Tuesday, September 23, 2008

God's answer to my questions

I'm amazed by how directly God has answered my questions about whether to commit to going on an IRR hurricane response tomorrow, missing a week of school. From this morning (well, actually yesterday morning by date, but I always bump the schedule back a day so I can have a lesson on Sabbath morning that's relevant, rather than not having one then and starting the next week's topic Sabbath afternoon - which isn't when I have study time):

From CQ (the collegiate quarterly)
"There is need of coming close to the people by personal effort. If less time were given to sermonizing, and more time were spent in personal ministry, greater results would be seen. The poor are to be relieved, the sick cared for, the sorrowing and the bereaved comforted, the ignorant instructed, the inexperienced counseled. We are to weep with those that weep, and rejoice with those that rejoice. Accompanied by the power of persuasion, the power of prayer, the power of the love of God, this work will not, cannot, be without fruit." - MH 143, 144

"To everyone who becomes a partaker of His grace the Lord appoints a work for others. Individually we are to stand in our lot and place, saying, 'Here I am; send me.' Isaiah 6:8" - MH 148

And then from the adult quarterly (I translate from the Spanish)

"The point here is that Isaiah, without divine intervention, unless his sins were blotted out, or covered, could not have done anything for God. He had to put himself right with God first; only then could God use Him.

In short, the message to me:
"Go - don't let worries about school keep you from love and service. That's what I'm calling you, all of you, to - not to get jobs in the church or as missionaries, but to love and sacrifice for those I put around you. --- But wait, before you get caught up in serving me and all you think you have to do - I come first. You need me, or it won't work."

2 comments:

joni said...

btw, if you want, you can read in the CQ in spanish online here: http://cqbiblestudy.org/article.php?id=84 (as well as other versions of the quarterly)

thanks for being amazing and thinking and sharing. the blog before this one (on asking for help) made me stop and think about my own "independence." happy sabbath!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the CQ site, Joni - while I like having it printed, so I don't have to start up a computer to have morning worship, I don't have the new one for this quarter. Joni and PDF printing from the website save my day!