We all have something particular to do

I ended my latest blog series with a conclusion and a question: "I strongly believe we all have something particular to do, apart from the general works we are called to do as believers. 👉What is it He called you to do?"

In other words, what is your calling? The Bible is full of stories of people who had a specific task given by God. One smaller, one bigger, but a task nonetheless.

And whatever they did, became part of Biblical world history and God's Kingdom as we know it. All their stories are connected to Ephesians 2:10 where it is written:

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Notice it says 'in' Christ Jesus. We first need to be in Him. Why? Because it is in Him that we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). We find our purpose in Jesus. Being in Him comes before doing something for Him. Remember that! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

We discover the specific works God has prepared for us when we are a new creation in Christ, in other words when we have been born again. How exciting! Think about it, there is a task only you can do. 

Yes, you. Why? Because you are unique. You have a specific character and background. You have specific life experiences, abilities, strengths, talents, and spiritual gifts. Some of your experiences may be painful or negative, but God will make everything new. He redeems our lives for His purposes.

I am a writer and blogger, but there are probably millions of people who do a better job than I do. Yet, I know that I am called to write about certain topics in a certain way, simply because of the way I think, the way I grew up, the way I connect with the Lord, the way I express myself etc. etc.

Furthermore, a prophetic word was given to me many years ago, before I even penned one blog, article, or book. God called me to be His 'faithful mouthpiece'. I have those words on my desk, to be reminded every day that I work for Him.

How do you find out what it is God has prepared for you?

• I believe it starts with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the Father's purpose for your life.
• Seek Christian gatherings where people operate in prophetic gifts and come with a genuine hunger to do His will.
• Get inspired by reading the Bible, by the men and women that went before you and take notice when your heart jumps a beat... that is a clue for further prayer.
• Journal (write down) anything that the Lord brings to mind: words, thoughts, scriptures, names... anything! They are pieces of the puzzle.
• Make sure to seek silence so you can listen to the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit.

This post might be helpful as well

And you know what, when we do the particular works, we are being shaped into the man or woman He ordained us to be. Our specific calling shapes our life for eternal purposes.

Glory to the Father (5)

To God belongs the glory, which basically means He deserves all honor. And 'He' is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, of course. In this blog series, I highlighted the glory given to the Father.

If you want to learn more about the exchanging of honor and glory, please read chapters 14, 15, 16, and 17 of the Gospel of John over and over again. It will surely bless you.

I would like to end this blog series with the prayer of Jesus as recorded in John 17. Verse one says:

After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.

Right until His final hours on earth, Jesus had the desire to give glory to His Father. He did not want to keep it for Himself. There was this constant exchange, which I find fascinating. Desiring to give back to God what we receive from Him in the first place. What if we lived our lives that way?

Jesus lived His life that way, for sure. In verse 4 He says:

I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.

Such marvelous words. Let's make them personal. The Lord has works to do for you and me, there is no doubt about it. He planned it that way (read Ephesians 2:10 in as many translations as you can)!

👉What is it He called you to do? I strongly believe we all have something particular to do, apart from the general works we are called to do as believers. If you don't know what it is, pray, seek Him, and ask Him. If you already do know what it is, do it. Stop procrastinating, stop making excuses. Pick it up again if you are discouraged. Let's bring glory to the Father here on earth by completing the work He gave us to do!

Glory to the Father (4)

Thank you for joining me in this new blog series. Isn't it fascinating to see the different ways God the Father gets the glory? And by looking at John 14,15,16, and 17, we are barely scratching the surface!

[By the way, we are looking at the Greek word for glory here: δόξα (dóxa). The Hebrew word as used in the Old Testament is a totally different story.]

So far we have seen that Jesus brings glory to the Father by answering our prayers (John 14:12-14), which is truly the desire of His heart.

We furthermore discovered that we, as children of God, can bring glory to the Father by producing much fruit and being true disciples (John 15:8). Which in short happens when we become more like Him.

And there is more. When we continue to read the gospel of John, we come to chapter 16:13 where Jesus talks about the work of the Holy Spirit:

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’

So, the Holy Spirit brings glory to Jesus, How? By telling us whatever He receives from Jesus. And everything Jesus entrusts to the Spirit (to forward to us) comes from the Father. He honors the Father in the process. There is simply no way to disconnect the Three-in-One.

Glory to the Father (3)

In my previous post, I wrote that answering our prayers enables Jesus to bring glory to His Father. A wonderful thought and the desire of His heart.

I furthermore reasoned that it would be wonderful for all the sons and daughters of God (us) to bring glory to our heavenly Father. How? By doing His will on earth as it is in heaven.

Now Jesus knew this to be true as well. He told His disciples (John 15:8):

👉When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

We are asked to produce MUCH fruit, not just a little. What does it mean to produce fruit? In my humble opinion, it means that godly character is visible in our lives, in the things we do or say (read Galatians 5:22-25). People will see God through us, just as they saw the Father through Jesus when He walked the earth.

We can do many things, good works even, but only if inspired by Jesus will it count for eternity. He said: Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me (John 15:4).

He even goes on (verse 5) to say that apart from Him we can do nothing! Let me put it this way, trying to be fruitful outside of Him, is useless and a waste of time. It does not bring glory to the Father. But being true disciples does!