THE DAY HE CALLED
Do you remember the day that the Lord called you? Not to preach or to teach; not to sing or to heal; not to exhort or to prophesy, but simply to enter into relationship with him. The day that he called you just to say yes to him as Lord and Savior to accept his gift of salvation; the awesome reward called redemption. Do you remember THAT day? It was a simple invitation that simply said, “follow me;” tongues not required, prophesying not required, jumping and shouting not required, knowing how to pray not required, previous church and kingdom experience – not required. Just simply, follow me and I’ll teach you all things that are needful for you to know of me and my kingdom. That day, do you remember it?
In Revelation 3:20 (KJV) the Lord says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him and will sup (dine) with him, and he with me.” In other words, the Lord is saying, I am asking for entry into your life and on the day that you hear me asking to be let in, if you let me in freely and voluntarily I will come in and fellowship with you intimately as one does when dining with others and as we dine I will feed you with my word that will give you what you need to live this life. Dining with someone (breaking bread, if you will) is an intimate experience. No one dines with people they don’t like or get along with or trust. Just as it was in ancient days we dine with those whom we have close, intimate relationships with or with those with whom we are trying to build such relationships. Jesus wants to build relationship with each of us just as he did with each of his disciples as told in the four gospel accounts in the New Testament. He called each of them with a simple invitation to, “follow me.” There was no need for a whole lot of fanfare or rhetoric, just a simple invitation that required a simple yes from a heart that was simply willing to trust with the innocent trust of a child. Hence Jesus said in Mark 10:15 that “unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in” (MSG). Salvation is not complicated, but simple and it is in the simplicity of it that we find the beauty of it.
I remember the day of my invitation like it was yesterday. It is such a sobering reflection for me. There was no fanfare, no secret handshake, no requirement to pay dues, no repetition of a creed, just a pure drawing of His Spirit and a simple conviction or sense of knowing that I need Him. I never want to lose that awe and that simple need of Him. If you’ve already accepted Christ’s invitation to follow him, praise God and don’t ever forget that day or cease to be thankful for it. Be intentional about living every day of your life in such a way that your life will bring him glory.
If you have never accepted Christ’s invitation to follow him and you would like to, you can do that today. The scripture tells us in Romans 10:9-10 (NIV), “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” However, the scriptures also let us know in Mark 1:14-15, Luke 13:3, and Acts 3:19 that in addition to confessing and believeing we must also repent of our sins (sinful life), which is to turn away from that sinful life and change our mindset towards it recognizing that it is wrong and desiring not to walk that way again. It's just that simple and if you make this decision today, I praise God for your decision and I pray that God will lead you to a church where the principles of the word of God are preached, taught, and lived. If you're already in a church and have made this decision then let your pastor know the decision you have made to follow Christ so that he/she can help guide you along this Christian journey that you have begun.
It is my prayer that as you travel this Christian journey that you will keep Christ at the center of all that you do and that you will allow him to equip you, encourage you, and empower you to do his will and that your life will bring him glory.
- Dr. DeShonda Bailey