand My Frustration about Closed Doors
One of the most famous pictures of a door in the history was by the  artist William Holman Holt. It

shows the figure of a single man, standing outside the little home he wants to enter to be allowed in. We cannot tell if there is anyone inside or if the door will ever be opened. 

Imagine if you stood outside someone’s home knocking on the door, not knowing whether you will be allowed in. God has given to every person the door to their own heart, and God himself will not force his way in.

No person has ever faced the pain of rejection as much as God has. God is not just the one who opens doors; he is the one who stands knocking at closed doors. He is the most rejected person in the history of the world. If he is willing to stand at the door of my heart and knock, who am I to give up?

Some Doors Are So Closed That God Can’t Do Anything About It
Locked door are God’s specialty. If God can open the heavy door of a sealed tomb, no door is closed to Him. Consider after the resurrection the doors of the house the disciples were locked, but Jesus appeared to them. Later, doors were shut were his followers were he showed up and said, “Peace be with you.”

The doors of our lives are not closed to God. Know that he can enter our everyday stuff with his presence and peace and show us that his power can change our perspective even when things  look grim. Open doors are new every morning.

The Jonah In Us

Jonah was in dire consequences because he ran from God. In his desperation he cried out and God heard his prayer and gave him a second chance.  Although Jonah messed up badly God wanted Jonah to complete the mission that he assigned him.

Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least put on sackcloth. Jonah 3:1,5

The message from Jonah was believed from the commoner to the King. It was a full blown revival. It’s too bad the book of Jonah ended here with this good news in chapter three, but God reveals our broken human condition in this story.  

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways He had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the LORD,"O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”  Jonah 3:10 - 4:3

Why was he angry? What’s going on here? Jonah wanted judgment and not grace for the Ninevites. Jonah wanted what they deserved. Come on God, bring your wrath to these deplorables, these are not your kind of people.

Like Jonah, most of us have biases and preferences that we learned from our parents, friends, the media and our culture. Perhaps unknowingly were like this bus driver.

The bus driver was pointing out the sites of the Civil War Battle of Nashville. He said, “Right over here a small group of Confederate soldiers held off a whole Yankee brigade.” A little farther along, he said, “Over there, a young Confederate boy, all by himself held off a Yankee platoon.” This went on and on until finally a member of tour group asked, “Didn’t the Yankees win anything in the Battle of Nashville?” The bus driver replied, “Not while I’m the driver of this bus they didn’t!”

What God said to Jonah was that, I’m a God of compassion, this why I sent you to Nineveh in the first place? If anybody should get it you should, you’re a recipient of my grace too? Why not rejoice with me over their repentance? Your pride and prejudice is causing you to only think of yourself. Don’t you get it Jonah, it’s not about you. 

Don’t you see Jonah if they knew me they wouldn’t do the evil things that they do. Jonah, you’re more concerned about the things you think they deserve. You’re not concerned about what I’m concerned about. I care about the ones you despise and think are not worth redeeming.

Pride and prejudice has always been with us from the early hatred of the Jews in Esther’s day to the Nazi Jewish ghettos, to American Indians, slavery, Japanese internment camps, to apartheid. As Mark Twain said, “History tells us that prejudice is the ink of which all history is written.”

Is it possible that there is some of Jonah in us?Could it be we’re more concerned about our own comfort and preferences than those around us and those who don’t know Christ? In the everyday stuff of life what gets in the way from us being concerned about the people God is concerned about? 

When our concerns sync up with God’s imagine what could happen in the lives of those we come in contact with? Aren’t you glad that God thought you were worth His time and concern? God deeply concerned about our generation, our families, our neighbors and our friends. 

God is the finder of lost coins and lost sheep. He embraces prodigals. His favorite department is lost and found. His love has no limits. His grace has no measures. His power has no boundaries. He redeems and is present now. When you and I align our concerns with God’s we’ll experience a truly satisfied life. 

What Are You Running After Or From?

A pastor phoned the home of some recent visitors to his church, and a voice on the other end of the phone answered with a whispered “Hello.” The pastor said, “Who is this?” The whisperer said, “Jimmy.” The pastor said, “How old are you, Jimmy?” “Four.” “Well Jimmy, can I please speak to your mom?” “She’s busy.” “Well then, Jimmy, can I please speak to your dad?”

