Christian Living

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© 2005 "What Are You Doing for God?"
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What Are You Doing for God?
by
Josprel

One Sunday, Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist of two centuries ago was preaching at his church in Chicago. Suddenly he pointed a finger at a young woman in the pews.

"What are you doing for God?" he asked her.

Moody then descended from the platform and went to where she was seated. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the isle. Then he pushed her toward the exit.

"I want you to start doing something for God," Moody demanded.

Malla Moe had only been saved for a year and a half, but that push drove her to Africa where she led many souls to the Lord. General Allenby was one of them. It was Allenby who later took Palestine from the Turks and set the stage for the rebirth of Israel.

God employs various methods to assign work to His people. Sometimes those methods seem troublesome to us, but as we hold faithful, they lead into His perfect will. In Scriptures, Joseph is a prime example of this. His path to a throne in Egypt began by his being cast into a pit by his brothers, who then sold him as a slave to a passing caravan. In Egypt, falsely accused of a crime against his master's wife, Joseph was cast in prison. However, it was while he was in prison that Joseph came to the attention of the Pharaoh. Without Joseph's knowledge, God's assigned task for him was to preserve the lives of his family, and thus the embryo nation of Israel that sprang from them.

The birth of the nation of Israel cost Joseph the rejection of his brothers, his being cast into a pit, his being sold into slavery, a false accusation, and his imprisonment despite his innocence. All this, to lead him to the work God had for him. Through it all, Joseph trusted God. An old hymn reminds us that some pass "thro' the waters, some thro' the flood, some thro' the fire, but all thro' the blood. Some thro' great sorrow, but God gives a song; In the night season and all the day long." [The hymn, "God Leads Us Along," by G. A. Young, 1903].

Isaiah, chapter six, records the call of Israel's greatest prophet - the prophet Isaiah, who has been called, "The eagle among the prophets." He also has been called, "The evangelist of the Old Testament," as well as "The prophet of redemption." Isaiah predicted the suffering and death of Jesus Christ 712 years before Jesus was born. [Because of this fact, skeptics refuse to believe the book of Isaiah was written in 712 B.C.]. Like Moses before him, Isaiah felt unworthy to answer God's call. Upon receiving a vision of the glory of God, the future prophet's reaction was, "There's no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. And yet, with my own eyes I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty" [Isaiah 6:5].

"Then one of the creatures . . . touched my lips with the burning coal [he had taken from from the altar with a pair of tongs]. He touched my lips with the burning coal and said, 'This has touched your lips, and now your guilt is gone, and your sins are forgiven.'

"Then I heard the Lord say, 'Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?'

"And I answered, 'I will go! Send me!'" [Verses 6-8].

A hymnist of yesteryear wrote, "When the coal of fire touched the prophet, making him as pure as pure can be. When the voice of God said, 'Who'll go for us?' Then he answered, 'Here I am, send me'" [The hymn, "Speak My Lord," by George Bennard, 1873-1958].

What are we doing for God? It's often true that, like Isaiah, we sense our inadequacies and we hesitate to go. However, someone accurately noted that when God send us, He also enables us for the task he calls us to do. His calling is His enabling.

D.L. Moody's question, applies to each of us; what are we doing for God?

Josprel welcomes reader comments on this article. Readers may contact him at: [email protected]

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