Christian Living on Calling

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Finding Your Calling by Finding your Gladness

Author

Keywords

Calling

Scripture

Galatians 6:4, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23

The voice we should listen to most as we choose a vocation is the voice that we might think we should listen to least, and that is the voice of our own gladness. What can we do that makes us the gladd...

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Let Your Life Speak

Author

John Mark Comer

Keywords

Scripture

Galatians 6:4, Colossians 3:23-24, Isaiah 6:8, 1 Corinthians 7:17, Romans 12:2

The word vocatio can also be translated voice. Man, that says a lot. Your vocation is your voice. The Quakers have a saying about calling that I love: Let your life speak. Finding your calling is abou...

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Strengthen Your Core

Author

Ken Costa

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:3, Philippians 1:6, John 15:5, Psalm 18:2, Isaiah 40:31, Ephesians 60:11, 2 Corinthians 5:17

You can only build an effective Christian life when you have a “settled core”: an inner self “hidden with Christ” (Colossians 3:3). When you go to the gym or a Pilates class, your instructor might enc...

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Listen to your Life

Author

Frederick Buechner

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 118:24, Colossians 3:17, Matthew 6:34, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Proverbs 3:6, James 1:17

Listen to your life. All moments are key moments. I discovered that if you really keep your eye peeled to it and your ears open, if you really pay attention to it…Taking your children to school and ki...

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Doing the Work Before the Work

Author

Stephen W. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 24:27, James 1:5, Matthew 7:24-25, Proverbs 21:5, Colossians 3:16-17, Isaiah 40:3-4

In his highly insightful work, Inside Job , Stephen W. Smith provides an important analogy about the importance of spiritually preparing ourselves for the adversity and challenges that come with su...

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The Sin of Doing the Wrong Job

Author

Arthur F. Miller Jr. and Bill Hendricks

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:14-30, Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 16:3, Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 7:17, Romans 12:6-8

Does God take our work seriously? Consider these words from Arthur F. Miller: It is wrong, it is sin, to accept or remain in a position that you know is a mismatch for you. Perhaps that’s a form of ...

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Finding Your Blue Flame

Author

Jennifer Fulwiler

Keywords

Scripture

2 Timothy 1:6, Psalm 37:4, Galatians 6:9-10, Matthew 5:14-16, Colossians 3:23-24

I had just started dating my husband, Joe, when I met international speaker and bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi. He was a friend of Joe’s …but on this day he was an intimidating public figure. I wan...

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Prayer for the Unity of the Church

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:4-5, Colossians 3:14, Galatians 3:28, John 17:20-23, Ephesians 4:3-6

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace to take to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice...

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Giving Myself

Author

Mark E. Strong

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Psalm 51:17, Luke 21:1-4, Matthew 22:37, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Mark 12:41-44, Romans 12:1

I heard a story about a little boy who wanted to give God an offering but had nothing to give. He sat on the floor, watching people pass by and place their offerings in large wicker baskets. How he lo...

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Lord of Hosts, We come before you today

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

Keywords

Scripture

Micah 7:18-19, Colossians 3:13, Matthew 5:44, Philippians 2:3, Romans 5:8

Lord of Hosts, We come before you today in a tone of solemnity. We recognize that while it was Judas who betrayed you for 30 pieces of silver, that we often betray you as well. We know what is right,...

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No Further Instructions

Author

Charles Swindoll

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-13, James 1:19-20, Ephesians 4:31-32, Luke 6:27-28, 1 Peter 3:9

A successful Irish boxer was converted and became a preacher. He happened to be in a new town setting up his evangelistic tent when a couple of tough thugs noticed what he was doing. Knowing nothing o...

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“Chancing One’s Arm”

Author

Diana Garland

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 16:7, James 3:17-18, Matthew 6:14-15, Colossians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, Romans 12:18

In her book Family Ministry, Diana Garland relates the following account by R.L. Honeycutt on the origin of the Irish expression “Chancing one’s arm”: On display in St. Patrick’s cathedral in Dublin...

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Author

Donna Barber

Keywords

Scripture

2 Peter 3:18, Acts 9:1-19, Luke 15:11-32, Colossians 3:9-10, Romans 12:2

Though conversion may be pinpointed to a moment, salvation is a process that continues over a lifetime. I am still being saved from old ways of thinking and behaving and am coming to new understanding...

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Author

Martin Luther

Keywords

Scripture

John 14:19-23, John 15:4-10, Romans 8:1-19, 1 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 4:6-11, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Ephesians 3:16-21, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:15, 1 John 4:4, Revelation 3:20

Should anyone knock at my heart and say, “Who Lives here? I should reply, “Not Martin Luther, but the Lord Jesus Christ.”

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Contempt, a Prayer of Confession

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 4:31-32, Matthew 5:44, Colossians 3:12-13, James 4:11, 1 Peter 2:1, Romans 12:10

Contempt is so painful To be dismissed, disregarded Questioning instead of dignity Accusation instead of personhood I have felt its sting and hollowness As have you, my Jesus Help me hear the needed m...