“He’s busy.’ “Jimmy, are there any other adults in your home?” “The police.”  “Can I speak to one of the police officers?” “They’re busy.” “Jimmy, who else is there?” “Firemen.”  “Well, Jimmy, can you put one of the firemen on the phone?” “They’re all busy.” “Jimmy, what are they all busy doing?” “They’re busy looking for me.”

Like Jimmy, some of us hide from family, bosses, relationships, the I.R.S. or perhaps even God. Maybe not intentionally, but most of us in our way have attempted to run from God. You know, like, I’m fine, I don’t need His help with my relationships, my finances or some other area of my life. Originally Adam and Eve had total intimacy with God and then one day Adam told God, “I was afraid and I hid.” Like Adam we think we can hide from God too.

What we want and what God wants can be two very different things. We might not say it, but maybe we think were smarter than Him or we can run away from Him. The truth is we’re all runners. We intentionally or unintentionally run from Him. Like Adam we run because we’re afraid. We’re fearful of the unknown. Fearful of painful circumstances. Fearful of rejection.  Fearful of consequences. Fearful to make a hard choice.

Jonah was a runner too. The Bible tells is that God directed Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to deliver a message, but Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. Jonah went 2,200 miles directly west from Nineveh to the most distant city in the known world at the edge of Spain.

When we run away from God we can run to the strangest places and regret our choices.
We might be unaware that we’re running from God, but when we do we leave the only source of wisdom and truth and our choices can haunt us later. Many of our poor choices can be traced back to running from God. We might be smart, but apart from God we’re likely to make ill informed decisions.

When we run away from God we turn our back on God’s unconditional love
we’ll look to other people to fill our love tank. So many of us spend an inordinate amount of time squeezing things out of people to get our needs met and that’s simply not helpful. Things begin to unravel.

When we run away from God we turn our back on God’s purpose for our lives. Ephesians 2:10
No matter how brilliant we are we’ll never experience God’s purpose for us until we’re following His ways and not our own.

When we run away from God we hurt the people around us.
Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.” 

Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?"

He answered, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land." This terrified them and they asked, "What have you done?" (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so. The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"Jonah 1:1-11

We can run from God, but we’ll never outrun him.

"Pick me up and throw me into the sea," he replied, "and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you." Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. Then they cried to the LORD, "O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased."

Ironically, these unbelievers were more concerned about Jonah than he was about the people of Nineveh that God called him to.

Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him. But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.  Jonah 1:12-17 

The Lord will allow consequences you didn’t plan on it. When we experience painful consequences due to our own choices it is not because God is paying us back, but instead He is bringing us back to Himself.

Contemporary Christian artist Benny Hester once wrote, “I never saw God run until He ran to me and took me in His arms and held my head to His chest and said my son’s come home again.”

One day I realized I was running from God. Running to so many things that I thought would make me happy, but at the end of the day I was really running on empty. But thank God His grace brought me back to Himself. 

Maybe like me, you I realize you’re running from the only source of real hope and love. You can reach out to God and say, help me God, I’m tired of running. I don’t want to run anymore. I want to come home. You’ll be glad you did and all the angels in heaven will rejoice!

A Woman’s Defining Moment

As we saw last week King Xerxes orders all his royal officials to bow before his second-in-command, Haman. Mordecai, Esther’s uncle, realizes such an act would be idolatrous for a Jew so he refuses. Resentful and obsessed with his own image Haman is so furious he develops a plan to annihilate all of Mordecai’s people by convincing and bribing king Xerxes to carry out his plan.

Like a lot of narcissistic leaders Xerxes doesn’t know his constituents or care about the implications that his decision could have on his nation and so the king agrees with Haman’s planned holocaust. The king said to Haman, “Do with the people as you please.”

Pride has a plan and many times it marginalizes people
Mordecai is deeply grieved by the king’s monstrous edict and it becomes abundantly clear that his adopted niece Queen Esther is in a divine appointed position to save her people. Mordecai tells the beautiful Queen Esther it’s up to her to turn this thing around.

