The calling of God 

 
Galatians 1:1

Paul knew with absolute certainty that God had called him as an apostle, sent out to open the way for the gospel to go to other nations. He obeyed even though, from his perspective, he was not qualified for the work to which God called him. We tend to think that apostolic ministry is only done by inherently great and powerful leaders. Yet Paul would say it was nothing but the grace of God that qualified him and others.
Take as a modern example the story of an elderly woman named Alice, who worked near the infamous red-light district in Amsterdam. For years, Alice felt great compassion for the “girls” who sold their bodies there. She began reaching out to them, and within a few months several of the women Alice had counseled accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Next, she started a Bible study for them. As their friends and family members began attending, the Bible study group grew so large that it became a church with a full-time pastor. But the story does not end there. Alice went on to start more churches by reaching out to prostitutes in other cities. Well into her 70s she continued on her God-given mission to rescue lost and hurting people.

No matter what your age or experience God can use you too! Ask him to anoint you and send you out as he did Alice.

More insight: Matt. 10:1; 1 Cor. 1:26-31; 12:28; 15:9-11; 1 Peter 2:9.

Germany: The Key to World Revival Pt. 1 
by Loren Cunningham. Reprinted from MINISTRIES TODAY, May-June 1992.

How many movies or TV shows have you seen where the villain wears a swastika and has a thick German accent? From Casablanca to Raiders of the Lost Ark, we have been raised with German villains. What is it like growing up in a land with the dark shadow of the swastika on your past...one of the darkest shadows in the history of the world? How does this affect your image of yourself and your nationality? Can a country escape its past and find itself again?

Several months ago, one of the leaders of newly-reunified Germany went to Israel and met with her political leaders. He carried a message. He asked them to forgive Germany for the holocaust against the Jews. Their answer? Not in this lifetime!

Recently, my wife Darlene and I completed a ministry tour of Germany, where I spoke --- times in --- days in 15 cities. In each place, I opened my message by reading the entire genealogy of Jesus from the first chapter of Matthew. By the time I read aloud all the "begats," along with interpretation into German, the congregation was laughing.

Why All the "Begats"?
Why did God include His "telephone books" in the Bible? The genealogies show us that our roots are important to God and should be important to us. They are a part of who we are--deny them and we die a little. Jesus accepted His roots, including Rahab the prostitute, David the murderer, and Rehoboam who ruined his country. We can never have a healthy image of ourselves--either as individuals or nations--or find God's destiny for us if we don't accept our heritage, forgiving the wrongs and being grateful for the blessings.

Most of us realize that God has a unique destiny for every baby born on earth. Each individual has been gifted in a combination different from everyone else in the world. We are each a gift to the rest of humanity, with a calling which we will either lay hold of, or allow to remain unfulfilled. If we miss our destiny, we miss the reason we were born.

God also has unique callings for every country on earth. In His Word, God makes it clear that He is the one who gives birth to nations and each nation has a destiny to fulfill. If that destiny is unfulfilled, it affects all of us.

I have given this message in many countries, but never with such a sense of historic importance as when I preached all over Germany that they should accept their roots, as Jesus did.

(To be continued...)