“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1-2
Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
NIV)
I grew up a grungy little farm kid completely unaware that it was weird to be both grungy and a little farm kid at the same time. I wasn’t the best kid. In fact, I was a pretty bad kid. I was a runaway. In fact, I can’t remember a time that I wasn’t trying to run away from something. I would wait for night to fall, pull on my Doc Martens and open the shutter that would set me free. After a short walk, I would hop the red rusted fence where my boots would fall into the pasture of a cow and I would run… I would run until the world behind me was far enough away.
I got in a weird funk last week and that’s why I told you that story. You see, I'm a pastor now and as I was filing through the remnants of old things, I came across a picture that reminded me of who I used to be. Just one of the cool kids. I felt burdened because I kind of missed that. That’s human. To miss what was.
Peter Parker said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Sometimes that’s a lot. Sometimes I miss when people didn’t treat me “like a pastor.” I don’t get to not care anymore. God won’t allow that. Everything bothers me because it bothers Him. I don’t get to be that person. I still wear the same Docs I always have. I still have plenty of tattoos and plenty to say but today I run to my Father and I pastor the pasture. My God doesn’t live in the past so I let that thought pass too.
The enemy is after making us miss what we had so we cannot focus on what God is doing in our future.
Do you ever miss the way things were? It’s human. But just like me, you can dress up light in any form you want to and that light will still be light. You can put a lampshade on it. You can hide it under a blanket. You can toss it up in the sky and call it a star... and at the end of the day, that light will always be a light. There is no way that you or I can ever be who we were before we knew Him. You cannot truly encounter the God of the universe and not be eternally changed.
From a girl who went from death to life, I want to encourage you today that the old you has nothing on the you that you are becoming. Just think — the God you serve now is the same God that makes the god of this world tremble. There’s nothing edgier than that. Saul went from a killer to a bold defender of the Gospel (Acts 9:1-31
Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers.* So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" "Who are you, lord?" Saul asked. And the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men with Saul stood speechless, for they heard the sound of someone's voice but saw no one! Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. Now there was a believer* in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, calling, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord!" he replied. The Lord said, "Go over to Straight Street, to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again." "But Lord," exclaimed Ananias, "I've heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers* in Jerusalem! And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name." But the Lord said, "Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake." So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Instantly something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. Afterward he ate some food and regained his strength.Saul in Damascus and JerusalemSaul stayed with the believers* in Damascus for a few days. And immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is indeed the Son of God!" All who heard him were amazed. "Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?" Saul's preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. After a while some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. So during the night, some of the other believers* lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. When the believers* heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
) and you are being changed every day for the glory of something so much greater than the world can offer.
The next time you miss the you that you knew, remember the God that loved you at your worst and continues to champion you into the glorious light of today.
This girl may look like she has it all together, but sometimes she is one of God’s most difficult sheep. Out of the 99, she’s the sheep that got lost, chewed the daisies, and bit the tires on the tractor. In fact, if she were to find herself in David’s pasture, he might have opened the gate on purpose! Thankfully, God is a merciful and loving Shepherd who never stops caring, using, or looking for his kids. Brooke is a long-time pastor and the author of Radically Red: Dare to Live the Words of Christ, Chrissie’s Shell and other titles. You may recognize her from your TikTok feed where she
