In the Land of Your Calling

January 5, 2009

By Albert Friend

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace (Galatians 1:15)

…I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. (Acts 26:19)

Every man's life is a plan of God. God takes a chance on us with His grace. We stumble and get up again. He doesn't baptize us with perfection. He baptizes us with His Spirit of grace, which is the Holy Ghost. Knowing this keeps us going.

When God saw you and called you, He saw something in your life that pleased Him. His calling was not in vain. The eyes of the LORD are looking in on you today. A perfect heart is a heart that will repent. God saw this in you. You are sincere. You are not happy with your mistakes. This pleases God. Your life is a plan of God. Wherever you are in the world, it is the land of your calling. Your mission is to seek and to save the lost.

It was on a Monday. I was visiting a little, old Catholic lady in South Bend, IN. She was telling me how she had prayed to God that morning about a certain thing. She told God, “I asked you to do this last Thursday. You should have this done by now.” Then she giggled and said, “I bet He is going to get me when He sees me.” Learn to wait on God. He does all things right.

We operate on God's time clock. It is a universal prophetic timepiece. He has only one time zone. His second here is the same second everywhere. This is why prayer knows no distance. I can pray for you at noon here and it may be midnight where you are. God knows no distance. I pray for my distant friends with that built into my faith.

Paul was called by the grace of God. The God that he served turned out to be the Jesus that he hated. This revelation was so remarkably different and sudden as to cause momentary shock and alarm. God let him stay blind three days so he could think about the meaning of grace. Jesus said to Paul, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do” (Acts 9:6). Annanias gave him further instructions: “Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized” (Acts 9:17-18). It is all there. Paul preached this message everywhere in every church.

Grace is God's devised way for us to come to Him in repentance without fear. As a sinner we freely obey His plan of salvation. God sees repentance in us and invites us to Himself. With this plan we can walk away from temptation and its power over us. We are set free from sin.

God is never angry with our sins in this process. He is like a Father who pities His child and wants to help us overcome. It pleased God to call Paul on the road to Damascus and it pleased God to call you wherever you were. Be encouraged. Serve Him in the land of your calling.

ninetyandnine.com

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Albert Friend is a 77-year-old minister of 57 years. He lives in Hamilton, Ohio, with his wife, Jean. They had four children: Albert, Michael, Bonnie, and Mark. All four children went into the ministry.