Esther knows that she will risking her own life if goes into the king’s presence without being summoned and tells him he is wrong and kings generally don’t like it when you do. The king is not the husband of just one wife and their marriage isn’t as exciting as it once was. Mordecai challenges Esther,

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:12-14

A defining moment
This is Esther’s defining moment that can change everything. Her decision to go to the king could save her people from destruction or maybe not. What would you do?

Esther has not been brought to this position of prominence for a big wardrobe, jewelry and perfumes or to be the most desirable woman in the world. She was brought to this strategic place to be part of God’s plan to redeem the world, to work for justice, to spare a whole lot of suffering and oppose an extremely powerful evil man.

The future of the nation Israel was in her hands
Mordecai helps Esther to discern God’s calling and challenges her not to miss the very reason she is on the planet. This is it. She is all in. She knows that her only hope is not in her beauty, intelligence or influence, but in God alone. Esther has a dangerous and brilliant plan.

“I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." Esther 4:16

King Xerxes has no idea who his Queen is. He thought he was getting a Barbie doll and got something far different. Esther and other Jews fast and pray for three days before she goes before the king. Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” Esther responds, “If the king and Haman will come to my banquet tomorrow I will answer the king’s question.”

Later that same day Haman boasts to wife and friends about his vast wealth and all the ways the king had honored him and how he had elevated him above all the other nobles and officials. And that’s not all, now he’s invited to Queen Esther’s banquet. Everything is good, but there’s still this problem with the Jew Mordecai who will not bow down to him. His wife’s counsel is to build a gallows for Mordecai, and so he does.

It’s all about more
Haman’s purpose in life was all about more. More wealth, more applause and he would do whatever was necessary to get more regardless of who was in the way of his success. Later that same night king Xerxes can’t sleep and asks that the chronicles of his reign be read to him. The king hears the story about how Mordecai saved his life, but was never honored for it.

Don’t miss the ironic outcome of Haman’s evil plans and how Esther’s courageous decision saves an entire nation.

A Woman's Divine Opportunity

Most of us have heard that we’ve been created for a purpose.
The Apostle Paul tells believers that, “For we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Having a personal mission in life is of great interest to millions. No wonder Rick Warren’s ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ became and remains the bestselling hardcover non-fiction book in history and has now tallied over 32 million sales. It is the second most translated book after the Bible.

God created you and me for a reason, it might not be singing on American Idol, but each and every one of us has a specific purpose. Everyone is here for a reason. Even though all of us are created for a God-designed mission we unintentionally get sidetracked along the way.

By default we let our lives center around something other than what we were created for.
For some it may be filling our lives with too much TV or just keeping ourselves busy with unimportant pursuits. Unknowingly we allow our everyday choices to determine if we will live according to our divine purpose. It’s our choice. In the book of Esther we’ll see how daily choices can become divine opportunities.

The powerful King Xerxes had everything he wanted including the most beautiful women. The king was known for showing off his wealth at his many banquets. To further impress the people the king put on an elaborate banquet for the entire capital. The banquet included unlimited drinking, “the king instructed his servants to serve each man whatever he wished.”

On the seventh day of the party Xerxes “was high in spirits,” demanded that his beautiful Queen Vashti be brought in so he could show off her beauty before all his drunken guests. When she refused the king was absolutely humiliated and furious!  After all, she was one of his prideful possessions and no one ever dared to stand up to the King especially in public! He asked his advisors,“What should I do with my wife?”

Their solution was to banish the queen from the king forever and launch a nationwide search for a new and improved Queen. Esther 2:2 Can you guess what the criteria was for the next Queen? Let the Babylonian Idol beauty pageant begin.

With cameras flashing, countless women from all over the country walked the catwalk in hopes to become the king’s ultimate trophy wife.  It’s hard to believe that there once was a culture that was so superficial that old men would lure beautiful young women with their fame and money?

One of the beauty contestants was the adopted Jewish orphan Esther who was chosen with several other women to participate in twelve months of beauty treatments before being brought before the king. How does that sound ladies?  Finally Esther won the competition and was crowned the Queen. Esther 2:15-17

Following her Uncle Mordecai’s wishes, she kept her Jewish nationality a secret. Now, her mission in life was to be the arm candy for the most powerful man in the world and “live happily ever after.” Maybe, maybe not?

