Is God calling you?

Have you been called by God?

One way to define a true Christian is to realize that such a person must be called by God. Jesus stated that, "For many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14). God invites many out of spiritual darkness and deceit and into His wondrous truth that fills us with an understanding of that precious truth. Revelation 17:14 tells us that we must be "... called, chosen, and faithful." If we remain faithful, we have the promise of eternal life. Who does God call?

Those who are more apt to see their inadequacies and know they need forgiveness of their sins. Those who are humble and recognize their human weaknesses and mistakes are more likely to acknowledge that they need God's help more so than the powerful and self-sufficient, who fail to see a need for God in their lives.

Not everyone answers that call. The Christian life is a narrow and difficult path and "there are few who find it (Matthew 7:14). However, God's Word reveals that, through studying His plan of salvation, He is letting most people live the heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew human experience under Satan's way. but eventually they will want to go His way. It is then they will realize that the only real truth is God's absolute truth, as set out in the Bible, and that only God can define what is right and wrong, holy and unholy, good and bad. From the beginning, we have always tried to determine what is truth and, as a result, we have rejected God's revelation. Because of that, "... whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

Wrong choices and decisions that we make can affect the way we worship God. Jesus Himself says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of

7:21). Jesus warns of those who practice their own doctrines wrongly and expect God to honor such worship. If we choose to worship Him our own way, instead of how God tells us to worship Him, our prayers are useless and in vain. Matthew 15:79 says, "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

A true Christian worships God according to His instructions as laid out in His holy Word (Deuteronomy 12:32). We are told to strive daily to live

"... by every word of God" (Luke 4:4). Some people do not realize that satan continues to deceive the majority of mankind (1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9). They do not understand that satan, '... the god of this age' (2 Corinthians 4:4), extends his lying ways even into teaching and practices embraced by mainstream Christianity (2 Corinthians 11:1315). Once God opens one's mind to His truth though, we are responsible to act on it. If we choose to not live by what we have learned, God will not add anything more to our understanding. We need to truly repent for our wrongdoings, recognizing that it was for us that Jesus was crucified.

What does it mean to repent? It means to change, to turn around, to stop going the way we are going. It means to be truly sorry for our sins, as well as to have sorrow for our inclinations and desires to do the wrong things. Repentance is a process; it is a process of change, or surrendering yourself and turning your life over to God. It starts with having a repentant attitude and turning in the right direction. God reveals His truth through His Word so that we can understand exactly what sin is to help us know the way of life we are called to live. We learn, through the teachings of the Holy Spirit, how to pass from a sinful way of life to a completely new one where righteousness prevails.

With time, we learn to leave our old self behind; we die in the flesh and begin to live in the Spirit. Romans 8:9 tells us, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." The Holy Spirit helps a Christian build godly character and shows evidence of God at work in his or her life. The Spirit also provides power, love and a sound, godly mind (2 Timothy 1:6-7).

True Christians are willing to give their lives to God and to always put God first. God becomes the head of that household and He helps them to work through any uncertainties that they may be faced with. They learn to walk in faith, to trust in