With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. —2 Thessalonians 1:11

Moses was a person who had the call of God upon him, and yet he voluntarily gave up the treasures of palace life. It was said of Moses, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter” (Heb. 11:24).

Here was a man brought up in a palace who “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time” (v. 25). Can you imagine someone who lived in a palace and who voluntarily gave it up in order to please God? Don’t tell me this had nothing to do with Moses’ anointing! I say it had everything to do with it.

The call of God on a person makes all the difference. Why did Moses do what he did? It was because the call of God was paramount.

Is the call of God upon you? Is your motivating sense of life the call of God? If you say, “Well, I am not sure if it is or not,” you ought to fall on your face before God and ask, “What has gone wrong? What has happened?” Do you have no sense of destiny? No reason for living? Have you been derailed to such an extent that there is no sense of the call of God on you?

You may hope that living conditions will change and this will give you a little bit of happiness. But the most important thing is to know that God’s call is on you. There is something for every one of us to do that is as important in our sphere as in any others in world history! Every Christian has a call from God, and when that grips you, and you know that God has a plan for your life, you will see everything else in a different light, including where you live.

Excerpted from The Thorn in the Flesh (Charisma House, 2004).

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. —Hebrews 11:7

Discontinuity. That is what threatens us—when there is no precedent that we can put our finger on. The precedent for the unprecedented, however, is biblical. It is the theme running right through Hebrews 11, the faith chapter of the Bible. Not a single person mentioned there had the luxury of repeating yesterday’s anointing. Enoch walked with God (Gen. 5:24). Noah walked with God (Gen. 6:9). There was the continuity.

So, we are told, “By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death” (Heb. 11:5). Noah therefore did what Enoch did—he walked with God. The continuity of a comfort zone may have made Noah feel that what happened with Enoch would happen to him. But no. It wasn’t easy for Noah. But he set the precedent for God’s glorious but painful discontinuity: “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” It had never happened before, and it never happened again.

Not knowing where we are going, yet knowing we are following God, can be most painful indeed. God has a way of giving us sufficient revelation for ourselves but not enough that it convinces others. The stigma is knowing you have heard from God but having to do what no one else may be required to do.

There is equally nothing so comforting as seeing that that is what happened in the Bible. And yet we have what the early church didn’t have—the New Testament to keep us on the straight and narrow. If there is any word of knowledge or prophetic insight that conflicts with Scripture, we stay with Scripture and reject the word of knowledge—no matter who gave it. The Scripture does not replace the miraculous; Scripture corrects abuses when people hear “words” that couldn’t have come from God because they don’t cohere with biblical theology.

But the anointing will often offend. That is not surprising, for it stretches us. It brings together both the continuity and the discontinuity of God’s dealings with us—the God of the past and the Lord who acts in the “now.” Such majesty and mystery are rarely within our comfort zone.

Excerpted from The Anointing: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Charisma House, 2003).

When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors. … invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. —Luke 14:12-14

I would think that a great sign of God’s approval and anointing on any church is to see it filled with people with all kinds of handicaps, whether deaf, blind, or in wheelchairs. The reason is because such people obviously feel welcome. The word gets out that this church wants—and needs—the disabled. They know they will be treated with dignity and respect. People everywhere want to spend time with them; they will come and talk to them!

Do you do that at your church? Or do you hurry to be with the people you already know? God wants His church to include everybody. It’s not just pain, difficulty, or the inconvenience; the real problem is the way disabled people are marginalized and cast aside.

There is more than one kind of handicap, and there are obviously various degrees of being disabled. There are generally two kinds of disabled people: those who are born disabled and those whose handicap affects them later in life.

Others become disabled through illness. This can happen to any of us. It can happen through an accident, or it may be the gradual loss of our hearing or sight. The loss of the use of limbs can be anyone’s experience.

But there is another kind of handicap, mental impairment, those born with mental limitations. It may be a low IQ or those born with Down’s syndrome. There are those who have a learning disability, such as dyslexia. Some lose the ability to think clearly. It may come from an accident, from an operation, or from senility—perhaps Alzheimer’s disease.

Such people often love the Lord Jesus Christ with deepest devotion, but they wonder what’s wrong with them. And yet God allows this because He has a purpose in it all. He loves us so much, and what is often seen as a negative in this life will be seen in the opposite way when we get to heaven.

Excerpted from The Thorn in the Flesh (Charisma House, 2004).

For if you forgive men when they sin against you , your heavenly Father will also forgive you. —Matthew 6:14

Not only do we need daily forgiveness as much as we need daily bread, but we also need to pray daily that we have the grace to forgive others as a lifelong commitment. It is not easy. No one ever said it would be. It has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but following this phrase in the Lord’s Prayer is the clearest path to fellowship with God.