Behind the scenes, there is another story taking place. Mordecai uncovers a plot to kill king Xerxes and tells Esther who informs the king and his life is saved. Although he saved the king’s life Mordecai was virtually unnoticed.

Have you ever felt unappreciated or taken advantage of after you’ve done something significant for someone? Perhaps some recognition or a reward would be in order? How about a thank you? Not going to happen, at least not now. 

Mordecai refuses to bow down to Haman, the king’s second in command and Haman is absolutely enraged. Haman’s anger swells even more when he discovers that Mordecai is Jewish and he begins his plan to exterminate all the Jews of Babylon.

Join us next time as we see Esther’s bravery in engaging with what she was truly created for!

Begin Where You Are

Countless people are on an endless quest for meaning. Their search takes them to places they never thought they would be and do things they never thought they would do. This might describe some of our lives in the past or maybe even today. While some of our experiences can bring temporal satisfaction they never seem to last.

Without a deep sense of purpose our lives can be like experiments searching for that elusive thing, experience or person. Unknowingly, we can get so easily absorbed into today’s cultural definitions of success and personal realization that we just might find we’re living lives that could be described as…

The Lonely life
Unprecedented access to social networking has not taken loneliness away. Loneliness is no stranger to socially connected people. Feeling alone has never been more epidemic. 

We long to know and be known, but our fears and habits make it difficult to give or we feel vulnerable to injury in relationships and we often keep our stories of struggle or confusion to ourselves.  

We’re afraid of getting close. We choose proximity without intimacy. Our hearts are heavy and alone.

The Imposter’s life

Appearance is more important than substance. What matters most is what we appear to be. Sadly, we doubt that much beyond appearance can be found anyway. It’s “all good,” I don’t need to know about your problems, distractions or complications. It’s Margarita-ville, don’t you get it?

As Mark Labberton said, “The imposter’s life is simply not full of pretense; it allows someone to think about us the way they want without actually disclosing who we really are. Since “it’s all good” there’s nothing to worry about.”

The Consumer’s Life
Life isn’t about who you are but about what you have, because what you have tells you who you are. Google knows that what we pursue as consumers, of culture, of goods, of experience, of taste, are the things that feed our consumption and increase our desire for still more.

The Fearful Life
Real and imagined dangers exist all around is. We can be paranoid or obsessive. Fear can be tamed, but is readily accessed with the right triggers of getting it wrong, not being seen, being hurt, experiencing violence, losing control, failing, getting over- looked, doing damage, causing pain, misspeaking…

Begin Where You Are

We may be privileged or deprived, but living with these kinds of patterns sets the trajectory for our lives. We can live much better lives. How can things be different? As Bob Dylan, said, “it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but no matter who you are, you’re gonna have to serve somebody.”

Jesus says to all His disciples, “follow me.” If we want to truly follow Him we need to start where we are, not where we’d like to be, whether it’s at work, home or in our neighborhoods.

Following Jesus starts here. It starts with learning to see the people that we regularly see in a different light, as made and loved by God, that because they matter to God they matter to you and me.

When we truly see others as God sees them we can love our neighbors as ourselves. And when we do we will whine less about the world. Do you want your life to be more of an adventure rather than the mundane lives most people live? Are you ready to dive in? Are you ready for some fun and sacrifice?  You won’t regret it and God will be pleased.

God Is Calling - Will You Answer?

The New Year is under way, and many resolutions are already being renegotiated. How this year unfolds can depend on the choices we make and what we live for. Jesus invited us to "live life more abundantly." But what does that mean?

Jesus gets to the very heart of what it means to be one of His followers in the midst of the realities of life. People ask questions about how their lives relate to the world and why are they here? These questions have been asked throughout history by those inside and outside the church.  

Christ followers are not spiritual mannequins—a form without life. How easily we can live vicariously, but we are meant be active, willful, fruit-bearing agents of God’s kingdom. Yet, far too many are living carefully, cautious, guarded, measured, numb, detached, apathetic lives? Or on the other extreme, perfect, faultless lives without blemish. Maybe you can relate to one of these adjectives?

