2 Corinthians 5:18-20 (NLT) - “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’”

“I believe the call of God is sort of a trap - He pushes us in and then closes the door. We can’t just run in and out. God’s call is when God nails your feet to the floor…One proof you’re really called of God is that you can never get away from that call…You can say no to God’s call, but you can never be at peace without obeying it…So God’s call is not easily escaped. It is clear. God makes the vision plain. He does not give a fuzzy picture.

“So if you haven’t heard the message, if you haven’t heard that call, don’t go! Don’t move, don’t run, don’t go into the community, don’t go into the ghetto, don’t go anywhere unless you have a clear call of God. But if you have heard God’s call, run!

“When God calls, He calls us to a hazardous mission…When God calls, He doesn’t invite us to a picnic. He calls us to go to a stiff-necked, rebellious, stubborn people. Our success is not measured by fame; it is not measured by popularity contests; it is not measured by how many people raise their hands; it is not measured by how many souls were won today. God doesn’t call us to that kind of task. Rather, God calls us to faithfulness. ‘Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life’ (Rev. 2:10). That’s the key - faithfulness to God’s call…God calls us, He locks us in, but never leaves us alone. He goes with us. He sustains us. That is the only assurance we have.

“God never calls us to do something we can do in our own strength. He always calls us to get in over our heads - to move out to where we’ll have to either depend on His power or sink” (John M. Perkins, With Justice For All, p.47-49).

At the end of the video Rev. Perkins asks himself these questions: “Have I made Him worthy? Have I made Him so wonderful that people would accept Him? Will they accept Him because of the way I have lived in my life? Did I make Him beautiful?”

What are you asking today? What is most important about your life, your conversations, your serving and working, your studying and playing? Is it Jesus? Is it the love of Jesus being experienced and revealed through you? This is what matters most in the midst of all we do…Jesus so wonderful, so beautiful that others will accept Him. Today let us pray that God will have His full way in making His appeal through us to those He loves so much. We speak for Him. We are boxed in, controlled and compelled by His wonderful and powerful love. Let’s pray deeply these next 24 hours that our lives will be the wonderful message of “Come back to God.”

-TR