Selected 6000 Years - Beaver Tales

These greetings come from somewhere enroute to Africa. I don’t like travel but I do it because I love training individuals to use biblical tools to determine their unique purpose and role in life. The rewards of seeing them acquire practical skills for bringing life focus and balance are precious. If it wasn’t for the arduous journeying, and the necessity of an interpreter for many conversations, I could get a swelled head from this role.

On the last trip, I was caught by surprise when the folks at one location expressed amazement that I had just been in an area where insurgency was prominent. Until they informed me, I didn’t know that foreigners had been banned from traveling there! (Now I wish I’d know that while I was there, so I could have enjoyed the adventure more thoroughly! J )

Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. He’s right. But my global ramblings have taught me that trends of spiritual emphasis run in cycles. The sermon topics of fifty or a hundred years ago are not often the issues preached today. Eschatology perspectives change; denominational emphasis changes; evangelistic focus changes; discipling methodology changes.

We currently have generic topics and theological issues but we don’t teach the basics of personal direction from God. We claim relationship but have ignorance of knowing individual purpose and birthright. Birthright is not an everyday term used by Believers. I meet with people who want God’s will for their lives, but the single cause for not claiming His will is that they don’t have a clue who they are, or what they’re looking for. So many people have never found their role in Kingdom matters. They don’t confidently pursue their calling, change their lifestyle to experience their calling, or enjoy the fulfillment that comes with possessing their calling / birthright. Scripture states that we were selected before creation: [In His love] He chose us [actually picked us out for Himself as His own] in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight. (Ephesians 1:4) You were chosen and set apart 6000 years ago, to fulfill a specific role. That puts me in a significant global position. I would think it should be an important topic of discussion.

Humans are group learners, created to discuss, explore and process information. We are created to ‘crowd source’ experiences and ideas for solutions to the issues of life. That is how to practice Hebrews 10:24 “… stir each other up to love and good works.” The essence of Christian culture is group learning that will urge us to effective living. But who, really are the Believers that you spend time with in your spiritual connections? Who, really, is your community of faith? Some would claim that is their ‘church’ when in reality it is their contacts on Twitter or Facebook. And what are the topics of our conversations? Is it about ‘how to’ realize God’s direction, or is it losing weight; inclement weather; sports, work situations?

How often over the last three months did you talk about the fulfillment you’ve found in your ‘calling’? My major emphasis in the ministry I do is focused on discovering birthright … God’s will and direction for personal living. The most common response I receive is “We’ve never heard / done this before.” or from the opposite end of the spectrum: “No-one else talks about this. Are you sure this is Scriptural?” The questions I love to hear are: “What is birthright?” “How do I find out about it?” “What is mine?”