Do we give ourselves grief for having not lived the way we "should" live. Or do we live for the identity others have given us. That somehow, whatever or whoever we are, it is not enough for some. There is a better way to live.

Followers of Christ are called into a relationship with God, but also called to something. Call is a word that can have many associations. Mark Labberton says that, “The heart of God’s call is this: that we receive and live the love of God for us and for the world. This is the meaning of the two great commandments, that we are made to love the Lord our God with all we are and our neighbors as ourselves.”

Rarely does God’s call come from a burning bush or a high and lofty place. God’s primary call is for us to belong to and live for the flourishing of God’s purposes in the world. At the same time, God may also call in ways that include direction in relation to our jobs, gifts, relationships and more.

The street level view of life is that humanity is on its’ own. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. Are we here as result of lucky mud and its’ every man for himself? Is there hope out there somewhere in the trajectory of human suffering? Is there hope for our own personal life issues? These are heavy questions, but personal and practical.

As God’s people we are sent as God’s reassuring response to these questions, but can be evident only if we live honestly and fully before God and our neighbor. People of all ages are skeptical of rhetoric and formulas. They need to see is the “good news.” They need to see hope in you and I and our concern for the real world we live in. How many times have I heard, if I hang at your church will I meet people who are actually like Jesus? Whoa! Ouch?

There are all kinds of churches in this world, but there’s only one Jesus.
This year can be very different. We can live life far more deeply by being more concerned about God’s purposes than our own? Ask yourself, what does God want of me and how can He use me? That might include hardship and even sacrifice, but in the end it will reflect Jesus and that’s what the world needs to see. 

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.     I John 4:11-12

A Better New Year

One year ago we were different in ways than we are today and one year from now, we will have changed. Many make optimistic plans of how their change will look the coming year. This year will be their year, the year when their income will increase and relationships will improve. This year will be the year they are finally able to change in the ways they’ve long desired.

We hope that this year will be better than last. What new experiences or changes will come our way? Others approach the New Year with mixed emotions hesitant to let go of the past. Some make a list of bad deeds and resolve “from now on I will…”—how many “from-now-ons” have there already been! Some believe that a good intention means a new beginning, that on their own they can make a new start whenever they want. That would be nice if it was that easy.

One thing that we can all count on this year is change.
Some changes we choose and others we don’t. The theme of change is a constant in the scriptures. What does the nature of that change look like? God changes the direction of a person and a nation into a people who reflect Him to the rest of the world and we can be part of that same story. The Apostle Paul lays out the kind of change God desires for His people.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14

Yet more often than not, despite our high hopes and our best efforts, we fail to change in the ways God desires. We can’t just grit our teeth and force ourselves to act with compassion. Trying harder on our own won't lead to change it leads to frustration. We can say, “Yes, Jesus, I'm all in, except when it comes to being generous with my time and money or how I run my company or how I treat people.”

Yes, Jesus, I'm all in, but maybe not entirely.
Jesus isn't at all interested in our being changed into people who simply become nicer and more agreeable, all the while maintaining our own little kingdoms. God does not ask us to accommodate Him, but to live for Him. He has something far more different in mind for us this New Year. That is to choose to…

Live for what matters to God.

Any of us who have attempted change know if this year is going to be any different we need a new approach, a change of perspective. Becoming what God desires of us is not as simple as changing a tire. It is not a quick fix. It’s a heart change.


The question is not if we will change, but how we will we change. Change is inevitable. Which changes can you make this year? You do have a choice.

For a Christ follower we are called to a new way of life, to a new kingdom, to a faith filled life.

As unknowingly difficult as this can be, we need to leave our own self-interested little kingdoms behind. Maybe a part of our own little kingdoms is having a perspective of ‘my way is Yahweh’s’ or don’t you see, this is the way things ought to be according to me.  Or maybe it’s how we measure our own success, or maybe it’s trying to control people and circumstances. Or maybe it’s living for the approval of others.

These things don't just distract us from a greater kingdom they can consume us. They can control us. They can suck the very life right out of us. They can be so utterly empty and meaningless. There is a better way.

