#007

CALLED  FOR   PRIESTHOOD

(Xala Bread)
            As you wait before the Lord, possibly to receive instructions for your day, have you learned to recognize His voice?  Have you learned how to discard the voices of the world, even your own thoughts, to hear Him clearly?
          “What would you have me do today, Lord?, you might hear yourself saying.  Or, in today’s language, you might be asking, “What can I do for You, Lord?  Is there something special You would like?  I am here, Lord.  I wait to hear Your voice…Your desire.”

A  YOUNG  BOY
Boy = yeled = ילר
Son = ben=בך

          My thoughts were directed to the story of a precious young man, born to a previously barren woman who cried before God for a son.  God answered her prayer and she dedicated her son to God, placing him in the temple to be trained by the priest Eli.

          I love this story of Samuel when he first hears God.  No one was hearing from God at that time.  But, God said in I Samuel 2:35a that He, Himself, would raise up for Himself, a faithful priest…one He could speak through. “ And I will raise me up a faithful priest, [that] shall do according to [that] which [is] in mine heart and in my mind:”
          So, young and innocent little Samuel did not recognize God’s voice the first time he heard God call his name.
          Three times God called him and each time Samuel ran to someone and said, “Here am I.”  And he ran to the priest and said, “Here am I, for you called me.”  In other words, “I know I heard you call me.”

WHO  CALLS  US?

          I can’t help but think how many times we have run to a priest, pastor, or friend…to hear what they wanted us to do to serve God.  Only to find out later, that we were assuming someone else had the answer for our lives.

FAITHFUL  PRIESTS

          A priest is someone who hears God speaking to them personally to benefit His church (Body of Christ.)
          The Old Testament is not complete without the New.  Jesus came to fulfill the Law of the prophets.

(Graphic by Melvyn Nieuwkoop)
[Revelation 1:5a-6, I Peter 2:5,9 and Isaiah 61:6]

          Today, we are blessed beyond measure because we no longer have to wait for a Samuel to speak to us for God.  We are invited right into His presence…when He calls us by name…as we learn to recognize His voice… and become spiritual priests of the Lord.  We may not hear Him say our name at first, but we know when He is talking to us.
          We pray that God will fine-tune our hearing so there is no doubt Who is calling us.  Then we know where to go and what to do. 
          We are a chosen generation (I Peter 2:4-5); a royal priesthood.  If we have heard His voice calling us, then we know we are one among many of His chosen.  Just as God raised up Samuel as a faithful priest for Himself, He raises us, too.
     
          It only took 3 calls before Samuel understood it was God calling…not someone else.  How many times will it take God calling us before we recognize His Voice when He speaks to us?

(Graphic by Melvyn Nieuwkoop)

Please visit the Dedication Page