Welcome, Friend! Our purpose for this short retreat is to try to understand what it is that God is calling us to do. Every single one of us has a calling from the Lord and every one of us, just the same, has a gift from Him too. Finding that gift and playing upon it so that the Lord might be glorified can be hard. Sometimes we get too wrapped up into wondering what our gift might be, thinking we can't find it, and then give up. We can't get caught in this trap! If you are feeling moved to do something in love, do it. It is God! Anything that pushes us to love our neighbors shall bring glory to God. Remember, for some, how we live is the only knowledge of Jesus and Christians that some people have. As Paul writes in Romans 12:1: "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." Anything we do, we must do in love, for Jesus, like Jesus. That is what we are called to do: love each other. If you would like to collaborate and reflect with others, please share your reflection responses in the comments. If not, keep them for yourself on your personal growth journey.
Reflection Questions:
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One of the ways that we can recognize God's call for us is to listen to Him. Are you listening? Truly listening? Sometimes we seem to have "selective hearing" when it comes to God. Perhaps you keep getting this reoccurring thought that you should stop gawking at the two elderly people who sit in their garage all day long and go engage in conversation with them because they're probably lonely and would appreciate it greatly. Because you are "selectively hearing" what God says, you might find yourself ignoring the voice of God. Remember, any action you do in love will glorify our Lord. If you're feeling a call to do something that will show that love to someone else, do it! Even if you don't want to! Do you truly believe you know more about your life than the One who created you? In Jeremiah it is written:
Yesterday's passage was deep and powerful. Today, we're going to prayerfully reflect on that passage, praying for wisdom and understanding as we try to tackle this big concept and apply it to our lives.
God is great. We are truly so lucky to have such a Lord and such a Savior. Their love for us is like nothing we can ever imagine. What a gift!
Today, we're diving into that passage in John once again. We're going to analyze scripture and see if we can understand even better what it was that Jesus was trying to tell us here. On our final day, I truly want you to reflect on your calling. Most of us have an understanding of something that we're good at. Maybe it's reading or singing, building or teaching, speaking or listening. Whatever it is, know that it is a gift from God. Use it! Glorify Him through it. Are you still afraid? God has given this gift to YOU. Think about how amazing that is! He looked at you, formed you, and gave you this precious gift because he knew that you could use it for his glory if you so chose to do so. He gives you the freedom to choose, but let the love for God motivate and call you to action to share that gift with the world so that He might be glorified. Whatever gift you have, use it for God. Share God's love with it. You love God, so use what he has gifted you to give that love back to the world so that they can see that love you have for God.
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