There are certainly things we cannot change, but there are changes we can make that can leave a lasting impact in other people’s lives if we choose to live for what matters to God. God has been changing hearts and minds of people and nations for thousands of years and He desires to change yours’ and mine too.

Throughout this New Year may our heart’s prayer be

Father, not my will, but thy will be done…your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. What do you want me to do for You?


The God that changes not, changes everything! Be grateful that His love for you and I will never change! That’s one thing we can count on forever!

What Do You Make?

“The problem with teachers is that what kid is going to learn from someone who decided their best option in life is to become a school teacher? Be honest now Taylor, what do you make?”

This comment was made by educator and teacher Taylor Mali’s YouTube video entitled ‘What Teachers Make’ (1.2 M views). He responded with the following:

“Want to know what I make? I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a kid who got a C+ feel like they received the Congressional Medal of Honor. I make kids think, question, apologize, and mean it. I make them read, write, and spell. I make kids realize they have a mind do what’s right and when they do it doesn't matter what others say about them. Teachers make a difference, so what about you, what do you make?” 

So what do you make?
Well, the answer depends on what you’re working for, and WHO you’re working for. Taylor is passionately committed to teaching. We may not be called to be teachers, but we’re called to be something. Whatever it is we feel called to do it brings up a few questions:

Is this passion or calling attainable?  Do I have what it takes? Am I the right one for the job?

Mary was called to be the mother of Jesus. The Apostle Paul was called to evangelize, teach, and plant churches. This was not easy stuff. Imagine being Mary thinking how in the world is this going to be possible? My parents are going to kill me when they hear I’m pregnant, especially when they ask who is the father. It was not easy.

After Paul had persecuted and killed Christians he came to faith in Christ. Naturally, most Christians did not believe in his conversion, doubted His sincerity, and could not trust him. Amid constant extreme opposition from both Jew and Gentile, God’s calling on Paul had not changed. It was not easy.

When we engage with what we feel passionate about we dive in, pray, strategize, plan, and dedicate time. We do what God has called us to do! God always has the end in mind when it comes to you and me. He already knows the outcome of our efforts. In our life journey, we are part of His Story, the bigger story, and as Christ's followers being part of His story means He’s working in us.

For we are God’s workmanship (masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

As God was working in Mary and Paul in the midst of what He called them to do and BE, He will also do the same within you and I, in making us into what he wants us to be. That’s not easy. He’s continuously painting His masterpiece one stroke at a time.

And thank God He is not done with you and me!

I love what author John Ortberg said, "Living the adventure God planned, becoming the person God created you to be, is not one pursuit among many. It is why you were born. It is worth wanting above all else. 

Mary’s heart willingly surrendered to her call saying to Gabriel, “May it be to me as you have said.” Notice she didn’t ask why, but how? Paul had a tremendous sense of determination. Being warned by his friends of his upcoming imprisonment Paul responded by saying, “I consider my life worth nothing, if only to complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me –the task of sharing the gospel of God’s grace!  Acts 20:24

If Mary and Paul were around today I don’t think they would post on FB, “Am I not awesome?” In our passionate pursuit or call it’s not about one person doing all the work or getting all the credit. It’s about us ‘together’ doing our part. 
Ephesians 4:12, 16

Several years ago while interviewing applicants to write radio commercials I asked one guy, “Why do you want to write commercials for us?” He responded, “Well, I’m writing obituaries for the Gazette Telegraph and I never get any big story assignments, just the obits and I thought if I could write some killer commercials, then maybe I can get recognized for my ability.”

I responded, “Nothing you’ll write here that gets on the air will be read any more carefully than the obits. If you misspell a name or mess up a date, someone will be hurt. When you do justice to somebody’s grandmother or mom you’ll make a difference, they’ll sing about you.” I didn’t hire him, but he continued to write obits with a little more enthusiasm.

Regardless if we get noticed by others or not, when we do things for the audience of ONE we do get noticed by Him. According to the prophet Zephaniah one day God will rejoice and sing over us and we’ll be glad we were part of the Master’s plan in doing the impossible with the ordinary.  

Footnote: In 2000, Taylor Mali, set out to create 1,000 new teachers through "poetry, persuasion, perseverance, or passion." He did.