It is as though Jesus adds a “P.S.” to the Lord’s Prayer. It almost seems that that is why He gave us the prayer in the first place!

Why does Jesus add this further statement? He is demonstrating which of the petitions was the most important. The most natural tendency in the world is to want to get even when someone has offended you. It is as natural as eating or sleeping, and it is instinctual. Jesus is telling us to do something that is not natural but supernatural: totally forgiving people—sometimes those closest to us—for the wrongs they have done to us. I still struggle in this area myself. But when I truly and totally forgive, I have crossed over into the supernatural—and have achieved an accomplishment equal to any miracle.

The kingdom of heaven is the domain of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is at home in us, it means He is not grieved. He can be Himself; He isn’t adjusting to us, but we are adjusting to Him. When Jesus said, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,” He was not talking about how to achieve salvation. He was referring to receiving the anointing of God and participating in an intimate relationship with the Father. Unless we are walking in a state of forgiveness toward others, we cannot be in an intimate relationship with God.

Excerpted from Total Forgiveness (Charisma House, 2002).

This summer as some NFL players were engrossed in tedious billion-dollar negotiations during the league’s lockout, Pro Bowler Aaron Kampman and his wife, Linde, focused their attention on poverty-stricken children in El Salvador.

Kampman, a defensive tackle for the Jacksonville Jaguars, says he was humbled to find that the children weren’t excited to see him because of his celebrity status, but rather because he was a Compassion International child sponsor.

“A lot of times here in the States I’m recognized as an NFL player, and many think that gives me great value,” Kampman says. “While I love the game, it’s through the eyes of these Compassion children that I can see a greater value and importance for my life beyond the football field and the potential we each have to help a child.”

As a sponsor Kampman met some of the children for which he 
made school, health care, nutrition, regular meals and spiritual support possible. 

Kampman’s teammate Russell Allen, who joined him on the trip, was shocked when 13-year-old Rudy was more grateful for his sponsor than for the oft-coveted signed sports gear he was given. 

“Rudy didn’t care about the T-shirts and sports paraphernalia we brought him—which was surprising for someone who has probably never received his own brand-new shirt,” Allen says.”

Aaron Kampman used the off-season to visit his sponsored child in El Salvador 

Ten years after being the last person pulled from the rubble of the Sept. 11 attacks, Genelle Guzman-McMillian says God has given her a miraculous second chance, which she’s used to remind others that life is not promised.

Guzman-McMillian was trapped under the rubble of the first tower for nearly 27 hours with her leg crushed under debris. She remembers being able to only lift her fingers to the surface of the rubble to signal for help. A man named Paul grabbed her hand, called her name and told her he was there for her. 

But after rescue workers unearthed her, she noticed that there was no way a person could’ve gotten in or out of the area where she was trapped. She believes she had an angelic encounter, and to this day no one has been able to locate the man named Paul. 

“We looked all over and that person never came forward,” she says. “I know I was not sleeping. I know it was real. I know it was him.” Guzman-McMillian details her miraculous testimony in her new book, Angel in the Rubble.  

“I take that experience as truly a wake-up call. I know God saved me for a reason; it has to be a plan and purpose for me here,” she says, recalling how she told God that she’d dedicate her life to Him if He’d rescue her.  

Guzman-McMillan kept true to her promise. She immediately joined a church and began serving God. Ten years later she attends Brooklyn Tabernacle Church in New York and travels the world telling her testimony and encouraging people not to put off their salvation as she had done: “I always said I’ll become a Christian and find Jesus at the age of 60 when I can’t dance and dress up and party no more.

“I had set that goal for my life and when I tell my story to people they really see with me that it’s not about you. It’s not about what we want but it’s about Jesus Christ and what He wants us to do in this life that we’re living.”

Great fiction writers can catapult readers into fantastical stories of the imagination and guide booklovers into an escape from reality. But a trend is emerging among Christian novelists determined to face life’s harshest realities head-on. Writers are starting humanitarian organizations and some are giving a portion of their book sales to help the needy.

Randy Singer, known for his legal thrillers and Christian suspense novels, announced earlier this year that 100 percent of the proceeds from his book False Witness would go to the Dalit Freedom Network, which helps some of the 168 million Dalits in India experiencing discrimination, dehumanization, violence and enslavement on a daily basis. As members of India’s lowest social caste, few have access to educational opportunities. 

“I’m supporting the Dalit Freedom Network because they are on the ground in India,” explains Singer. “They’ve been effective advocates for the Dalits around the world, but they’re also bringing educational solutions that make a difference right now in real time in this world.”