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Who Determines Your Behavior?

Author

The Pastor's Workshop

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 12:1, Matthew 5:44, Proverbs 15:1, 1 Peter 3:9, Luke 6:31, Galatians 6:9, Colossians 3:12-13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, Genesis 50:20, Philippians 2:3-4, James 1:19-20, 1 Samuel 24:17

Some years ago, the syndicated newspaper columnist Sidney J. Harris shared an interesting anecdote from one of his friends. Each evening, this friend would stop at the same newsstand to buy a newspape...

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:12-14, Acts 3:1-10, Mark 5:25-34, Galatians 6:9-10, James 2:14-17

To abide in love means to have open eyes, to be able to see something that only a few see, namely, the outstretched, begging hands of the others who are along the way, and now not be able to do anythi...

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God of the common and of the uncommon.

Author

Richard Herman

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:17, Matthew 5:16, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 43:18-19, James 5:14-15

God of the common and of the uncommon. You meet us in the ordinary routines of life–when we play and when we rest, while we work and while we worship. And You reveal yourself in the extraordinary, too...

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The Pastor’s Visit

Author

Source Unknown

Keywords

Scripture

Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 150:1-6, Acts 2:42, Psalm 122:1, Galatians 6:2, Matthew 18:20, Colossians 3:16

The story is told of a man who had gone to church for several years but suddenly stopped attending. His pastor dropped by one evening unannounced. The man answered the door and invited him in. Of cour...

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Living God, help us so to hear your

Author

Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli

Keywords

Scripture

Psalm 85:8, Psalm 119:11, Colossians 3:16, Joshua 1:8, John 14:23, Romans 10:17

Living God, help us so to hear your holy Word that we may truly understand; that, understanding, we may believe and believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and g...

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Studying our Parts

Author

Brian Dembowczyk

Keywords

Scripture

Philippians 2:5, Ephesians 5:1-2, 1 Peter 2:21, Colossians 3:16, 1 John 2:6, John 13:15

Imagine you were cast to play the role of legendary baseball player Babe Ruth in a biography of his life. You could simply follow the script, reading out what is written. How much better, though, to s...

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Author

Madeleine L'Engle

Keywords

Humility

Scripture

Colossians 3:23-24, Ephesians 5:21, Romans 12:10, Galatians 5:13, 1 Corinthians 13:4-5, John 13:14-15

Humility is throwing oneself away in complete concentration on something or someone else.

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The Controversial Cookies

Author

Reader’s Digest

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 7:1-2, John 7:24, Proverbs 18:2, James 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Proverbs 21:2, Ephesians 4:31-32, Colossians 3:12-13

A traveler, between flights at an airport, went to a lounge and bought a small package of cookies. Then she sat down and began reading a newspaper. Gradually, she became aware of a rustling noise. Fro...

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Which Comes First, Identity or Behavior?

Author

James Bryan Smith

Keywords

Scripture

1 Peter 2:9-10, Ephesians 2:19-22, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:1-3, Romans 6:11-13

I am not perfect, and I will struggle with the “old Jim,” who was and is influenced by American culture, narratives and values. But the key is that identity comes before behavior. We almost always do ...

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Screens Vs. Living in the Moment

Author

Ashley Hales

Keywords

Scripture

Ephesians 5:15-16, Colossians 3:2, Hebrews 2:1, 1 Kings 19:, Psalm 90:12

Perhaps we look to a screen because it’s too painful to remember we are mortal. To sit in our limits and let them wash over us. To embrace this body, this moment in time, this feeling, or this place. ...

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Lord: In our times of weakness and our

Author

Richard Herman

Scripture

Matthew 11:28-30, Colossians 3:12, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:18, Matthew 5:9, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Lord: In our times of weakness and our hours of need, Yours is the strength that enables us to carry on, Yours the shoulder we rest our heads upon. When our load is heavy and too much to bear, Yours a...

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Children of God, go now in peace to

Author

Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia

Keywords

Scripture

Acts 4:32-35, Ruth 1:16-18, Psalm 121:7-8, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Colossians 3:23-24

Children of God, go now in peace to love and to serve, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Author

James K. A. Smith

Keywords

Scripture

Colossians 3:17, Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16, Galatians 2:20, Romans 1:17, James 2:26, Hebrews 111:1

Faith is a how and, more specifically, a way of living in light of an event.

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Author

Eugene H. Peterson

Keywords

Scripture

Romans 8:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, James 1:2-4, Philippians 4:11-12, Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 3:5-6

The only opportunity you will ever have to live by faith is in the circumstances you are provided this very day: this house you live in, this family you find yourself in, this job you have been given,...

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All: Gracious God, we have become

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Matthew 25:40, Matthew 25:31-46, Micah 6:8, James 2:15-17, Luke 6:27-36, Isaiah 58:6-7, 1 John 3:17, Zechariah 7:9-10, Colossians 3:12, Proverbs 21:13

All: Gracious God, we have become callous to those in need, holding back compassion yet unsparing with judgment. We defend our motivations, rather than using all you have given us to love and care for...

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