"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20
God has created every human being to desire things from Him. He has created a void in each person's heart that can only be satisfactorily filled with Him- He is the only thing we can successfully fill that void with. So, God has called every human being to be in relation- or to eat with Him. The true question is this: have you answered the call of Christ? Another question that needs to be answered is what does answering the call of Christ look like? When Jesus first called the disciples, he said: "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matt. 4:19. The next verse is the key to knowing what the answering of the Upward Call looks like. "Immediately they left their nets and followed Him." Are you waiting for a sign from God to follow Him? Because God has sent the Perfect Sign: Jesus Christ. The disciples immediately followed Him because they had FAITH that He was the Son of God. But, are we waiting to follow Christ because we are too selfish to deny ourselves and our ambitions to replace them with His desire and His will. That is saying that you do not have faith that He is the Son of God! Utter idolatry- because you have created in you an idol, which is yourself. You are not guaranteed tomorrow, or the next minute. NOW is the time to pick up your cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Answering the Call starts with repentance. At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, one of the first things He said was, "[t]he time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand; REPENT and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). That was the foundational doctrine that Jesus taught! Repentance. Repentance is transforming the thoughts of the flesh into the higher thoughts of God. Repentance is turning from the ways of your old self, and doing the will of the Father. It isn't some prayer; rather it is the miraculous transformation that only the humble can receive. It is simply replacing your thoughts with His thoughts. "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). In order to answer the Call of Christ we must obey Him! The disciples did not argue with Christ when He called them. They did not make excuses for why they could not follow Him. Rather, they gave up EVERYTHING to follow Him. It is the same now as it was then. "But Blake, I have secret sin that I cannot get rid of." Do you believe in the power of the Cross? Do you believe that He has bought you with a price and that He stands at the door of your heart and knocks? It starts with repentance my friends. Bringing things to the light so other brothers and sisters in Christ can hold you accountable- so they can exhort you! "But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." (John 3:21) In order to answer the call of Christ we must first repent, then OBEY. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15) God has called us to obedience, holiness, righteousness, and repentance. Because Christ lives in us, we are made holy and blameless before our Father. "Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. (Eph. 1:4). We are to walk in the newness of life that is in Christ, and not delve into our past. That is obedience! Walking in perfect harmony with the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you is what you and every Christian is called to do. So let's do it! So let us walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls us into His kingdom and glory! (1 Thess. 2:12)
In Christ, Blake
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