Singer was inspired to support the network after a 2009 trip to India. “It’s just so convicting to be among people that have so little and yet are so on fire for Christ and are so happy,” he says. 

Fellow novelist Nicole Baart is also helping outcasts, though in another part of the world. Known for her realistic novels of hope, Baart has been delivering hope to orphans in Liberia through One Body One Hope, for which she is a founding member. The writer gives one-third of all book sales to relief groups.

Despite an economic recession, these authors are staying true to the Bible’s principle of giving. 

“When we give to Him, He gives back to us because He’s a wise owner,” Singer says. “We are all stewards or managers of His resources. As a wise owner He’s going to allocate those resources to those who hold them with an open hand.” 

Shannon Meador wanted more in her life. A passionate follower of Christ and lover of adventure, working a desk job in central Illinois just wasn’t cutting it, so she went in search of an exciting opportunity that would allow her to serve God.

“I wanted something more, something bigger, something crazier,” Meador says. “As soon as I viewed the World Race website, my search was over. I was called.” She applied on that same visit.

“My life isn’t mapped out by any means, but my life is always facing God and that’s all I need. When you make a plan you limit yourself to what God could be asking you.”

Meador is just one of more than 500 people who have joined the World Race, a program that sends participants seeking adventure, ministry and community across the globe to 11 countries in 11 months.

An Adventures in Missions program, the World Race has been around since 2006 and has planned more than 26 unique routes.

Kim Hillebrand, a World Race mobilizer, says the squads are sent to developing countries and work on a small budget, similar to that of the people who live there. Groups travel to countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and southeast Asia “to see what living in those countries is like.”

Each squad consists of 40-60 participants who work and travel together for 11 months. The squads are divided up into teams of six to seven people who will complete all of their projects together.

To participate in the program, racers must raise between $14,000 and $15,500—depending on their route. Each gets a support coach to help them through.

“We really truly believe that if God is calling them to the World Race, God is going to provide,” Hillebrand explains.

Yannik McKie says he and his sister are one of the first double AIDS orphans in the United States. When McKie was 10 he found out his parents were both HIV-positive and that his well-educated, affluent father had infected his mother after living a secret homosexual lifestyle. Both of his parents died by the time he was 15. 

“When I lost my parents I did not understand how God’s love could be reconciled with my situation,” he says. It wasn’t until he was 22 years old in a jail cell on federal gun charges that he began to realize how much God really loved him and that He had a plan for his childhood pain. 

“We learn God’s love for us through our pain because we actually realize that it was Him helping us through it,” he now says.  

Today McKie is a certified Christian life coach, ordained minister and counselor. He uses the pain he experienced to help others who suffer through abuse, disease and depression. He often speaks to youth to share how they can use their obstacles as stepping-stones for their future.  

Last year McKie also authored a memoir, Living in the Shadows, and a portion of the proceeds from its sales go to help people affected by AIDS.

Aids in America

•   Every 9.5 minutes someone is infected with HIV

•  1 miIIion people are living with AIDS

•  1 in 5 are unaware they are infected

•  18,000 people die of AIDS every year

—Centers for Disease Control

Have worship services gotten too long for contemporary attention spans?

One London church leader is trying to persuade fellow clergy that today’s worship services are excessively long.

How long would you estimate your attention span to be? Ten minutes? A half hour? Ninety minutes? It is safe to say that the length of one’s attention span would ultimately depend on the topic or issue at hand. What if the topic was your Creator—the lover of your soul?

The Bishop of Lichfield, Rev. Jonathan Gledhill submitted in his London diocese recently that “clergy should aim to keep the time of worship to no more than 50 minutes.” He believes worship has become too complicated, leading to confused and excluded churchgoers.

Spending more than an hour in church seems alien to some and even taboo to others. But to many of Charisma’s Facebook fans, limitless services are the most fulfilling. 

More than two dozen Facebook comments acknowledged the Holy Spirit as an immovable variable in worship time.

Colleen Cobb Audette of Micco, Fla., says: “The service should be led by the Holy Spirit. These ‘timed’ services are nothing but ‘religion.’ Too many times we get caught up in having an agenda. We pray, ‘Holy Spirit have your way, but make it quick because we have a lot to do this morning.’”

Christopher Ales of Daphne, Ala., prefers the clocks to be removed from the sanctuary. He feels pastors are more worried about pleasing the congregation instead of pleasing God. “Leave quietly if you want to leave,” Ales says, “but don’t infringe on the Holy Spirit when He is moving. I am left to wonder how many healings are missed, how many leave the same way they came in—bound—when deliverance was in our midst.”